Record-breaking Snowfall

 They've been talking about it for days and this is one forecast that nature honored.

 Officially, the NWS recorded 6.4" of snow at the airport at 7 am. That record for the day was set just three years ago, on 01/25/23.

 By 11:00 am the record set during the blizzard of  1978 was broken: the airport stood at 13".

 I woke a couple of times during the night and could see the heavy snow falling, blown to the east by a gentle wind. When I got up at 6:30 am I went outside to shovel and took my own reading: 8.5" here at Pinehaven.

 But it has snowed  all morning and at 2 pm, when I measured again, I have recorded 14.5", closely matching the NWS figure.

 Here's how it looked thoughout the day:

First light:

Mid-morning:

 Mid-afternoon:

 It depends on where you measure but this reading is a good average: nearly 15" (but we'll say 14.5" to be accurate).

 There is a drift on the kitchen roof that has to be extremely heavy. I certainly can't get up there so it'll have to melt slowly.

 The back yard looking north.

 Look directly out the driveway towards S Clayton Road. No one has come to plow us out. But how could they get here? Montgomery County is under a Level 2 Snow Emergency:  only essential vehicles.  I've only heard a plow twice so virtually nothing is moving.

  This is our garden area, already asleep but now put into a deeper one.

 Looking westward across the back yard.

 Pinehaven sits snug in the deep snow.

 I often use our picnic table as a  snow board but, as deep as it is, it seems to have had snow removed by the light wind as it fell.

 A close-up look at the drift on the kitchen roof.

 That's the drift from inside Mom's bedroom.

The Morning After:

 Here were other CoCoRaHS snow measurements at 7 am this morning. My figure is the 8.5 is the mid-left.

Help arrives (01/26/26):

 Yesterday DR Coffman plowed out three of our neighbors to the south. But the day ended without a visit. Today about 2 pm I saw him arrive and begin plowing out Millie, our closest neighbor (above).

When he finished he came out to Clayton Road and then turned into our driveway. Help had arrived!

 With a plow and snow blower he was able to make quick work of our driveway. In mere minutes we  again had access to the road.

 I offered DR "money for gas" but he wouldn't take anything. "You're a neighbor," he said.

 Tom and I dug his truck out by hand and he left to feed his cats. It's a great feeling to know we're free to leave whenever we need to.

Later:

 When I went upstairs late in the day and looked down upon the drifted snow, it made me think I was on a ship at sea ad I looking upon a breaking surf.