The Great Blizzards of 2009-2010

Lest you think life in Northern Virginia is all bright, sunny, warm days, see what we had to endure a few years ago.

It started the Friday before Christmas and ended the following Sunday. What it left was 18 to 20 inches of snow—breaking records, closing schools and offices area-wide. We all enjoyed a short white Christmas, because a few days after it rained a warm rain which left us with just snowbanks.

But, sometimes, Winter just won't go away. In January, we experienced first a lesser storm, which stayed on the ground, and then, on February 5, Nature really dumped a load on this little community with another 24 inches of snow. This snow, unlike the one in December was wet and heavy, causing trees to break and power to go off for some 28 hours.

And, things did not stay calm. A few days after the BIG February snow, there came the Blizzard of 2010. Snow piled on another 10-12 inches in the Community with wind gusts up to 60 mph. The funny thing of it was, while records were set for the biggest snow accumulations on record, it turned out that for awhile the Washington DC area was the spot in the country with the highest snow total of the Winter of 2009-2010. We even beat out the number one city, Syracuse, NY.

Presented here are a few pictures of both our glee and our misery. If you have other pictures you'd like to share, please notify the Webmaster.

(Photos by Kathryn Kingsbury for FallsBrook.org)

The entrance to Falls Brook at the height of the storm.
December 19: The scene was snowy and the air was quiet. It was a blanket of snow coming down fast—up to two inches an hour—covering everything. This is the entrance to our little community at the height of the storm.
Even so, some of us just had to get out to do what we had to do. Can't let a little snow keep us at home!
People driving at the height of the storm.
The top of Sugar Creek Court.
Did you ever notice how quiet it gets during a big snowstorm? Well, we did. Here is what it looked like at the top of Sugar Creek Court during the storm.
Looking down Sugar Creek Court at the height of the storm.
People driving at the height of the storm.
The cul de sac at the end of Sugar Creek Court at the ehight of the storm.
You can get an idea of the amount of snow we got by looking here. This is a picture of the cul de sac at the end of Sugar Creek Court. There is a little more than a foot of snow on house roofs. Helpful neighbors rev up the old snow blower to clear paths between houses, and to keep up with the snow in driveways.
The next day was sunny, bright, and cold. The snowplows had come during the night, and the bright sun was beginning to work to clear the roads. The snow piled up by the plows probably reached five feet high.
Sugar Creek Court the next day.
Sugar Creek Court the next day.
The Postal Service had a few days of hardship having to get out of vehicles to get to mailboxes. But, a few days later, we had a warm rain which melted most of the snow left on roads and highways, leaving only the remnants of plowed snowbanks.
There were a few days of "hardship" (after all, this isn't Buffalo) after which we all got back to normal. Kids had a long Winter break with three snow days tacked on the begining of Christmas vacation.
Sugar Creek Court the next day.
Sugar Creek Court at the height of Storm 2.
January 30: The second storm of the season was not as large as the one in December. At the end of January, we got a few inches of snow—the heavy wet kind—that was quickly cleared from the roads, but remained on the ground.
Sugarland Run, the creek that flows past Falls Brook to the Potomac, survived Storm 2 rather well. It provided the picture for the masthead of these Falls Brook webpages.
Sugarland Run during Storm 2.
Snow accumulations during Storm 3.
February 5-6: The third snow sorm of the season brought another couple of feet of snow to our community. We were seasoned now with Storms 1 & 2, but no one could have expected this. Coming on top of Storm 2 which had not yet melted away, heavy wet snow accumulated quickly. Here's a look out the back window near the end of the snowfall.
This is what it looked like out the front door after most of the snowfall of Storm 3.
Sugar Creek Court at the end of Storm 3.
Looking up the road at the end of Storm 3.
Storm 3 was destructive. The heavy wet stuff bent trees and even broke them. Falls Brook suffered through a period of 28 hours with no power.
February 9-10: This is what it looked like out the front door after most of the snowfall of Storm 4. Storm 4 brought another 8-10 inches of snow, but that wasn't the worst of it. Piled on top of the two feet left by Storms 2 & 3, the total accumulation was epic. Add to that, wind speeds of up to 60 mph and we have a real blizzard on our hands.
Sugar Creek Court at the end of Storm 3.
Looking up the road at the end of Storm 4.
Storm 4's winds made it impossible to keep up. Plows were pulled off the roads all over the Washington area because of low visibility. People hunkered down for better weather. You can see here what it looked like at the end of Storm 4, looking up Sugar Creek Court.
Storms 2, 3, and 4 piled it on, and the poor cedar trees couldn't take it. Many fell under the weight of the snow. Some broke, some were uprooted.
Damaged trees by the end of Storm 4.
Helpful neighbors use snow blowers to clear driveways.
By the end of Storm 4, the amount of snow in the Washington area was unprecedented. We broke the all-time record for snow. We even gained first place—for a while—of being the city metropolitan area with the most snow in all the USA; a recognition we didn't really want.