Below The Beltway

It’s snowing here in Western Prince William County, Virginia.
These two pictures were taken about ten minutes apart.

When I lived in New Jersey a snow storm like this was brushed off as nothing to worry about. In Northern Virginia in 2007, it’s enough to bring the region to it’s knees:
Most area schools were opening two hours late this morning as the region coped with the season’s first snowfall and braced for [...]

It’s still snowing lightly outside here in Western Prince William County, but I can also still see the strands of grass in the yard.
Apparently, that counts as a pile:
As snow began to envelop the region, local schools scrambled to announce cancellations of evening activities on Wednesday. Fairfax County Public Schools announced on their web site [...]

Apparently, those darn Canadian beer drinkers are ruining the planet:
Scientists have found a new threat to the planet: Canadian beer drinkers.
The government-commissioned study says the old, inefficient “beer fridges” that one in three Canadian households use to store their Molson and Labatt’s contribute significantly to global warming by guzzling gas- and coal-fired electricity.
Heh.

The Canadians are starting to see one:
TORONTO — Predicted climate change might not be bad for everyone.
Canada would be a net economic winner, according to an April U.N. report cited by a number of authorities during interviews in recent days. The paper predicted that milder temperatures would expand agriculture while boosting the economy with lower [...]

That’s what John Campbell, the founder of the Weather Channel and a meteorologist, calls global warming:
It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of [...]

By the end of the weekend, this could be a very big story:
(CNN) — Hurricane Dean intensified Saturday as it muscled across the Caribbean and headed toward a dangerous rendezvous Sunday with Jamaica.
Forecasters fear Dean will be a destructive Category 5 monster packing 155 mph winds by then.
Even worse could be yet to come. By [...]

An earthquake struck Hawaii today as the islands prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Flossie:
HILO, Hawaii (AP) — An earthquake on Monday jolted the Big Island of Hawaii, which is already under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning.
The magnitude 5.3 temblor struck at 7:38 p.m. local time, about 25 miles south of Hilo, [...]

It’s been a quite hurricane season so far, but things may be changing.
Over in the Pacific, Hurricane Flossie is up to Category 4 and could cause problems for some parts of Hawaii:
HONOLULU — Hurricane Flossie spun about 875 miles east-southeast of Hawaii on Sunday, but forecasters predicted the Category 4 storm would weaken considerably [...]

When I got in my car after work yesterday afternoon, the outside temperature was registering a toasty 105 degrees.
Yea, it was hot here yesterday:
While a dangerous heat wave hanging over the East Coast generated severe storms that delayed flights, flooded New York City subways and spawned a rare tornado in Brooklyn, Washington area residents languished [...]