Creamed

A little before seven this morning there was less than an inch of snow on the ground. It's just past noon now, and there's over half a foot.


Forecast is for two feet or more in the metro area. The Post says we're "paralyzed," but I'm feeling pretty good.

Update:


Billy Bob lost his frisbee.

Update II: Gov. Owens declares (semi-redundant) "disaster emergency"; calls out National Guard:

Guardsmen were deployed to assist the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado State Patrol in helping stranded drivers, towns, ranchers and others. They guard had positioned emergency equipment such as Humvees, snow tractors and emergency vehicles in strategic locations prior to the storm.

That was smart.

Update III: The Post just keeps updating its main snow story:

At 3 p.m., officials closed Denver International Airport and Pena Boulevard, stranding up to 3,000 travelers and airport
workers . . . .

Passengers said the baggage conveyor belts frequently clogged with bags being returned from cancelled flights. One ramp worker said bags from 25 planes was [sic] sent back up to the terminal. Unclaimed bags were stacked five feet high around the carousels, one observer said. Bags were coming up onto the carousels unannounced and in no order, with passengers searching chaotically and frantically not only for their bags but also for the Christmas presents they were carrying.

Christ. That'd piss off the jolly old elf himself.

Pena Boulevard was described as a "white-out" with traffic crawling bumper to bumper out of the airport. All ground transportation was closed down at 3 p.m. Officials said they would break out the small number of cots they had at the airport, as well as water and blankets. Food concessionaires were jammed. One observer said the main terminal resembled a battle field with travellers stretched out everywhere.

(source unknown for the candid pic of Saint Nick and child) If that's your darling Ruddiger sitting on Santa's lap with a chunk of his little head missing (love the tooth marks), let me know and I'll add the credit.)

Update IV: Somebody's going to bring up the legendary Christmas Eve Blizzard of 1982, so I'll do it first.

Update V (10:00 p.m.): Okay, all kidding aside, I think it's time to panic. Current conditions:


Buried. And it's still snowing hard.

Update VI: The Schoolchildren's Blizzard makes this one seem like a day at the beach--or, you know, a nice day basically anywhere.