Should I shovel now (9:30 AM Saturday) or wait? (Arlington, Reston: lawyers, theatre)

[Old Guard]

I have no problem shoveling but will the wind just make it a worthless exercise?

[RiotAct41]

I'd wait, unless your jurisdiction mandates you shovel every x hours or something.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by RiotAct41

I'd wait, unless your jurisdiction mandates you shovel every x hours or something.

Thank you RiotAct41!

[weezycom]

shovel some now. the snow coming is supposed to be wet snow and will weigh 4x as much per shovelful. I've been out for a quick path clearing so I can find the front steps again.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by weezycom

shovel some now. the snow coming is supposed to be wet snow and will weigh 4x as much per shovelful. I've been out for a quick path clearing so I can find the front steps again.

That is what worries me. The heavy snow will compact the snow beneath making it ice.

[Carlingtonian]

Definitely, it's far better to shovel fresh snow than the stuff that's compacted or, worse, melted a little and refrozen.

I've been shoveling off and on since about 8AM. Here in Arlington, the snow has slacked off somewhat, so this will definitely make the later shoveling easier. I did our walk and one car and shoveled paths around the backyard for the dog, who is somewhat hesitant otherwise, given that the snow is deeper than she is tall!

The other benefit is that when the snow is deep enough that the path has a wall of snow on each side, it protects the path from snow that blows from the side--so the ground in the path won't accumulate snow as fast as the un-shoveled part.

[FCNova]

I agree with shoveling some now. I find it much easier to knock out in a few sessions than shoveling a massive amount all at once. Of course I have like 15 inches waiting for me right now...

[ICS67]

I'm of the school of thought that it's easier to shovel smaller amounts more times rather than larger amounts a few times.

As of noon today about 18-19 inches or so have fallen here in Reston. Yesterday I was able to clear my entire driveway, removing three inches at 4:00 PM and then four inches at 10:00 PM. I'm glad I did, because when I went out this morning at 11:00, an additional 12 inches had fallen. This time I cleared less than a quarter of the driveway, even though it had remained dry powedery snow. I'll probably try to get some more later this afternoon or early evening. I'm guessing by the end of the storm that, given the size of my driveway and the projected snowfall total, a grand total of 2,000 cubic feet of snow will have fallen there for yours truly to remove.

And in the theatre of the slightly absurd, I just saw two horseback riders plodding up Lawyers Road.

[djplourd]

It took me two hours this morning to clear my 250 ft driveway with a snow blower. We probably had about 18 inches when I started, and at least another 4 - 6 since I finished. I had to make multiple passes. There's no way I would have waited until it stops to even get started.

[Kophi]

I started off okay, yesterday afternoon, clearing my driveway and
sidewalk.

This morning? You wouldn't know I'd done anything. The snow on
the driveway alone is up to my waist. I opened my garage door with
my shovel and a little optimism, tossed a few shovelfuls (half of
which remained stuck to the shovel), said "nope", and went back
inside.



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