Well, at least we set a record.
  As of 1 p.m. this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, the two-day snowfall total at Dulles International Airport was 8.5 inches, which made this year's seasonal snowfall total 72.0 inches. That's the most recorded in a season since snowfall records were kept at Dulles, starting 48 years ago in 1962.
  Unfortunately, we're not done yet. In watching Channel 4 a few minutes ago, they're talking about another 2 to 4 inches coming on Monday.
  Great. Just great.

  
  My friend Paul Draisey used to always say that weathermen are 60 percent right, 40 percent of the time. Well, the weather authorities called for a blizzard this morning, and while trying to use a snowblower to clear my driveway and the cul de sac, I came to the following conclusions:
  (A) Today, the weather folks were 100 percent right, 100 percent of the time and (B) At least in Ashburn this week, all the talk of global warming is pretty tough to believe...

  I'm guessing I should now go buy a lottery ticket.
  That's because as the snow was coming down heavy Saturday morning, I wrote "by my estimate, unless Loudoun County owns a lot of backhoes, this snow can't be pushed much on secondary roads to be removed. So if your schedule involves going to school every morning, kick back and relax. Valentine's Day may arrive before your next day back."
  As it turns out, Valentine's Day will arrive. And so will President's Day before school is back in session. Loudoun County announced this afternoon that school is out the rest of the week due to heavy snow on secondary roads, and another snowstorm that is predicted for tomorrow.
  So kick back and relax. None of us are going anywhere anytime soon.

  Due to the heavy snow that is destined to leave many of us stuck in our homes for a long time, Loudoun County has canceled school for Monday Feb. 8 and Tuesday, Feb. 9.
  No word yet on the rest of February, which is about how long it will take before all this snow finally melts on the secondary streets.

 
  If you haven't been out shoveling every four hours since last night, I feel for you.
  Because I don't see how you're ever going to get out.
  As the picture above shows, I've built quite a wall of snow on each side of my driveway. And it is still coming down hard. By the time it's all done, I will have probably added another 5 or six inches of snow to the "Great Wall of Ashburn."
  Right now, the top of the street lamp is getting nervous.

  In between my regular visits to the driveway to remove the most newly accumulated snow, I've found myself watching our local news stations tell people what they already know: there'a a lot of snow out there.
  Most are also showing a local version of "idiots on parade", as driver after driver is shown stuck in the snow, driving a vehicle that probably shouldn't be on the road under dry conditions, acting surprised that their tiny subcompact rear-wheel drive car couldn't get through two feet of snow.
  But there have been some gems, particularly by Channel 4's Pat Collins. Collins, who can make the menu at Denny's sound like a murder mystery, drew the short straw at Channel 4, getting to stand out on the street in heavy snow and ask passersby what they're doing.
  At around 7, I came in after another snowblower attempt, and Collins was stopping a young lady in blue snowgear. She didn't want to give her name, and didn't seem to know how to deal with Collins' staccato 4-word questions. But she eventually volunteered she was out on a 3-mile walk to a neighborhood Giant to get a sandwich.
  Yes, we all thought it: Must be some sandwich. Collins even asked her to bring it by on her trip home. A sandwich worth trudging three miles in the snow one-way would definitely be must-see television.
  Later in the morning, I made another run at the driveway and came back in the house at about 9:45. Not soon after, Channel 4 went back to Collins. He had found the sandwich girl.
  Collins went digging into her backpack like a police dog on a drug bust. Finally he pulled out a grocery bag with what appeared to be a grilled deli sandwich.
  "What's so special about this sandwich?" Collins asked, doing a little grilling of his own.
  "I had a coupon," sandwich-girl said. "It was free."
  There are few things many of us would go three miles in two feet of snow for, although everyone my age heard that their parents went to school in such conditions every day of their life. The only exception was that their three-mile trek was uphill. Both ways.
  But to make that trek for a sandwich? Just because it's free?
  There's got to be more to this story. And I'm sure Collins (whose motto today is "don't speak softly, but carry a big stick to measure the snow") will get to the bottom of it.
  If not, I'll head to the Giant and find out for myself. Only not until the snow melts.
  Sometime in March.

  It turns out the weathermen were right. And I hate them for it.
  Here in Ashburn, I'd estimate roughly 19 inches of snow had fallen by 6:30 a.m. While the pros use sophisticated measuring methods, I've arrived at the total using the resistance of my snowblower. It runs comfortably at 6 inches of snow or below, struggles at 8 inches, and bogs down at 10, much like a lawnmower in ankle-high grass.
  At 7:30 Friday night, the snowblower ran well, so I'd estimate that at 5 inches. At 10:30, it ran equally well, maybe even a bit smoother, so I'd assign 4 inches to that run.
  At 6 a.m. this morning, the snow just about killed the snowblower, so it gets the 10-inch estimate, bringing the total to 19 inches. I'm sure I woke up the cul de sac starting up the snowblower at such an early hour, but it was quite the surreal setting: the lights of all the houses were flickering, the sky had thunder and lightning, and the snow against the gray light of morning created a snow globe effect.
  When I took a break at 7 a.m., it appeared we had every bit as much snow as the big storm of 2003, and slightly more than the storm right before Christmas. And they're saying another 5 to 9 inches are on the way.
  By my estimate, unless Loudoun County owns a lot of backhoes, this snow can't be pushed much on secondary roads to be removed. So if your schedule involves going to school every morning, kick back and relax. Valentines Day may arrive before your next day back.

  Tuscarora High School made what has been known for weeks official today, announcing the hiring of Michael Burnett as the inaugural head coach of the Huskies’ football program.
  Burnett told his team several weeks ago that he would be leaving Broad Run to become the department chair in social studies at the new high school, and the school board approved his move to Tuscarora as the new head football coach Tuesday night.
  Burnett has been coaching football for twelve seasons and prior to taking the job at Tuscarora High School, coached at Broad Run and Santa Monica High School in California. At Broad Run, he led the Spartans to two state championships and twenty-eight consecutive victories, while accumulating a record of 43-6.
   He was named the Washington Redskins Coach of the year in 2008 and the VHSCA AA Coach of the year in 2008. He was also named the Virginia Preps AA Coach of the Year and Gameday Magazine AA Coach of the Year in both 2008 and 2009. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine where he played Varsity Football and Basketball and received his law degree from the University of Washington, in Seattle.
   Coach Burnett is married to Kimberly Burnett, and has two sons, Jack and Sam.

  Tuscarora High School is pleased to announce the hiring of Jeff Kaplan as the inaugural Head Coach of the Huskies' golf program.
   Kaplan has been teaching and coaching for 16 years. He is currently a Health and Physical Education teacher at Smart’s Mill Middle School and coaching baseball at Heritage High School both located in Leesburg, Virginia. Although Coach Kaplan has an extensive baseball background (14 years high school), he has a great passion and knowledge for the game of golf. For the past three summers he has worked as a Starter /Marshall at Raspberry Falls Golf/Hunt and Belmont Country Club.
  Mr. Kaplan graduated from Frostburg State University in 1990 with an Exercise Physiology degree. At Frostburg he was a member of the Baseball, Football and Rugby teams. Upon graduation, He worked as an assistant Athletic Director / Trainer at Worldgate Athletic club in Herndon, Virginia. In 1994, he received his Health and Physical Education degree from University of Maryland, College Park Maryland.
   Mr. Kaplan resides in Leesburg with his wife Christie, two sons Brady and Garrett and daughter, Courtenay.

  Tuscarora High School is pleased to announce the hiring of Mrs. Becky Puterio as the inaugural Head Coach of the Huskiess Cross Country program. She is extremely excited about developing a new Cross Country program at Tuscarora High School, and she is looking forward to working with individuals she can develop from elementary school runners into high school athletes.
  Mrs. Puterio served as the Assistant Cross Country Coach at Broad Run High School for the last three years, and prior to that was an Assistant Track Coach at Potomac Falls High School. She currently coaches Girls on the Run at Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, and has been a volunteer coach with the Loudoun County Track and Field Team youth team.
   As an athlete herself, she ran both cross country and track competitively in high school and college. She was the mile champion on the Massachusetts state championship track team during her senior year of high school, and competed for Mary Washington University during her collegiate years.   Mrs. Puterio is currently a fifth grade teacher at Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School.