Snowfall sequence

kw: local events, photographs, observations

Being just southwest of Philadelphia, we were right in the sights of the northeaster that hit about 1:00 this morning. I could see we had about four inches (10cm) of snow by 7:00, so I had a quick breakfast and, just before heading out to shovel, I took the first picture in the image sequence below. The birdbath is in the back yard. The city lights were off already, and the early morning light was bluish.

After an hour and a half with the shovel, I had to remove snow ahead of myself getting back to the house; snow depth was 6" (15cm). The second photo was at 10 AM, an hour after I came in. The third is at 12:30, just before I had lunch.

I went out to shovel again at 4 PM, after taking the fourth pic. My wife helped this time, because our driveway had a two-foot drift (60cm) blown into it. We were done about 6 PM, when the last photo was taken. This time, I had the camera on a tripod, as it took a 1-second exposure by the light of the city shining on the clouds. The predominance of sodium street lights caused the brownish color. This image was also focused by hand, because the autofocusing couldn't work at this light level.

Ready for some Advil and some sleep! I expect another few inches by morning. The church has canceled its meetings, which mainly means I don't have to hurry to clear the driveway. The official start of winter is still two days away.