After a week of alarming predictions Storm Jonas arrived in my little patch of Prince George, Virginia about thirty minutes ago. I am glad. The anticipation was raising my anxiety and possibly my blood pressure considerably. I didn’t know until last night that this storm had been dubbed, Jonas.
I am not sure when we started naming storms, other than hurricanes, but it adds a personal connection between the machinations of weather and the reactive planning of humans. My memories of Isabel and Irene, both hurricanes, are vivid as we were without power for about a week in both cases. The ice storm of 1998 is just as vivid with loss of power for a week, but we were not naming non-hurricane storms at that time so I don’t have a human’s name to link to my memories of misery. So, if The Weather Channel came up with the idea of naming storms, I am glad of it.
As I write this at 10:30 on Friday morning, I am wondering if Jonas will visit upon us another week of no electricity after the freezing rain and heavy wind arrive during the evening and early morning hours.
While I wait I am cooking, reading, tidying, blogging, and continuing my meager preparations for the storm. Chili is cooking, chicken thighs are about to go in the slow cooker, and later a London Broil (thick flank steak) will get cooked in my large cast iron skillet on top of the stove. With my Coleman stove I can reheat food, make coffee, and wash dishes … so we will not starve. Take that Jonas.
Prince George VA & Environs 
Was Jonas a bust for you like it was here in Alexandria? Or were the weather-guessers more accurate where you are?
So far everything except the wind and possible ice has been accurate. Of course, the day is not over. High winds on top of ice for us usually means loss of electricity for a number of days. Is it still snowing in Alexandria?
If it is, it is hard to tell. We have the wind now, but it would be extremely generous to say we have a foot of snow anywhere nearby, let alone 2-3 feet
The predictions varied as to the depth, but generally was between 3 & 7 inches. I would say we have 4 or 5 inches. What we didn’t get was the freezing rain and ice. It is snowing heavily here now, but the sky seems to be getting lighter. Hope it is about over. I think our winds are still around 15 to 16 mi per hour. Not the 30+ predicted. Stay warm.