It's All Becoming So Clear Now

I'm starting to understand why people hate winter. In Utah, it's really hard to hate winter. Sure, winter means cold but cold means snow (!). And Utah snow means skiing (!), snowshoeing (!), and just plain fun (!). Utah snow is beautiful, light, and fluffy. It quiets its surroundings. It covers everything and makes it look smooth and soft. It's even fun to shovel.

However, winter in D.C. means cold, but cold here doesn't mean snow. In the six winters I have spent here, I have seen only one notable snowstorm. So if it doesn't mean snow, what does it mean?

• Cold, cold, and more cold. The humidity makes everything worse. Cold here just hurts.
• Media hype for everything passing cloud that may produce only one drop of precipitation.
• Cancelled everything. Don't believe me? Today, alone, had 336 reported closings of schools, governments (but alas, not the Feds), day cares, and "Meals on Wheels." The reason for all these closings? Three inches of precipitation on Tuesday. Today is THURSDAY.
• Along with cancelled everything is the annoying way in which they relay this information to the public. They scroll the names of all 336 closed institutions along the bottom of your television, severely decreasing your TV's viewing window. It takes more than 15 minutes to get through all of this information.
• Yucky types of precipitation. Tuesday's storm brought sleet. What is sleet?! I had no idea. Apparently it is initially snow, but then melts slightly, and then refreezes. Basically, sleet is falling ice marbles. It's the weirdest, heaviest, loudest thing to fall from the sky. And then when it settles, it's immediately hardened. In Utah, you have to wait for a couple of days for your snow to harden to the point you can walk on it without sinking. Not so with sleet. It's nasty.
• When I find I'm not even enjoying wearing my winter clothes, you know it's bad. Please let it be spring soon.