Just heard a UH–1 go by. There are four USAF 1st Helicopter Sqn aircraft showing on ADS–B — it's extremely unusual for them to be running ADS–B Out. Maybe someone got the fear of death into them finally?

Tidal waterway icing may have reached its peak.

Ice sloshes in and around Delaware Bay. This hi-res, icy view brought to us by GOES-19.

Old pipes in the news: DC Water is working to stabilize an abandoned, 42" brick-lined sewer at 14th and L NW, which is at danger of collapse. www.dcwater.com/about-dc-wat...

Heads-up! Training exercise that will wake you up terrified! Yay!

Things are making weird whistling and sighing noises in today's wind. I think it's powerful airflow around vents and stacks on my neighborhood's buildings.

Solvable problem, too, if you're willing to let go of the image of a heaping pile of steps and maybe consider the organization of the space outside the door. (The constructing of the Epstein Ballroom is a thornier issue.)

another year of us not running a super bowl ad

The latest NOAA analysis shows pack ice down most of the Chesapeake Bay.

🚨 New: We built a visual tracker of the warehouses ICE is targeting across the US. Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records. Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...

The Hill House Box is itself a very nifty piece of work by Carmody Groark: carmodygroarke.com/work/hill-ho...

The little news outlets are doing excellent work, but they are not right now a substitute for the Post's local coverage—never mind the Metro desk and regional bureaus of 15 years ago.

I am once again asking you to build in a Richardsonian Romanesque mode rather than in the Classical.

Hey MoCo MD blueskis, the moon is a sight to see this evening.

Happy Groundhog Day! I am a fan of the absurdity of weather prognosticating rodents and celebrate Groundhog Day with my thermochromic linocut. The shadow is visible if the ambient temperature is <30°C and disappears when >30°C (and it’s a safe bet winter is over or you are overheating your home). 🧵

Don't give the man any ideas—you can see how that worked out with Catesby Leigh.

You've never seen Mt. Washington like this 🤩🗻 Check out our virtual reality immersive view of this panorama: buff.ly/TdcHrjH Map: George H. Walker & Co.; Boston and Maine Railroad, "Birds-eye view from summit of Mt. Washington; White Mountains, New Hampshire" (1902): buff.ly/bW4XfJO

Tangier Sound is starting to freeze, threatening the boat links between Smith Island, Tangier Island, and the mainland. www.wboc.com/news/ice-beg...

Catesby Leigh, who proposed this arch, bemoaned the removal of Confederate statues from Richmond's Monument Ave. amidst the "mayhem triggered by George Floyd’s fatal arrest."

A hillshading study — multidirectional hillshading, but with two sets of shades, generalized (for large landforms) and more detailed.

SCOOP: 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, a tool Palantir made for ICE which brings up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address. The full user guide here:

M/V A.V. Sandusky, a State of Maryland icebreaker, at work near Annapolis. Maryland DNR operates three icebreakers, and there's also a Coast Guard icebreaking tug based in Baltimore. www.instagram.com/p/DUHcZ6XDV2Y/

CBP Air and Marine Operations flies several De Havilland Canada Dash 8s.

Is it time for a #bikeDC lane status thread? I've pivoted to WMATA for trips so far this week but am itching to get back on my preferred form of transit. 1st contribution: Pennsylvania Avenue NW lanes are cleared but riders should still use caution as icy patches are plentiful on the surface.

LOL, someone posted Emergency No Parking signs for a few spots in front of my building. One car that has moved out of those spaces in the last 5 days, and the spot's currently occupied by a VW Golf parked at a 40° angle.

The central heating plant at the University of Maryland keeps failing, meaning that campus is currently without heat and hot water. Classes are canceled and the school's suggested that students who live in dorms should return home. dbknews.com/2026/01/28/u...

I've pushed out my share of cars, and I'm fine driving in snow, thanks. But I haven't yet helped any stuck drivers this storm b/c I do not trust anyone I've seen. Drivers putting the van in reverse while there are people pushing behind; guy w. engine racing, black smoke, and no wheels spinning?

Don Draper voice: "it's a machine that turns diesel fuel into meltwater, it's a metaphor for the 20th century's impact on the environment"

The Chesapeake Bay is starting to freeze—today's map, issued by the National Ice Center, shows fast ice in the tidal fresh rivers at the head of the Bay, and on the Potomac off of Washington, with coverage expanding toward the south.

That the region’s stores have run out of salt means, at least, that we don’t have foolish people dumping piles of salt on their unshoveled pavement in the hopes that it’ll do something.

Maryland and New York legislators are exploring placing liens on federal property, if the administration withholds funds due to them. It occurs to me—how much is real property is a creature of the state government? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...

This plot from CNN’s article on measles is a *perfect* example of the dangers of auto-resizing plots. Although the data don’t change, and the communicated message *is* still correct, the impact of that message is very different on my phone and my wide-screen monitor.

Thinking wistfully about Ottawa and their fleet of sidewalk snowplows. Was there earlier this month, when a storm dumped 9" of snow in a few hours. Powdery snow in ~0–10°F weather, but sidewalks were clear even as flakes were easing.

The City of Annapolis has given up on requiring sidewalk clearing. www.facebook.com/CityOfAnnapo...

I've noticed that most/many mornings, a US Park Police helicopter launches from Anacostia and heads out to Great Falls, circles, then returns. Well, today it was the DC MPD helicopter instead. Is Eagle down because of weather?

Sea oats in the snow; and the wide part of Adams Mill remains unplowed.

Adams Morgan. We have a good 4–7 in. of snow and sleet on the ground. The "MELT ICE" sign has been up in some form or another since late summer.

Always reassuring when a faregate is telling me to “activate Windows.”

Last fall, on architecture/planning Reddit, there was a weird slew of students seeking advice on redevelopment proposals for L'Enfant Plaza. My bet was Catholic. (The projects were bad and the student/s unwilling to listen.)

Skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. A magnificent part of a city.

The sale and possible demolition of the "Sistine Chapel of the New Deal," in order to "drive maximum value for the federal real estate footprint," is on-brand.

Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC. There is obvious, bitter irony, but I think that a more hopeful read is available too.

Lac Pink, in Gatineau Park, Quebec, is known for being a vivid green, but it's currently frozen over.

“The whole thing is fucking senseless. I gave up trying to understand it.” Washingtonian talks with a DC National Guard soldier. washingtonian.com/2026/01/21/a...

So I thought, "let me edit this." On Grokipedia, you can suggest an edit, which I did. All edits go through grok, and here's what it said when it rejected my edit.

It’s sad that well-functioning adults are starting to assume that any well-structured, engaging writing is AI-generated. Sad in many ways.

Just learned that feds want to use the Patuxent Research Refuge for DHS and Secret Service training and are planning to clear a whole lot of forest intended for conversation and scientific research to do so. I called my congressperson. There is a lot going on but they cannot have Patuxent for this

DDOT's using bikeshare station ad space for posters that offer advice on snow removal — put snow in the planting strip, but stay clear of crosswalks and curb ramps.

NORAD is planning an air defense exercise over the DC area, between midnight and 2 am Wed, Jan 14 (tonight). wtop.com/local/2026/0...

DC Water is pausing its rollout of recalculated impervious area fees, a jump in water bills that took ratepayers by surprise. www.popville.com/2026/01/upda...