All weather, all the time

I hate winter.

I hate cold weather.

I hate snow.

This is not going to be a good week.

There will not be any news this week. There will only be snow. Or the chance of snow. And preparing for snow. I'm not a meteorologist. I don't even play one on TV.

But it certainly seems like we're in the crosshairs of some kind of winter weather event late Friday into Saturday. Armageddon? Probably not. But it is giving every appearance of a plowable snow event.

That will not stop TV stations from going into weather nirvana. They already were breaking out the "preparing for the storm" stories last night. One crew showed up at the Home Depot up on Baltimore Pike and confirmed they still has shovels in stock. You just have to love TV.

I don't care about the European model. I usually look out the window or stick my head out the front door. That's about all I need to know. It's cold out. Very cold. I'm as guilty as the next. I had a reporter do a story yesterday on the possibility of snow arriving for the weekend. I know I should not complain. Aside from that dusting Sunday, we have had nary a flake to concern ourselves this winter.

And even I can admit Sunday's landscape was actually a nice diversion. The drab mud and gray of winter was transformed into a glistening frosty white canvas. When the sun broke out late in the afternoon, it was actually quite beautiful.

Then I walked outside Monday morning and encountered the kind of cold that reminds me that when I retire I really only want one thing: I don't ever want to be cold again.

In the meantime, you've been warned. It's going to be a long week. Here's what our pals at AccuWeather are saying. Over at the National Weather Service, they seem to be leaning toward snow arriving earlier in the day on Friday and continuing through Saturday. Swell.