Snowcrete
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From François Lang:
The storm that Mother Nature visited upon the Washington DC area was unusually difficult because several inches of snow were followed by several more inches of sleet. This combination resulted in a top layer of solid ice which has been dubbed "snowcrete".
The same storm hit us in Philadelphia, so I know exactly what "snowcrete" is like.
Frustrated by city response, D.C. residents step up to help clear ‘snowcrete’:
As mounds of stubborn snow remained on some residential streets and other areas, many Washingtonians found their own ways of digging out, whether through charity, camaraderieor commerce.
WP (January 31, 2026)
By Brittany Shammas, Michael Laris and Ruby Mellen
I don't know about the city's response in DC, but in the towns and suburbs around Philadelphia, in most cases whole armies of plows were out in force, and they did a respectable job, although the snow was more than man and machine could handle efficiently right away.
Officials in D.C. and its surrounding suburbs have stressed the extraorinary nature of the Jan. 25 storm, which began with 4 to 7 inches of snow and was followed by up to 4 inches of sleet. The amount of sleet — snow that falls, melts and refreezes into ice pellets before hitting the ground — was more than had hit the region in at least three decades, according to the Capital Weather Gang. Brutally frigid temperatures in the days since has kept things from melting.
I realize that people were frustrated and badly inconvenienced by the snow and sleet, but I am in sympathy with the public servants who had to move all of that heavy, cumbersome snow and ice.
As François cautioned, "Be careful walking on that snowcrete. I've slipped and fallen on my derrière a couple times already."
The snowcrete was bad enough, but I think even worse were the unremitting weeks of sub-freezing temperatures. Truly painful.
This is the fiercest winter of my whole life. I can understand Punxsutawney Phil running back down in his burrow this morning, but I hope that he doesn't stay there for more than six weeks!
Selected readings
- "Schneewind" (1/30/26)
- "'No word for X meets snowcloning" (11/20/20
- "Linguistic relativity: snow and horses" (4/15/25)
- "Snowclone" — Language Log played a major role in the conceptualization and popularization of this word
- "Punxsutawney and Maxatawny" (1/21/25)