I'm John Batson, with my colleague Jim McTag, former Washington editor of Barron's magazine, now a novelist

in Lancaster County, the best county in the Keystone State. The Bellwether, a leader,

everything that can go wrong or go right happens in Lancaster. Right now, the Blizzard of 26.

Jim, a very good evening to you.

As I understand it, Lancaster County is battening down for snow as high as, well, I don't know how high it could get.

What do you see outside, Jim?

You've been shopping today.

Are people rushing the snow shovel lines?

Good evening to you.

Good evening, John.

Although they haven't had a major snowstorm here since 2021, native Pennsylvanians are acclimated to events like this one.

It will only be six to ten inches. So we all drive giant SUVs and pickup trucks, you know, with a huge

moonlander-sized tires and we're not intimidated.

We don't see, you don't see people rushing to the store and emptying the shelves of essentials like toilet paper and coffee creamer and, you know, whatever they do in panicky locations south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Now, our weather people, on the other hand, like the hype, this coming storm, this 2,300-mile winter storm, to the point that it's like we're sitting on top of the super volcano in Yellowstone.

But not even the weather people here are able to panic the public.

Now, you come from a place that is panicky.

That's Alexandria.

What was it like when snow closed on Washington?

I remember Snowmageddon.

You were there for that.

I was.

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