UPDATE: Saturday, February 6, 7:24pm

Depending on where you are, the snow may've ceased. Is it momentary? Is it for good? (Or, at least until Tuesday?) Take a break from your shovels and scope out the snowfall so far:

Snow removal in Walker's Square

The Amtrak station

Snow piles on the Downtown Mall

Send more to Brendan@c-ville.com.

UPDATE: Friday, February 5, 4:39pm

Some of us may get to know our neighbors a lot better before this snow subsides. Others may not see our neighbors for days.  With weather alerts beginning to add the dreaded phrase "Some locations in excess of 30 inches," we say, let's keep in touch, folks. Send photos of the ongoing snowfall to brendan@c-ville.com, and we'll try to post a variety of snapshots from around the city and county. Here are two from Fontaine Avenue:

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UPDATE: Friday, February 5, 12:56pm

The Albemarle County/Charlottesville/UVA Emergency Operations Center was activated this morning at 8am. County officials are looking for residents with 4X4 to help with emergency transports if needed.

According to a County news release, a shelter was opened at Monticello High School and is staffed with personnel from Social Services, Red Cross, Health Department and the Albemarle County Sheriff Department.

For more information, call (434) 979-INFO.

Here are some photos of the Downtown Mall.

Outside our C-VILLE Weekly offices

It's really coming down! On Friday at 1:15pm

Big trees, big flakes.

Yesterday, Albemarle County Executive Bob Tucker encouraged area businesses to follow the lead of city and county offices and close shop today during the start of what will likely be a two-day snowstorm. A quick, non-comprehensive glance at the Downtown Mall shows that at least a dozen or so businesses remain open at present as of 10:50am.

An employee of Market Street Market tells C-VILLE that the store has been "very busy." Around the corner, The Nook hosted a few breakfast customers and both Chaps and Java Java kept pouring coffee, as did Mudhouse and Café Cubano at the other end of the Mall.

Both Bank of America and Wachovia remain open, but the latter bank closed at 11am (see photos below). Lines were visible in CVS.

There are even a few surprises among specialty retailers. Alakazam toy store is open at present, as is local book store Read It Again, Sam.

What about other city and county businesses? Let us know.

A customer leaves Market Street Market this morning.

A few city employees scattered salt outside Wachovia bank...

...which closed at 11am.