Okay this is re-FUCKIN-diculous

[eyeteach]

I live in the southeastern United States, it ain't supposed to snow down here! Damn it's cold.

 

[Sevrin]

Living in Canada, snow is something that happens all the time, but we're a lot better prepared. Weather that will shut down an airport even in a place as far north as NYC usually doesn't affect our operations here in Montreal. Having to deal with snow adds quite a bit to the cost of living in a colder latitude. It really makes us appreciate our summers.

It must be pretty scary driving in snow without winter tires if you aren't used to it. Hope it warms up soon down there. Stay safe.

 

[Bocefish]

Kudos to everyone pulling together... but y'all need need to elect someone who will be better prepared for natural contingencies.

Considering how Valdez, AK (one of my all time favorite towns) has been cut off by avalanches with 40+ feet of snow... it kind of boggles memelon how a mere 4-6 inches of snow can cause such havoc and life threatening situations.

 

[zippypinhead]

Kudos to everyone pulling together... but y'all need need to elect someone who will be better prepared for natural contingencies.

Considering how Valdez, AK (one of my all time favorite towns) has been cut off by avalanches with 40+ feet of snow... it kind of boggles memelon how a mere 4-6 inches of snow can cause such havoc and life threatening situations.

Doesn't make much sense to prepare for snow in places that only ever see the stuff once every generation or so. If we want to carry over your comparison, it would be like a tropical storm hitting Valdez, AK. It would be reasonably surprising.

 

[Bocefish]

Doesn't make much sense to prepare for snow in places that only ever see the stuff once every generation or so.

Every generation?

Check out how long it's been.

Prepare to deal with more "stuff" or don't.

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

Kudos to everyone pulling together... but y'all need need to elect someone who will be better prepared for natural contingencies.

Considering how Valdez, AK (one of my all time favorite towns) has been cut off by avalanches with 40+ feet of snow... it kind of boggles memelon how a mere 4-6 inches of snow can cause such havoc and life threatening situations.

I absolutely LOVE your default pic.

 

[Shaun__]

When I was driving home in it, the first day, the snow had already melted and refroze. I was having to go around trucks that could not get up ice covered hills with just rear wheel drive. I barely got up a couple of them myself.

 

[eyeteach]

When I was driving home in it, the first day, the snow had already melted and refroze. I was having to go around trucks that could not get up ice covered hills with just rear wheel drive. I barely got up a couple of them myself.

Yep, same here. It amazes me that people don't realize what the low gears are for.

 

[eyeteach]

Prepare to deal with more "stuff" or don't.

That's just it, we weren't fully prepared because every meteorologist predicted that we'd get only a "light dusting" where I live; that light dusting turned into 3-4 inches. Hurricanes we can deal with, I know people that live on the coast that throw hurricane parties when those hit and know how to ride them out. Tornadoes we can deal with; if they're not at least categorized as F-4's we consider them merely as strong winds...snow paralyzes the ever loving shit out of us.

 

[Sevrin]

Prepare to deal with more "stuff" or don't.

That's just it, we weren't fully prepared because every meteorologist predicted that we'd get only a "light dusting" where I live; that light dusting turned into 3-4 inches. Hurricanes we can deal with, I know people that live on the coast that throw hurricane parties when those hit and know how to ride them out. Tornadoes we can deal with; if they're not at least categorized as F-4's we consider them merely as strong winds...snow paralyzes the ever loving shit out of us.

That's a fair comparision. We had some of the strongest winds we've seen in ages this past year and it gave us a taste of what folks in the Southeast have to deal with regularly.

 

[camstory]

A Model friend who lives is the SE seemed quite upset at all the comments on social media coming from ppl in Ohio, Wisconsin, New England, etc, that the problems were all due to the lack of skill to drive in such conditions. The difference that experience plays in driving on snow covered roads is marginal, and if you are running standard fair weather rubber, a heavy snow becomes the great equalizer, as no one can drive well in such conditions. I suggested that ppl in the south tended to communicate with a simple ease, and grace, an ability not so often possessed by the mass of Yankees commenting on social media, and maybe a graceful STFU was in line, b/c blaming the current conundrums of the S/SE on driving skills was nether accurate, or helpful.

 

[EdgarAllenWhoa]

Just use all your guns and shoot the ice and bad weather till its all gone!

 

[Shaun__]

Just use all your guns and shoot the ice and bad weather till its all gone!

:roll: You have no idea how expensive ammo has gotten over the last few years do you?

 

[EdgarAllenWhoa]

Just use all your guns and shoot the ice and bad weather till its all gone!

:roll: You have no idea how expensive ammo has gotten over the last few years do you?

Really? ..that's the only problem with my suggestion :lol:

Well, I figured you all down yonders would have had your bunkers loaded with extra ordinance along with Slim Jims and receptacles for storing your own urine?

I be a guessin' you all might have not bought that extra .50 cal machine gun. Saved some money and bought a shovel and a bag of rock salt?


Is it possible my view of the south is slightly stilted?

:character-hobbes:

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Just use all your guns and shoot the ice and bad weather till its all gone!

:roll: You have no idea how expensive ammo has gotten over the last few years do you?

That's why you need to reload your own shells. Do some with buck salt. Shoot it at the ice and it continues to melt it for you.

 

[MrRodry]

I want to shoot the weather too...

 

[Brad]

I see idiots around here all the time (Northern Illinois) that can't drive for shit in snow/ice. Stupid 4 wheel drive is partially to blame as I believe it gives some folks a false sense of security in crappy weather. It aint the driving that will get you, it's the stopping (or lack of) that puts them in the ditches.
:roll:

When I went to school at SIU in Carbondale, IL we had a 6 inch snowfall and they shut down the school. The town only had one snow plow so it was shut down too. I was out driving around in it and didn't understand the big deal.
:lol:

 

[Sevrin]

Here in Québec people were so negligent, that a couple of years ago, the government finally made snow tires mandatory from December 15-March 15. It's helped some, but people still manage to end up in the ditch on highways and get into fender benders in the city. When it's bad, it's actually just as fast to get to work by public transportation (as long as most of it is by subway) as it is by car. Not to mention far less stressful.

Atlanta's big problem in this kind of weather seems to be the almost complete lack of public transportation. Heavy snow can interfere with light rail, but a couple of inches like they had wouldn't be a problem.

 

[pradd1917]

Just got 12"+ here in Boston! It's funny some people are so used to driving in this weather they can drive completely normal and others stick at about 10 mph.

 

[Bocefish]

we weren't fully prepared because every meteorologist predicted that we'd get only a "light dusting" where I live; that light dusting turned into 3-4 inches.

3-4 inches

This should handle it provided you keep up with it.

 

[LilyEvans]

Well, besides the fact that the infrastructure simply doesn't support a means for handling the weather, the people have no idea how to handle it.

Seriously, in a lot of southern places it snows every year but they only get a crippling storm once every two to five years. That's just not frequent enough to invest in the kinds of equipment and personnel to take care of it. It would be like preparing for earthquakes in the midwest.

A few years ago I was in an ice storm in south Texas. As I was fighting my way home (ended up taking 10 hours to go 60 miles, we made it 30 miles before we had to cut our losses and go back) I saw one of those trucks that salts the road...in a ditch. On its side.

Before anyone gets on my case my friend from Canada was driving the car and said he'd never seen such bad driving conditions. A lot of times snow storms in the south are actually ICE storms, because the ground is warm so the snow melts and then freezes. Meanwhile you have a bunch of idiots who don't realize you can't keep going 70 MPH in a blizzard and it's the perfect disaster.

 

[eyeteach]

Well, besides the fact that the infrastructure simply doesn't support a means for handling the weather, the people have no idea how to handle it.

Seriously, in a lot of southern places it snows every year but they only get a crippling storm once every two to five years. That's just not frequent enough to invest in the kinds of equipment and personnel to take care of it. It would be like preparing for earthquakes in the midwest.

A few years ago I was in an ice storm in south Texas. As I was fighting my way home (ended up taking 10 hours to go 60 miles, we made it 30 miles before we had to cut our losses and go back) I saw one of those trucks that salts the road...in a ditch. On its side.

Before anyone gets on my case my friend from Canada was driving the car and said he'd never seen such bad driving conditions. A lot of times snow storms in the south are actually ICE storms, because the ground is warm so the snow melts and then freezes. Meanwhile you have a bunch of idiots who don't realize you can't keep going 70 MPH in a blizzard and it's the perfect disaster.

You are SPOT on regarding the ice. Good call.

 

[Just Me]

Well, besides the fact that the infrastructure simply doesn't support a means for handling the weather, the people have no idea how to handle it.

Seriously, in a lot of southern places it snows every year but they only get a crippling storm once every two to five years. That's just not frequent enough to invest in the kinds of equipment and personnel to take care of it. It would be like preparing for earthquakes in the midwest.

A few years ago I was in an ice storm in south Texas. As I was fighting my way home (ended up taking 10 hours to go 60 miles, we made it 30 miles before we had to cut our losses and go back) I saw one of those trucks that salts the road...in a ditch. On its side.

Before anyone gets on my case my friend from Canada was driving the car and said he'd never seen such bad driving conditions. A lot of times snow storms in the south are actually ICE storms, because the ground is warm so the snow melts and then freezes. Meanwhile you have a bunch of idiots who don't realize you can't keep going 70 MPH in a blizzard and it's the perfect disaster.

You are SPOT on regarding the ice. Good call.

You can give me 5 feet of snow over a quarter inch of freezing rain any day of the week. :thumbleft:

 

[SaffronBurke]

Prepare to deal with more "stuff" or don't.

That's just it, we weren't fully prepared because every meteorologist predicted that we'd get only a "light dusting" where I live; that light dusting turned into 3-4 inches. Hurricanes we can deal with, I know people that live on the coast that throw hurricane parties when those hit and know how to ride them out. Tornadoes we can deal with; if they're not at least categorized as F-4's we consider them merely as strong winds...snow paralyzes the ever loving shit out of us.

Here in Iowa, 3-4" IS a "light dusting". And we're still not used to it. A couple blizzards ago this year (mid-Jan), we had a 24-car pile-up on one part of the freeway, 40+ pile-up in another spot. The straight bits, even. People were dumb and driving WAY too close to other cars. Space - you need it in bad weather.

A friend of mine lived in Oklahoma for a few years. His girlfriend was visiting from Iowa when a storm hit. They got 6" of snow, so he drove her car to work. He got pulled over, in the car with the Iowa plates, and told to go home, because it wasn't safe to drive. He explained to the officer that he's from Iowa, and used to three times this much snow. The officer repeated that it wasn't safe and he needed to go home.

 

[Bocefish]

Well, besides the fact that the infrastructure simply doesn't support a means for handling the weather, the people have no idea how to handle it.

Seriously, in a lot of southern places it snows every year but they only get a crippling storm once every two to five years. That's just not frequent enough to invest in the kinds of equipment and personnel to take care of it. It would be like preparing for earthquakes in the midwest.

I'm not quite sure what you mean about your infrastructure not being able to handle the weather. I would think a crippling storm every 2-5 years would be often enough to have some contingency plans in place. I'm almost certain y'all have vehicles already being maintained that can be fitted to handle the rare seasonal addition of a plow and salt spreader when needed. The added expenditure would be minimal, especially if a deal was struck with neighboring states. If it was maybe once every decade, that would be a different story.

If the midwest had devastating earthquakes every 2-5 years, I'm sure new construction requirements would be upgraded to better handle at least the milder ones.

I've been through several ice storms in the Pacific Northwest and realize there isn't much you can do about those, but a few inches of snow should not have created the havoc it did.

:twocents-02cents:

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Well, besides the fact that the infrastructure simply doesn't support a means for handling the weather, the people have no idea how to handle it.

Seriously, in a lot of southern places it snows every year but they only get a crippling storm once every two to five years. That's just not frequent enough to invest in the kinds of equipment and personnel to take care of it. It would be like preparing for earthquakes in the midwest.

I'm not quite sure what you mean about your infrastructure not being able to handle the weather. I would think a crippling storm every 2-5 years would be often enough to have some contingency plans in place. I'm almost certain y'all have vehicles already being maintained that can be fitted to handle the rare seasonal addition of a plow and salt spreader when needed. The added expenditure would be minimal, especially if a deal was struck with neighboring states. If it was maybe once every decade, that would be a different story.

If the midwest had devastating earthquakes every 2-5 years, I'm sure new construction requirements would be upgraded to better handle at least the milder ones.

I've been through several ice storms in the Pacific Northwest and realize there isn't much you can do about those, but a few inches of snow should not have created the havoc it did.

:twocents-02cents:

It's not worth the investment to buy heavier trucks that are dedicated to snow removal in most southern states. The trucks that can be converted are not well suited to that task either. Also there's not much sense in stock piling salt, or other snow melting chemicals for years until it may be needed. It's not just the salt it's also the building to put it in and land to store it. The main reason it is not is because unlike most northern states when they do get that massive snowstorm that shuts down everything, they can jut wait a few days for it to melt. It doesn't make sense to devote millions and millions in a state budget for something that only happens every few years at best and won't affect people for long when it does.

Now if the snow stayed on the ground for the whole winter and shut down stuff long term, then that would make financial sense.

 

[Bocefish]

It's not worth the investment to buy heavier trucks that are dedicated to snow removal in most southern states. The trucks that can be converted are not well suited to that task either. Also there's not much sense in stock piling salt, or other snow melting chemicals for years until it may be needed. It's not just the salt it's also the building to put it in and land to store it. The main reason it is not is because unlike most northern states when they do get that massive snowstorm that shuts down everything, they can jut wait a few days for it to melt. It doesn't make sense to devote millions and millions in a state budget for something that only happens every few years at best and won't affect people for long when it does.

After some brief investigating...

Apparently, the state already has enough plows with salters, but they couldn't get to the Atlanta area interstate where most of the gridlock was.

The Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner said crews had been deployed farther south, but then scrambled closer to Atlanta as the storm got under way. But the traffic already choking the roads also blocked salt and sand trucks and snowplows.

As for the town of Atlanta itself, at a minimum, I would still suggest outfitting some of the city's dump trucks, or other suitable vehicles with the additional capability for spreading salt and make a deal with the state to share the salt when storms are predicted.

:twocents-02cents:

 

[Shaun__]

I went to my doctor appointment this morning, and none of the doctors showed up, so I got sent home. I should have stayed home and drank hot chocolate.

 

[Bocefish]

If the inbound ice storm is as bad as they say, prepare to be without power for at least a few days. One of the eeriest experiences I ever had was just after a nasty ice storm in NW Washington state. The night was was dead silent for a while after the ice storm... then it sounded like an army of 100 foot tall monsters were walking through the forest. The sound of HUGE tree limbs slowly crackling then snapping and crashing to the forest floor broke the silence and echoed for miles. This went on all night into the next day and was one of the eeriest feelings ever.

 

[Shaun__]

If the inbound ice storm is as bad as they say, prepare to be without power for at least a few days. One of the eeriest experiences I ever had was just after a nasty ice storm in NW Washington state. The night was was dead silent for a while after the ice storm... then it sounded like an army of 100 foot tall monsters were walking through the forest. The sound of HUGE tree limbs slowly crackling then snapping and crashing to the forest floor broke the silence and echoed for miles. This went on all night into the next day and was one of the eeriest feelings ever.

I can set up my camping stuff and rough it inside if I need to do so. I am hoping my power and internet stay good though.