Chicago blizzard 2011 (Atlanta, Pulaski: neighborhoods, deal, cities)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by CoolSocks

When I volunteered at shelters over the summer, a lot were always at capacity and that was when it was nice outside so that's why I wondered.

I'm pretty sure that in Chicago and most other northern cities that there are shelters that only open during winter months or when temperatures fall below a certain point. Plus full-time shelters often have emergency areas that aren't set up to be full-time shelters but get pressed into service when necessary.

[tonythetuna]

Don't you know that Daley thinks that homelessness has almost been eradicated in Chicago?

[chicagojlo]

Normally when the temperature gets to a certain level they open some public buildings as warming (or cooling in summer) centers that they can go to. It includes police stations, libraries etc. Not sure if that was activated in this instance too but I'd guess it was.

[chicagojlo]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

Most of those people don't own shovels and when they do, they aren't for snow. That is part of the problem. Also, most of the towns there don't have much or any salt for the roads.

Friends of mine moved to Dallas a couple of years ago and it seems like they've gotten snow more times than we have - it might not be as much, but they're still shutting down the city each time. How many more winters of this does it take for them to realise that it's here to stay?

[chirack]

Originally Posted by chicagojlo

Friends of mine moved to Dallas a couple of years ago and it seems like they've gotten snow more times than we have - it might not be as much, but they're still shutting down the city each time. How many more winters of this does it take for them to realise that it's here to stay?

The problem they have is they don't have enough equipment or salt. That sort of stuff needs to be ready before the snow comes. The south is often paralyzed by bad winter weather because unlike northern cities they could go years without needs snow plows or salt but when they do they don't have enough on hand. Chicago knows it is going to snow at least 2-3 times in winter and so the investment is not wasted.

[chicagojlo]

But my point is it's not been a fluke the last few years, it's becoming a regular occurrence. At what point can they no longer get away with the 'unusual weather ' excuse?

[chirack]

Originally Posted by chicagojlo

But my point is it's not been a fluke the last few years, it's becoming a regular occurrence. At what point can they no longer get away with the 'unusual weather ' excuse?

Nah it just makes news. There are often times when say Atlanta is hit with snow but not Dallas.

This year is an odd ball even for Chicago. We usually get hit with more snow at a time(i..e. 3+) instead of the little snow falls we were having pre blizzard.

Chicago can expect snow on the ground from December to April. I was in Miami some years ago in April and it was like having May/June weather.

For much of the south having a large snow fleet is a bad investment. Even for Chicago it is not cheap. The city has like about 200+ snow plows.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by chicagojlo

But my point is it's not been a fluke the last few years, it's becoming a regular occurrence. At what point can they no longer get away with the 'unusual weather ' excuse?

For a long time apparently - about 10-15 years ago I used to travel to Dallas a few times a year for work and it seemed like they always had ice storms every time I visited in the winter. They really were not prepared for it, I had a hard time even finding a rental car with all season tires.

Considering the fact that this was a once every 15 year kind of snowfall (accompanied by 70 mph winds) I think the city has done a decent job so far. Keeping enough equipment and trained man power around to handle this type of storm without any glitches would probably be a waste of money. Within 24 hours of the snow stopping things were mostly back to normal, with a lot side streets still needing work. That's pretty typical of what I saw with similar snowfalls in Boston and other cities. Buffalo is regularly slammed with snow and they're well prepared for it, but I've had to stop there for the night a couple times because 10-15" snows were making the roads impassable. By the next day they would have it cleaned up to the point where you could get back on the road.

[snoylekim]

Originally Posted by chirack

Nah it just makes news. There are often times when say Atlanta is hit with snow but not Dallas.

This year is an odd ball even for Chicago. We usually get hit with more snow at a time(i..e. 3+) instead of the little snow falls we were having pre blizzard.

Chicago can expect snow on the ground from December to April. I was in Miami some years ago in April and it was like having May/June weather.

For much of the south having a large snow fleet is a bad investment. Even for Chicago it is not cheap. The city has like about 200+ snow plows.

Yes, there was a lot of noise in Atlanta about the lack of snow removal infrastructure after the recent storms..I think one of the figures used for rebuttal was that they'd need to spend 200 MM + to acquire equipment, salt & chemical stockpile, and overtime labor to even approach Chicago or the Northeast Cities capability .. I've travelled to Dallas frequently over the last 10 years , and must say that what they and most of Texas is getting now is very atypical .. We've never shut down more than two days, and we're on day 4 for some facilities ..

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

I see the south side made sure they did not stay out of the blizzard news.

Chicago firefighter attacked on South Side - chicagotribune.com

Sorry, I could not help it.

Another great blizzard story from the south side making sure they are not left out of the public eye.

Man shot, robbed of snowblower - Chicago Sun-Times