"Atlanta doesn't have a REAL winter ..." (Boston: living in, stations)

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

A lack of snow removal equipment isn't the issue when it comes to ice.

A lack of ice melting agent is the real issue here, IMO. It's ice on the roads and ramps which causes the most issues in Atlanta.

It's possible that is also an investment, and I don't know storage cost and other requirements, but sand and crude salt/sand mixes are really substandard fixes compared to what is available elsewhere.

Things like calcium chloride and other less damaging substances are available, but I'd settle for crude sand/salt over the stuff they were throwing down last year. Gravel does little to improve melting or traction but does cause cracked windshields and chipped paint. At least sand and salt melt the ice and provide traction. We were sitting around for a week with ice still on the roads in some spots last year.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Things like calcium chloride and other less damaging substances are available, but I'd settle for crude sand/salt over the stuff they were throwing down last year. Gravel does little to improve melting or traction but does cause cracked windshields and chipped paint. At least sand and salt melt the ice and provide traction. We were sitting around for a week with ice still on the roads in some spots last year.

But that ice storm was very unusual. I can't recall it ever being that bad. With our ice storms the biggest problem is downed power lines. We might have one snow event per year if that and it's gone in a day or two.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

But that ice storm was very unusual. I can't recall it ever being that bad. With our ice storms the biggest problem is downed power lines. We might have one snow event per year if that and it's gone in a day or two.

True, but what do you do when it sticks around? Shut down the city for a week as they did? Keep the kids out of school for a week, because they're scared stiff that one kid will get hurt and sue the school system?

It's not like Atlanta never gets snow or never gets ice storms. They happen on a regular basis. We're not Savannah or Jacksonville. What they are starting to do is what many towns up north do....they contract out with private parties to provide those services on demand. That way the town (or in our case city or county) doesn't make the capital purchase but pays as an operating expense.

[mco65]

one of the things that I love about Atlanta is the mild winters.. But on that note, school did shut down for a week last year for a storm that crippled the city for 3 days or more.. I just stayed home with the kids, no biggie.

[Cleg Burris]

Cleg burris here. I lived down there once, but didn't like it twice as much as where I was from before that. So, I just stayed a little while before moving on to colder climes. Heat suits me fine, since I rarely wear much anyhow.

[A2DAC1985]

I have a few stories to think about:


I'm from Indiana, and I now live in Chicago.

I had a friend who went to UGA. One winter, she told me that UGA shut down for the day (cancelled classes) because there was a frost warning.

During that same period of time in Indiana, the college/area I was in had 8-12 inches of snow. Classes were not cancelled.




A couple years ago (in Indiana) we had a cold streak of about two weeks where the high never broke 15 degrees. Many days the high was hovering around 0. Suddenly, one day, the temperature rose to around 33-34 degrees.

I took the dog outside in nothing but shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt. Why? Because when you live with low temperatures and wind chills below zero, 32 feels like its 60.



The first time I went to Las Vegas it was around Halloween. During the night it dropped down to 60ish degrees in the desert. I was walking around in a T-shirt and shorts. MANY people had on sweatshirts/hoodies/winter coats and pants.

Walking into a casino was like walking into a pizza oven. The hurricane speed hot air that was blown your way was ridiculous.


Could anyone in Atlanta, or Georgia, ever fathom going outside in 32 degrees without a parka?


As others have said, it's all relative. But with that relativity, you have to acknowledge, it's all subjective and dependent on previous and current conditions you have lived through.

With that in mind, for the contiguous United States, Atlanta does not have a "real" winter.

[alco89]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

I had a friend who went to UGA. One winter, she told me that UGA shut down for the day (cancelled classes) because there was a frost warning.

Now I have a HARD TIME believing that. There are countless times it gets below freezing and class was never cancelled. Maybe she meant Winter Storm Warning...that'll do it.

[GeorgiatoChina]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

I have a few stories to think about:


I'm from Indiana, and I now live in Chicago.

I had a friend who went to UGA. One winter, she told me that UGA shut down for the day (cancelled classes) because there was a frost warning.

During that same period of time in Indiana, the college/area I was in had 8-12 inches of snow. Classes were not cancelled.




A couple years ago (in Indiana) we had a cold streak of about two weeks where the high never broke 15 degrees. Many days the high was hovering around 0. Suddenly, one day, the temperature rose to around 33-34 degrees.

I took the dog outside in nothing but shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt. Why? Because when you live with low temperatures and wind chills below zero, 32 feels like its 60.



The first time I went to Las Vegas it was around Halloween. During the night it dropped down to 60ish degrees in the desert. I was walking around in a T-shirt and shorts. MANY people had on sweatshirts/hoodies/winter coats and pants.

Walking into a casino was like walking into a pizza oven. The hurricane speed hot air that was blown your way was ridiculous.


Could anyone in Atlanta, or Georgia, ever fathom going outside in 32 degrees without a parka?


As others have said, it's all relative. But with that relativity, you have to acknowledge, it's all subjective and dependent on previous and current conditions you have lived through.

With that in mind, for the contiguous United States, Atlanta does not have a "real" winter.

UGA is not in the Atlanta area.

[Rabbi Schmooey Liebowitz]

People in the south are disingenuous about the winter. I live in Charlotte which, while it's a few degrees colder than Atlanta, neverthless gets snow practically every year and has several days per winter in the 30s and 40s. It's not Tel Aviv, but people act like it is.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

I had a friend who went to UGA. One winter, she told me that UGA shut down for the day (cancelled classes) because there was a frost warning.

LOl, either your friend was confused or she embellished the story to make it more interesting. Nobody shuts down over a frost warning, not even along the Gulf Coast.