Winter Storm Watch 1/29/19 - Up to 2" of Snow (Atlanta: living in, bus)

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by stillinthesouth

According to the Weather Channel, we're just supposed to get rain and wet snow early tomorrow, and then temps aren't forecasted to drop below freezing until the evening after dry air moves in. The decision to shut down schools is downright embarrassing.

Why is it embarrassing? I've never understood why people freak out over the cancellation of school. It's a free day for kids - snow days were SO exciting to me as a kid, it's a nice unexpected break. And missing a single day of school is a small price to pay for insurance against am event that leads to major delays or even accidents with parents trying to pick up their kids.

It's not a big deal, and it's certainly not embarrassing.

[MattCW]

Well, to be fair, it can cause hardship on parents as they now have to make arrangements for the kids if they're own work doesn't let them off. Even if they're allowed to work remotely, many companies demand a quiet, distraction-free workplace from their employees.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by whodean

After the snowmaggedon of 2015 (or whenever it was), officials are very VERY sensitive to allowing any chance for a repeat. The pendulum has swung far in the direction of playing it safe.

Originally Posted by whodean

The cost of cancelling things for a day are very hugely dwarfed by the cost of another Snowmaggedon.

Especially when we're less than a week away from hosting the Super Bowl.

FWIW the current forecast for Sunday is cool and rainy--but no winter weather. Let's be glad we got this out of our system now and not Sunday.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

Ahem...
The New York Area Was Nearly Paralyzed by 6 Inches of Snow. What Went Wrong?

Those guys got in a good chuckle when our city was paralyzed by a large ice storm. I thought they "knew how to drive in that"

A few differences, to be fair...

1. 6" is a lot more snow than 1-2" (the forecast for Atlanta).

2. That much snow wasn't predicted (they were forecasted to receive light snow that quickly flipped to rain).

3. The snow fell at a rate of 2" per hour (which, outside of LES and thundersnow, is pretty extreme). Atlanta's snow is expected to fall at a much lighter rate.

[stillinthesouth]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Why is it embarrassing? I've never understood why people freak out over the cancellation of school. It's a free day for kids - snow days were SO exciting to me as a kid, it's a nice unexpected break. And missing a single day of school is a small price to pay for insurance against am event that leads to major delays or even accidents with parents trying to pick up their kids.

It's not a big deal, and it's certainly not embarrassing.

I don't think it's a big deal, nor do I want to begrudge kids their snow day. (I used to LIVE for unexpected snow days as a kid.) Still, it seems a bit foolish to close schools given the current forecast.

Oh well, let the kids enjoy their snow day... or is that "snow-less" day.

[Soccernerd]

Originally Posted by citidata18

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
236 PM EST Sun Jan 27 2019


GAZ001>009-011>016-019>023-030>034-041>045-052>055-280345-
/O.NEW.KFFC.WS.A.0001.190129T0900Z-190130T0300Z/
Dade-Walker-Catoosa-Whitfield-Murray-Fannin-Gilmer-Union-Towns-
Chattooga-Gordon-Pickens-Dawson-Lumpkin-White-Floyd-Bartow-
Cherokee-Forsyth-Hall-Polk-Paulding-Cobb-North Fulton-Gwinnett-
Haralson-Carroll-Douglas-South Fulton-DeKalb-Heard-Coweta-Fayette-
Clayton-
Including the cities of Calhoun, Dahlonega, Cleveland, Rome,
Cartersville, Gainesville, Marietta, Atlanta, Lawrenceville,
Carrollton, Douglasville, East Point, Decatur, Newnan,
and Peachtree City
236 PM EST Sun Jan 27 2019

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH
TUESDAY EVENING...

* WHAT...Snow possible. Total snow accumulations of up to 2
inches, with locally higher amounts possible in the higher
terrain of northern Georgia.

* WHERE...Mainly along and north of a line from Franklin to
Jonesboro to Gainesville.

* WHEN...From late Monday night through Tuesday evening.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. The
hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening
commute.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant
snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue
to monitor the latest forecasts.

&&

$$

I read that in the same exact voice as my dad’s weather radio lol

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Well, let's be fair.

In the southern climate, snow tuns into water fairly quickly after hitting the ground and then refreezes when the temps drop. So what we actually end up with is ice. And I don't care how long you grew up in Alaska, how good your tires are, or the horsepower behind your 4x4... NOBODY can (or should) drive on sheets of ice.

It's not the snow. That's no problem. The trouble is, we get ice. That can bring any city to its knees.

They're playing it safe, which looks a little silly. But they don't want a disaster while we're in the spotlight during Super Bowl week, and I don't blame them.

Exactly! And much respect to all the people who are being pressured to go to work tomorrow. I don't miss retail not that they are the only ones non-emergency that get pushed to go to work.



I'd rather things get shut down that have to drive on ice. It's so hard coming out of my neighborhood when we get ice. The last time we got snow/ice, cars were everywhere. It was a nightmare! Driving less than 5 miles was a huge issue for me.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by citidata18

A few differences, to be fair...

1. 6" is a lot more snow than 1-2" (the forecast for Atlanta).

2. That much snow wasn't predicted (they were forecasted to receive light snow that quickly flipped to rain).

3. The snow fell at a rate of 2" per hour (which, outside of LES and thundersnow, is pretty extreme). Atlanta's snow is expected to fall at a much lighter rate.

I think I already addressed a post similar to the one you quoted, Citidata18. The two storms shouldn't ever be compared to one another. They were suppose to get maybe 2 inches of snow at most and ended up getting a minimum of six inches. I remember other places got 8 inches with some reaching almost a foot. Any resident will tell you that the snow came fast and hard. Something changed the storm before it hit NY and NY was in for a real surprise.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

I think I already addressed a post similar to the one you quoted, Citidata18. The two storms shouldn't ever be compared to one another. They were suppose to get maybe 2 inches of snow at most and ended up getting a minimum of six inches. I remember other places got 8 inches with some reaching almost a foot. Any resident will tell you that the snow came fast and hard. Something changed the storm before it hit NY and NY was in for a real surprise.

A similar thing happened during the Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles game back on 12/8/13 (the best game ever IMO).

Only 1-2" of snow was expected at the onset with a changeover to rain. That changeover never occurred by and the end of the game they had 10" of fresh snow on the field.

By the time everyone realized the storm would overachieve big time, it was too late to cancel/postpone it.

https://youtu.be/zI6okeE7Zx0

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Why is it embarrassing? I've never understood why people freak out over the cancellation of school. It's a free day for kids - snow days were SO exciting to me as a kid, it's a nice unexpected break. And missing a single day of school is a small price to pay for insurance against am event that leads to major delays or even accidents with parents trying to pick up their kids.

It's not a big deal, and it's certainly not embarrassing.

It’s expected in Atlanta to shut everything down. But anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line you’d call it light snow and just make the kids wear a hat to school. Where I grew up you wouldn’t cancel school unless there were blizzard conditions.

Without road clearing equipment, winter or good all weather tires and drivers used to driving on snow and ice it would be a disaster.

BTW, kids just had a day off last week for MLK. So it’s fun but parents do have to make arrangements.