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It sure is a lot different nowadays! But I can still get fed up with the cold, gray days and when I get to having a pity party I put on the DVD "The Donner Party" by PBS and reality sets in again for me.
So terrible that I moan if my feet feel a little cold when I'm standing in the kitchen while cooking nuke food in the microwave. Or, heaven forbid, have to drive 1/2 mile to the grocery store after we receive a whopping 1/2 inch of snow! It's about that time I tell myself to "get over it!".
For me, the heaviest snowfall in the KC Metro Area was October 1996, about 8"; and it melted off pretty quickly. If this area received a foot or more of snow I think most would hide under their beds.
There have been plenty of snows larger than that in KC, but everything closes down for the smallest events, would never happen in the Midwest. I think this is one reason why northerners look at KC as being more southern in mentality, as being terrified of snow is laughable. The largest snow I remember was 15'' in February 1993 in the southern part of the metro.
Honestly - those of you who think this storm and its repercussions are a big joke should be ashamed of yourselves. Just because some of you are perhaps used to snow and ice, or like it or whatever does not mean that everybody feels the same way. People panic and die in instances like this. I do agree that media does definitely overplay BUT they do an excellent job of letting the masses know what's coming in a timely manner and giving them plenty of time to react, plan, prepare, and hopefully relocate if they are able to.
I see no reason to laugh, point fingers, or make fun of people who are not prepared for this kind of a storm. Nobody wants to die for pete's sake. We're lucky that we have the technology today that the weathermen can alert us to what's coming - but they can't control what we do with that knowledge. Some people are like lemmings - they just follow the herd. Run to the store, buy stuff they aren't sure they will or won't need, worry needlessly, etc. They don't know what else to do.....
So, next time you all snort and chuckle at how those southerners, or north-easterner's or (insert whatever) remember the first time you experienced it yourself. Were you calm and collected? Was it amusing? Did you enjoy it? Didn't think so....cut them some slack...
I grew up and live in the midwest. I know about snow, ice, tornado's, etc. Have experienced them up close and personal, but I don't want to do it again, or over and over. I want to get through it as painlessly as the next person....and God willing we all do.
You folks on the East coast - hunker down and stay safe. There's at least one of us here that doesn't think this is a big joke or that you guys deserve it. Hope it ends soon with no loss of life. Good luck to you all.....
Thank you for this voice of reason. FWIW - as a couple of other people have pointed out - the areas that often have the most problems are those where a "snow storm" is often an "ice storm". States like the Carolinas. I have driven on packed snow - but wouldn't dare drive on ice intentionally (have done it unintentionally when visiting in-laws in North Carolina - got caught in a couple of storms - it's very frightening!).
Not only is the driving treacherous in ice storms - but ice brings down power lines too:
It's bad enough to lose power when it's warm. To lose it when it's cold and snowing - well I can't imagine it. Note that I'm sure many reasonable people take precautions when it comes to this kind of event (just like reasonable people do in Florida at the beginning of hurricane season). But a lot of newer residents in these states are older retired people. Who are less able to prepare for/cope with these things than younger people.
When it comes to this storm - it seems like a lot of the snow - at least in the NYC metro area where many of the news people were - was almost like western "powder" - less likely to accumulate on trees/bring down power lines than either ice or heavier/wetter snow. Very lucky for local residents.
Then there's the issue of coastal flooding with this storm:
If you have a home or a business that is threatened by/affected by flooding - I doubt you've been spending the last day or two in front of the fireplace with a hot toddy. I just hope most of these people were bright enough to buy flood insurance.
When it comes to some posters who imply that they're out frolicking in the middle of blizzards - I don't think so for the most part. Although I've lived in Florida for 40+ years - my husband and I once spent a whole winter exploring the Rocky Mountain states. We encountered a few blizzards - the white-out kind where the wheel wells on your car froze solid. We were dumb enough to try driving through the first one we encountered - in Colorado Springs. After checking out of our motel and managing to get from our exit on I-25 to the next exit - about 4 miles away - in a little more than an hour - we called it a day and checked into another motel .
We also had our first encounters with "black ice" in March or so - in Montana. Very scary stuff.
The only time I ever spent a lot of time outside in a big snow storm was by accident. We were in Jackson Hole - and after some "warm" days that were bad for skiing - we booked a snowmobile trip to Yellowstone. So - of course - it was freezing and snowing like anything that day. It was a 90 mile round trip on a snowmobile. All outside. When I got back home - I thought my arms were permanently frozen in the position I had maintained all day driving the snowmobile . Perhaps this is someone's idea of a good time - it wasn't mine.
Even states/areas that should expect snow aren't always prepared to deal with it. During our trip - we crossed the continental divide in New Mexico - near Tucumcari - which averages a fair amount of snow every year. There was a big snow storm - and there were no snow plows to be seen on I-40. The truck drivers were cursing like crazy on their CB radios - "New Mexico - Land of F'ing Enchantment" (we took this trip a long time ago!). We were lucky to snag one of the remaining motel rooms where we could pass the night in peace (and warmth). So no one should diss places where snow is not common at all if they're not prepared to deal with it.
I don't wish bad weather on anyone. And I can't fault the media for telling people that the weather might be really really bad in a few days - so people can prepare for it. Because - although I think we should all prepare for any bad weather we might get in our areas - whether it's blizzards - or hurricanes - or floods - or whatever - I don't think most people do these days. Robyn
There have been plenty of snows larger than that in KC, but everything closes down for the smallest events, would never happen in the Midwest. I think this is one reason why northerners look at KC as being more southern in mentality, as being terrified of snow is laughable. The largest snow I remember was 15'' in February 1993 in the southern part of the metro.
On the local news they showed that the 1996 8" was the largest amount in one event prior to this winter; and that before that year there were larger snowfalls. The western and southwest parts of KS seem to get hit heavier. . . wasn't but around a month ago that they received around 20" of snow.
They recently upped snow totals for the NYC area again. Up to two feet now. NYC just issued a travel ban. My town issued a travel ban - we can't be on roads. Apparently the issues are 1. the snow is coming down so fast and 2. when the wind blows, it's near whiteout conditions. It's definitely a blizzard because of how the drifts are forming. You should see the cars in my driveway now. Snow sticking off of one side a good foot and basically clear on the other. There are idiots who are stuck on Parkway entrance ramps and local roads. News showed a line of cars digging themselves out approaching the Parkway.
Flooding in South Jersey is worse than Sandy already, like you said, apparently 6 inches higher, and the worst of that is to come tonight. But honestly Cape May County didn't get it too bad in Sandy. I wonder if the surge will be worse than Sandy in Ocean County, which was hit hardest - Ortley, Mantoloking, Bay Head, parts of LBI. I saw a video on JSHN (Jersey Shore Hurricane News) from Ortley, erosion is bad already and a home looks like it's about to fall in. We'll see what happens.
The first thing Ortley Beach should have done after Sandy was build dunes, since they didn't have them before. Residents are complaining that the governor isn't doing enough but you know what, dunes should have been there since late 2012. I have little sympathy for towns that won't build dunes. Mantoloking included. They were scrambling to construct some dunes in the last few days, knowing this was coming.
The dune thing seems to be a complicated legal issue in New Jersey:
My solution is to do away with (taxpayer subsidized) federal flood insurance. Then we won't have to worry about building dunes or doing anything else to protect people who live too close to the ocean who can't afford to self-insure. I don't see any reason why a middle class taxpayer in Omaha should pay to subsidize someone's summer house in New Jersey - or someone else's winter house in Florida. And it's not like we need more people in flood-prone Florida these days.
BTW - I think older people (and I am one of them) tend to forget their youthful years. And picture them as more heroic than they actually were. My husband grew up in upstate New York (near Buffalo and Cooperstown) - and I went to college there (Ithaca). Doesn't anyone remember "SNOW DAYS"? When everything closed down during a snow storm?
It's like my husband thought he walked 3 miles to school every day when he was a kid. And - when we visited that area a while back - it was more like a 1/4 mile . Robyn
It's like my husband thought he walked 3 miles to school every day when he was a kid. And - when we visited that area a while back - it was more like a 1/4 mile . Robyn
Yeah, but he was little then. A quarter mile felt like three miles!
Does anyone think this is still a laughing matter and DC folks are being snow wimps about this?
I don't want to minimize the hardship that east coast folks are experiencing right now, but out here in Washington state, snowfalls like that occur several times nearly every winter. Most residents of my city of 250,000 had no power for over a week in November; black ice is something we deal with neraly every day -- along with freezing fog, freezing rain, and air stagnation.
That this storm is occurring in the heavily populated media centers makes it headline news. But we westerners put up with this weather on a regular basis, and it goes nearly unreported in the national news.
But we westerners put up with this weather on a regular basis, and it goes nearly unreported in the national news.
It's winter, folks!
That's kind of the point, that many people being affected by this don't deal with it on a regular basis. It's ignorant for people to point fingers and laugh or decide that it's 'wussing out'
Would you go out and buy a set of snow tires on the off chance that you 'might' need them, knowing that they might also sit in your garage and dry rot from lack of use? Would you really want your city or town to spend lord knows how much of their limited funding on 'extra' snow removal equipment that 'might' be needed once every five or ten years?
It's a great source of amusement in my house, to watch the national news and hear all the doom and gloom by a spokes person standing in the snow where you can still see black pavement and the blades of grass are sticking up out of the snow.
Last night a newscaster was standing in a snow drift that came halfway up his calf telling us that snow was knee deep in the area. He probably had to walk for blocks to find snow that deep.
All the tires spinning and cars being pushed on what looks basically like bare pavement, get shouts of "buy some tires, you idiot"
Honest to God, you'd think two inches of snow was the end of the world. But on the plus side, it makes for some comic relief around here.
I live real close to Baltimore Washington airport. Hop a flight and you can come and see for yourself. Never mind, the airport is shut down and It will be a while before I can dig out to come pick you up anyway!
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- we called it a day and checked into another motel 
. Perhaps this is someone's idea of a good time - it wasn't mine.
. Robyn
