Snow hysteria (Philadelphia, Newtown: sales, school districts, shop)

[Sassygirl18]

Is it me, or is the snow hysteria in Philly just ridiculous? I keep hearing about this big Nor'easter but every time I look at the forecast, it says 1-3 inches of snow forecasted. The schools are already shut down! Really? And now every storm has a stupid name attached. What was the last one? BENJI????? I was quaking in my boots!!!

Vent over.

[OHNot4Me]

Same thing happens in OH here. A 1-inch forecast generates a serious weather alert, and everyone goes bat**** crazy.

I swear it is a conspiracy between the news outlets and the local grocery stores. Sales down a little this week? Announce the blizzard of the century is coming and watch parking lots and shopping carts fill up! Cha-ching.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

Is it me, or is the snow hysteria in Philly just ridiculous? I keep hearing about this big Nor'easter but every time I look at the forecast, it says 1-3 inches of snow forecasted. The schools are already shut down! Really? And now every storm has a stupid name attached. What was the last one? BENJI????? I was quaking in my boots!!!

Vent over.

Yes, it is ridiculous. The " weather " broadcasters have caused it. Why are they marketing snow with names?! Winter storms never had names before.

It used to take about 6" of snow , on the ground, before schools would close.

[NewtownBucks]

Part of the "hysteria" is that this really is a historic storm in terms of intensity, pressure, etc., so the interest in it from a meteorological standpoint is real. In terms of Philadelphia weather, the core of the storm will be too far east (i.e. out to sea) to create a catastrophic situation in the city, but there are coastal areas of the Philly media market where this is a real threat, too, just not the city itself. The storm isn't going to come ashore until it hits Maine or Nova Scotia, but it is currently the equivalent strength of a cat 3 hurricane (look at the current radar - this actually looks like a hurricane swirling around an eye...), so this is a serious threat further up north.

[Sassygirl18]

But they act like it's a big deal in Philly when it's not. We get one inch of snow here and everyone goes bananas and the schools shut down. Maybe I am just old and remember when I would sit by the radio as a kid PRAYING to get off from school and it didn't just happen every time a snow flake fell down. It had to be some serious snowfall.

[NewtownBucks]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

But they act like it's a big deal in Philly when it's not. We get one inch of snow here and everyone goes bananas and the schools shut down. Maybe I am just old and remember when I would sit by the radio as a kid PRAYING to get off from school and it didn't just happen every time a snow flake fell down. It had to be some serious snowfall.

My kids' school is canceled in Bucks County.

[Pine to Vine]

Channel 10 is broadcasting snow full-time. Videos of snow coming down here, there and everywhere. Isn’t that what happens when it snows? Imagine if we got a serious storm.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

But they act like it's a big deal in Philly when it's not. We get one inch of snow here and everyone goes bananas and the schools shut down. Maybe I am just old and remember when I would sit by the radio as a kid PRAYING to get off from school and it didn't just happen every time a snow flake fell down. It had to be some serious snowfall.

Yeah, but this is a very serious situation because of wind/blizzard conditions and more importantly, extreme cold. Schools had to close today as you can't have school buses driving around in this and kids waiting on corners out in wind-chills below 10 degrees. That's just asking for a serious and tragic incident to occur.

[rowhomecity]

NewtownBucks is right, within the city and most of Southeast PA this storm is insignificant, but because the Philadelphia media market covers a large area (4th largest media market in the USA), this really is a historic storm for the DE and NJ shores, with Blizzard conditions.

I also think there has been a fundamental shift in regards to safety with transportation provided by school districts. As long as snow days are built into the school year, school boards/superintendents are more likely to use them. It is less risky for the district to use the day and have no safety risks, then risk a bus full of kids slide down Ridge Ave and hit a tree.


The timing has a great deal to do with it as well. As it just creates a mess during prime commuting hours. In day to day is this storm anything to really fret at in Philadelphia or SEPA. Not at all. But for the NJ and DE shore this is some historic stuff.

[2e1m5a]

Part of the 24/7 entertainment "news" cycle we have today-any story that can be built up and drawn out to bring in viewers will be. Storms are an easy story to focus on.

I was hoping for a delay or snow day lol but got into work just fine. We'll see how the roads are later on though.