Day 29: Snowmaggedon Part 2!

As typical of the South, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools closed today and a few businesses and companies went on a 2 hour delay over not even an inch of snow. Part of it is that there were not enough trucks and salt to go around all the roads, so it was quite patchy with ice this morning in some areas.

I had the pleasure of sleeping in but it threw my schedule off a little bit, leaving me sleepy most of today at work.  Coupled by the fact that half the office was empty/full with very little phone calls and email technical difficulties, I was about to take solace under my desk and just sleep.  That wouldn't be productive.

What I find interesting today in the news is the situation that happened in Atlanta.  It seems as though in less than 3 hours, the whole city of Atlanta went into gridlock on Tuesday during the "snowmaggedon".  One thing that really amazes me is that the city of Atlanta had had this problem before several years ago.  The mayor said that they have employed a lot more trucks and vehicles to plow and salt the roads.  Yet, still, Atlanta went into a state of chaos.  This is what happened:

1. Almost 12pm on Tuesday, it started snowing in Atlanta.  Previously, weather forecasted that the system will move south, then east of the city, missing the main arteries.  However, by very early Tuesday morning, the forecast changed showing that the weather pattern has shifted and moved the snow NORTH of the city.  In any case, Atlanta is going to see snow IN THE CITY.
2. About, oh, 3pm, when school was about to let out, businesses and government decided to leave work early.  So, everybody in all 5 or 6 counties surrounding Atlanta left work, school, and everywhere else.  This caused the gridlock.
3. On top of that, because the city was working on a very earlier forecast of the weather, they didn't expect to see this much snow, thus didn't respond in time or appropriately (salting roads, etc) before everybody was leaving work and school.  
4. Thus, all of hell broke lose and froze over, vehicles were stuck and stranded on the roads, kids had to spend the nights in schools, people had to find shelter elsewhere at retails and strangers' homes, and the National Guard had to go out and rescue the kids still on school buses out in the middle of these icy roads.

What amazes me is that CNN and The Weather Channel are both located in Atlanta.  Two very professional news teams.  I mean, I depend on The Weather Channel for my daily forecast and temperature and most of of the time, the Weather Channel is pretty accurate.  Why it failed Atlanta is beyond me.

GA-DOT.  If Georgia is anything like North Carolina, it must be very limited on the budget for proper snow handling.  Seriously.  We see snow once every 6-12 years.  It's not like we see 6 feet of snow every year.  it does help (a little) that GA did send people up to the north to study how people handle the snow.  But how it really works in the South might be different.  The snow part is not really innate in our brains.  So, it's not like we say, "Hey, even though the weather is a little wonky, let's go ahead and salt everything just in case."  Inexperience has played a factor in the downfall of this event.

I remember in the winter 2005 (January), something similar happened in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill.  I was working at a bakery at the time, so my morning commute was quite early.  I remember the weather being really cold and remembered that it started snowing that morning.  I didn't think anything of it, as sometimes these snow flurries will just come and go.  As the day progresses, the snow turned into freezing rain/ice/hail/sleet, and just about anything that is ice.  2 pm came around, which is the end of my shift anyways, and I left work.  About this time, I had heard that all of Wake County, Durham County and Orange County schools was let out early.  With that, parents who work in the Research Triangle Park, Downtown Raleigh (pretty much, the government of North Carolina), NC State, UNC, and Duke, the hospitals, etc, went out to pick up their kids.  All 3 counties gridlock.  At least with the Triangle area, it is not nearly as many people as Atlanta, so kids were stranded only 8 hours in buses.

The #1 lesson learned about snow in the South.  Please be forgiving.  Due to our inexperience, we will never get it right as this is not a yearly occurrence for us.  Just live with it.  And if the DOT or anybody is out there doing their best to keep us safe (attempted salting of the roads, plowing, etc), please keep the hell out of the way and please pray for those who are out there trying to do their best.  (Don't be like this lady.)  It's freezing.  It's dangerous.  They have thoughts and feelings and families too.

The #2 lesson learned.  If snow is brewing and starts from the South, just shut everything down and not go to school and work.  Forget it.  Stay home.

The #3 lesson: If you can, and if there are incidents where there are major issues with roads and travelers are stuck, lend a helping hand.