Comments on: The Two-Inch Nightmare Snow Storm That Brought Down Atlanta

By: Steph Inglis

Steph Inglis — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 03:33:36 +0000

I love your points about
I love your points about public transit, as it's a problem we're facing as well (along with what to do with our crack-smoking mayor).

And, of course, you do need to watch the weather and prepare as best you can, and behave accordingly when bad weather strikes -- be it ice and snow or a hurricane, or extreme heat.

That said, there are some storms even we up here in the Great White North simply cannot prepare for. Just before Christmas, we had an ice storm that knocked out power to over 750K people in the Greater Toronto Area (that would be almost twice the population of Atlanta). It also knocked out the streetcars and one subway line for several days.

Many of us went over a week with no heat and no light. We had to pack up our pets and our Christmas gifts and move in with that one family member who had power. A deep freeze, with windchills of -20C came along while most of us still had no heat, and we had burst pipes.

The telephone poles in my yard and my neighbors' that snapped off under the ice load are finally being replaced as I type, 34 days after we first called it into the utility. That's the backlog of repairs they're facing. There are still piles of branches and fallen trees in many neighborhoods.

We couldn't possibly prepare for that storm.

In January so far, we've had 18 straight days of 'extreme cold weather alert' which comes into effect at -15C or colder -- we had windchills of -27F (about -35C) on Tuesday this week.

We've also had more than one snow storm of 6 inches or greater this month. Most recent one was this past Sunday. I drove 80km of coutry roads in a whiteout (albeit it in a Subaru with Yokohama winter tires). Then after an hour at home, we went out for dinner, because it was in our plans and we weren't going to change them.

We were prepared for that kind of storm.

I'm sure Atlanta residents are far better at coping with tropical storms and hurricanes than ice and snow.

But as climate change takes a greater hold, and Toronto has summer temps well into the 100s, New York and New Jersey go through Super Storm Sandy and Atlanta gets a snow storm, perhaps we should exchange survival tips so we're all prepared for what comes at us.

By: Kevin Dickson

Kevin Dickson — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 00:42:43 +0000

City planners take heed:&
City planners take heed:

In a city with an intact street grid, I can drive 2 miles in 10 minutes, I don't care WHAT happened.

Because there's always a way around.

By: Steve Waclo

Steve Waclo — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 00:25:31 +0000

A bit off topic, but wanted
A bit off topic, but wanted everyone to know the Lake Tahoe/Reno area just got the first significant snowfall in TWO months. Snowpack in the Sierra is 20% of normal :-(.

August conditions already. Buy stock in wild fire companies...

Best wishes.

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 23:18:54 +0000

Cameron T.
Cameron T.: I just revised my article with a link to an article from the American Geophysical Union showing that forecasters got it right. They issued a Winter Storm Watch on Monday at about 5 am. They upgraded it to a Winter Storm Warning on Tuesday at 3:39 am, calling for 1 to 2 inches of snow in the Atlanta metro area. We knew what was coming.

Yes, no type of transportation is immune from big weather events. It's good to have options, though. In our case, if a significant number of people had been able to head home on a light rail system like you have, they'd have made the roads better and likely would have gotten home before ice shut it down.

By: Cameron Taylor

Cameron Taylor — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:30:52 +0000

Studying meteorology is one
Studying meteorology is one of several "hobbies" I pursue. I certainly do not possess the experience or knowledge base of a seasoned meteorologist; even so my studies have shown me how hard it must be to get a forecast right, as the atmosphere is incredibly dynamic and can change the course of things in a heartbeat.

In DFW, particulary on the Dallas side, there is an extensive light rail system. I remember in the early days of this system's development how the auto loving populace fought against it. Now, with over twenty years in service, people ride the wheels off the thing. That said, during our December ice storm it was immobilized by ice on the rails and power lines. So even public transport can be hobbled by weather.

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:44:34 +0000

AHyde:
AHyde: Yeah, the problem is that it doesn't happen every year, and institutional memories are shorter than human memories. Good point about points north have trouble, too. A friend of mine in New England told me that Boston experienced something similar a few years ago when they got 6" of snow in a short time. All the employers starting sending people home, and they, like Atlanta this week, were paralyzed with gridlock.

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:35:52 +0000

Harold R.:
Harold R.: Indeed, employers do play a big role, too.

Bill S.: Ah, he's your cousin! Well, glad to know he's mostly harmless. :~)

By: AHyde

AHyde — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:35:23 +0000

Reminds me of freaky (for
Reminds me of freaky (for Atlanta) weather back in the days I lived in East Cobb, before a "promotion" moved me to PA. Seeing a couple of guys in the back of a dump truck throwing sand on Johnson Ferry Road hill into Sandy Springs. Seeing a MARTA bus coming sideways back down Cain Street on the hill up to Peachtree. Seeing Atlanta Police cars going thru intersections backward. Using a road graderto move snow.
But before all you "yankees" start talking about how bad Atlanta was, check out the videos around the Philly area this week. We have had a lot of snow lately but the ice was a disaster yesterday.

By: Bill Smith

Bill Smith — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:23:56 +0000

I'm glad you escaped the
I'm glad you escaped the worst of the effects. I can't imagine spending a night sleeping in your car, on an interstate, is all that pleasant.

I think your analysis of the overall situation is spot on. When a single mode transportation system fails it affects everyone and makes recovery much more difficult. I seem to remember a lesson from 1st grade about all your eggs in one basket.

I guess I'll have to ship some of our news and weather folks down to instruct you in storm panic. We've got some real pros. 6" of snow forecast? Bring in a second meteorologist and have one stand outside looking dumb. And proclaim the apocalypse. BTW, we have laws forbidding images of well stocked shelves, it doesn't add to the ambiance. Tsk Tsk.

Finally, thanks for publishing the picture of my cousin. The whole family wondered where he went. I'm pretty sure he's mostly harmless, he hasn't done anything bad yet!

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:22:17 +0000

Dale S.:
Dale S.: Good advice! I imagine a lot of what those things are just essential living skills for upstate New York, but here in the South, we just don't get this stuff often enough for most people, myself included, to go to the trouble of doing those things.

Dave: I agree that individuals have the power to make decisions that can lead to better outcomes. I think you're the one missing the point, however, when you say we "expect everything from our government." Is it unreasonable to expect that the entities in charge of our roads, which move millions of cars every day, would make decisions to keep the drivers of those cars from getting into the dangerous situation we experienced this week? Is it unreasonable to expect that government officials would consider transportation options that would minimize the chances of school kids getting trapped in buses overnight? Is it unreasonable to expect that the tax dollars we pay get used wisely?

And the Weather Channel certainly wasn't predicting Armageddon, unless that's what you call a forecast of 1-2" of snow. What would be nice, though, is if we had sensible transportation policies that included equal consideration of public transit options.