So, what was the blizzard of 2010 like, granpa?
- Thread starter 137th Gebirg
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Not counting William Jennings Bryan, name one thing.
Good call. And, sadly, so true... 
Johnny Carson. Fred Astaire. Marlon Brando. Malcom X.
Oh and Kool-Aid.
There's a museum and a Kool-Aid festival once a year in the town it was created in.
Please make it stop.
Man, I get so sick and tired of that smug ass "DC can't handle a wittle snow" crap, as if we get this kind of snow every frakkin' winter. Most East Coast cities simply don't have the resources to dedicate to these once in a generation snowpocalypses. Our average is ~15" for the entire winter.
How come we never hear people say shit like this to flood victims or people in the path of a hurricane? On average, as many people die in major blizzards as die in those other kinds of storms and in many cases as much property damage occurs, yet blizzards are almost blown off by some people as trivial. It's not as if people can control whether a power line comes down, or a plow can't get to their neighborhood or their roof caves in.
It's serious business and yet we constantly hear this "much ado about nothing" coming from people who should know better. I'm genuinely curious as to why that is. What special property of snow storms causes people to be so dismissive about them?
How come we never hear people say shit like this to flood victims or people in the path of a hurricane? On average, as many people die in major blizzards as die in those other kinds of storms and in many cases as much property damage occurs, yet blizzards are almost blown off by some people as trivial. It's not as if people can control whether a power line comes down, or a plow can't get to their neighborhood or their roof caves in.
It's serious business and yet we constantly hear this "much ado about nothing" coming from people who should know better. I'm genuinely curious as to why that is. What special property of snow storms causes people to be so dismissive about them?
Mostly because the only reason this amount of snow is, as you say, a "snowpocalypse", is because people in the area aren't accustomed to it. Further north, 24 inches is remarkable but not exceptional.
There are aspects of this storm which are genuinely dangerous----primary among them, the fact that the road crews need to be less stingy with the sand----and then there are aspects which are a bit silly. I didn't try to go shopping before this storm, because when I popped out to the store before the December snow, I ended up waiting in the checkout line for an hour. I mean, seriously, being stuck in your house for a day or two isn't that big a deal.
Realistically, DC can't budget for snowstorms the way that Vermont can, because as you say, heavy snows are less common around here. And they are actually doing better with the roads this time than they did in December, at least in Fairfax. But it's still a bit of harmless fun to observe that if this same storm were passing a couple hundred miles north, the roads wouldn't be empty as a result, and for the most part they wouldn't need to be because they'd be perfectly drivable.
For the record, I don't think this is a genuine blizzard. I haven't been watching the entire time, but I've never seen visibility drop to near-zero or the high winds which characterize a blizzard. This seems more to just be a heavy snowstorm.
There are aspects of this storm which are genuinely dangerous----primary among them, the fact that the road crews need to be less stingy with the sand----and then there are aspects which are a bit silly. I didn't try to go shopping before this storm, because when I popped out to the store before the December snow, I ended up waiting in the checkout line for an hour. I mean, seriously, being stuck in your house for a day or two isn't that big a deal.
Realistically, DC can't budget for snowstorms the way that Vermont can, because as you say, heavy snows are less common around here. And they are actually doing better with the roads this time than they did in December, at least in Fairfax. But it's still a bit of harmless fun to observe that if this same storm were passing a couple hundred miles north, the roads wouldn't be empty as a result, and for the most part they wouldn't need to be because they'd be perfectly drivable.
For the record, I don't think this is a genuine blizzard. I haven't been watching the entire time, but I've never seen visibility drop to near-zero or the high winds which characterize a blizzard. This seems more to just be a heavy snowstorm.
^Bullshit. As of two days ago, Baltimore was the 5th snowiest city in the country. Normally, we're in the 26th or 27th spot. DC is #13.
http://goldensnowglobe.com/all-snowiest-us-cities/
And that was before this additional foot+ today. Two blizzards in a 5-day span dropping over 40" would shut down any city.
Anyway,
from snowy Baltimore. Where I can't even see across the street at the moment...
http://goldensnowglobe.com/all-snowiest-us-cities/
And that was before this additional foot+ today. Two blizzards in a 5-day span dropping over 40" would shut down any city.
Anyway,
from snowy Baltimore. Where I can't even see across the street at the moment...
Yes, but northern cities wouldn't make as big a deal out of it. That's the difference as I see it. They'd slow down for a day or two, then business as usual would resume. Wouldn't be a big deal on the news. There would probably just be a surge in sledding for the duration.
Also note that cities #1-4 list those snowfalls as very close to their average snowfall. (Effect of the Great Lakes, probably.) And they're not stuck up in Alaska or somewhere----they're just a couple hundred miles north.
Yes, of course, because it wouldn't be an historic event. Though it might well be if it all fell in a week.
Exactly why we're entirely justified in making a big deal out of it. No one is equipped to deal with it, government or individual. Comparing the reaction of a city that habitually gets over 60" to that of a city that habitually get 18" is absurd. Also, consider that about 40" of that has been in a 5-day period, which would be unusual even in lake-effect areas.
As of 1pm, Washington DC is 6 inches away from a record for snowfall in a season,
Except that every single winter I hear about how DC shuts down from the slightest amount of snowfall. I have friends who live in DC (who grew up in Chicago) who think that DC officials' reaction to weather is absolutely absurd.
Yes, this particular snow storm is impressive, but DC has similar reactions to much less impressive storms.
I hear the "we're not equipped to handle this much snow" excuse every fucking year! Maybe it's time you got equipped.
I never said we couldn't make a big deal out of it. I was just explaining why people poke fun at the area for making a big deal out of it.
It's not criticism, really, it's just having a bit of a laugh at the area's lack of preparedness, however justified.
Snowfall stopped a couple of hours ago in Fairfax, BTW.
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