One mans opinion on how to prevent another Atlanta

Just wait for the future. The cars will be electric. Maybe some solar powered. Semis will get automated tickets, if allowed to idle for over three minutes. Be a fanciful mess on I75. Thousands, of extension cords running, to the Interstates. Dead Batteries, in millions of cars. Call car net for an eight hour charge to get underway.
I dunno.

skrams wrote:

Bipeflier wrote:
Best lesson, if the weather is predicted to be bad, be it ice, snow, or a hurricane, STAY HOME.

Awesome. And what about the people who are told come in or you're fired? A lot of people NEED that paycheque, and can't just arbitrarily stay home.

I'm not really sure about this. As I said, around here if it get too bad the Governor, Sheriff, or local DOT will close the roads If that happens and you don't make it to work I've never heard of a local business that would fire you. (They either call of work too, or say work is only for people that can get there) And, for those other times when you feel you should not drive there are sick days. Problem is, that I have met people in my life that use up all there sick days on stupid things and then risk there lives , stupidly, trying to get to work.

skrams wrote:

nelson wrote:
Foresight is always 20/20,

I wish! Then I'd know what lottery numbers to pick.

Yup, and then I'd be living on that nice warm tropical island with Mary Ann and Ginger.

Bipeflier wrote:
Best lesson, if the weather is predicted to be bad, be it ice, snow, or a hurricane, STAY HOME.

Awesome. And what about the people who are told come in or you're fired? A lot of people NEED that paycheque, and can't just arbitrarily stay home.

nelson wrote:
Foresight is always 20/20,

I wish! Then I'd know what lottery numbers to pick.

CavemanCharlie wrote:

So nobody is in charge of anything down there??? No wonder your disasters always turn out to be worse then they would have to be. Here in MN the governor can call school off for the entire state and he did once this year when it go to cold. He can also order the DOT to be out or, to come in. And if he orders them in he closes the roads. Or, the local sheriff can order the roads closed under the advice of the DOT. That also happed here a couple of weeks ago when the visibility got too bad. Many people were stranded so the local Red Cross and Salvation Army worked together to open up a building and put down cots and bring food and water for people. If you get caught driving on a closed road it's a big fine. If you get stuck in your car there is a charge to send a road grader out to rescue you.

I understand the lack of equipment because it's not often needed, and I understand the weather is unpredictable, but, it sounds from what your saying a lot of the problem is because there is no one in charge.

You have to remember what you think of, as Atlanta is 9 or 10 counties and 25-30 cities. And no one wants to let some one else tell them how to run his or her town. Yes the Governor could declare a "state of emergency" but for whatever reason he did not.
Remember no one has snow tires or chains. The stores don't even stock them. And 1 idiot can block a road and hold up hundreds of people that might actually know how to drive in snow, or not. But 1 fool can block the whole road

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
One thing I think is happening this winter is that the TV/cable networks are really competing for viewers - and blowing up every snow fall, every ice coating into a 'HUGE STORM'.

Good Morning America is talking this morning about the 'paralyzing storm' in the NYC / Northeast - with 700 flight cancellations. Heck that's less than 1 hour of normal flights at the three main NYC airport.

I am just waiting for the time when turn on the TV in Atlanta in the middle of July and I hear one of the talking heads say:

"Blizzard in July?!??!?! Is it possible?!?!??!!? Find out the TRUE facts at 11 only on channel ZZ !!!!!!!"

Johno02 wrote:
When anyone down here even thinks "SNOW", everyone knows that it is mandatory to go get milk, eggs, bread, and especially TOILET PAPER!!! Even if it does snow or freeze, it will either melt within 24 hours, or TDOT will have it cleared in less than that. Southerners can go through a lot of french toast in that time!!

I always run to the store and grab beer, microwave bean burritos and toilet paper. The first two items make the third a requirement.

On a side note, I am thankful for global warming. Do you realize how bad last week would have been if we didnt have global warming??!?!?

jerem0621 wrote:

carmelo wrote:
I submit that Father Monk has it correct:

Father Nathan Monk
I am really getting tired of northerners mocking the emergency aspect of the snow storm coming to Florida. We understand that you get snow more often, we know ...that your schools often don't close, and we get it. But there is a lot of realities you are ignoring. People in Florida are not prepared for this kind of weather, the majority of houses use heat pumps for warmth, but in extreme cold they will not hold up. Most people don't have winter clothing, and cars are not winterized, nor do they have the proper tires. Not to mention our local government doesn't have access to salt trucks, or other large equipment to clear the roads and keep people safe. A lot of people live in Florida for a reason, because they aren't equipped to live in colder climates, which is why we have a lot of elderly folks living here. Many of them moved away from the cold and snow for health reasons. You guys remember that little storm you got a while back? Hurricane Sandy. That was a category one hurricane. You know what we call a category one hurricane on the panhandle? Rain. But I happened to be up there during Sandy, and everyone was running around in a panic, national guard was walking around with assault rifles, and guess what, it caused a lot of damage. You know why? Because you guys weren't prepared for a hurricane anymore than we are prepared for a snow storm. In other words, your experience doesn't diminish other peoples experience.

Well said!

Very well said! Like Father Monk.

lfcjasp wrote:
Well it looks like VA uses the same logic as TN: trucks with plows and salt start rolling with the first snowflake!
Also here in Hampton Roads, when snow is called for no one really asks how much...we all just race to the grocery stores and clear the shelves of milk, eggs, bread and adult beverages and snacks.
Since we have yearly inspections, our tires do have tread, thank you.
VA winters weren't always so mild as they are now, so some of us can recall when snow and ice were common threats and freezing temps weren't news.
Also a lot of facilities close early and at staggered times and won't open til all the roads are good. Schools esp. have to think about buses navigating little side roads that take forever to melt, if they ever do see a plow at all! Right now, schools have been closed since Weds.

They use to close the base (Ft. Eustis). First Sergeant knew I was from the north and he made me come in anyway. Was considered essential personnel. He said "your from the Buffalo area and know how to handle this stuff, and that makes you essential!"

Many of you have gotten lots of this 'inconvenience' correct. But let me give you a little more info. Georgia has 159 counties and only around 540 DOT trucks. That breaks down to a 3 per county. The state owns many more dump trucks but they aren't equipped with snow plow adapters. I'll bet there will be many more conversion kits bought now! You guys are also correct in saying that the Governor does not have the authority to close schools here. He/she also, cannot close businesses or private firms, only the state offices. What has come out of all of this, is that our GEMA director, received an updated forecast around 0315 in the morning, and failed to notify the Governor until just after 0900 that morning. It is also true that the storm was supposed to go farther south and some equipment had been moved that direction. But this is the WEATHER folks, and no one controls it. You guys are also correct in saying that people need to be prepared themselves. That is where most of the blame lies. Even if you are held at work, you knew there was potential, so be prepared for it. The citizens have gotten to rely on technology too much and in this situation, it clearly was evident. It is also VERY true that the people making decisions at the higher state levels do not have much experience at all in other than 'tabletop disaster management'. The local governments did a much better job than the state did in this situation . It didn't show on the news much, but a lot of the secondary streets in Atlanta were in much better shape than the interstates. True that there was not as many people on them, heck they couldn't get there!:) Funny thing, the people involved in public safety departments everywhere are confident in taking care of the public when it comes to events like this, but they are only so big and have limited resources. They also train and prepare for situations like this. The state's job, in the past, has been to re-enforce the local municipalities and not to take a lead role. Again, I think that may change. Not many can navigate in the types of situation like we had here last week. Hardly no one in the south has tire chains/cables and studded tires are illegal here. True it isn't that often we deal with things like this, and it is usually on the national news when we do. I would take snow any day over the ice/slushy mess that we contend with here. The main instance that angered people the most here last week was getting their children home. We had children stranded on buses for longer than 16 hours in some places and had 1200 kids stay overnight in one school. I don't have anything bad to say about the kids IN the schools, but the kids on the buses should have gotten off earlier. Yes it is true that the National Guard was immobilized here the evening of the storm. In my opinion, the first order of business should have been to remove every child off of the stranded buses across the region. Many more instances came up here that has not made the national news, but I think many lessons were learned. Just as in the storm of '82 here, but I hope the things learned are not forgotten and pushed aside. I am all for not having to go through this again. Again. these are just a few of the things you guys may not know. There is a lot more, just don't have the time and space to list it.