Thursday, January 30, 2014

Snow Today; Sorry About Atlanta

This morning we are experiencing snow in the Twin Cities. Try as they might, the snowplows can't keep up with the amount of snow falling. Still, since this is Minnesota, we are all heading off to work and school as usual. Traffic is slow, there are accidents but we do this every winter.

I was sorry to hear about what happened in Atlanta when they got two inches of snow earlier this week. On the news there was a man who had been stuck in traffic saying, "someone should pay for this!" I was a little confused because it is the weather and no one controls that!

The question now, is could this happen in other cities? Thinking about where I live, two inches of snow is nothing. Our cars in Minnesota will drive right through two inches of snow. What kind of cars do they have in Atlanta? So if the cars are similar, then is it a matter of driving skills? Likely people in Atlanta are unaccustomed to driving in snow and ice. It is all in what you are used to. Here in Minnesota we had school closures when the temperature and windchill went below what we typically see. Yet in the northern part of the state and up in Canada, they see those temperatures regularly. Still, who is going to take the blame for the weather? If you are unprepared don't you share that blame? Perhaps more could have been done to treat the roads or warn people to stay home. So why did that not happen?

Yes, here in the Twin Cities we could have a bad time of it just like Atlanta, if we got two feet of snow. Yet in some places, they do--and we have here. I remember when I lived briefly out east. The people complained about the weather continuously! What does that accomplish? Prepare for the weather. It is something we cannot tame. At least out east, however, they would shutdown everything over a couple of inches of snow--so the Atlanta thing wouldn't probably happen there.

I'm sorry for everyone stuck in that mess in Atlanta. Those in charge need to make sure the city is better prepared in the future.

Taken this morning from a car driving through the snow.
 

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