Re: Stuck in storm....(Alabama)

Silver Lining · ‎04-16-2010

On 1/29/2014 terrier3 said:
On 1/29/2014 chrystaltree said:
Who would think that 3 or 4 inches of snow and icy road conditions would be so traumatic? I could understand it if those areas received 23 inches of snow. But a dusting brought them to their knees? Really? What I want to know is, since they get a storm like this every 10 years or so. Why weren't they equipped with chemicals to treat the roads? The snow fall was paltry, so they didn't really need a lot of plows. They just needed to treat the roads, to keep them from icing over. Also, meterorologists were predicting this for a week. Why didn't they reach out to other states for assistance? Northern states that were not going to be affected and could have lent a hand, equipment, assistance. It's like they just sat there and waited. Sorry, saying "we aren't used to this" is not an excuse for those in charge of public safety. It just isn't.

I once was stuck on the 490 leading into Rochester from 8AM til 5PM...many people were stuck there overnight!

Speaking from experience, it's not the 3 inches of snow or even the ice. It's the traffic jams caused by jack-knifed semis. Once they block the road, there is no getting around them if you are on a highway with ditches on the shoulders.

Even the huge tow trucks that are needed to get the truck cabs out of the ditches can't get through....so everyone sits for hours.

About 3 years ago there was a bad storm in Buffalo. People were stuck on the Thruway for 2 days. They couldn't get around the trucks. People climbed fences to get on the interstate and brought them pizzas and supplies. Volunteers on snowmobiles went from car to car to find out who needed to be evacuated or needed medicine. Now the Thruway Authority has invested in electronic gates that swing shut and stop cars from entering the highway. We also have alternate storm evacuation roads.

I doubt if they have those aids down South....we didn't even get the gates until a few years ago!

I also don't think there are many snowmobiles in Atlanta...so I bet it is an even bigger mess down there!

I feel you all...BTW - it is 2 degrees, minus 20 windchill in Buffalo...some major roads have been closed today due to blowing snow...no school either.

terrier, thanks for explaining it to her. Highly doubt it'll penetrate the nasty mindset. Everything you said is right on. I have lived all over the US, including Minnesota and Alaska. No city can be prepared for everything. I was in Alaska a couple of years ago and we had a heat wave. Not life-threatening, but extremely uncomfortable. A/C is not a given in the majority of places there. It's just not necessary. Some places don't even have fans for the occasional warmer weather. It stands to reason that states with predominately mild winters don't have snow plows or other heavy-duty stand-by procedures. BTW, I lived in Atlanta for about five years and my friends say winter has been unusually difficult this year.

Hoovermom · ‎03-19-2010

Silver Lining - Thank you so much! He has gone to bed for a couple of hours. So glad he is home and hope the rest of the motorists make it home safely also.

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

On 1/29/2014 Hoovermom said:
Silver Lining - Thank you so much! He has gone to bed for a couple of hours. So glad he is home and hope the rest of the motorists make it home safely also.

There's no place like ""Home Sweet Home"" after that kind of ordeal!

Happy to hear everyone is OK!

Hoovermom · ‎03-19-2010

Terrier3 - Thanks so much, he was thrilled to be home and be able to sleep in his own bed!!! It truly is "Sweet Home Alabama".

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

On 1/29/2014 Hoovermom said:
On 1/29/2014 Dagna said:
Thankfully in the 5 years we lived in Montgomery it never snowed. (Love the city and the state btw!!).

So sorry you are experiencing this.

Saw the mayor of Birmingham on the news saying only a dusting was predicted - which apparently he believed - so they were completely unprepared for the resulting snow.

Sad for all those stranded. Prayers for everyone. Hope you DH gets home soon.

We love Hoover and really have never seen this since 1986 when we got 16" of snow, but we knew it was coming and were prepared. Kids are still at some schools in the area because the buses could not make it to their homes. That would be hard for those parents. Thanks.

As a northerner and outsider to the specifics of exactly what went on in several areas down south, I though that the national weather was doing a pretty good job of predicting this was coming days in advance.

While that doesn't help the fact that individuals don't know how to drive and navigate in those situations, can anyone in the affected areas tell us why they ever sent kids to schools that day. You'd think they would have cancelled classes, for the fact that the officials know that they can't handle getting those buses around in that weather, and risk not being able to get the kids back home. You can't change the weather, but it seems officials made some less than stellar decisions concerning the school children.

Hoovermom · ‎03-19-2010

They sent kids to schools in our area with a posted early departure not thinking that the Birmingham area would be so hard hit. It is sad that there seemed to be no one in charge who could give me any information during those long hours DH was stuck in traffic. Someone should have had a plan for such an event even if it did not happen at all, but they didn't. I understand that all the children in schools will be reunited with their parents this afternoon. One of the duties of the National Guard was to transport these children home.

Qwackertoo · ‎03-11-2010

On 1/29/2014 Silver Lining said:
On 1/29/2014 terrier3 said:
On 1/29/2014 chrystaltree said:
Who would think that 3 or 4 inches of snow and icy road conditions would be so traumatic? I could understand it if those areas received 23 inches of snow. But a dusting brought them to their knees? Really? What I want to know is, since they get a storm like this every 10 years or so. Why weren't they equipped with chemicals to treat the roads? The snow fall was paltry, so they didn't really need a lot of plows. They just needed to treat the roads, to keep them from icing over. Also, meterorologists were predicting this for a week. Why didn't they reach out to other states for assistance? Northern states that were not going to be affected and could have lent a hand, equipment, assistance. It's like they just sat there and waited. Sorry, saying "we aren't used to this" is not an excuse for those in charge of public safety. It just isn't.

I once was stuck on the 490 leading into Rochester from 8AM til 5PM...many people were stuck there overnight!

Speaking from experience, it's not the 3 inches of snow or even the ice. It's the traffic jams caused by jack-knifed semis. Once they block the road, there is no getting around them if you are on a highway with ditches on the shoulders.

Even the huge tow trucks that are needed to get the truck cabs out of the ditches can't get through....so everyone sits for hours.

About 3 years ago there was a bad storm in Buffalo. People were stuck on the Thruway for 2 days. They couldn't get around the trucks. People climbed fences to get on the interstate and brought them pizzas and supplies. Volunteers on snowmobiles went from car to car to find out who needed to be evacuated or needed medicine. Now the Thruway Authority has invested in electronic gates that swing shut and stop cars from entering the highway. We also have alternate storm evacuation roads.

I doubt if they have those aids down South....we didn't even get the gates until a few years ago!

I also don't think there are many snowmobiles in Atlanta...so I bet it is an even bigger mess down there!

I feel you all...BTW - it is 2 degrees, minus 20 windchill in Buffalo...some major roads have been closed today due to blowing snow...no school either.

terrier, thanks for explaining it to her. Highly doubt it'll penetrate the nasty mindset. Everything you said is right on. I have lived all over the US, including Minnesota and Alaska. No city can be prepared for everything. I was in Alaska a couple of years ago and we had a heat wave. Not life-threatening, but extremely uncomfortable. A/C is not a given in the majority of places there. It's just not necessary. Some places don't even have fans for the occasional warmer weather. It stands to reason that states with predominately mild winters don't have snow plows or other heavy-duty stand-by procedures. BTW, I lived in Atlanta for about five years and my friends say winter has been unusually difficult this year.

I agree, it can happen to the best of cities at the worst of times. Remember Hurricane Rita a few short weeks after Katrina . . . people were stuck for HOURS between the Gulf, Houston and headed to North Texas. It was awful. But they saw what happened in New Orleans and they weren't taking any chances and got the heck out of Dodge all at the same time. They too should have done it in waves and began "contra-flow" much sooner than they did.