Living with Bad Weather
Tue, Mar 3, 2009
When you live in the South, or the Northeast for that matter, you have to expect certain “issues” to arise from bad weather. Â Tornado season brings its fair share of torrential downpours and winter weather can mean hazardous driving conditions. Â Couple that with drivers who’ve never seen snow or don’t know where to go during a tornado warning, and it’s a bad mix.
You would think that growing up in the South, I would be used to such problems. Â But no matter how many tornado drills I endured and no matter how many close calls there were, I never got used to them. Â I remember sitting in my seventh grade classroom as we were getting ready to leave for the day. Â Suddenly the lights went out and everything went black. Â The teachers quickly herded us into the hall where we sat in the cover position until the tornado had passed. Â Thankfully, it touched down a few miles away instead of on our building, but it was still closer than I like. Â
Winter time wasn’t much better. Â When there was a threat of snow, nay even just a hint of the white fluffy stuff, schools begin closing their doors. Â As a kid, this was a special treat. Â As a parent, I’m sure it was not so special. Â
Things are much the same now that I live in the northeastern part of the South. Â The weather is similar yet different enough that we can pretty much count on getting at least one snowfall a year, maybe two. Â The problem with that is that it’s not often enough to teach people how to handle it. Â
When I lived in Utah, snow was a regular occurrence. Â There was a reason that the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City and it was because we regularly got several feet of snow dumped on us. Â The first snowfall usually brought lots of ooh’s and ahh’s as we gazed at our winter wonderland. Â That admiration quickly changed to dread and disgust as the pretty white snow became dirty slush piled on the sides of the streets.
I will say this though: Â people knew how to drive in the snow. Â I’ve never seen so many four-wheel-drive vehicles in one area. Â And the snow plows – oh they were a sight to behold! Â Every morning well before 6:00 am, the snow plows were out doing their job. Â They pushed the snow off of the main roads first and then moved to the side streets. Â By the time I left for work, my pathway was clear. Â Schools stayed open and people went to work as if nothing had happened. Â And they drove slowly too because, believe it or not, snow is slippery. Â
It’s very different here in Virginia. Â 
(Exhibit A: This was the scene yesterday around 1:00 pm. Â You will notice the lack of plowed roads and the snow covered cars sitting in the streets.) Â
Things just seemed to shut down. Â No one leaves their driveways and the sidewalks aren’t shoveled. Â Schools close and businesses shut their doors. Â Even the Federal government announces unscheduled leave to those who can’t make it in. Â
The snow may be pretty,
and it may be a welcome site to those who are not used to seeing it. Â
But it creates major problems for the area. Â
Out west, where they are equipped for such things, most of the snow would be gone or at the very least moved within a few hours. Â But here in the northeast part of the South, the snow causes havoc as we do not have the equipment to handle the bad weather. Â
Even just walking outside is difficult.
Because of this, I decided to join the masses. Â Rather than try to dig myself out and trudge on in to work as I’ve done before, I decided to embrace the bad weather. Â I mean, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?
So I stayed home from work. Â
And you know what? Â It didn’t bother me a bit!
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Tags: bad weather, snow day
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:29 am
I stayed home from work because of snow yesterday too. But it wasn’t by choice. The roads were plowed but my landlord decided it was ok to not plow me out yet. I got stuck for 2.5 hours and had to call work. I could use a vacation from snow and cold.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:33 am
Hee … I love it! It’s the same here. Everything comes to a standstill. Good for you to take advantage of it! (And can I mention that three snowfalls this winter is a little much for my Southern blood to handle. I’m now officially done with winter … bring on Spring!)
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:59 am
Send the snow our way! We are so dry in NW KS, we need it. We usually have a couple of really big snow storms, but this year, I don’t think it could even be measured.
Of course, I’d better be careful of what I wish for….March has just started!
And another thing, our snow doesn’t just sit and look pretty, it is usually blowing so hard you can’t see across the street.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:28 am
I know exactly what you mean! In Maine snow is a way of life. It just gets pushed aside and life goes on as usual. In the NY city area, it’s an ‘event’. Time for press conferences, accidents, and cancellations.
Your pictures are beautiful! I love them. Hope you enjoyed your snow day.
-FringeGirl
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 am
I stayed home yesterday too and it was glorious! We got quite a bit of snow here in CT, the biggest I’ve seen yet. I personally love the snow
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:47 am
Julie – that’s no good! The worst is being stuck when you don’t want to be.
Joanna – I hear that! Come on spring!!
Linda – isn’t it crazy how the weather keeps changing each year, it’s so unpredictable! I hope you get the moisture you need soon.
Domestic Fringe – I did enjoy my snow day, thanks. It was nice not being able to go anywhere actually. And Maine is such a pretty state. Of course I haven’t been there during the winter so I might change my mind.
Jill – Connecticut is a great state too, I bet you get a lot of snow up there!
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Being a native Arizonan I can’t relate! But, our extreme weather has shut down the airport once. It was too hot!!! They didn’t have information for safely handling take-offs and landings above 121 degrees, so our airport had to close for a little bit one summer day when it reached 122 degrees! (but it’s a dry heat!) I do love all the photos of the winter wonderland. I’m glad you enjoyed your snow day.
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:59 am
I live in the tropics and find those pictures simply beautiful. Of course, what’s different from what we have always seems so attractive. People travel all the way to the equator for some sun, and we who live here are forever running indoors to avoid the sun!
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:07 am
Love Love LOVE your photos!! You have a great eye for compostion and I SOOOO enjoyed seeing these. Will have to share them with the kids later.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:17 am
That would make me crazy! The snowplows are generally pretty good around here.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:27 am
Nicole – wow, really? I can’t even imagine being that hot!!
Daphne – oh the tropics, so pretty. And you’re right, I think people like the areas that are different from where they live!
Robyn – why thank you, dear Robyn!
Kristina – I know, the little things I took for granted when living out west.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Ha ha, Good for you!! Yes, here in Alabama, a little bit of snow shuts the city down almost. It’s when there is ice involved that it’s really bad. If the weather people say it’s going to be bad weather, i.e.: snow, ice. Everyone heads to the stores, no kidding. And there is a run on milk, bread, water, wood starters and some canned items. It happens every time. I think it’s from when they were younger and some of our ice storms really knocked out the city and you couldn’t go any where and people were stuck with no food. We had just a bit of snow Sunday, but it melted pretty fast. When I lived in Utah, they didn’t shut down a thing!
Alabama weather is crazy, for instance this week alone, it snowed and was freezing, and now it is chili, but by the end of the week it will be warm. We can literally have one cold day and then a hot day. That’s when everybody starts getting colds. Have fun today!
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
BTW–Nice Pics!
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 am
I LOVED, LOVED waking up to all that snow yesterday. My favorite part is that we have a hill nearby and there were so many cute kids out sleding. And going into work at 1 p.m. was pretty awesome too.
That being said, I’m still SO ready for spring!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:01 am
Here in Atlanta we “saw” snow – does that count? Where we are it snowed pretty for a couple of hours and covered the shrubs and grass but that was all. The ground was too warm for it to stick to the roads or anything, but it was lovely to sit and watch from our windows. Loved how it looked on the bushes and grass. Wish it had been more and stuck longer. Although, there was still a run on the grocery stores and Walmart to purchase those needed items for the forecasted snow that was coming. I hate snow days around here because, like you said, no one knows how to drive in it, including me. I stay off the roads and go in to work late and even then it takes me two hours or more because I go so slowly – I’m no dummy, I realize I know nothing about driving in the pretty white stuff and so I crawl in my car. I’m sure others wish I were at home and not in front of them – thus the problem. Others think you can drive like normal because the roads appear somewhat clear. Oh well, I love the South – even the way we react to the occasional snow. Nothing like real, honest to goodness snow cream like my Grandmother used to make. Haven’t had any in years, but oddly enough, just found the recipe last night. Now if it would only SNOW!!!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:18 am
I’d stay home from work too! BRRRRRR!!!!
What a lovely birdhouse in that picture, though =)
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Way to embrace! Make sure you sit and enjoy a nice cup of tea…
Same thing here – we only get snow once a year, and it’s usually the wet gross kind, so NO ONE knows how to deal with it!!! Fortunately our street usually gets plowed and we can get out and about, and “lots” here is about 18″ of white fluff.
Enjoy a day – or two! – at home in the quiet of snow.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:22 am
I want a snow day! We don’t get those is the lovely Central Valley of California… We’re lucky if we get snow once every 10 years.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
Sandy – I remember that when I lived in Georgia – everyone raided the supermarket in order to “stock up.”
WofO – speaking of snow, did you get a window scraper yet or are you still using your wooden spatula?
M to TTDA – snow cream really? Is that like ice cream? I’ve not heard of it before.
Sarah – I know, it has been so cold when just a week ago it was warm!
Ali – oh, I am! I stayed home today too! No use risking it.
Courtney – California, huh? You know all of us Southerners are jealous of your beautiful weather, right? It’s so pretty out there!
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Good grief. It sounds like you have more “snow days” there than you did in Utah. I’m not showing this to my kids – they would be bitter. We need at least 6 inches and ice before they’ll let us out and then it’s only the schools.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:44 pm
–>Welcome to Virginia! I’ve lived in every corner of the state and Virginians don’t do snow (well). We’ve already had school cancelled last month in Virginia Beach and guess what, no snow fell!
Your pictures were very pretty of what you got in NoVa.
http://thaxtonfam.blogspot.com
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I love snow! So beautiful. We got almost 6 inches this weekend. It was a nice change from the horrific ice storm that we had at the end of January. We had about 2 or 3 inches of ice coating the power lines and trees. It was beautiful but so damaging. The worst in KY history.
The trees snapping and crashing to the ground, onto houses, power lines and vehicles(mine included) sounded like a war zone. The landscape of our state will never be the same. Thousands of power poles snapped in half in most counties. Half the state was without electricity for days, thousands were without for weeks. Thankfully power crews from across the nation came to our area to help put everything back together again. Officials said was like starting from scratch and rebuilding the power grid entirely.
So around here, we’ll take the snow any day of the week if we can avoid that again.
p.s.- At our house, we LOVE snow cream too!
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Haha, as a Norwegian, I must say – sometimes I just wanna smack people around here and go “YOU SISSY, IT’S JUST SNOW!” I mean, I understand when it gets real bad. There was an ice storm earlier this winter which caused us to actually have to literally chop our car out from under a huge block of ice. But in general, even here in PA, people tend to freak out long before any Norwegians would have. I hate snow as much as the next person, but back home? Well. You ever see the movie The Day After Tomorrow, where the person steps outside and is instantly frozen? That’s how bad it would have to be, for Norway to even consider taking a snow day. XD
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Yep, everyone goes to the grocery store to stock up. Then, an unexpected thing happened–Wal-Mart had to close because their comouters went down. LOTS of people are still without power, that’s the bad thing. It was pretty.
I didn’t know my town actually had a snowplow. It helped, but my college was closed until 11:30 because of black ice.
It’s nice to get a day (or two) off.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Sweetie–love the write-up and especially the “professional” quality photos!!!!!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I grew up in MN and there is such thing as a snow day, or we would never have left our house!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Oh yea, I live in Az now!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Someone mentioned SnowCream? My Daddy made it here in Alabama, the few times we had a good snow. He Mixed Clean snow, milk or cream, a little vanilla and a little sugar. Pretty good and fun treat when a child. I was afraid to make it for my kids because I wasn’t sure about pollution in the air. I guess it was ok then, I am still here anyway!!
March 4th, 2009 at 4:27 am
I can totally relate to what you are saying about Southern drivers not knowing how to deal with the snow. I grew up in the mountains of the West and it would take four feet of snow to cancel the schools there. Where I live now, the schools are canceled just at the threat of a little snow or ice. I don’t always agree with the President, but I could agree when he called Washingtonians wusses because of they way they handle weather. Great photos!
March 4th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
It didn’t bother me either!
)
March 4th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Tabitha, What kind of camera do you use? Your photos are fab!
Anneli, I agree with you. As a Buffalo native living in St. Pete, Fla. I have very little tolerance for people’s cold complaints.
March 7th, 2009 at 3:18 am
I think you really have a hard time coping with the bad weather but you got nice pics and they captured the nature’s beauty which makes sense.
March 7th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Yea for embracing the snow day!