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View Full Version : 2" of snow shuts down Atlanta...



hatidua
01-29-2014, 20:45
Having lived in the South (NC/GA/FL) in the past, I can attest to the insanity that erupts when a single snow flake falls but the mess that just two inches has caused Atlanta (most god-awful place on planet earth) is rather astounding. It snowed a handful of times when I lived in ATL but this current mayhem is a tad much [Shock]

Mtn.man
01-29-2014, 20:48
Yup been there.
Fortunately all the welfare checks had been handed out earlier this month, or BO would be hearing it.

Limited GM
01-29-2014, 20:48
I moved here from there. I kid you not, if it started raining, people would start turning on their hazard lights. Ever try to merge in 8 lanes of traffic with tinted glass, in the rain, with 10,000 flashing lights??? [facepalm]

Aloha_Shooter
01-29-2014, 20:56
Having seen runs on the grocery store over predictions of half an inch in DC, I will laugh at Atlanta but not give them a lot of crap. The fact is, they're not used to getting white stuff ... DC can't make that claim and they get tied up almost as bad over rain for God's sake.

blacklabel
01-29-2014, 21:05
I appreciate the entertainment but it's kind of pathetic.

Guylee
01-29-2014, 21:31
They shutdown schools in coastal GA and it wasn't even snowing...the most anyone predicted was possible ice.

Irving
01-29-2014, 21:35
Having lived in the South (NC/GA/FL) in the past, I can attest to the insanity that erupts when a single snow flake falls but the mess that just two inches has caused Atlanta (most god-awful place on planet earth) is rather astounding. It snowed a handful of times when I lived in ATL but this current mayhem is a tad much [Shock]

I left my house at 7:01 am this morning, and by 7:10 am, I was sick and tired of hearing NPR reporting about how the South has been "digging out" all morning. One of their reporters stayed at a radio station over night and only got 90 minutes of sleep! I get it that there is no infrastructure down there to deal with snow, but it is TWO INCHES! 2" of concrete would have caused less problems. The reporter talking to the guy who stayed the night at the local radio station actually said, "One lady said that she would be more prepared in the future. How in the world do you prepare to spend the night in your car?" I about vomited.

Wulf202
01-29-2014, 21:35
my sister is there giving me the same story.

sniper7
01-29-2014, 21:36
I was one of the few flights that operated that day. It was my last day based in Atlanta and of course it is the worst day I have seen there in 7 years. All flights home cancelled except for fedex so I was lucky enough to be up for 26 hours straight before getting home this morning. What a great last day at that job! On to a new company come Monday.

jerrymrc
01-29-2014, 21:40
Having been living in Columbus (Ft Benning) when an ice storm hit in 85-86 it was comical. never seen so many stupid people in my life. When the weather turns bad the thought process is not to slow down and be careful but one of "I am still going to drive 10 over the limit because it has not affected me yet no matter how many other cars I see in the ditch" Oh, oh shit, sky/ground/sky/ground........Stop. Gee, how did that happen?

BPTactical
01-29-2014, 21:42
If we ever get the EMP, nuke or other, I think this illustrates why unassing an urban center is a wise idea.
I heard an interview with a school official who was making excuses why kids were stranded in buses. He tried to play it off as an emergency until the reporter asked him if he had seen a weather report prior to the storm.
He sounded just like an Oblammy speech: "Uhmm, ahhhhh, errrrrr."
It was hilarious.

sniper7
01-29-2014, 21:44
And I know you guys who have put lived there don't understand. It isn't like the snow we have here. It typically turns to instant ice. People have no clue how to drive in it. Over 100 car accidents in a few hours. People abandon their cars and try to walk the highway (really smart).

Emergency crews had the task of rescuing kids stranded on busses. I think they have something like 10 sand trucks.
the plows I saw working at the airport were like the snow removal pickup trucks we have here, not big plows.

kids stayed overnight in schools, even high schoolers. People ran out of gas trying to stay warm in their cars. They don't prepare like most of us with a blanket and jacket in the vehicle during winter.

airlines don't have a big supply of deicing fluid so probably 80-90% of flights cancelled. When I came in I was the only one on frequency, not a plane within a 40 mile ring. Typically they stack us 5 miles apart then 2.5-3 miles apart on final to land.

But I have seen this happen I think 3-4 times in 7 years, only 2 were to this extreme including this one. It is rare enough that people don't really need to prepare for it. Probably equivalent to us being stuck in a massive blizzard that causes all major highways to shut down completely for a length of time, not being able to drive anywhere due to pure ice on the roads.

Monky
01-29-2014, 21:44
It wasn't the snow that shut it down. It was the 60s the previous few days and then the snow with rapidly falling temps. Turned the melting snow to ice, much like it does here.

However we are equipped to deal with it, and our traffic still comes to a standstill. I grew up down that way GA/AL... I'd maybe seen 2" of snow in the 17 1/2 years I was there. But I have seen snow turn to ice as soon as it hit... I've seen 2" of ice on everything.

The idiots here have more practice in times of actual blizzards. They know to release people incrementally or to shut down in advance... Yet they still manage to fuck up.

We don't have the infrastructure to deal with the rain we got this summer... But down there they do..

I'm sure they were laughing at our pitiful drainage system here.


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

TFOGGER
01-29-2014, 22:43
I have family down there that at least has the sense to stay the hell off the roads. I lived in Chattanooga and Savannah. Sometimes a freeze warning will close the schools...

Irving
01-29-2014, 23:05
It's just that they kept saying "digging out". Two inches isn't enough to bury anything. I understand all the problems with ice.

ZERO THEORY
01-29-2014, 23:57
To be fair, it's not the snow that's got them trapped. The ground is warm there, so when it snows, the warm soil/asphalt and direct sun start to melt it down rather quickly. Night falls, and suddenly it's nothing but a sheet of ice on every road. Combine those conditions with vehicles that use highway/touring tires, 2WD, and no experience, and you've got a problem.

That said, camping out in Home Depot and children being abandoned at school because their parents couldn't be bothered to walk a mile in 40 degree weather is indeed laughable. The scary part is...what will America do when a real threat hits? Guess us "crazy, paranoid preppers" aren't so nuts after all, huh?

mcjhr
01-30-2014, 00:14
I do feel bad for those folks down there. Unusual inclement weather is always stressful.

rockhound
01-30-2014, 08:48
I grew up in fla, it snowed twice and tbe people just couldn't imagine the possiblilty of functioning in snow, I had 4x4 even back then so it wasn't so bad

Sawin
01-30-2014, 09:42
I moved here from there. I kid you not, if it started raining, people would start turning on their hazard lights. Ever try to merge in 8 lanes of traffic with tinted glass, in the rain, with 10,000 flashing lights??? [facepalm]

Me too... I'm convinced the dumbest people on the planet live in ATL. I'm glad to be out of there.

Edit: Ok, I agree it was just ice, not really snow, and that shit sucks. I remember an ice storm in college that left 1.5" of pure clear ice on everything. Branches were broken, power lines down everywhere, car doors physically could not be opened because they were iced shut, etc.... even then, it was not that bad. People were just driving slowly, avoiding hills, stopping each other at the top of hills because they knew what would happen, not just watching the other cars wreck and laughing... There are plenty of cases where good people were going out of their ways to help this time around too, but the uptick in idiocy compared to 10 years ago is what is so surprising and dramatic to me.

TheGrey
01-30-2014, 10:00
This crazy weather and system of natural disasters is seriously wreaking havoc. I imagine the prepper sites will be getting a workout after all is said and done.

Ronin13
01-30-2014, 10:34
The differences are startling. I was talking to a friend of mine this morning- she lives just outside Bailey... 2" in Atlanta and it's full on end of the world panic. 13" predicted in Conifer and no one bats an eye. I find this difference somewhat humorous.

tmleadr03
01-30-2014, 10:42
http://i.imgur.com/TbK9lVx.jpg

TFOGGER
01-30-2014, 10:42
I'm actually looking forward to this storm.... I have ice tires for the dirtbike to try out...[Muaha]

hatidua
01-30-2014, 11:01
http://i.imgur.com/TbK9lVx.jpg

-that's outstanding!

MED
01-30-2014, 11:09
The differences are startling. I was talking to a friend of mine this morning- she lives just outside Bailey... 2" in Atlanta and it's full on end of the world panic. 13" predicted in Conifer and no one bats an eye. I find this difference somewhat humorous.

I don't really think about it much unless it is measured in feet. However, I have a truck, two suburbans (one of which is a chained up plow truck), a Yukon Denali, and two K5s with two snow blowers, and an ATV w/plow. I have a couple of generators and plenty of food. I can stay up here for months. The only snow storm that really buried people recently was the 10 footer in the spring of '07. I have all this shit because I live at 9,000 feet. If I lived in a coastal area I would be clueless. Hell, I would be shitting my pants during a hurricane.

Irving
01-30-2014, 11:20
I have a job interview at 10 am tomorrow in Cheyenne. I usually am pumped for blizzards, but making a 200 mile round trip in more than 6 inches of snow has me worried about punctuality.

hatidua
01-30-2014, 11:25
I have a job interview at 10 am tomorrow in Cheyenne.

I'm envious.


making a 200 mile round trip in more than 6 inches of snow has me worried about punctuality.

I'm not envious.

tmleadr03
01-30-2014, 11:34
I have a job interview at 10 am tomorrow in Cheyenne. I usually am pumped for blizzards, but making a 200 mile round trip in more than 6 inches of snow has me worried about punctuality.

Leave now, pick up bread and milk on the way.

Irving
01-30-2014, 11:39
Leave now, pick up bread and milk on the way.
Don't think I haven't considered it. Fortunately it is an internal interview so if the highway gets shut down or something, rescheduling won't be a huge deal.

Sawin
01-30-2014, 12:06
I have a job interview at 10 am tomorrow in Cheyenne. I usually am pumped for blizzards, but making a 200 mile round trip in more than 6 inches of snow has me worried about punctuality.

I think if there's more than 6 inches on the ground and you are punctual, you'll basically have the job... well, as long as they know you live 100 miles away...

Dave
01-30-2014, 13:15
Try complaining about 2" of snow and a little ice to anyone who has been stationed at Ft Drum. [goFyourself]

Ronin13
01-30-2014, 16:44
Try complaining about 2" of snow and a little ice to anyone who has been stationed at Ft Drum. [goFyourself]
HAHAHAHA! Oh yes indeed! 2"? Boohoo... try 19" in one storm, then the post is open the following day, and you get to make several trips to the barracks because soldiers failed to report for snow removal duty.

BuffCyclist
01-31-2014, 08:07
How to plow 1 inch of snow, like a boss.

Take note Atlanta!

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19e597pxnmsgngif/ku-medium.gif

ChunkyMonkey
01-31-2014, 20:31
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cdc_1391142748

tmleadr03
01-31-2014, 20:39
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cdc_1391142748

Clearly not an LSD.