Snowblind

OK, all you Southerners have heard this before: a yankee rant about what happens when it snows in Dixie. Well, here's my tirade to add to the others.

Today, schools were closed based on a FORECAST of 1-2" of snow, followed by the possibility of a little sleet. It is now afternoon, and we haven't had nary a flake. This is completely ridiculous. Now, we do have some mountainous areas surrounding us, where I realize the travel can become much more treacherous very quickly. But our district is in an urban area, in a valley. We have a few hills, but c'mon now!

Now here's my old yankee rant: where I grew up, in Poughkeepsie, NY, we never, not once, had schools closed based on a mere forecast. I do recall shutting down early a time or two, but I know the morning buses rolled on time, even with the snow already coming down.

I went to college in Rochester, NY, where in four years, we never, not once, had a class cancelled because of the weather. It snowed darned near every day up there, but we got up and got ourselves through it.

Now I realize I am an old crank of 39, and times are different now, because we sure don't want a lawsuit on our hands if a bus skids into a lamppost; but a 60% chance of 1-2" is no reason to keep the kids home. My wife is now scrambling to keep TB occupied, and it's not like they can go out and make a snowman.

I could allow this: if we had a forecast of a 100% chance of 4+ inches, alright, shut it down.

The other problem is that we are always right on the borderline between snow, sleet, and freezing rain. After 12 years here, I finally do agree that ice is worse than snow. But today, they were clearly calling for a wisp of snow. And we got nothin'. This is crazy . . .