Terrible Weather In America

[mikey4444]

You when we have some snow here and everything grinds to a halt ? There is always someone that says..."well how does America ( or Canada ) manage...they don't have our problems with a little bit of snow ! "

Well., may be they don't manage very well after all :::

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25944660

Those poor school kids must have been terrified.

[emmie]

1 thousand mile wide storm, that's more than the length of the country, John O Groats, to Lands end, a white out,
awful if caught up in it.

[emmie]

only one hurt, amazing. We had a little bit of snow in the capital year before last and they shut the buses down.

[jno]

this is pretty unusual: you get bitter weather in the northern states, and in Canada, every winter; but when you get as far south as Atlanta people aren't so accustomed to it and may struggle to cope - rather like people in southern England, I suppose.

[emmie]

actually it's not the people who don't cope, its the stupid rail, bus companies, who shut everything down, a snowflake on the line they tell everyone to stay home. I remember going to work in all weathers, get their or don't get paid.

[stewey]

I would suspect that the authorities in the Deep South are even less equipped to deal with inclement weather than those in the UK: If you're not used to it, it just hits you harder.

[mikey4444]

Whats the weather like with you at the moment Stewey ?

[stewey]

Still quite cold and has been for about 3 weeks now: -24 with the windchill right now, and no end in sight according to the "experts".

[mikey4444]

Bl00dy hell...minus 24 !

I was going to have a moan that its been raining non-stop here in Wales since mid-December but I haven't the heart now !

Keep warm !

[Clanad]

Problem is, snow removal equipment, including salt spreaders for the icy roads is very expensive, so the southern states simply don't invest in it only to have it sit around for 10 years, whereas thse of in the northern part of the country and Stewey's Canada see a plethora of such equipment making the roads at least endurable.

My concern is that the average home in the south is built on a cement "slab"... kind of one level with no basement, meaning that the water pipes are often enclosed in outside facing walls and subject to freezing and breaking. Here in the north, those kinds of considerations are second nature...

[TTG]

Their weather is one of extremes....baking hot summers and very cold winters. Must be uncomfortable for them as their bodies probably never really adjust.

[jno]

it's the same here, Clanad, especially in southern Britain: why waste vast amounts of money preparing for blizzards that will hit maybe five days in five years? Despite what emmie says a snowflake on the line doesn't bring the country to a halt; seriously bad weather, or the imminent prospect of it, can do so, but that happens in any country that doesn't have much of it.

Seems a sensible saving of money to me. But my condolences to those of your compatriots who are under the weather at the moment. Cousin #1 in Nova Scotia will be used to it. But cousin #2 in Atlanta has remarked on the weirdness of recent weather (the polar vortex recently had the effect of postponing his heart operation).

[emmie]

they shut the buses down in the capital because it snowed, there was no need for it and the disruption was massive, even for a day, seeing as how many people travel by bus every day.

[youngmafbog]

Quite agree that heavy snow equipment is a waste, but sometimes it is quite clear that services are stopped for very little reason and schools are shut as an excuse for a day off.

I have always managed to get about, but then I workled for myself so no work no pay. It's a tremendous incentive.

[emmie]

they are sending in the army according to this mornings news, at least they won't be getting their arses shot off in some foreign field, unless of course the beleaguered farmers are having a bad day