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kodoma
February 6, 2010 11:25 AM
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The way the trees are bent over around my house in Baltimore, I'm afraid they will snap over the lines and the power will go out. This is the most snow I've seen since I've moved here. Glad I telecommute so I don't have to worry about digging the car out- I will Mother Nature do the work for me!

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BlueFox
February 6, 2010 10:13 PM
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The power usually goes out where I live (Upstate New York) around two or three times every winter. It hasn't happened yet this year (knock on wood) but I'm sure it will happen. As I have gotten older, the power has become less and less reliable.

Anyway, a few years ago, the power went out for around a week. It was freezing and below freezing temperatures at the time. We lived at home during this power outage and had no heat. This wasn't quite the hardship it seems as I only had to curl up in my sheet and fleece blanket in bed and I stayed warm. Plus, we have a gas stove that we used to cook our food. After this experience though, I purchased a generator and have it in case this should ever happen again.

I didn't get the generator until a year or so later. I wasn't one of those fools that went out and purchased a generator the moment the power goes out. Doing that, you pay higher prices. Plus those fools usually turn around and come spring or summer sell those generators for a pittance. People should really learn some patience because the world is only getting worse.

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Consumerista
February 6, 2010 7:17 PM
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Hate to tell ya...your telecommuting is gonna come to a grinding halt of your POWER LINES are shot, unless you have a generator or super power supply....... :(

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Rachacha
February 6, 2010 2:12 PM
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Beltsville/College Park area. Our neighbors have been without power since 3:00am I probably have 30\" of snow here.

My wife stopped at the grocery store to get a few things for the kids, and she was in line for nearly 2 hours.

As a native upstate New Yorker, this brings back some good memories.

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Ixnayer
February 6, 2010 12:40 PM
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I'm in Millersville and a tree already fell on a car in my complex

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yevarechecha
February 6, 2010 1:45 PM
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We have had 3 trees come down in my complex, one right where I originally parked my car before I thought better of it and moved it. No power outage yet, but there was a big blue flash last night that was either lightning or something blowing out.

I don't like it when people freak around here over a forecast of 3\", but this is a huge storm, worth freaking over. The DC area just doesn't get this much snow and we aren't equipped to handle it. The snow is wet and heavy and there's at least 20\" of it in most places. It's going to take forever to dig out. I did go to the store beforehand and found it ransacked (waited 30 minutes in line to check out), but it was a necessary evil as I usually shop on Fridays and I was out of food.

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jaybeas
February 6, 2010 11:26 AM
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Look, you don't want to go a whole weekend without being able to make French toast, do you? YOU MUST STOCK UP ON EGGS, MILK, AND BREAD!!!

Seriously, though - I have beer in the fridge, TP in the bathroom, an XBox, and a TV. Barring a red ring of death, I'm set for a few days. Bring on the snomageddon!

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LadySiren is murdering her kids with HFCS and processed cheese
February 8, 2010 8:34 AM
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OMG, are you from North Carolina?! It's practically a state law here that at the first inkling of inclement weather, all residents must go out and buy up all the bread and milk. Eggs, toilet paper, and Coke are optional items.

The photo with this story looks like our store shelves last week. Hope y'all up North enjoy it as much as we did. :D

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edicius
February 6, 2010 4:54 PM
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I'm glad someone else made the French Toast connection that I always have when people shout the whole \"bread, milk, eggs\" thing.

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utensil42
February 6, 2010 11:53 AM
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Red ring of death or power outage, you mean.

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utensil42
February 6, 2010 4:31 PM
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Just preparing him/her for that very real possibility so they have time to grab some candles and a deck of cards.

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Ceolwulf
February 6, 2010 11:28 AM
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The snow in central MD is pretty terrible. I would guesstimate it's a good 18 inches already and it's supposed to continue into the night.

The stores around me didn't have this much of a ransacking, though. They were also pretty empty right before the storm; everyone must have had some food left over from the last snow storm.

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kc2gvx
February 6, 2010 11:29 AM
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Nothing makes me madder than morons running out to stock up on crap they should have anyway. It seems people throw out snow shovels after each storm, as they ransack Home Depots and the like for shovels and snow blowers at the first word of snow. Some of my snow shovels are over a decade old and still work!
Here in NJ we have a large senior citizen problem. If I ever get rich, I want to purchase all the milk, eggs, and bread in a certain supermarket and take them to the parking lot. Then, take my rented steam-roller and destroy said products as old people sob and shake their fists at me. I know, it might be too mean for some, but funny for anyone who works in retail.

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Skankingmike
February 6, 2010 4:40 PM
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NJ here and yes for the most part the Senior Citizens need to retire to Florida. I'm tired of 10-20 under speed limits, causing other people to have accidents to avoid hitting grandma.

They feel the need to tell me their life story. I have a job to do lady, yes granted I am interested in some life stories but when there's a line of frigging people you need to hurry the hell up and move to the side.

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Major Annoyance
February 6, 2010 12:10 PM
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What exactly is a senior citizen \"problem\"? Never mind the rest of your post that shows you to be an ignorant clod but I'm interested in knowing what constitutes a senior citizen \"problem\" foir people like you. Is it the fact that they continue to live on past what you consider a \"useful\" age?

What do you propose as a solution to your state's senior citizen \"problem\"? I'm pretty sure euthanasia is still illegal but are you working on that or do you have some other final solution in mind?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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the_wiggle
February 13, 2010 8:15 PM
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soylent green comes to mind as a solution.

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the_wiggle
February 13, 2010 8:13 PM
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soylent green comes to mind as a solution.

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johnjamesthree
February 6, 2010 5:41 PM
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The senior citizen problem is the fact that the AARP is a powerful lobbying group that allows seniors to have a larger share of tax dollars directed to their cause then what they rightfully deserve. They EXPECT a discount when they go to the movies, a restaurant, or a store. Why should anybody give you a discount for breathing longer than another person. Any law ever proposed to make seniors pay their fair share is met with wanting to hurt a little old lady. If you want to be treated the same, then you stand up on the bus, you work a job. Otherwise you are a strain on resources and should be limitied in what and when you can do. If you want to get the benefits of being treated like children, then you should truly be treated like them

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GitEm$teveDave
February 6, 2010 12:48 PM
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Actually, the Henson/Merkowski Act of 2008 proposed mandatory euthanasia on anyone over 65. I'm not sure how the vote turned out, but there is a contact number.

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kc2gvx
February 6, 2010 12:26 PM
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It was half said jokingly, but there is some merit. Driving with seniors on the road is horrible. Before you say \"we all will be there some day\", safety should prevail. If you wish, I can pull up statistics that I did for a college presentation for my masters work (am I still an idiot?) that show drivers over 70 years of age cause more at-fault accidents on their own merit than the frequently targeted new drivers. Seniors in NJ act like the world is owed to them, they cut lines, drive 15 MPH under the speed limit, always hold up lines, vote down school budgets just because they don't have kids and do not care for the future, and are beyond arrogant. Obviously, euthanasia is not a solution, but maybe a re-test for driver's licenses. Or maybe they should just remember to be nice. Am I stereotyping here, of course? My experience comes from working at Target for 5 years, and managing a bank for 4 years. More of our senior customers acted like I described above than any other age group. For example at Target, instead of admitting they were wrong for not checking the date of a sales flyer (which Target runs sales Sun-Sat as long as they have been in business), seniors would come in a day before the sale and demand management gave them the price since they were there today.

I can go on, but my post was mainly a joke about how senior citizens over-react more than younger people. Anyone else living in NJ care to speak up about getting stuck behind an old lady that can't see over the steering wheel doing 35 MPH in a 50?

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Con Seanne-BZZZZZZZZZZZZ
February 6, 2010 7:26 PM
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Or two old people out for a sunday drive doing 15 in a 55, on a 2 lane road, that's a no passing zone for about 12 miles straight...

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shepd
February 7, 2010 1:23 AM
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Fortunately, where I am, that's illegal. I know that it's illegal in most places, as well. Check your state laws and you may also find that, in fact, not allowing faster traffic to pass is illegal.

As long as you are somewhere where you can still use a cellphone while driving, call up the cops and get them to solve the issue. If necessary, claim you think the driver is drunk due to their lack of driving skill. Of course, don't mention they're old.

Doesn't matter if they get a ticket. Once pulled over, the problem is gone, for a while.

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dewsipper
February 8, 2010 10:00 AM
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I called our Ohio Highway patrol on the Garbage trucks once. They usually go 35-45 in a 55 during morning rush hour, with no passing (double yellow, hills, curves, and lots of traffic). They said if no minimum is posted, it's not illegal. As long as they do 35 or over, they don't need the red triangle. So, I'm supposed to lobby for a minimum to be posted, and keep them on speed dial, and if there's someone not busy and near they might see what they can do to speed things along. Funny, after the first time I haven't seen them on that road at that time of the morning slowing down traffic since.

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Major Annoyance
February 6, 2010 3:13 PM
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First off, I didn't call you an idiot. I called you an insensitive clod for using sweeping generalizations and hybperbole for trying to make some dubious point about \"old People\" which was not even the topic of the thread.

All you've done is indicatede to me that you're an insensitive clod who may or may not have a Master's degree in something or other. And as some others here have pointed out, having a college degree is no indication of as to whether you're an idiot or not given the common useage of the term. I've known a lot of people with college degrees... wotked for them and later on had them working for me... who couldn't pour piss out of a boot without directions on the heel.

have a nice day.

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kc2gvx
February 6, 2010 9:57 PM
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Sorry for the mistake about the idiot comment then. However, I can't be too far off from the truth, check out the other replies to this thread.

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LunaMakesThings
February 6, 2010 12:59 PM
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I've worked in a movie theater, and a retail crafts store, and I got more complaints, rudeness, and shoplifting from old people than any other group. The theater was always too hot or too cold, the volume was too low or too loud, the concession prices were too high. When someone sat through the whole movie and then wanted a refund, it was an old person. In the craft store, it wasn't the teenagers we needed to watch, but the little old ladies with the giant purses. I never had any biases against older people before working in these places. Or perhaps I did, but in the opposite direction, assuming older people were of a more ethical, trustworthy, and polite nature. But nope, there is perhaps a certain entitlement mentality when one gets older. At least that's how it comes across.

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NarcolepticGirl
February 6, 2010 12:43 PM
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\"that I did for a college presentation for my masters work (am I still an idiot?)\"

yes.

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kc2gvx
February 6, 2010 9:59 PM
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Unless you actually live in NJ and have avoided more accidents due to senior drivers not paying attention, or having bad influences, you have no room to call me an idiot.

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utensil42
February 6, 2010 12:40 PM
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I just want to point out that having a Master's doesn't mean you aren't an idiot.

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Trai_Dep
February 6, 2010 12:46 PM
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Nor is one an idiot for calmly suggesting that people over a certain age need to take mandatory live-driving tests every few years, since statistics show there's a problem.
If 16-year-old drivers had the same stats as elderly ones did, there wouldn't be any debate. But because one group votes MUCH more predictably than the other, one of them avoids this simple, reasonable test.

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kc2gvx
February 6, 2010 10:00 PM
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That is the sad truth. If only 18-20 year old's could out-vote seniors somehow, the laws would be fair.

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supercereal
February 6, 2010 1:54 PM
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Unfortunately, the AARP has a ridiculous lobby in Washington, with an undoubtedly strong pull in each state. Seniors could coordinate a mass \"intentionally crash into as many people as possible\" day and they'd still be untouchable. It's undeniable that very, very many of them are too physically impaired to be driving (among other things), and it's a shame that nothing will happen to fix that.

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technosophe
February 6, 2010 11:48 AM
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Really? Nothing makes you madder?

That's quite a bit of hyperbole, I'd say. I don't even see this as mildly upsetting. It's irrational and silly, but it's not particularly upsetting.

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twatter
February 6, 2010 11:34 AM
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Wait... you can reuse a snow shovel?

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PriceIsWrong
February 6, 2010 11:33 AM
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I grew up in the Midwest, and I found out about this panic stuff when I moved to the south.

There is always a run on milk, bread, eggs, beer and chips. It's crazy, in that it does melt, usually the next day, if not within three.

And it doesn't even have to snow for the panic to settle in. I've seen impending weather conditions announced, canceling school or work, and it could be totally clear outside.

It's ridiculous.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 3:03 PM
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businesses and schools closed here for days not due to the depth of the snow so much [4-5 inches] but the fact that it's so rare that we only have maybe a dozen snowplows and most of those are volunteers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catastrophegirl/4335641290/

and no one has tire chains or any idea how to drive on snow. and it doesn't stay snow. it melts in the afternoon and refreezes every night, making worse and worse ice sheets each day.

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Con Seanne-BZZZZZZZZZZZZ
February 6, 2010 7:33 PM
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Hooray for urban sprawl's untold miles of road and a handfull of plows!

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tsume
February 6, 2010 2:29 PM
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It depends which part of the south you live in. SWVA and the Tri Cities didn't exhibit any of this panic stupidity during the snow storms this winter. I grew up in Wisconsin where the winters were much worse, and the only place I've ever seen any type of winter panic is in Florida when it looks like temperatures might approach freezing.

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dvdchris
February 6, 2010 12:08 PM
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People in Texas seem especially worried about the weather all the time. This seems to increase the older people are. My mom was like this. Insisting on going out of her way to watch the entire weather segment on the 10pm news, even if I could look at my weather widget and tell her the same forecast. I can understand wanting to put the TV on if there are tornadoes or hail coming, but for the average '30% chance of rain' forecast??

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ShruggingGalt
February 6, 2010 1:20 PM
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The 30% chance of rain could mean that 30% of the area will see severe sudden hail.

In the hail storm last spring the storm was hit or miss on portions of town here; heck, I was out and about and actually drived around it accidentally when I was trying to get home...

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elangomatt
February 6, 2010 12:59 PM
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Even more annoying to me than the people that watch the weather too much is the people that put WAY too much stock in the 10 day forcast. I wish there was a study done to see how inaccurate those 10 day forcasts are. My parents go \"camping\" (35 foot park model \"camper\" with an indoor stove, shower, microwave etc) pretty much every weekend in the summer and the first thing my mom does when she gets home on Sunday is start making plans for the next weekend based on the 10 day forcast.

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weathergirl
February 6, 2010 9:19 PM
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I'm an atmospheric science grad student with a degree in meteorology. I can say without a doubt that those 10-day forecasts are absolute garbage. In fact, anything more than about 4 days should be taken with a grain of salt.

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GitEm$teveDave
February 6, 2010 11:35 AM
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My father was in yesterday morning and goes \"you have enough food in case the snow gets bad, right?\" I gave him a look like, and opened up my one cabinet, where I keep the Strategic Pop-Tart Reserve. I said, \"Well, I have enough poptarts to survive a week on just them alone.\" He goes, \"You know, you don;t have to be sarcastic.\" I said, \"Who's being sarcastic? There's 15 boxes of Pop-tarts in here!\".

Whenever I think about panic, I think of the roach episode of The X-Files. Everyone was fighting over toilet paper and the such and crashing cars, and Sculley comes in with this look of amazement.
I worked in a supermarket in the shore region of New Jersey, and I can tell you people do go nuts. I always just shook my head, because we live in the modern world. We have made advancements in vehicle and salt technology. I always asked people, \"how long do you expect to be \"trapped\" in your home? Two days? Maybe three? Do you really need two gallons of milk, two loaves of bread, and 12 rolls of toilet paper?\" You know, people always mention the bread and milk thing, but no one ever mentions the Colbert paper. Any other people who work in supermarkets ever notice this?

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inadequatewife
February 8, 2010 1:19 AM
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I worked in a Maryland supermarket during college. For some reason, we always ran out of Twinkies (in addition to the French Toast ingredients and toilet paper).

I never could figure out why literally everyone was running low on toilet paper at the same time. My mom had enough toilet paper to last a month, and enough groceries in the pantry to feed us for six months. The world truly doesn't revolve around bread, milk, and eggs.

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DangerMouth
February 6, 2010 10:35 PM
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ha! you've said other things, but this last really makes me believe you and my brother were separated at birth. He's the only other person I know who thinks pop-tarts are a neccessity: he moved to Israel (for one year) with 2 cats and three cases (CASES) of pop-tarts.

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Con Seanne-BZZZZZZZZZZZZ
February 6, 2010 7:37 PM
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I don't think there's anywhere to go with salt technologies, man.

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GitEm$teveDave
February 6, 2010 9:09 PM
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Yes, they use different chlorides depending on the temerature range, since certain ones only work to a certain temp.

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S
February 7, 2010 7:52 AM
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So what have you heard about the street de-icer made from turnips..... or radishes..... or some red vegetable I can't quite recall right now. There was an article about it last year sometime saying that it was taking too long to make and the streets looked like a river of blood.

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SchoolTechWilson
February 6, 2010 1:45 PM
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I loved the strategic pop tart reserve, lol

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Bohemian
February 6, 2010 11:40 AM
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I have seen the same stupid panic in South Dakota, you would think they would be used to blizzards by now. The storm over xmas was a real pain. People were trying to buy food for holiday things or weekly groceries on top of the storm panic. Shelves were empty, people were running around like the world was going to end. We started stocking a pantry after a nasty storm in the 90's knocked out power for about 4 days. Trucks couldn't get through and the stores were out of perishables for about a week.

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technosophe
February 6, 2010 11:42 AM
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Ugh, it's just like when people run out to the store and buy up all the food before an earthquake.

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eccsame
February 8, 2010 9:45 AM
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I wonder if that happened when they were predicting that earthquake in Haiti.

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ginnel
February 6, 2010 11:43 AM
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How is it hurting anyone if people do this? I've worked at grocery stores when snowstorms are coming and trust me - the stores love it. If you're not in the store with them why is it bothering you? As a store clerk it made made the hours go by faster when we were busier. Maybe people don't need to do it but if they want to , why not?

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Rhizobium
February 7, 2010 9:57 AM
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Okay, it was many years ago that I last worked retail ... but I did work for a few years as a cashier in a grocery store. It can be a fairly thankless job, with cranky, impatient customers at the best of times. I agree that you wouldn't be bored as an employee in this situation, but panicking customers are likely to be unpleasant (if not dangerous) to deal with. Not great for customers, either (especially if you happen to get there after someone has just grabbed the last 10 jugs of milk and 5 loaves of bread ...)!

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SaraFimm
February 6, 2010 1:18 PM
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I think it's the ratio of who is working the store and who is buying and trying to get back out to their car. Restocking and checking people out is just the same ol', same ol', but dealing with the outages and long lines and packed parking lot is not the same ol', same ol' for the rest.

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technosophe
February 6, 2010 11:47 AM
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Who said it was hurting anyone?

It's just a somewhat silly and irrational response to weather that deserves a bit of mockery.

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Etoiles
February 6, 2010 11:49 AM
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My problem, as a DC-area resident, is actually that I usually do my grocery shopping on the weekends. And I live in a 1-bed apartment with a miniscule kitchen, so we can't actually store more than about 10 days' worth of food. And with the snow like this, my husband and I are both home, where usually one of us would be out and about. So, even without the storm, I'd need to hit the grocery store on Thursday or Friday for both of us to be home on the weekend. And *with* the storm, we know we can't go to the grocery store again until Monday night at the earliest.

Though really, what all the stores are out of is red wine and frozen pizzas. I can understand why. In the meantime, I really really hope that our apartment management sends a snowblower up onto our (flat) roof soon.

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pecan 3.14159265
February 6, 2010 11:16 PM
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I agree with all of your sentiments, totally. Thursday night, I was at the store with everyone else. I watched what everyone else was putting in their carts, and for the most part it wasn't things like milk and toilet paper. A lot of people were buying just regular food. I usually do my grocery shopping on the weekends too, mostly on Sunday - it just happened to be that since we were going to be home the entire weekend, we wanted things to eat that didn't require cooking, in case we lost power.

People get so smug about how \"panicked\" DC is when in fact, we're not panicking. We don't get this kind of snow very often....maybe once every four or five years. It's not a stretch to say that perhaps being walloped by a large snowstorm is reason for some concern since you only see one every five years.

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Etoiles
February 6, 2010 11:57 AM
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Oh, and to add: I grew up in Boston and went to college in the Berkshires, so I'm no stranger to the deep snow. However, most of the drivers and many of the homeowners around here *are* strangers to the deep snow, and the Metro stops running, so it becomes even more dangerous for anyone to be out.

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RevRagnarok
February 6, 2010 11:50 AM
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http://snowpocalypsedc.com/

Not mine. ;)

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yungjerry703
February 6, 2010 5:55 PM
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with about half a dozen military bases and the FED being the number one employer, the dc metro area is full of people that come from and grew up in places that never got any snow. the around the clock news coverage of the storm doesn't help either. being a consumer based economy i don't see how this is in any way bad. nothing boosts sales like impending doom.

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RevRagnarok
February 6, 2010 11:57 AM
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Very glad my wife went shopping Wednesday. We have a 15 month old, so yes, we do really need the milk. ;)

She's firing up the crock pot right now for some nice beef stew. Were I live (Eldersburg) it is already over the top of my snowblower...

http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23Eldersburg
http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23Snowpocalypse

The state is telling people to stop abandoning their cars in the road...
http://twitter.com/MDSHA

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Garybaldy
February 6, 2010 12:12 PM
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If i may.

You might try keeping some powdered formula/milk and or condensed milk stored for just such an occasion.

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RevRagnarok
February 6, 2010 4:07 PM
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Well, of course we have some formula and distilled water around. For EMERGENCIES. We knew this was coming for a week; hence it is not an emergency. We just moved a normal shopping visit a few days earlier in anticipation of the madhouse behavior.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:38 PM
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Powdered and condensed milk do not taste the same. Toddlers can be very, very picky about what they eat/drink.

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Trai_Dep
February 6, 2010 4:15 PM
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Have you tried blowing pot smoke into his face for a few minutes?
It usually works wonders on my two nephews.

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Garybaldy
February 6, 2010 2:21 PM
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I am fully aware of that. In an emergency you eat anything when you get hungry enough. A baby understands nothing but hunger. When it gets hungry enough its pickiness starts to fade.

Just like the all the food most people have sitting in the back of the cabinets.

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PølάrβǽЯ
February 6, 2010 4:20 PM
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In my house, I make the rules and the children follow them, because I'm the parent and they are the kids. If they don't like what's being served, they can go hungry. The longer they hold out, the less time i have to spend in the kitchen. They WILL get hungry, and they WILL eat, eventually.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 2:28 PM
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Apparently we've been dealing with toddlers with drastically different personalities. I've seen kiddos refuse to eat for days rather than eat something they don't want.

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god_forbids
February 6, 2010 2:49 PM
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I have to call bullshit on that. My cousin only feeds her crotch nugget cookies and brownies because \"he won't eat anything else!\" When you point out that he would eat raw potatoes if you starved him long enough, she puts on a sad face like a sick puppy and makes excuses. I am sure she doesn't last 2 hours of his constant complaining before caving, every single time.

So no, I don't think we're talking about \"toddlers with drastically different personalities\" as much as we are talking about adults with the fortitude to know which person in an adult-child relationship dictates the rules and which does not. Children can last probably a couple weeks without eating so if it takes 3 or 4 days to win that battle, so be it.

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JamieSueAustin
February 6, 2010 2:38 PM
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My kid is like that. He'll pass out from hunger before eating something he doesn't like. But, he will drink powdered milk if need be. If you get it cold enough its tolerable.

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Garybaldy
February 6, 2010 6:12 PM
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My Aunt was similar when she was a child. She would hold her breath until she turned purple. Scaring the crap out of my Grandparents. She always ended up getting her way.

Some parents do what parents do best. They love their children so much. That when a child is willing to cause harm to themselves to get his or her way. Many parents cave. Justifying it with \"its better for my kids heath\".

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newfie
February 6, 2010 11:50 AM
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If this global warming doesnt let up we will all freeze to death

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Trai_Dep
February 6, 2010 4:30 PM
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Tee hee.
It's people like you why scientists - foolishly assuming that Americans aren't so intellectually lazy that they wouldn't Google a term they don't understand before offering a public opinion on it - had to switch to the more toddler-friendly \"Climate Change\".
Although, I have to say, I've never seen with my own eyes someone justifying this dumbed-down neologism - I always thought it was an urban legend... Wonders never cease.

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newfie
February 6, 2010 7:23 PM
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Global warming is bullshat. That was my point. I do not believe in it.

As for having to dumb something down for me LoL.

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kabamm
February 7, 2010 4:22 AM
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It's physically happening whether you believe in it or not. Anecdotal snowstorms notwithstanding.

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Trai_Dep
February 7, 2010 2:50 AM
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OK, fair supposition.
Please let us know which graduate degrees in natural and/or physical sciences you've earned, from where, and which articles you've written in peer-reviewed periodicals that have been published without major portions having to be retracted.
Needless to say, anything published under Exxon's aegis don't count. You DO realize why, right?
Short of that, I'd trust those guys with the above that have done this, over an internet guy claiming Global Warming is a myth since it dropped below 65º in Dallas for a week last year.

So c'mon - what's your expertise?

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ARP
February 6, 2010 2:35 PM
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There's a reason that its called \"global\" warming and not East Coast of US warming. The average \"global\" temperatures are increasing. We had to change the name to \"climate change\" because of dumb comments like this. What that means for a particular geography varies. For example, in the midwest, temperatures are on average moderating with cooler summers and warmer winters. In the southeast, they are getting more extreme temperatures (record breaking summers and record breaking winters) and a greater number and strength of hurricanes. Oh, didn't Texas have a record breaking heatwave last summer? How could that be if Limbaugh says we have to worry about global cooling from a debunked study in the 80's? Near the poles, ice sheets are breaking up. In Alaska, they're having trouble with some buildings because they were built on permafrost, which is now melting.

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god_forbids
February 6, 2010 3:38 PM
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Sorry, global temperatures peaked in 1998 (even with all the fake data to \"hide the decline\") and have been falling for 12 years even as CO2 has continued rising. Global warming is a myth and your post is full of debunked ideas. In particular the supposed link between \"a greater number and strength of hurricanes\" was pushed by Al Gore but has no basis in science. Ice sheets break up around the poles EVERY YEAR, and come back EVERY YEAR, etc etc. Blatant alarmism FTL?

The man-made global warming hoax is over and serious scientists have begun to destroy the false claims of bureaucrats (with no climate background) who spread FUD to fill their pockets and the pockets of their green wave sponsors. I hope they are prepared to feel the global heat wave during the next elections!

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rpm773
February 6, 2010 11:52 AM
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I hit a Bryn Mawr, PA supermarket at 7am this morning. Not a soul was on the road, and the shelves had well-recovered from last night's panic (if there was one at this store).

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mythago
February 6, 2010 11:54 AM
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Snow melts and refreezes into ice, remember?

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He
February 6, 2010 12:09 PM
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The melting/refreezing happens less up north, so they get to be pompous about how much better drivers they are when they have snow that is easier to clear and drive in. Also, over 100k people are w/o power today, which means stocking up on non-perishables would have actually made sense.

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DangerMouth
February 6, 2010 2:40 PM
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We're legendary!

Once I was on my way to Tahoe from the Bay Area, and the chips were about to close the road and were stopping every single car, they let me and my honda thru because \"oh, you're from the northeast\". Yeah.

We learn to drive on black ice, we learn to ski on moguls, and we eat chips for breakfast.

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Garybaldy
February 7, 2010 1:32 AM
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I may be wrong. My understanding is. No one drives on ice if they do not have a car setup for it. Even in the northeast. When all the roads are covered in a thin sheet of ice with zero snow on top of it. No one has manageable traction.

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DangerMouth
February 7, 2010 1:15 PM
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I was just pointing out (tounge-in-cheek) how drivers from the northeast are sometimes perceived in other parts :p

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Ninjastorm66
February 6, 2010 12:24 PM
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The melt/freeze cycle happens less up north? That's news to me as a former Chicago resident and current Albany resident. Ask about our potholes sometime.

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Pithlit
February 6, 2010 12:23 PM
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I'm from Michigan. I promise yo, we don't all do this. I get mad when fellow Northerners get this way. It's embarrassing. It's not that hard to wrap one's brain around the fact that weather patterns are different the further south you go. I also don't get the snarking on people who stock up before snow storms. It makes perfect sense. No one likes to go out in bad weather, even in the Great White North. If there might be a longer stretch between shopping periods, you might want to stock up more on the perishables. We did this. Even in Michigan.

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gqcarrick
February 6, 2010 12:29 PM
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That is the point though. People up north know snow is going to come, so we stock up way ahead of time so we don't have to go out. There may be winters where they don't get a snow storm in VA, but chances are there will be. If people would use a little foresight and stock up ahead of time there wouldn't be a huge panic.

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pecan 3.14159265
February 6, 2010 11:19 PM
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I'm from the DC area. We do not get snowstorms every winter. We get maybe 12 inches spread out through the entire winter season. This one storm alone, we got 24 inches. 24 inches! I'm so tired of people being all, \"you should have been prepared..\" well, we do get prepared, but you have to understand that the DC area does not see this amount of snow all at once very often at all.

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mythago
February 6, 2010 1:28 PM
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Chances are there could be an earthquake 'up north' too, but that doesn't mean everybody 'up north' is prepared for an earthquake.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:49 PM
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Depends on what you need to stock up on. I have about 8 weeks worth on non-perishables in my house, but I can only keep perishables for so long, so I have to go get them before a storm.

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gqcarrick
February 6, 2010 1:16 PM
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And thats fine. Look at the picture, those aren't perishables, Those are cans of items, stuff people should have had stocked up on for quite some time.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 2:36 PM
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*shrugs* We bought our usual groceries when we went out Thursday because we normally go on Sunday, but we know our neighborhood won't be plowed by then. Most of the people I saw in the store looked like they were doing their regular shopping as well.

If everybody who normally went out on the weekend all came on the same day, that's what the shelves would look like. Especially if the store didn't have time to restock or that they didn't get their usual truck.

Not denying that some people are idiots about buying stuff they don't need, but I don't think it was quite the panic that everyone seems to be envisioning.

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PsiCop
February 6, 2010 11:55 AM
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I live in rural northwestern Connecticut. We're no strangers to snow ... and I mean, deep snow. And I mean, up here in the hills, we may get a foot, while at the same time, Hartford (in the Connecticut valley) gets only 3 inches, and New Haven (along the shoreline) gets rained on.

Nevertheless, I've seen people round these parts flocking to the stores in the day or two leading up to a major storm. Maybe they weren't all stripped nearly bare as in this picture, but we're talking the bread, bottled-water, and milk supplies markedly reduced. We're also talking doubling or nearly-doubling foot traffic in the stores. But it doesn't always happen; sometimes a storm is coming but the stores are no more busy than usual.

The difference? \"Storm hype\" on the local TV stations. Whenever the local weathermen are hammering us with how treacherous it's going to be, people go off to the store to stock up on bread, water and milk. Whenever the hype isn't there, or isn't intense, they don't.

Connecticut TV stations have been criticized for this, for years. Back in the mid-90s when we had a string of relatively bad winters with some really bad storms, they were noted for their wall-to-wall 24x7 \"live team coverage\" of the storms. As if we needed to see reporters -- in multiple locations -- standing hip-deep in driving snow, to realize it's snowing out. And for some reason these people felt compelled to drone out the mantra, \"It's dangerous out here, don't drive if you don't have to.\"

They seemed to assume no one would be able to part their own curtains and see it's snowing and that cars are slipping around on the roads! After a few years of that, and being laughed at for having done it, the TV stations rolled back on that ... a little teeny bit.

Anyway, what drives this sort of \"rabid pre-storm store plundering\" is not people not knowing how to deal with winter storms. Because here, anyway, we can deal with them. No, the problem is that the local TV guys pound out the mantra of how terrible it's going to be and give people nothing else to think about but the coming storm and how terrible it will be. That's not to say this particular storm isn't terrible, it is remarkably big and devastating. But there's a difference between an unusually-bad winter storm, and an unusually-bad winter storm that's intensively hyped on television for a few days in advance of it.

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Winteridge2
February 6, 2010 3:03 PM
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too bad the \"storm team\" chickens can't organize folks into groups to keep the roads and walks shoveled. what else do people have to do? It would keep them from worrying, and besides, they can't get to the gym anyway.

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jesusofcool
February 6, 2010 12:50 PM
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Ugh - I'm from NW CT and our weatherpeople are SO BAD. I feel like half the time they predict argmageddon and nothing shows up, and then the other half of the time they completely miss a storm.
NW CT can be pretty harrowing to drive around before it's plowed if you don't have a big truck/SUV/balls, I'll give my panicked neighbors that much. We do get plowed really fast though. I didn't realize this until we were at a relative's in Long Island during a snowstorm and their main residential street wasn't plowed out by 8am on a Saturday and I was thinking \"WHAT IS THIS! IS THIS NORMAL?\" I actually made me miss the renegade neighbors with the snow plow attached to their Dodge Ram barreling through...

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 3:15 PM
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snowed here last friday/saturday. the main road by my house was plowed on monday afternoon, my street was plowed on tuesday. i love my SUV

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DangerMouth
February 6, 2010 2:52 PM
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I'm from Fairfield County, and after moving back after a couple decades in CA. The winter of 2008, every single storm that was predicted, came true, and the accumulations were bang on. I was impressed. Unfortunately, the next winter proved that a fluke, and the predictions were all over the place, as usual.

You know what I LOVED about CA? No one, ever, talked about the weather. sigh.

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PølάrβǽЯ
February 6, 2010 4:32 PM
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The easiest job in the world is being the weatherman at KABC/KNBC/KCBS/KFOX.

\"And now for the weather. Bob?\"

\"Yes, today will be sunny and warm, followed by sunny and warm weather throughout the week. Back to you, Jill.\"

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DangerMouth
February 6, 2010 10:40 PM
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Well, April through September, anyway. October through March it's \"Well, it's rainy today, and it will rain for the rest of the week. Back to you..\"

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Trai_Dep
February 6, 2010 12:40 PM
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But. But. But... I was under the impression that once snow falls deeper than one foot (at any one fall, 'natch), that it will collect itself, form itself into a man then e-a-t the brattiest child it can find. Then lapse into its digestive state until the gory remains of its macabre feast is expelled (most notably, a bone of its bratty meal - bleached orange by its unholy digestive system - usually in the area around its mouth). Until it's ready to strike again.

My only question: with bratty child-eating possessed snowmen from Hell! cruising your snowy vastness, your reporters are pretty hardcore if the only thing they complain about is dangerous driving. So are ALL of you New England types that hardcore? Or just your TV reporters?

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PsiCop
February 6, 2010 7:10 PM
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The reporters are ridiculous. I guess you could say they're hardcore.

Last winter one of them drove up to Torrington during an ice/snow storm, about 20 miles from their studio, and stood out by a state highway to show how treacherous the driving was. She was standing just at the edge of where the snow/slush from the plows was being sprayed ... every time one went by, it dumped slush around her feet.

Now that's pretty stupid. If the plow happens to scrape up a chunk of ice, it might fly right into her head. But no. She stayed there. Then when a car slid into the plowed snow at the edge of the road, she ran up to meet it and talk to the driver ... even though the next car behind that one, might have followed it and clobber her. (It didn't, but it might have, for all she knew.)

So you have stupid on top of stupid.

This year that station hasn't done too many remotes like that one. I think maybe they got some people telling them how dumb she was.

Back in the '80s, this idiot from one of Hartford's TV stations did a remote from Mt Washington in NH. You could say he was hardcore too.

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Trai_Dep
February 7, 2010 3:02 AM
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I share you contempt for local TV \"Live Action\" crews, btw.
I just wanted to work in the idea of man-eating snowmen with orange-bleached victim's bones sticking through their faces because - let's face it - wouldn't winter be more exciting with them than not?

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thebigbluecheez
February 6, 2010 12:21 PM
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From \"World War Z (An Oral History of the Zombie War)\":

The only rule that ever made sense to me I learned from a history, not an economics, professor at Wharton. \"Fear,\" he used to say, \"fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.\" That blew my away. \"Turn on the TV,\" he'd say. \"What are you seeing? People selling their products? No. People selling the fear of you having to live without their products.\" F*****' A, he was right. Fear of aging, fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of failure. Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear sells.

How providential that I just read this chapter last night before bed.

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raydeebug
February 8, 2010 11:09 AM
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I'm highly susceptible to zombie horror nightmares. Worst in my life was after reading that book... in one sitting. I'm looking forward to the movie. :D

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pecan 3.14159265
February 6, 2010 11:23 PM
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I had to stop reading that book before bed because I'd have even more vivid dreams than usual, and they all involved zombies.

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DangerMouth
February 6, 2010 10:23 PM
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damn, I need to upgrade my nightime reading.

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Sorta Kinda Lucky Soul
February 6, 2010 11:55 AM
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We live in northern Maryland and, during a dog food run to Wal-Mart on the way home from work on Thursday, watched panic buying at its finest. Literally, people with three, four and five gallons of milk in their carts, four to five dozen eggs, and we counted six loaves of bread carried by one woman. It was absolutely ridiculous. The bread shelves, on Thursday evening, looked like the pictures -- there were maybe two packs of hamburger rolls, some rye bread and some other odds and ends, but no \"regular\" loaves.

The thing that gets me, is the majority of these people live in subdivisions, where snow removal will take place so they'll be able to get out and resupply no later than Monday (Sunday more probably, some places even Saturday night when the snow stops). The pack buying mentality is absolutely over the top. Okay, if you have little kids you might want a safety bumper should anything go really wrong, but five gallons of milk for a two to three day period? The worst part is that, as the inordinate panic buying cleared the shelves, there wasn't sufficient stock to go to people who just needed one or two things.

I mean, geez, we just made sure we had a couple five gallon cans of gas for the generator and snow blower, and did our typical grocery run -- and we live a mile off the paved road and have to get ourselves out. As I type this we have over two feet and it's still coming down hard, but as long as my satellite internet service stays up I'm a happy camper for the next couple days.

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ShruggingGalt
February 6, 2010 1:27 PM
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Except that the stores won't be able to resupply at the same time, and the distribution centers won't be able to get more product until the snow is cleared to, so I'll bet it'll be the end of next week when they are restocked.

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Trai_Dep
February 6, 2010 12:49 PM
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There needs to be a www.panicking.peopleofwalmart.com subdomain.

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RandomZero
February 6, 2010 12:04 PM
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Much as I hate playing to stereotypes, I must admit I'm always amused by stories like this. Other people call a foot or two of snow a disaster - here in Nova Scotia, we call it Tuesday. On Thursday, it's too cold to snow.

In all seriousness: Halifax is a small population base spread over a massive area. We've dealt with an overnight dump of 3 feet before, and to my recall only those too stupid/lazy/infirm to work a shovel/snowblower/plow were stuck for 3 days - and nobody more than that. DC is a highly-concentrated population base with the resources of a major nation's nerve centr at its disposal. What the hell is its excuse?

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mythago
February 6, 2010 9:56 PM
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You don't seem to get that there is a difference in how a community handles a recurrent weather issue and how it handles an unusual weather issue. You Halifaxers are all prepared to cope with a 110-degree heat wave, right? Well WHY NOT?! I mean it COULD happen!

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Rachacha
February 6, 2010 2:22 PM
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The snow we are experiencing in the DC region they are saying may break a record from the 1920s for teh 3rd worst snow. We typically get no more than 1 foot of snow the entire year. This year we have had 20+ inches in December, a couple of storm in January that gave us 4-6 inches, and then 30+ inches in February.

I am a native upstate New Yorker where the norm is 4+ feet of snow, so it does not phase me, but this is probably a once in a lifetime storm for most DCers, and they simply don't know how to react (i.e. don't go out for a drive in your Camaro or Yugo, you will get stuck)

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:52 PM
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Unfortunately, those resources do not include enough snowplows. It's a serious issue and I don't understand why we haven't dealt with it yet.

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chou_chou
February 6, 2010 12:35 PM
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I find that the biggest problem with winter weather and the south is that the cities don't have the resources to deal with snow the same way that we did up north. We had a snow a couple weeks ago that would have been taken care of the next day if it happened in Ohio, but down here in Richmond, VA, I didn't see a snowplow all day. The roads weren't clear until a could days later, but that was because it all melted.

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tsume
February 6, 2010 2:25 PM
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I live in a fairly rural area of Tennessee and for both of these \"mega winter storms\" we've gotten this winter there was none of this panicky crap going in. There were actually less people out at the store in the days leading up to the storm, probably because they know what happens if you are driving when it hits. We have a shortage of snow plows here, but somehow we manage :)

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pecan 3.14159265
February 6, 2010 11:28 PM
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But you're also in a more rural area of Tennessee. I'm guessing the majority of your residents have been there for generations, or the residents have at least lived there for a very long time. In DC, there are a lot of transplants, and a lot of them have rarely seen snow, let alone a massive storm like this one. And we have a lot of college kids who aren't equipped to deal with something like this either.

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LostTurntable
February 6, 2010 12:09 PM
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Try 8 billion small one-way roads that are near-impossible to plow with all the cars parked on them. That'll slow recovery down.

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gqcarrick
February 6, 2010 12:17 PM
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Would you like some cheese with that whine. What do you think Buffalo is downtown, a bunch of one way streets barely big enough to get a car down let alone a snow plow.

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jimmyhl
February 6, 2010 12:04 PM
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Let's talk serious priorities: BOOZE. Here in Pennsylvania, the state runs all the liquor stores. There are no private retailers for wine or liquor. I stopped at my local store before the storm really took hold yesterday afternoon. It was mobbed. Between the storm and the Super Bowl (most PA liquor stores are not open on Sunday) people were snapping up everything.

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TBGBoodler
February 6, 2010 12:06 PM
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I don't understand... you mean everyone doesn't make Milk & Toilet Paper casserole when it snows?

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Garybaldy
February 6, 2010 12:07 PM
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I guess it is besides the fact that most people have about a weeks worth of food in the house. The forgotten food stuffs in the back of all the kitchen cabinets.

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Generic_Username
February 6, 2010 12:10 PM
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is that chef boyardee I see? who needs eggs and milk when there's perfectly good ravioli in a can?

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 3:29 PM
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especially since if the power goes out and you don't have a gas stove, canned cold ravioli is a hell of a lot better than raw eggs

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Slave For Turtles
February 6, 2010 5:55 PM
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Assuming you have a hand-crank can opener! I'm surprised at how many people only have electric can openers! Electric can openers are nothing more than sirens for cats in the morning. They'll assume that whatever you're opening is for them. I'll stick to the hand-crank varieties, tyvm.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 6:22 PM
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i only have a hand crank can opener [and a military p38 for camping] but most chef boyardee that i've seen lately is actually flip top

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Mr_Human
February 6, 2010 12:11 PM
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I remember New York City's great blizzard of '96. We were stranded in Brooklyn for 2 days. Within 12 hours, the bodegas were empty of beer, milk, and cigarettes.

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Karita
February 6, 2010 10:00 PM
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Oh wow. I got stranded in NYC for two days during that storm - we were so used to the overhyped and inaccurate weather reports that we went down from CT anyway, and there was no snow to be seen. By the time we got out of the theater, the storm had started and all ways out of the city had been shut down. That was actually a lot of fun.

I've lived in CT, upstate NY and Finland. I love the snow, and I don't think it's ever stopped me from doing the daily things I need to do. I don't think I've ever stocked up on anything. My grocery store in CT is about a mile away and if things were really bad I could just walk - I've never seen a store shut down because of the snow. In fact, I did walk a few times last year when I needed something but didn't want to clear my drive until the plows had finished driving by and piling the snow at the end of my driveway. (That would be the one thing I don't like about storms - the stupid heavy pile of snow/sand/ice melt from the plows that is nearly impossible to clear away.)

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Charity Froggenhall
February 6, 2010 12:11 PM
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We had plenty of food for us for, y'know, A DAY of not being able to get out to the stores. But I did restock cat food yesterday, because kitties do not understand that Mommy might not want to drive in low visibility just to get them some Iams Seafood Sampler.

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Garybaldy
February 6, 2010 6:44 PM
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You might very well be in the percentage of people that are in an exception to the rule.

Most everyone has non-perishable food that they have long since forgotten about buried deep within the bowls of the kitchen cabinets.

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GitEm$teveDave
February 6, 2010 1:07 PM
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And rememeber, in most cases, the cats eat their owners while dogs lay next to them until the smell gets bad.

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tedyc03
February 6, 2010 12:11 PM
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As a DC resident I can say that while this is silliness, this much snow is paralyzing to the DC area. It could be a week before stores get anything in them, and everyone needed groceries. The part where they lost their minds is when they blocked up the traffic for six city blocks around to get milk and bread.

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gqcarrick
February 6, 2010 12:14 PM
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What a bunch of Wusses. Honestly, I don't feel a bit sorry for you people. And since Buffalo is going to be missed by this \"mega storm\" I laugh in your general direction.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:53 PM
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It's okay, I'm laughing in your general direction for living in Buffalo.

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gqcarrick
February 6, 2010 1:14 PM
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Laugh all you want. More soul in this city than in all of VA combined.

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47ka
February 6, 2010 3:27 PM
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Please. Last time I went to Buffalo it was like the zombie apocalypse had already happened.

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dreamking
February 6, 2010 9:34 PM
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I don't live in Buffalo but I've been to VA. It happened there a long time ago. The zombies went on to purchase pre-fab cookie cutters in subdivisions.

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erratapage
February 6, 2010 12:18 PM
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I lived in Fairfax Virginia from 1976-79. We had 24 inches of snow over President's Day. We didn't get out of subdivision until Thursday. There was another guy in the subdivision who got so tired of waiting for the snowplow that he put a blade on his pickup and started plowing everything out. As I recall back then, Fairfax County had two snow plows.

In Minnesota, we just don't panic over the snow. You will probably get a snowday out of a really bad storm, but it's pretty rare that you won't be able to get out of the house for a day or two.

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Etoiles
February 6, 2010 1:22 PM
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Whereas my street, in Arlington VA, is literally unplowable. It's steep, narrow, curved, and lined with apartment parking on both sides. After the December storm, my \"12-minute\" walk to the Metro took me 25-30 minutes for an entire week.

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Matt
February 6, 2010 12:18 PM
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The same thing happened in NJ yesterday. Everyone ran to the store because they predicted 3-6 inches of snow last night into today. So far, no snow.

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whiskykitten
February 6, 2010 12:19 PM
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We've had flickering lights here in Annandale (VA) so I'm really more concerned about losing power than being snowed in. I did stock up on those heat pads you attach to your skin for therapeutic reasons, since my 81 yr old mother suffers from chronic pain and is usually using a heating pad 28 hours a day.

Yesterday morning I hopped a bus to the pet store to get grass for my Kittie. The place was twice as mobbed as the grocery store. He's an outdoor stray that adopted me three years ago and will NOT use a litter box no matter what, so despite having no reason to go anywhere, I'm out there shoveling paths to the nearest bushes, hoping he'll take advantage of that instead of my furniture.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 3:33 PM
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i have a former barn cat who prefers to pee in front my dryer but he's had no problems walking in the snow to get to the azalea bushes for his necessities. of course, i also suspect he's stalking the vole population there while he does his thing

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whiskykitten
February 6, 2010 4:06 PM
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I don't understand it. I even built him a custom litter box out of a 68 gallon storage bin so His Highness didn't have to – the horror!! – SQUAT to pee. I thought he'd appreciate being able to spray against the side as is his custom.

He looks at it as if it's made of radioactive material.

However this afternoon he did deign to pee AND poop in the dead kitty's plain, ordinary old litter box.

We will be toasting his good sense this evening with much whisky.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 4:13 PM
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every time he does that, give him pettings and treats. maybe it will catch on.
he might not like the type of litter. mine don't like the natural ones or the big pellets in the tidycats breeze box. they prefer the clumping grainy stuff.

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whiskykitten
February 6, 2010 5:40 PM
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Gosh, it hadn't even occurred to me that he might not like the litter! I've never had a litter-finicky kitty before so I just assumed they like what, uh, I liked.

Since I've got two boxes, I can try a different type in one of them. Thanks for the tip!

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EdnaLegume
February 6, 2010 7:38 PM
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get fresh step no perfume and no dye litter. My kitty was using anything else (including the freshly laundered clothes in the basket and the bath mat), then I realized she didn't like the location and the smell of the litter. I brought a box upstairs (she is 12 years old) and switched to no dye/no perfume litter. she's been happy as a clam ever since. Dr. Elsey's makes a bunch of good ones, specifically one called \"Cat Attract\" .. a good one to start with to get kitty into the litter box. I also figured out it helps to clean the litter box now and again... ;)

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whiskykitten
February 7, 2010 10:27 AM
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Oh, I have Cat Attract additive but didn't know they made a litter!

I suspect this is a good line of investigation; since he is a defiantly outdoor kitty, perfumes and deodorants are probably not the sort of things that would attract him to go. Thanks for weighing in!

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47ka
February 6, 2010 3:27 PM
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Just toss him out the window - that'll get him trained really quickly.

I kid. Sort of.

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whiskykitten
February 6, 2010 4:02 PM
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\"Just toss him out the window - that'll get him trained really quickly.\"

I did resort to that (sliding door, not window) at one point this morning, when I realized he wasn't touching his food, probably due to constipation. He looked at me as if I'd thrown him to fire and now won't let me near him. *sigh*

However, he peed AND pooped in the litter box this afternoon, to much rejoicing throughout the land!!

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KrispyKrink
February 6, 2010 12:22 PM
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There's always going to be a run on fresh food items. We keep a 6 month supply of shelf stable foods and MRE's with our emergency stocks but if a major storm is coming we're still going to hit up the local supermarket for fresh items.

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KrispyKrink
February 7, 2010 2:21 AM
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If I do, then I'll have to buy even more 7.62mm to reach out and touch the crazy's if the Walgreens shutdown for a week. ;-)

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Bohemian
February 6, 2010 12:32 PM
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If it sounds like we are going to get a shut down the interstates don't go anywhere for 3 days storm I make sure we have a few things. 2 jugs of milk, enough of needed prescriptions and propane for the back up heater. The milk is optional but I get really crabby without coffee and don't drink it black.

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dblevins
February 6, 2010 12:33 PM
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Local DC TV stations are doing the \"storm coverage\" 24 hours a day starting Friday about 10AM and they are still at it. Got \"reporters\" all over the place with \"live\" coverage. Gosh fellows, one snow flake looks a lot like another from 3 feet, much less 30 and on TV. Wonder if it was snowing on Sunday if they'd preempt the Super Bowl?

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cpotter
February 6, 2010 12:34 PM
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Chicago stores would look just like this even though they would plow streets and sidewalks within 24 hours so stores wouldn't close. But still, the night before, people cleared out the shelves.

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JulesNoctambule
February 6, 2010 12:36 PM
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Why always bread and milk, I wonder? What if the power goes out -- are you meant to dip the bread in the milk, make sandwiches with the bread and leave the milk in the fridge so it stays fresh, or what?

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dreamking
February 6, 2010 9:37 PM
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kids need milk, and you don't want to pop out to the corner bodega (or the Walmart 15 miles away) and get more if you don't have to. Plus, there's the inherent modern american panic reflex.

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Garybaldy
February 6, 2010 2:29 PM
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Outside/unheated garage/shed are all excellent places to put perishables during a power outage due to winter storm. For those that live in area's with out the above. You do not typically heat the whole house. An unheated area can be used.

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JulesNoctambule
February 6, 2010 5:52 PM
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A neighbour of mine did just that during one storm, carefully stacking the contents of her fridge on the screened-in porch.

Overnight, the food she put out there was either torn into and left scattered on the porch or taken outright by a small animal, either a possum or one of the massive raccoons we have roaming around.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 3:38 PM
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yep, actually commenter theblackdog was just tweeting from his phone about putting snow in a cooler for his perishables. he's been without power for about 9 hours now according to his twitter feed and the snow is up to 23 inches

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:41 PM
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If the power goes out and you can't cook, milk is for making cold cereal and the bread can be used for sandwiches. Peanut butter keeps forever, so I almost always have a good stock of that, but I can only store so much of a perishable good at any one time.

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Rachacha
February 6, 2010 2:27 PM
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I guess I am screwed. I hate cold cereal, and despise peanut butter. Guess it is a good thing I have a generator.

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JulesNoctambule
February 6, 2010 2:05 PM
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Do you keep the milk cold by keeping it on the porch? Opening your fridge all the time if the power goes out seems like a not-that-good idea no matter the weather outside.

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Ashley
February 6, 2010 12:36 PM
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This is what happened in Oklahoma this year. We had gone to Target to go grocery shopping and apparently because of the oncoming ice/snow storm, the isles were ravaged. It's ridiculous. Apparently people at A LOT when they're stuck inside for a mere 2 days. Do they not already have groceries in their houses?

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TheRealSouth
February 6, 2010 12:38 PM
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Emptying out supermarkets over snow? Please. It's not like the store won't be there in a few days after it all turns to water.

A hurricane, on the other hand...

Let's just say when Andrew finally left, it took the supermarket and just about everything else with it. A little snow isn't a big anything to get hysterical about.

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dolemite
February 8, 2010 9:42 AM
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Despite the tragedy of hurricanes...I really have a hard time feeling sympathy for people that live in places like coastal FL. It's pretty much a given that they will be hit continuously with hurricanes, every year, sometimes multiple times per year. Yet, they still live there. Same goes for earthquakes and CA. It's a given that what happened to Haiti will happen to CA, yet everyone is still there. Then when it happens, everyone will run around like this is a great tragedy, why couldn't something have been done???

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pecan 3.14159265
February 6, 2010 11:34 PM
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Just because it will melt eventually does not mean it's going to melt in a few days. I can look out my window right now and see that the street is a massive sheet of ice - ice that has formed from not only the beginning snowfall on Friday, but the leftover snow from last week. After the big December storm, there were still huge parking spaces, lots of them, filled with snow weeks after the storm - well into January. So it'll still be there, causing a lot of trouble.

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PølάrβǽЯ
February 6, 2010 4:45 PM
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Between our upright freezer and cupboards full of canned and other non-perishable foods, the four of us could easily eat for a month without having to buy anything.

These people stocking up for a 2-3 day storm are simply idiots.

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HungryGal
February 6, 2010 12:39 PM
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I thought this was a New England thing! (Blizzard of '78 wasn't well forecast and did wreck havoc, closing roads for days and people did run out of stuff.) We joke about the \"French Toast Alert\" here! http://www.universalhub.com/french-toast

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PsiCop
February 6, 2010 1:34 PM
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You're right, the Blizzard of '78 had not been predicted very well. Many folks credit that blizzard with the ramping-up of weather operations at the TV and radio stations and increased sensitivity to bad weather and -- as a result of that -- the \"hyper-hyping\" of storms here in CT. But I think this was a trend which had actually started earlier than that.

Several years prior, the Ice Storm of '73 had also not been predicted, either. This storm was sudden enough, and drastic enough, that then-Gov. Meskill, who'd been on a skiing vacation, could not (he said; would not, his opponents said) return to the state to supervise the cleanup. That basically ended his governorship.

It was after the Ice Storm of '73 that the Hartford stations went nuts over the weather. Channel 3, for example, hired a goofball, Hilton Kaderli, to do the weather for them. And they sent him out on remotes all the time ... including one in the '80s from (of all places!) Mt Washington (in New Hamsphire, a long way both geographically and meteorologically from CT) wherein he was nearly blown off the side of the mountain while trying to report how cold and windy it was.

Sure, the '78 blizzard hadn't been predicted ... but it wasn't because the stations didn't have intensive weather operations. It happened, instead, in spite of those operations. Remember, even in the late 70s they did not have the sorts of satellites, radar, and -- perhaps most importantly -- computer modeling they have now. That blizzard had been due to a convergence of weather masses whose results couldn't be predicted (then) as readily as can be done now.

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JanetCarol
February 6, 2010 12:40 PM
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haha the stores here in Northern Virginia are bare. I went to a home depot to pick up some items for work on Thursday and people were attacking a stock room lady who was bringing out 15 snow shovels they got in a shipment.

Also my sister works for Food Lion in MD and she said she had no idea why they were still open yesterday, they had no meat, bread, milk. She said the majority of the boxed and canned food was out also.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:45 PM
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Snow may melt, but if I'm stuck in my house for 2-3 days with potentially no electricity (and no way to cook), you can bet your ass I want milk to make cereal and bread for sandwiches. Then again, when we stopped at the store on Thursday, we bought one gallon of milk and one loaf of bread, because we only need 2-3 days worth of food.

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KrispyKrink
February 7, 2010 2:35 AM
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If you live in an area that's prone to outages, there is no excuse to not have alternate means of cooking. I keep a Jetboil in our bug-out-bags, but for home use we have a plain old Coleman propane stove with plenty of spare canisters on hand. Milk, bread and cereal should be at the very bottom of your emergency food supply priorities.

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kalaratri
February 7, 2010 6:01 PM
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Except for the part where I live in NoVa which isn't prone to outages that are long enough to worry about actual cooking.

Furthermore, no way in hell am I cooking propane in a house with no proper ventilation because I'm not going to open the windows in a storm.. I'd rather have a sandwich than asphyxiate myself.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
February 6, 2010 9:12 PM
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after decades of living in hurricane territory, i always keep my sterno camping stove and some cans of sterno where i can find them in the dark. because sadly, if the power's off that long, i'll be cooking all the raw meat as it starts to defrost so it will keep long enough to eat. of course with hurricane power outages, there's no snow to keep the food cold.

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NarcolepticGirl
February 6, 2010 12:49 PM
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Well, first of all, yes, snow melts - that usually takes days. The problem is with the power lines icing up or trees falling on them.

Second, I grew up in Massachusettes and just moved from Boston to Tennessee. I had the same thoughts when Tennessee rec'd 3 inches of snow this year and everyone went nuts.
But then our power went off for two days and we couldn't get out of the long steep driveway in our (somewhat) rural area because of the ice. People don't know how to drive in the snow here either - since it's rare that snow accumulates here. So I saw about 9 accidents last weekend, no plows and most of the roads were not salted.
So at least in Tennessee, I can see why everyone makes a big deal about their little snow storms.


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aliasmisskat
February 6, 2010 12:53 PM
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Hell, I live in central Indiana, where we get significant snowfall nearly every winter. It's the same thing here, except we have enough snow plows and salt reserves to deal with the weather. People panic. On the flip side, there are people like my mother who cannot dig themselves out, even if the plows come. And if the snow is really high, the plows end up blocking driveways, with hard, packed snow, making it hard for even more people to get out.

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JulesNoctambule
February 6, 2010 2:09 PM
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Our street was plowed because it's a bus route, and that's what happened to us -- the plow pushed piles of snow into our (stupidly steep) driveway, where it partially melted and refroze. We could have driven out, I suppose, but given the speed and distance the kids' sleds were getting we'd have ended up in our neighbour's living room.

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cmdr.sass
February 6, 2010 12:53 PM
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I'm tired of having to explain this to people. It has nothing to do with panic. Most people shop for groceries once a week. If people know that a snowstorm is coming on a given day, they move up their shopping trip so that they don't have to go out in the storm or its immediate aftermath of a day or two. It's a rational thing to do. Grocery stores maintain very little excess inventory or perishables for obvious reasons, so they tend to run out when a single day's demand comprises 2 or 3 times the number of shoppers.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 12:58 PM
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I shop on Sundays. We just moved our shopping date up to Thursday and picked up an extra gallon of milk and a loaf of bread in case we couldn't cook because the power went out. OH NOES, I must be freaking out and panicking like a headless chicken.

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Etoiles
February 6, 2010 1:26 PM
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Us too -- usually at the grocery store on Sunday, did it this week on Thursday afternoon because we know we won't be able to move the car until at least 4:00 Sunday afternoon. (We live on a corner; one of our streets doesn't get plowed and the parking lot across the street we use in the snow tends to be mainly 5' plow-banks after a storm like this, which are very hard to dig through.)

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pecan 3.14159265
February 7, 2010 12:13 AM
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Another thing people don't seem to understand is that the DC area is MASSIVE. The entire DC Metro area is 5.3 million people - we are perhaps one very large city and we don't get these kinds of storms very often. And guess what - we don't have a lot of rural areas. We're mostly urbanites, even if we live in the suburbs. Heck...I don't even own a shovel. I live in an apartment. We haven't gone outside since Friday afternoon.

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Aresef
February 6, 2010 1:02 PM
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There's a grand tradition in Baltimore. People raid the stores for the usual essentials plus three key items: bread, milk and toilet paper. It's a tradition. Can't have a storm without the TP.

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buckeyegoose
February 6, 2010 1:07 PM
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But hey its good for the stores, the made some money the would of outherwise

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polyeaster
February 6, 2010 1:17 PM
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not shocked

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AmericanFlannel
February 6, 2010 1:41 PM
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What people are forgetting is that in DC and in these mass areas of townhouses - THERE IS NO WHERE TO SHOVEL THE SNOW TO. With everyone packed in there is house or road, that's about it. So you can't move the snow from the road to the house can you?

We'll be shut down for real for about two days - sunday and monday - in time for possible snow on tuesday.

here is what i have learned : it would suck to pee outside in the snow if you are a dog.

http://www.americanflannel.com/wp/?p=218

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hexychick
February 8, 2010 1:01 PM
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I have a husky and it's been awful walking her. She is built for snow and loves it, but when snow covers 95% of your body and you cant just trudge through it or walk like a human can, it becomes difficult. She has to leap and jump to get through the snow and it's exhausting. It's a lot of effort just to let her poop so now that the parking lot is partially plowed, I'm just letting her do her business right there and scooping it up. It's a lot easier on her body.

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clint07
February 7, 2010 5:09 PM
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Thats our problem (we have a townhouse in northern VA). Our front yard is fairly small so the snow is piled up so high that it just rolls off at this point

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zoomlens
February 6, 2010 1:52 PM
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I hate to break it to you, but this is the way the shelves in DC area Safeway stores normally look. Don't worry. They should get more on Tuesday. Or maybe Thursday.

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snobum
February 6, 2010 2:05 PM
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Yup, my picture looks just like these: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32393318&l=a2ca7689b3&id=17503177

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mbz32190
February 6, 2010 2:22 PM
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I work at a Wegmans in PA and the pictures looked similar. Not only the snow, but that combined with the super bowl made for a mega panic. As of 8 PM last night, we had no butter, bags of shredded cheese, non-organic mushrooms (actually most of the produce department was empty too), and other uncommon items. (Plenty of milk and eggs surprisingly). All 25+ registers going with baggers at each one Thursday night and Friday morning. I heard our store did over a million dollars in sales on Thursday alone! (Usually do million and a half, per week). And just in from clearing off my car and driving around in my tiny Nissan. I don't know why people get so panicky. We have a thing called snow plows..

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mrkitty
February 6, 2010 2:25 PM
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The joys of the Pacific Northwest.... 1/8\" of snow all winter and it only lasted 4 hours before melting.... ENJOY!

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Paladin_11
February 6, 2010 4:12 PM
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How soon you forget last winter. Karma alone makes it unseemly to gloat about these things.

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rlee
February 6, 2010 2:27 PM
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VA, just inside the beltway, here. Only looks like about 12 inches so far, but it's still coming down. It's got a ways to go to top the President's Day '03 storm. Still, it ain't going to be melted any time soon.

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JamieSueAustin
February 6, 2010 2:35 PM
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I grew up \"up a hill and back a holl'r\" so I do understand the very real possibility of being snowed in for over a week if the weather turns bad. We always kept provisions on hand year long, just in case there were mudslides, snowstorms, or torrential rain that would prevent driving out. I live in the 'burbs now and I've never been stuck more than one day in the house. See, city folk have these things called SALT TRUCKS and they make roads passable when snow falls.

But, for the panic prone, let me teach you a few words...

DRIED MILK
POWDERED EGGS
FLOUR
YEAST
CANNED GOODS
STERNO
CANDLES

Yeah, powered milk and eggs aren't the tastiest things, but they keep in the pantry, and if by some horrible act of god you are stranded for several days you can add water and have eggs, milk, bread, and the other essentials you need. And if the power goes out completely there's always canned goods heated with Sterno.

Of course, if the power goes out for several days and it's ridiculously cold you won't be staying at your house long enough to worry about running out of food. You'll go somewhere else where the power isn't out. Unless you have a wood stove, in which case you have a great cooking tool and won't need Sterno.

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Winteridge2
February 6, 2010 2:57 PM
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Here is a bit of additional advice: if you get cold with no heat, get out and shovel some sidewalks and streets. Do your neighbor's too.

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kalaratri
February 6, 2010 2:42 PM
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Sure dried eggs and milk are fine (and I actually do keep some if we're true emergencies) but if I can restock the fresh stuff before a storm, I will. I'm not going to punch out an old lady over the last loaf of bread, but going around the corner to the store is hardly 'panicking'.

I also wish they would send the salt trucks and snow plows out to our neighborhood. Last time the lazy HOA bastards didn't even plow our roads at all.

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JamieSueAustin
February 6, 2010 2:54 PM
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I'll go if I'm already on my way, but I won't make a special trip. I think its important for people to have some non-perishables on hand regardless of snow, rain, or zombie incursion. :)

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Winteridge2
February 6, 2010 2:47 PM
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Interesting that a few inches of snow will keep them from going to work (government jobs), keep them from going for takeout dinners, but thousands can manage to make it to a Georgetown basketball game. Priorities...
Back in Upstate NY, the Tug Hill region has been known to receive a recorded 96 inches of snow in 1 24-HOUR period! How would DC handle that? If any foreign type enemy ever wants to invade us, do it during a snowstorm. Nobody will notice.

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pecan 3.14159265
February 6, 2010 11:44 PM
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Do you live here? Do you understand how much energy and work it takes to keep government buildings running? Do you actually realize that in DC and the surrounding areas, the FEDERAL government operates dozens and dozens of buildings and that its workers come from DC, Maryland, Virginia, AND West Virginia? And that in this kind of weather, these people would have to traverse potentially dangerous roads and ride public transportation to get to work? It's better for everyone if OPM decides the federal government needs to keep its doors closed for a day because they would pretty much be asking a lot of people on the roads and on public transportation so they could get to work.

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SabreDC
February 6, 2010 8:12 PM
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\"Interesting that a few inches of snow will keep them from going to work (government jobs), keep them from going for takeout dinners, but thousands can manage to make it to a Georgetown basketball game. Priorities...\"

I take offense to that. As a government employee, I don't make the decision to shut down. Your post is claiming that the priorities of the residents are out of whack. I go to work when OPM says the government is operating. I don't go to work when OPM says they are closed. I don't care much for basketball, but I'd go to the Caps-Penguins game tomorrow if I had tickets, regardless of weather...

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Crutnacker
February 6, 2010 3:03 PM
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In Kentucky we do that for an inch of snow, because you never know when you'll get the urge for a milk sandwich and not have the ingredients.

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afdude
February 6, 2010 3:44 PM
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It snowed like 3 inches here in NC, and before the snow became 'bad' people were all flocking to the grocery stores as soon as the first flake fell.

To be honest, I did feel like a caged animal when I couldn't go out because the streets had ice covering them.

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chiieddy
February 6, 2010 5:00 PM
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I've been laughing at this. 2 ft of snow and it's SNOWMAGGEDON!

Try this

Mid-way through a Boston blizzard about 5 years ago. 3 days before we were dug out of 6 ft + of snow (drifts were 8 ft) and I had plenty of food and water, thanks. Oh yeah, electricity didn't go out once. MassElectric/National Grid saved that for the middle of summer.

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foofie
February 6, 2010 5:03 PM
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I planned on waiting until the snow started to go to the store. Thanks to the accuracy of weather forecasting, the snow came 12 hours late to NE PA, and nobody else was in the grocery store as I picked up the essentials of sequestered - Pepper jack cheese, cinnamon rolls, and cat food.

The roads are already clear here. Go figure.

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Outtacontext
February 6, 2010 5:06 PM
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Who needs food when you have this right outside your door: http://tinyurl.com/yepejez
Man can live on snow alone.

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hammond egger
February 6, 2010 5:39 PM
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You'll always have a run on the supermarket before any big storm but the insanity above is probably due to a combination of huge snowstorm on Super Bowl weekend.

I am getting a big kick out out of the many posts in this thread that basically amount to: When I went to the store before the storm I couldn't believe the number of idiots that were at the store.

That and the \"Two feet of snow? That's what we call Tuesday\" mid-westerners. We know,we know, you're supercool because your way of life is adapted to large amounts of snow in the winter.

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JulesNoctambule
February 6, 2010 5:57 PM
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I always get a kick out of watching the 'Two feet of snow herp derp Tuesday' folks when they come out here on vacation and get to deal with the hurricanes we're very used to where I live. It's especially great when they try to ford flooded roads in their massive RVs -- like 'Oregon Trail' come to life!

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xaraan
February 6, 2010 5:44 PM
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As someone who lived in a snowy area for years and now lives more southerly; there is a huge difference that northerners tend to ignore in their zeal to poke fun. Not only do we have a bigger problem with ice; but we also don't have tons of plows and salt trucks ready to go when it snows. (Last weekend's storm, we had no roads but the interstate cleared, so all those roads became compacted sheets of ice to drive on for the next few days.) We don't have snow tires on our cars. And we also tend to have more issues with trees and branches messing up power lines.

I just got back from visiting family where I grew up and the roads and conditions were better during the bad snow storm (with more snowfall) we had a couple weeks ago up there than they have been these last couple weekends where I live now because of all those reasons.

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HogwartsProfessor
February 6, 2010 5:46 PM
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Hell, we could have 30\" of snow here (MO) and I would still have to show up for work. :P

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Green Mountain Boy
February 6, 2010 6:27 PM
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I live in Vermont and 18-24 inches of snow is an invitation to get out the downhill skis, cross country skis or snow shoes.....not to run to the market and rape it.

You people funny.

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noinamg
February 6, 2010 7:12 PM
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even though it snows every year like this in northern virginia, the same story unfolds every time. people here just have no memory of it ever snowing. and then EVERYONE insists upon driving out in the snow in their cars that clearly shouldn't be out with. now, these people aren't the best drivers in the world to begin with so it just clogs all the roads.

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pecan 3.14159265
February 7, 2010 11:49 AM
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It does not snow like this every year in Northern Virginia.

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savdavid
February 6, 2010 10:00 PM
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LOL! True. I have lived all my life in the South and even the hint of a few inches sends people into a blind panic! Kids start checking the radio or TV to be sure their schools will be closed then whine when they can't go anywhere, the parents rush and I mean RUSH to the supermarkets to get all the milk and bread available (for milk sandwiches I think), TV anchorpeople talk in horrified tones about the snow coming soon as though there will be no tomorrow, churches shut, stores close BUT people get into their cars and drive around all day after the snow. HINT OF SNOW = A DAY OFF FROM WORK & SCHOOL AND EATING MILK AND BREAD. Even the worst snow I have seen, 20\" in March of 1993, was mostly gone by the next day.

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RalphyNader
February 7, 2010 1:56 AM
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I live in Oregon and all the out of state transplants that live here freak out when it rains hard. So I could only imagine what it would be like if there was 2 feet of snow overnight.

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Sestos
February 7, 2010 3:57 AM
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I grew up in SW VA and we never did this as a kid when I grew up. Now granted it was a rural area but we had chest type freezers I the basement with food, a small generator if the power was out too long, wood stove for heat, and stacked boxes full of canned food my mom made. If they went to the store for anything it was for beer, maybe some banana's and gas etc.. we kept loafs of bread frozen in the freezer.

My wife to be, told me she went to the Harris Teeter across from her apartment building and there was not that much left, people had raided it. The point about snow shovels has always amazed me, why not buy a show shovel in the summer? Its much cheaper, all the stores start to mark up the prices and if it has already started to snow well expect to see 50-100 bucks for a shovel, do people really even need snow blowers? If the area has snow year round or for 50% I could see it but for a snowstorm?

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KMFDM781
February 7, 2010 4:13 AM
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I went to the store here in Indianapolis to get like 1 thing. Lines were almost to the pharmacy. People are dumb. It does this every year and this time it lasted 2 days of decent snowfall....it's over now and the main roads are clear and dry. It never once got so bad as to be trapped indoors. People fall for storm hype from the news. I'm surprised the grocery food companies don't pay the local news organizations for sensationalist forecasts.

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Braidwood
February 7, 2010 5:27 AM
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Two \"storm\" contrasts:
1. When I first moved to San Diego it rained- a little. On the news that night big flashing read letters read, \"WINTER STORM WATCH!!!\" They got the camera down on the ground and filmed a trickle of water flowing over some pebbles and dirt. I laughed. My San Diego native friends didn't think it was funny.

2. I've recently moved to a small town in the mountains. It keeps snowing and snowing and I keep waiting for a snow day. I made a series of pictures for my family called \"Not a Snow Day\" the road was completely covered in snow even though the plows had already come through. The snow was about 2 feet high, but the drifts were up to the school roofs, it was snowing so hard that the snow was horizontal. Nope, NOT a snow day. I can't really imagine what a snow day would be here.

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Outrun1986
February 7, 2010 2:35 PM
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Stores here do not stock snow shovels in summer. This is what I love about people who make comments about buying off season to save money. You can't buy off season here because the stores don't stock snow shovels, snow pants and winter coats in the dead of summer. You could potentially buy this type of item at a yard sale though during the Summer, as you can buy anything at them, however you cannot buy winter items in summer at a retail store and summer items in winter at a retail store. I have no problem grabbing Xmas decorations for pennies at yard sales over the summer and saving them for winter, but its not going to happen in a retail store.

The cheapest time of year to buy a snow shovel would be in early spring when they start clearancing what didn't sell if there is any of that left and usually there isn't any left.

Prices tend to also be higher if its an off season item that just came out, if you can find an off season item in a store that is. Stores put seasonal items on sale during the season they are used in, in order to spur more sales of that item.

Yeah, I am also going to buy my bathing suit in Feb. when the price is at its highest because the bathing suits just came out, instead of waiting for August when they go on sale and during the hottest time of the year here when you know, I might actually use the bathing suit (June and July tend not to be that hot over here, usually not hot enough to swim).

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BurtReynolds
February 7, 2010 3:04 PM
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As someone who grew up in Upstate NY and now lives in the DC Metro area, the insanity was a little over the top. Yet, this kind of thing really is crippling here. Even Syracuse takes a little longer to dig out from 30\" of snow over two days. My street here hasn't seen a plow in probably 24 hours.

Plus the idiots here think 4WD means you can go 60 and stop on a dime, so I am glad I don't have to head out.

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H3ion
February 7, 2010 3:17 PM
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Live in the DC area and it wasn't the food shortages or even the snow in the driveway that was so much of a problem. It was 30 hours without power so a Coleman lantern and some candles were our light source and we used a little Coleman stove for cooking. Pepco is Washington's occasional power company. When the temperature in the house got into the high 40's (no heat) we got ready to drain the pipes and shut down the water supply but fortunately the power came back on.

With Pepco, we've lost power during snow, rain, cloudy days, sunny days, cold, warm, wind, calm. We really can't predict and we do lose power at least two or three times a year, so the Coleman company is our friend.

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dolemite
February 8, 2010 9:38 AM
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I think this panic comes from an incident back in the 80s. I recall as a child, we were snowed in for at least a week or more (this is in VA). I remember my mom walking like 2 miles in the snow to get us some stuff from a convenience store.

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NotEd
February 8, 2010 11:46 AM
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Everytime I see stories like this I thank whomever that I moved from the DC area to the west of Chicago 'burbs.
Sure there aren't any jobs but at least I don't have to deal with those crazy bastards who have no idea how to deal with a single snow flake falling. (To be fair, I know this is more than one snow flask. Still panic is the watchword when any snow is predicted there.)

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hexychick
February 8, 2010 12:57 PM
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That's an awfully judgemental article to write. Yes, snow does eventually melt, but not this storm. 2 feet predicted and we got MORE than two feet. On top of that, the temperatures will not climb out of the freezing zone for at least another week. Now there's another foot forecasted for tomorrow. This is not New England and this is not the mid-west. I have lived in a suburb of DC my entire life. The thing about this area is you get a LOT of transplants. A lot of people who are coming in from the south and very few from the north or midwest where snow is not an issue. Add that to an already completed FUBAR'd network of highways and biways and you get mass hysteria whenever it snows. And in all fairness, we had not gotten much in the way of snow in the last 5 years. People who are new here are just not used to it so they freak out. The last blizzard no one took seriously (in December) because of past winters of predicted snow that never arrived and it caused a lot of problems. And when it comes down to it, 30 inches of snow is a LOT of snow to deal with. Just walking outside to take the dog out requires some effort. Knowing that the plows will take forever, that we frequently get power outages in storms, and that shoveling this much snow is a pain, why wouldn't you stock up on a week's worth of food? That being said, the shelves being emptied is f*cking insane. I went shopping on Wednesday knowing what would happen by Friday and I'm glad I did.

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markathome99
February 8, 2010 8:20 PM
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You have to remember that the DC area is a true mixing bowl of nationalities from all over the world. You have millions of people that have never experienced snow, or more than 6\" of snow. Then you dump 30\"+ of snow on them, and forecast another 10\" to 20\" and you have a recipe for mass confusion.
Those of us that are natives to the general area have it under control.

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Aisley
February 12, 2010 2:46 PM
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By now I imagine Laura Northrup's comment on DC's people loosing their minds is a source of embarrassment for her.

The amount of snow these storms left us with is officially the worst EVER! In the DC area we get on average eight to twelve inches of snow during the whole winter. After the second storm, I looked out my window and couldn't see my car parked on my driveway; keep in mind that I have a Ford Expedition!


your comWhen is it that it melts is the matter now; because after having three snow storms in less than month and a half and having above 36 inches of snow in a place that just gets below eight to ten inches

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