ATLANTA = Frozen Apocalyptic Wasteland?

[Litos]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

I keep people writing "salt trucks" but I hope they're aware that it's just a regular dump truck with a salt spreader attached. The spreaders are $5-10k each and a couple of passes on each stretch of highway prior to the storm would have prevented this entire fuck up. If each depot gets three of them, they can cover a huge portion of the highway in two passes.

yep - City of Houston had these going BOTH nights before they shut the school systems down and advised people to stay in their homes.....

I commute 42 miles a day and my wife commutes 50 miles a day - having my children in the car for about 25 of those miles....

ain't nobody leave the house last Friday or this past Tuesday....

not worth it......

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Templar

Lucky for you, your job obviously doesn't need you around.

I still got paid for that day too

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Templar

No, it wouldn't have.

When you have an actual accumulation of snow, you need the roads to be cleared in addition to the "salt spreading dump trucks" putting more salt down as the roads are cleared. It's more involved than just spreading a little salt before a storm.

I drove home on Tuesday while it was 68 degrees here and saw the truck spread the stuff on the highway. Most of that road was a sheet of ice this morning.

in Houston:

1) salt trucks only go out on streets and bridges that are prone to freezing...

2) salt trucks will NOT go out to prevent snow....because snow sticks to the ground and is less of a hazard than frozen sheets of ice on streets and bridges....

3) salt trucks only go out to prevent ice from forming on the streets....

[Billup]

Originally Posted by Litos

yep - City of Houston had these going BOTH nights before they shut the school systems down and advised people to stay in their homes.....

I commute 42 miles a day and my wife commutes 50 miles a day - having my children in the car for about 25 of those miles....

ain't nobody leave the house last Friday or this past Tuesday....

not worth it......

A lot of people don't realize that the salt put down on roads only works perfectly under particular conditions. It's not like you just throw the shit down and everything melts away and the roads turn dry. Basic salt that southern states use aren't always a calcium chloride mix because they usually only plan to melt snow, not ice, and thus is almost completely ineffective under 10°.

Even with that said, for it to work under normal conditions, I think it needs to be 20° or more to be effective in a 20 minute time lapse, and many of the southern states have been in the low teens and some in the single digits.

[catcher22]

This winter is awesome. Literally 15 seconds after driving out to have fun in the snow last Tuesday, I saw someone plow into a parked car because he was going too fast and couldn't keep control. He almost hit me but swerved. The person was sitting in their parked car too lol!! Classic.

So, I amend my earlier statement that it everybody having summer tires is the problem.

People in general just suck at driving. And people really suck at driving when it snows.

Also, the horrible commute thing happens to almost EVERY (snowy) city at some point in time. The same exact Atlanta scenario happened to the DC area in 2011. We called it commutageddon. And we had less excuses for it

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Billup

Basic salt that southern states use aren't always a calcium chloride mix because they usually only plan to melt snow, not ice, and thus is almost completely ineffective under 10°.

yeah, in my 34 years of life I have never seen 10 degrees in Houston.

lowest it's been was like 21 degrees I think in 2011...

so yeah, even when the salt trucks go out, they only go out on days/nights when it's supposed to get under freezing temperatures with rain in the forecast.....

doesn't happen all the time - hell, it may only happen once or twice a year - it just so happens that it has happened twice already within the last week, and I read that is expected to happen again in February...

[Billup]

In the past year I've been in NC, it has dropped into the single digits maybe 7 days at the most, most of which had snow. They tried to salt/brine the roads the day prior, roads were still snow and ice covered. Sent the trucks out again and after sun of the second day and the second layer of salt, the roads started to clear.

There are stack up errors that lead to accidents on the road, the only reason I see that trumps over all the rest is personal litigation of speed during bad conditions, and then goes from a one car mistake into a 5 car mistake, into prevalent heavy traffic and the citizens then freaking out.

Can't stand the cold, get out of the freezer.

[Litos]

I just read that Houston has only had 4 days below 10 degrees since 1889 HAHA !!!!

Houston can operate in 20 degree weather, because the precipitation conditions still won't allow for snow....

but once you add rain into a 25 degree day, the city takes every precaution and measure to promote safety for it's 6 million greater Houston residents

[Billup]

Serious question because I know Hispanics are hard workers...,


Do orange stands still operate during these conditions? I prefer mine chilled anyways, so I think it could make for a great marketing strategy.


I only ask, because the bums here were in full bloom when I went to Dunkin Donuts at 11pm during the snow fall the other night. I didn't have any cash so I gave him my "buy one get one free" voucher to the DD's 15 miles away.

I was regretting that decision this morning when I was coffee-less.

[PINeely]

Originally Posted by Litos

I just read that Houston has only had 4 days below 10 degrees since 1889 HAHA !!!!

Houston can operate in 20 degree weather, because the precipitation conditions still won't allow for snow....

but once you add rain into a 25 degree day, the city takes every precaution and measure to promote safety for it's 6 million greater Houston residents

What about necessary staff? I wouldn't have gone anywhere on Tuesday but there were two surgeries scheduled for that morning so I put on my hunting jacket and make the drive anyway. Obviously they don't shut down hospitals but who is exempted from the "stay home" request? Who just has to get up and go anyway?

[Deep_Blue]

Hey guys. Jalopnik says half of you are assholes

http://gizmodo.com/why-the-south-fel...now-1511566912

"Why You're an Asshole

I want to be clear right off that not everyone is being an asshole about this. Plenty of people are genuinely confused about how something like this could have happened, and it's a valid thing to be confused about. I lived in Manhattan for seven years before I moved here. I would have been confused too.

But if you're making light of the situation, or more realistically using it to reinforce your view of the South and the people in it as full of backwards blubberers, you are an asshole. It's hard to remember sometimes, but things are different in places you do not personally live.

When it snows where you live, the salt and the snowplows are out on the streets before you even wake up. When you talk about six inches of snow in your city, you are almost definitely talking about six inches of snow on the median strip and shoulder, and highways that are slick, but clear. I'd take that over two inches of snow and ice on every major road any day.

When it snows where you live, it is the latest in a string of snowfalls that date back centuries. You own a car with four-wheel-drive for that very purpose. You may even own snow tires. This is great! You are prepared. But waking up in Birmingham to snow is like waking up in New Hampshire to quicksand.

When it snows where you live, you're able to pick up your kids and get home and sit by the fireplace (you have firewood and a fireplace, because it is cold often). As of two hours ago, 4,000 children were still stuck in public schools—where they spent the night—because their parents had no way to reach them."

[Templar]

^ lol

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Templar

No, it wouldn't have.

When you have an actual accumulation of snow, you need the roads to be cleared in addition to the "salt spreading dump trucks" putting more salt down as the roads are cleared. It's more involved than just spreading a little salt before a storm.

1-2" of snow is hardly "accumulation" and from what everyone has said thus far, ice does seem to be the factor that caused such slick roads. It was in the mid to high teens in CT all week so I don't think it was cold enough 1,000 miles south of here for road salt to be rendered ineffective. I've only seen that happen on a handful of occasions and I've lived in New England my entire life.

We had 1-2" fall overnight on Tuesday and they didn't even bother plowing, they just salted the intersections and hills in the area. 2" of snow is barely enough to clear even with an army of plows.

Originally Posted by Templar

I drove home on Tuesday while it was 68 degrees here and saw the truck spread the stuff on the highway. Most of that road was a sheet of ice this morning.

This statement is funny to someone from the Northeast. Dropping salt 2 days before a storm will obviously have no effect. Just-before or at-inception application is required for it to be effective.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by PINeely

What about necessary staff? I wouldn't have gone anywhere on Tuesday but there were two surgeries scheduled for that morning so I put on my hunting jacket and make the drive anyway. Obviously they don't shut down hospitals but who is exempted from the "stay home" request? Who just has to get up and go anyway?

I dunno - I guess it's up to the individual person to determine if it's worth giving enough fucks to drive his/her car into clearly shitty conditions...

that person will also have to account for any children that may be traveling with him/her and if said children also need to be picked up 8 or 9 hours later...

my wife and I work in cubicles - combine that with the fact that Houston Independent School District closed class and you have an awesome day of playing video games and drinking hot chocolate all day

[kihun]

Three years ago when I used to own 350z.. I was stuck on highway for about 8 hours.. peed inside the car in my 2gallon water bottle.. shit was PITA.. I ended up leaving my car on a highway and walked home..

[Templar]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

1-2" of snow is hardly "accumulation" and from what everyone has said thus far, ice does seem to be the factor that caused such slick roads. It was in the mid to high teens in CT all week so I don't think it was cold enough 1,000 miles south of here for road salt to be rendered ineffective. I've only seen that happen on a handful of occasions and I've lived in New England my entire life.

We had 1-2" fall overnight on Tuesday and they didn't even bother plowing, they just salted the intersections and hills in the area. 2" of snow is barely enough to clear even with an army of plows.


This statement is funny to someone from the Northeast. Dropping salt 2 days before a storm will obviously have no effect. Just-before or at-inception application is required for it to be effective.

Interesting. Where are you getting these numbers from? After it was all said and done, I measured 4.5" of snow in my driveway. Just south of me they got about 5" of a snow/sleet/ice mixture. Of course it isn't the 12"+ I was used to when I lived in Philly, but it's a lot for down here, especially because it pretty much never happens.

The storm hit late Tuesday night and they dropped the salt mix Tuesday morning/afternoon from what I saw. Where did you get 2 days from? Maybe my math is off...

It was also 2 degrees this morning when I left the house at 9. It's been in the teens here as well recently. Read the post above for what is used here. We don't use the same chemicals you guys use because we barely use it at all.

I know it's fun to pretend like it's a joke and make fun of everyone from the south, but it's all about perspective. There is a world outside of New England... Hell I'm not even from the south, but I've lived enough places to know that everything is a little different everywhere else in the world.

[PINeely]

Originally Posted by Litos

my wife and I work in cubicles - combine that with the fact that Houston Independent School District closed class and you have an awesome day of playing video games and drinking hot chocolate all day

Sounds like a plan I don't have kids so I only have myself to be responsible for when commuting but if I did have them, they would be home on a day like that.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by mdosu_

has the zombies come out yet? I got my hatchet ready.

It would take them a really long time to shuffle step all the way to SF from ATL. You're good for a month, easy.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

It would take them a really long time to shuffle step all the way to SF from ATL. You're good for a month, easy.

IDK, I've seen some zombies move real fast like in world war z. I don't think he has that much time...

[kevinbahnz]

I droe my S2000 to work all week.

[P1]

How many of you have jobs where it's mandatory to go into the office? And what type of work do you do?

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by P1et

How many of you have jobs where it's mandatory to go into the office? And what type of work do you do?

It is so company specific. I work in finance and must be in come hell or high water but that's because our boss insists upon it because we're a global company.