Atlanta Snowpocalypse 2014

[Derecho!]

2)The decision to hold school. The overnight AFD highlights the major concern about traffic. The right decision was to close and then own the decision whether the forecast busted or was perfect. This is leadership 101.

 

 

So I'm reading all these articles where the Governor is saying over and over again that the "lesson" is to stagger sending people home (schools first, then private workers, then governmen)  I do realize there are other localities that try this and it's in the OPM plan for DC but around here they pretty much just close things completely in the morning ahead of the storm.

 

I find it hard to believe that staggering sending people home would have made a whit of difference in Atlanta other than reducing the front end of how long some people were trapped on the road by a couple of hours.

 

Parents have to leave work anyway when their kids are sent home, and I would assume lots of childless workers would go home before their "assigned" time if their work permits, and there would be nothing to stop them.

[mempho]

2)The decision to hold school. The overnight AFD highlights the major concern about traffic. The right decision was to close and then own the decision whether the forecast busted or was perfect. This is leadership 101.

So I'm reading all these articles where the Governor is saying over and over again that the "lesson" is to stagger sending people home (schools first, then private workers, then governmen) I do realize there are other localities that try this and it's in the OPM plan for DC but around here they pretty much just close things completely in the morning ahead of the storm.

I find it hard to believe that staggering sending people home would have made a whit of difference in Atlanta other than reducing the front end of how long some people were trapped on the road by a couple of hours.

Parents have to leave work anyway when their kids are sent home, and I would assume lots of childless workers would go home before their "assigned" time if their work permits, and there would be nothing to stop them.

I agree with you. The staggering thing takes a lot of practice to get right, which is not something Atlanta is going to get. It creates conflict.

I also think the governor is looking at this through a financial /economic lense. I am a financial guy and I believe he is dead wrong.

It is true that snow days have a financial impact on that day. However, lost in all of this is that there tends to be increased economic activity and productivity prior to the storm and that there is a certain intangible effect to having a snow day (especially in the South).

I am a bit of a productivity guru and the effect of a snow day in the South is special because we have so few weather-related interruptions in the day-to-day routine (speaking of major cities here). The snow day tends to allow people to reconnect with a higher purpose and what's important (such as their family). This gives people joy (not necessarily happiness) and this renewed purpose makes for more productive workers. This effect can perpetuate itself for a long time. Atlanta is cutthroat competitive but sometimes less truly generates more.

That's why I consider weather-related interruptions sort of as God's pause button (as in, these people are missing the point and need to slow down).

So, this governor should, perhaps, think about the things that are truly important to his citizens and not try to keep milking the cow. Snow days are important in life (just as hurricane days are further south). How one spends his or her snow day may be more important than the decisions he or she makes on business days.

So, I think Atlanta should take the hint.

That might be the actual lesson here.

Sent from my SCH-L710 using Tapatalk

[nzucker]

Traffic was an absolute disaster last Tuesday here in NYC when heavy snow started falling just prior to rush hour, and everyone took to the roads and mass transit. For the most part we were paralyzed for hours. And we are used to major snowstorms and were expecting significant accumulations. I could only imagine what it must be like in places not used to it.

 

That was a 10-12" snowstorm though with high winds and temperatures in the single digits. We weren't talking about 1-2" of snow.

Seriously? I have family in upstate NY and have never heard them spew nonsense like this. I have been there before a winter storm and the roads were well treated. As others have poined out, ice is ice no matter where it is.

People from Upstate NY always make fun of those from Downstate like me in terms of handling snow. They said the same thing about our schools closing for 3" of snow when I was a kid that I said in the SE forum. My aunt was a teacher from the lake effect belt, and she would always call it nonsense when Westchester schools closed for a couple inches of snow or a little bit of ice, because that's what they are accustomed to in the snowy northern parts of New York State. Somehow I didn't become enraged at her as people in the South became enraged at me; I understood she lived in a different climate, had different expectations, and had more experience driving in the snow and ice. Her criticisms were, to a certain extent, warranted.

 

It was the same when I went to college in Middlebury VT. We had 20" snowstorms, and I didn't understand at first why the College didn't close, as any college around NYC would have for a similar level snowstorm. Roads were icy, and yet you were expected to come to class, students and professors. After four years, I started to get it: big snowstorms are normal in Vermont, you don't shut down society for every one.

 

The main mistakes in the South were the following: not pre-treating roads, not cancelling school, and employers not allowing work to let out early. My roommate's girlfriend in Birmingham AL got stuck in a supermarket sleeping overnight....my roommate said the same thing as me about the south not handling the snow, but he also said that her employer should have cancelled work. It sounds like employers down there are entirely inflexible with allowing workers to miss, or allowing stores to close early. That should never be the case.

[Brick Tamland]

 

The main mistakes in the South were the following: not pre-treating roads, not cancelling school, and employers not allowing work to let out early. My roommate's girlfriend in Birmingham AL got stuck in a supermarket sleeping overnight....my roommate said the same thing as me about the south not handling the snow, but he also said that her employer should have cancelled work. It sounds like employers down there are entirely inflexible with allowing workers to miss, or allowing stores to close early. That should never be the case.

 

Amen. My office did close early Tuesday even though it didn't start snowing until Tuesday night. However, they only opened two hours later Wednesday, even though they have 16 hours of incliment weather time in the budget for everyone. I stayed home Wednesday. It's not worth the risk to me. It seems some employers think everyone lives right on a main highway and it's easy to get to work for everyone. There were only 3 people that went to my office yesterday. It was pointless to be opened.

[Derecho!]

Actually it seems it's both the Mayor and Governor that are harping on the staggered release business. Like I said, even in DC where a far greater percentage of the workforce works for one employer (the Federal government) though it's "in the plan" it really isn't actually used much at all, as best I can tell.

 

They just have to bring themselves to closing school hours before any precip falls; I think they don't "get it" that that is the only solution.

[nzucker]

Amen. My office did close early Tuesday even though it didn't start snowing until Tuesday night. However, they only opened two hours later Wednesday, even though they have 16 hours of incliment weather time in the budget for everyone. I stayed home Wednesday. It's not worth the risk to me. It seems some employers think everyone lives right on a main highway and it's easy to get to work for everyone. There were only 3 people that went to my office yesterday. It was pointless to be opened.

There's such a fervor for work to go on in this country....we saw it with Mayor Bloomberg before Hurricane Sandy up here. It's like anything that even temporarily slows the economy, regardless of its potential to save lives, should be dismissed. The whole extreme Puritan work ethic at play again...

[Amos83]

_{i'm not sure if this has already been posted if it has then I appologize..... Mayor Reed did an interview on CNN, I saw a clip this morning but I think it was from yesterday. In the interview he admitted the Winter Storm Warning was issued at 4am then went on to say that at 9am they had the trucks ready and sent them out. I'm sure he is not aware of the huge mistake he just made by sayign that. If Atlanta was under a WS Watch the night before why did he not have the trucks ready to go already? Why did he wair to send them out until the WSW was issued? Off all the B.S. this is the one I have the hardest time with, with a city as large as Atlanta you should be working as far ahead of schedule as possible to ensure the roads are treated, dont wait until the first flakes are flying to treat the roads.}

[CherokeeGA]

Good point. We haven't had a midday storm since 1982 so maybe we need this hard lesson. Almost all of our major winter events of the past twenty years have hit on weekends so that had something to do with it.

 

Not quite true, though I guess it matters how you define "storm".  We had a freezing rain event hit on a weekday three years ago, Wednesday December 15. 2010.  Nobody closed anything for it - not schools, not businesses - and everyone was on the roads.  Kids were at our local school until late that evening because it took parents forever to get there.  It took me 7 or 8 hours to get home that night, and I had to walk the last few miles because the roads were iced so badly (I live in NE Cherokee and had to get through that lovely purple spot on that map from sw to ne as I was driving up 75/575 that afternoon/evening). 

 

A few weeks later we had the January 9, 2011 storm but that one hit late on a Sunday evening, so the decision to close ahead of it was taken out of the hands of those who so often fail at such decision-making.  LOL.

 

So it does happen here, we just collectively have such a short term memory about these things and people say "it's so rare in the South!"... but it isn't.  Something that happens at least once a year isn't rare, imho.

 

I find myself hoping the potential thing on the 8th really happens on the 8th and not any bit earlier, so we won't have to worry as much about leadership fail again.

[WXinCanton]

Not quite true, though I guess it matters how you define "storm".  We had a freezing rain event hit on a weekday three years ago, Wednesday December 15. 2010.  Nobody closed anything for it - not schools, not businesses - and everyone was on the roads.  Kids were at our local school until late that evening because it took parents forever to get there.  It took me 7 or 8 hours to get home that night, and I had to walk the last few miles because the roads were iced so badly (I live in NE Cherokee and had to get through that lovely purple spot on that map from sw to ne as I was driving up 75/575 that afternoon/evening). 

 

A few weeks later we had the January 9, 2011 storm but that one hit late on a Sunday evening, so the decision to close ahead of it was taken out of the hands of those who so often fail at such decision-making.  LOL.

 

So it does happen here, we just collectively have such a short term memory about these things and people say "it's so rare in the South!"... but it isn't.  Something that happens at least once a year isn't rare, imho.

 

I find myself hoping the potential thing on the 8th really happens on the 8th and not any bit earlier, so we won't have to worry as much about leadership fail again.

  I was in that Freezing rain mess too in 2009. That  was ridiculous as well, nobody could tell where it was ice and where it was wet, very dangerous

[GaStorm]

That was a 10-12" snowstorm though with high winds and temperatures in the single digits. We weren't talking about 1-2" of snow.

People from Upstate NY always make fun of those from Downstate like me in terms of handling snow. They said the same thing about our schools closing for 3" of snow when I was a kid that I said in the SE forum. My aunt was a teacher from the lake effect belt, and she would always call it nonsense when Westchester schools closed for a couple inches of snow or a little bit of ice, because that's what they are accustomed to in the snowy northern parts of New York State. Somehow I didn't become enraged at her as people in the South became enraged at me; I understood she lived in a different climate, had different expectations, and had more experience driving in the snow and ice. Her criticisms were, to a certain extent, warranted.

 

It was the same when I went to college in Middlebury VT. We had 20" snowstorms, and I didn't understand at first why the College didn't close, as any college around NYC would have for a similar level snowstorm. Roads were icy, and yet you were expected to come to class, students and professors. After four years, I started to get it: big snowstorms are normal in Vermont, you don't shut down society for every one.

 

The main mistakes in the South were the following: not pre-treating roads, not cancelling school, and employers not allowing work to let out early. My roommate's girlfriend in Birmingham AL got stuck in a supermarket sleeping overnight....my roommate said the same thing as me about the south not handling the snow, but he also said that her employer should have cancelled work. It sounds like employers down there are entirely inflexible with allowing workers to miss, or allowing stores to close early. That should never be the case.

 

I don't disagree with the fact that people from snowier areas up north will laugh at those who have trouble with minor snow events. That is not the reason I was upset with your post. You acted like people in the south don't know how to drive compared to up north because we can't drive on ice. Most people will have trouble on ice so to try and play it off that it is only a problem down south makes no sense.

 

As far as the main mistakes you point out, they are valid points. I was very lucky to only wait a couple hours to get home since I was already out of the office Tuesday. Other people at my office were either stranded or spent the night with a co-worker who lived close by.

[Winterhawk]

That was a 10-12" snowstorm though with high winds and temperatures in the single digits. We weren't talking about 1-2" of snow.

People from Upstate NY always make fun of those from Downstate like me in terms of handling snow. They said the same thing about our schools closing for 3" of snow when I was a kid that I said in the SE forum. My aunt was a teacher from the lake effect belt, and she would always call it nonsense when Westchester schools closed for a couple inches of snow or a little bit of ice, because that's what they are accustomed to in the snowy northern parts of New York State. Somehow I didn't become enraged at her as people in the South became enraged at me; I understood she lived in a different climate, had different expectations, and had more experience driving in the snow and ice. Her criticisms were, to a certain extent, warranted.

 

It was the same when I went to college in Middlebury VT. We had 20" snowstorms, and I didn't understand at first why the College didn't close, as any college around NYC would have for a similar level snowstorm. Roads were icy, and yet you were expected to come to class, students and professors. After four years, I started to get it: big snowstorms are normal in Vermont, you don't shut down society for every one.

 

The main mistakes in the South were the following: not pre-treating roads, not cancelling school, and employers not allowing work to let out early. My roommate's girlfriend in Birmingham AL got stuck in a supermarket sleeping overnight....my roommate said the same thing as me about the south not handling the snow, but he also said that her employer should have cancelled work. It sounds like employers down there are entirely inflexible with allowing workers to miss, or allowing stores to close early. That should never be the case.

 

You've completely missed the point; you trolled our thread with a typical Northern blanket comment and had no factual knowledge of the situation.  Folks rightly were enraged at what you implied.  ICE on the roads is different than Snow..

[SouthernWx2]

I think it's safe to say you are a moron. I guess the southerners who tried to move but were literally spinning in place is  because they don't know how to drive. Or maybe they were faking it? They were faking it too when they press on the brakes and their car doesn't stop. Or were they faking it when they tried to go up a hill but couldn't or even sliding  backwards? Yeah they were just "freaking out".

 

Us dumb southerners should  learn  how to drive on solid sheets of ice like you northern people...with your army of salt trucks of course. Right? It's funny they interviewed people from up north stuck in it and they couldn't believe how bad the roads were...they couldn't drive in it..HMMMMMMMM I wonder why.

 

Maybe we should just change the laws of physics and properties of ice like you incredibly smart northern people so we won't freak out and complain excessively, right?

 

Oh and the next time you northern folks start dropping like flies when it hits 90 degrees for more than a few days or god help you if you hit 100, I'll be sure to note the over reaction.  Those who have heat exhaustion and stroke are just complaining excessively and should get over it.

Amen....couldn't have said it any better my friend!

[SouthernWx2]

Any comments making fun of southerners for this catastrophe is ridiculous.  The biggest difference between this storm and ones in the past was the air temperature when the snow fell.  Very rarely do you have a snow in the Atlanta area during the middle of the day with temps in the teens and low 20s.  The dry powder stuck to the roads immediately, then you have thousands of cars driving over this snow melting the surface with their engine heat while compacting it harder and harder and refreezing, meanwhile temps have dropped well into the teens.  I wasn't there, but I have seen it once when I lived there back in 2010, those roads had a half to one inch of solid glaze on them.  No person from anywhere without four wheel drive or some type of ATV could navigate Atlanta's roads last night.

 

Exactly!

[SouthernWx2]

Perry,

Long time, no post. Good to see your posts!

 

Thanks Larry....good to see you again!!

[jrips27]

Off school again tomorrow

[blizznd]

For someone who lives and forecasts in the far northern Plains....one of constant cold....    I agree that those who laugh at southerners during any ice/snow event and how northerners deal with it so much better, actually show they have no knowledge of climatology or how weather is dealt with outside of their own location.

 

It is the resources available to states in the north that get regular snow/ice and how we get used to driving on those conditions, versus in southern states when conditions such as what happened occur once maybe twice a year (outside of mountains).    The whole emergency management/road department (local and state) are just not equipped to deal with large events that occur at the worst possible time.   There is a thing called risk management....how much money one is willing to spend for the times something occurs.  In the north, we spend a lot on road equipment, budget for overtime, etc as we know for sure it will be needed.    For Atlanta and Birmingham it is not a guarantee it will be needed, so tendency is to budget for a low end figure to handle a small event.   When something occurs at the wrong time in the wrong place such as this event, they are overwhelmed and dont have the proper city-county-state plans to deal with it. 

 

This is the time to sympathize with our southern friends, not mock them because we somehow would have handled it better.

 

Dan Grand Forks ND

[calculus1]

Nice timeline of events and summary of the storm from FFC:

 

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/?n=20140128winterstorm

 

They're fighting back against the governor/mayor/others who are blaming them.  This page is a pretty good defense too of the fact that the NWS was on top of this storm from the beginning.

[NavarreDon]

For someone who lives and forecasts in the far northern Plains....one of constant cold....    I agree that those who laugh at southerners during any ice/snow event and how northerners deal with it so much better, actually show they have no knowledge of climatology or how weather is dealt with outside of their own location.

 

It is the resources available to states in the north that get regular snow/ice and how we get used to driving on those conditions, versus in southern states when conditions such as what happened occur once maybe twice a year (outside of mountains).    The whole emergency management/road department (local and state) are just not equipped to deal with large events that occur at the worst possible time.   There is a thing called risk management....how much money one is willing to spend for the times something occurs.  In the north, we spend a lot on road equipment, budget for overtime, etc as we know for sure it will be needed.    For Atlanta and Birmingham it is not a guarantee it will be needed, so tendency is to budget for a low end figure to handle a small event.   When something occurs at the wrong time in the wrong place such as this event, they are overwhelmed and dont have the proper city-county-state plans to deal with it. 

 

This is the time to sympathize with our southern friends, not mock them because we somehow would have handled it better.

 

Dan Grand Forks ND

 

Great post!.....I hear GA is going to need some new elected officials. Ever think about giving up forecasting for a career in politics?

[franklin NCwx]

Amen. My office did close early Tuesday even though it didn't start snowing until Tuesday night. However, they only opened two hours later Wednesday, even though they have 16 hours of incliment weather time in the budget for everyone. I stayed home Wednesday. It's not worth the risk to me. It seems some employers think everyone lives right on a main highway and it's easy to get to work for everyone. There were only 3 people that went to my office yesterday. It was pointless to be opened.

get a four wheel drive vehicle, besides its flat in Raleigh.

[CherokeeGA]

Off school again tomorrow

 

Yep.

 

I had to go out for a little while earlier.  Most (perhaps 75-80%) of the road is bone-dry now, but there are patches where the snow simply hadn't melted yet.  That will freeze up tonight.  Doesn't surprise me that they decided not to run the buses, and therefore close again.

[CherokeeGA]

Nice timeline of events and summary of the storm from FFC:

 

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/?n=20140128winterstorm

 

They're fighting back against the governor/mayor/others who are blaming them.  This page is a pretty good defense too of the fact that the NWS was on top of this storm from the beginning.

 

Thanks for the link, interesting reading!

 

This is the only part where they kind of missed: "112 PM Tue, Jan 28, 2014

* Upgraded all entire county warning area to a Winter Storm Warning (link)"

 

By 1:12 we had 1.5" of snow on the roads and ~100 accidents in Cherokee county already.  That warning was too late for us.  Cherokee got a strange little dump, though, higher than almost everyone in all directions around us.

 

IMHO there is no real excuse for the metro counties though - they went under warning at 3:39am that day and every single city and county school district down there ignored it, and took the kids to school.  Not to mention the road treatment issues.

[jburns]

Nice timeline of events and summary of the storm from FFC:

 

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/?n=20140128winterstorm

 

They're fighting back against the governor/mayor/others who are blaming them.  This page is a pretty good defense too of the fact that the NWS was on top of this storm from the beginning.

 

Nice job.  The only problem, and it is one that has been discussed on here within the past week, is the fact that the public, and evidently public officials, see a Winter Weather Advisory as a downgrade from a Winter Storm Watch.  I think the reasoning, as faulty as it is, is that since the word "storm" is no longer in the release the event will be minor nuisance.  

[blizznd]

Nice job.  The only problem, and it is one that has been discussed on here within the past week, is the fact that the public, and evidently public officials, see a Winter Weather Advisory as a downgrade from a Winter Storm Watch.  I think the reasoning, as faulty as it is, is that since the word "storm" is no longer in the release the event will be minor nuisance.  

 

 

As a NWS met....you are exactly right.   We take questions all the time..   So the watch was downgraded to an advisory.   No, it is technically an upgrade.   As watch  means some more uncertainity whereas once you get to the advisory or warning state confidence is higher than an event will occur.     On the other hand, we do a winter storm watch when we do expect winter storm conditions to occur, so the next step of an advisory would seem like a downgrade as you expect less snow, ice, etc....versus say going from watch to a warning.      The whole wording of watch, advisory, warning is very hard to get across.    I  personally would love to get away from advisories.....   Env Canada just has watches and warnings.     Less categories the better.    

[toxictwister00]

Nice job.  The only problem, and it is one that has been discussed on here within the past week, is the fact that the public, and evidently public officials, see a Winter Weather Advisory as a downgrade from a Winter Storm Watch.  I think the reasoning, as faulty as it is, is that since the word "storm" is no longer in the release the event will be minor nuisance.  

 

The problem I have with all of this is that school/public officials didn't hesitate to close schools and storm prep roads well ahead of a winter storm even if the Atlanta metro area was only under a Winter Weather Advisory in the past and a lot of them turned out to be minor nuisances or busts altogether. So I don't understand why it should have made a lick of difference in whether or not it was a WWA or a WSW. Plus the part in blue was emphasized in the WWA if they had bothered to read it. It was said, not once, but twice the WWA could be upgraded at any moment's notice if there was a sudden shift in the moisture before the storm arrived. That should have been enough of a red flag then.

 

GAZ025-027-031>035-041>045-281100-

/O.UPG.KFFC.WS.A.0002.140128T1500Z-140129T1800Z/

/O.NEW.KFFC.WW.Y.0005.140128T1500Z-140129T1200Z/

JACKSON-MADISON-PAULDING-COBB-NORTH FULTON-GWINNETT-BARROW-

HARALSON-CARROLL-DOUGLAS-SOUTH FULTON-DEKALB-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MARIETTA...ATLANTA...LAWRENCEVILLE...

CARROLLTON...DOUGLASVILLE...EAST POINT...DECATUR

936 PM EST MON JAN 27 2014

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TUESDAY TO 7 AM

EST WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR PART OF NORTH GEORGIA INCLUDING THE

ATLANTA METRO AREA...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TUESDAY TO 7 AM EST

WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. PLEASE

UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN A SLIGHT SHIFT IN THE MOISTURE COULD RESULT

IN SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SNOW AMOUNTS AND MAY REQUIRE AN

UPGRADE TO A WARNING.

* LOCATIONS...MAINLY ALONG A LINE FROM ATLANTA TO ATHENS.

* HAZARD TYPES...SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS...A HALF TO 1 INCH OF SNOW. ANY SLIGHT SHIFT IN

THE MOISTURE COULD EITHER RESULT IN LOWER AMOUNTS OR UP TO A FEW

INCHES AND MAY REQUIRE AN UPGRADE TO A WARNING.

 

Also I agree with blizznd, they might could eliminate some of this confusion or false notion of a WWA being a downgrade from a WSW if they eliminated it period. The only clear difference I see in them is that WSW criteria emphasizes more on snowfall, sleet, and/or ice amounts. Both a WWA and WSW both carry the same probability on whether wintry weather will occur (> 80%) and they both say they are issued if significant disruption to travel is expected.

[SouthernWx2]

For someone who lives and forecasts in the far northern Plains....one of constant cold....    I agree that those who laugh at southerners during any ice/snow event and how northerners deal with it so much better, actually show they have no knowledge of climatology or how weather is dealt with outside of their own location.

 

It is the resources available to states in the north that get regular snow/ice and how we get used to driving on those conditions, versus in southern states when conditions such as what happened occur once maybe twice a year (outside of mountains).    The whole emergency management/road department (local and state) are just not equipped to deal with large events that occur at the worst possible time.   There is a thing called risk management....how much money one is willing to spend for the times something occurs.  In the north, we spend a lot on road equipment, budget for overtime, etc as we know for sure it will be needed.    For Atlanta and Birmingham it is not a guarantee it will be needed, so tendency is to budget for a low end figure to handle a small event.   When something occurs at the wrong time in the wrong place such as this event, they are overwhelmed and dont have the proper city-county-state plans to deal with it. 

 

This is the time to sympathize with our southern friends, not mock them because we somehow would have handled it better.

 

Dan Grand Forks ND

 

Agree with you 100% percent Dan!  Great post!!

[jrips27]

Here's a little video I recorded during that last band of moderate-heavy snow. This is on that hill where I was pushing cars up earlier in the afternoon.

http://youtu.be/ADuD5dJ-3S8

[Winterhawk]

As a NWS met....you are exactly right.   We take questions all the time..   So the watch was downgraded to an advisory.   No, it is technically an upgrade.   As watch  means some more uncertainity whereas once you get to the advisory or warning state confidence is higher than an event will occur.     On the other hand, we do a winter storm watch when we do expect winter storm conditions to occur, so the next step of an advisory would seem like a downgrade as you expect less snow, ice, etc....versus say going from watch to a warning.      The whole wording of watch, advisory, warning is very hard to get across.    I  personally would love to get away from advisories.....   Env Canada just has watches and warnings.     Less categories the better.    

 

There's a great idea; I've always wondered about the winter weather "advisories"; other weather categories typically don't have advisories; they have watches and warnings.  Perhaps it's time for that to change; maybe this event could help..

[Winterhawk]

Since the Govenor said the local weather folks were more correct it explains a lot about the fiasco..  lol..

 

Somebodies favorite person on Twitter the 27th..

 

Glenn Burns ‏@GlennBurnsWSBJan 27

Working on snow totals...looks like possibly an inch in the metro...but major pattern change late week. mid 60s by Saturday!

 

 

Birmingham listened to him too..

 

Glenn Burns ‏@GlennBurnsWSBJan 27

Anyone heading west into AL tomorrow, here's what to expect:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Batman]

Since the Govenor said the local weather folks were more correct it explains a lot about the fiasco..  lol..

 

Somebodies favorite person on Twitter the 27th..

 

Glenn Burns ‏@GlennBurnsWSBJan 27

Working on snow totals...looks like possibly an inch in the metro...but major pattern change late week. mid 60s by Saturday!

 

 

Birmingham listened to him too..

 

Glenn Burns ‏@GlennBurnsWSBJan 27

Anyone heading west into AL tomorrow, here's what to expect:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A public official listening to Glenn Burns should be grounds for removal from office! He has been spewing crap that made no sense for over 20 years. He does not even understand the weather and climate of his area. He used to say time and time again that night time temps would be coldest north of the city of ATL. He would then look like a total boob when, as he stood there bloviating, his own map showed FFC (Peachtree City) as the coldest spot on his map by over 5 degrees. Instead of explaining to folks about radiational cooling away from a city or urban heat island, he did the easy thing and removed FFC from his temp map. He then continued with his same old line of always colder to the north. That is just one of many stories I could share and I have only heard him a few times in the last 15 years. I am sure there are many more. Ask Lookout. He is a big fan! Bottom line is any public official basing any decision on what a local TV met in ATL says is crazy and doing the people they serve a disservice. Many of these folks are much more into entertaining, showmanship, and ratings. And, they often do it at the expense of providing people with the information they need and expect. This seems to be the norm in major metro areas.

James Spann in Birmingham is an exception to the rule. He is truly a good met and a good person. I read his blog daily. It gives me much better information than any media met in ATL area. When he is wrong he admits it and owns up to it. See this week as an example. He truly felt terrible about not getting the forecast correct for Tuesday. I should throw in Matt East as well. Don't know him as well, but seems to be top notch and concerned with getting things right. Not meaning to call out other mets from other areas. My first paragraph was directed at the quality of TV mets in ATL which is very lacking.

[WXinCanton]

 

this is what we were up against on the roads in metro Atlanta