That’s what I thought anyway until we got 5” of snow in Raleigh today. We’ve been living here for 3 years and this is the first time we’ve had any accumulation. We had a light dusting in the past and even in a light dusting, the state virtually shuts down. There are 870 closings and delays listed on www.wral.com, the local news channel website. Almost all of the churches cancelled both services tomorrow. I’ve never seen anything like it.
In New Jersey, I worked outside in blizzards when I was a paramedic. Snow never stopped us. In Connecticut, closing a church on Sunday because of the snow is unheard of, even if the Pastor preaches to an empty congregation.
Here in North Carolina it’s different. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a snow plow. I’m sure they have them, but I’ve never seen one. Maintenance crews begin spraying brine to prevent icing on the roads in the face of a winter storm warning. Spraying brine? I’m sure that’s really effective considering most of the roads are iced over.
Listening to the weather report a little while ago, the meteorologist said this mess is going to be with us for a few days. The temperatures are going to warm up Monday and we’re going to have rain on Tuesday. I suppose the hope is that the snow will all wash away.
Yes, these NC winter storms take some getting used to.
When we moved here from upstate NY the day after Christmas in 1995, our moving van got stuck as we left behind two feet of snow. We arrived here to sunshine & 70 degree weather! Two weeks later we got 6″ of snow, sleet, and freezing rain complete with power outages. We couldn’t believe all the craziness caused by that little bit of winter weather. Then in Sept. Hurricane Fran hit the Triangle hard, we’d never seen anything like it. Fourteen years later we’re still here and we’ve seen all sorts of weather – You never know what the forecast will bring, just part of the fun:)
Here’s a link to the national weather service past events for Raleigh – http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/events/
January of 2000 brought the most snow that we’ve seen here, with 2′ on the ground at one point.
You eventually get used to the grocery store rush and the schools closing at the first sign of a snowflake…
Victor,
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, I can relate to your story. My wife, three daughters and I moved here 10 years ago, to the Hickory, NC area. This is definetly the most snow in one storm that I have seen in my ten years here. (We measured 10″ at our house) . I would also say, that in the ten years here, municipal and state crews seem to be better prepared as each season passes. The one thing that doesn’t seem to change, is the lack of common sense in regard to winter driving. Watching the news on Friday night, I was amazed to see people driving at excessive speeds, for conditions. My son-in-law is a deputy sheriff for a local County, and he also could not believe the behaviors of some of the folks on the road. Hopefully, this is the last of snow that we will see this winter!