Team coverage of the snowflake

[oddlycalm]

Once again we are besieged with winter weather hysteria at the local broadcast outlets. The ABC affiliate has cancelled all shows and has done a marathon broadcast the last couple days. :shakehead Compared to anywhere else our 6-9" accumulation with a glaze of ice is pathetic, but you'd think we've had a cat 5 hurricane from the breathless tone of the local news fools. :gomer:

Seriously, below freezing for a week, a skiff of snow, and we need a marathon of hysteria...? :thumdown: They should all be exiled to Duluth to learn about real winter weather...:cool:

oc

[Andrew Longman]

Do people there empty the stores of bread and milk at sight of the first snowflake?

Maybe that's just a Jersey thing. :gomer:

[Methanolandbrats]

The assault on the grocery stores is not confined to hobby winter areas. Right now it's -5 outside my house, with 25mph winds and we've had almost 30 inches of snow. Despite that we have a bit of hysteria too when there is a storm warning, it's just stupid. At the most you won't be able to get to the store for a few hours, it's not a Donner Pass situation.

[TKGAngel]

There's 12 inches of snow and counting in my yard. When the wind kicks up, I can't see across the street. My street has only seen a snow plow once since the snow started Friday morning. The road is basically two tire ruts and cars are getting stuck like crazy.

As to the TV coverage, I'm finding it funny that stations are still running the scroll that Our Lady of the Bingo Card has canceled morning services.

[Gnam]

I like Seattle's solution to slippery hills...just give up and close the street. :laugh: :rugged:

[cameraman]

Let's see it is overcast and 30°F, winds are at 2 mph gusting to 5 mph.:rolleyes:

There is about a foot of snow on the ground but the streets are mostly clear.

It is supposed to snow 6" or 10" tomorrow which will guarantee the usual automotive abject stupidity but not much else.:mad:

Pretty typical Salt Lake winter.

[Insomniac]

We had 500 car accidents in the first snow (~1-2") and 200 more in the second snow (~4-5"). People who get snow a few times a year freak out way too easily and have no business on the roads here.

[cameraman]

People who get snow a few times a year freak out way too easily and have no business on the roads here.

It snows here all the damn time and the people are every bit as moronic.

[STD]

Most likely pump their anti lock brakes. :gomer:
When it gets just a bit wet here I take the back roads to avoid the Hwy carnage.

[Michaelhatesfans]

Once again we are besieged with winter weather hysteria at the local broadcast outlets. The ABC affiliate has cancelled all shows and has done a marathon broadcast the last couple days. :shakehead

I was going to bring this up if you didn't.:laugh:

I think it was KOIN (cbs affiliate) that was resorting to a sort of drunk dialing to fill out the time this morning. "We've got the assistant manager of the Forest Grove McDonalds on the line - tell us what it's like where you are..." was pretty much what was passing for "coverage" this morning.:irked:

[Michaelhatesfans]

Do people there empty the stores of bread and milk at sight of the first snowflake?


Absolutely. I went to the local Safeway (a freak show in the best of times) last week when they were predicting a couple of inches of snow. I only wanted a six pack of Bridgeport, but saw dozens of people rushing around the store with their items piled up over the top of their carts.

While standing in line behind these idiots, I entertained myself by thinking of how they would never last a zombie apocalypse.

[oddlycalm]

I like Seattle's solution to slippery hills...just give up and close the street. :laugh: :rugged:

The street closures are listed on the same crawl with the school closures. :gomer:

[oddlycalm]

I think it was KOIN (cbs affiliate) that was resorting to a sort of drunk dialing to fill out the time this morning. "We've got the assistant manager of the Forest Grove McDonalds on the line - tell us what it's like where you are..." was pretty much what was passing for "coverage" this morning.:irked:
Yeah, 12hrs of non-coverage so that on the days when most people are home with time to kill all there is to watch is endless blather of the "snow is white and wet" variety...:gomer:

And when was the last snow or ice storm when I-84 wasn't closed through the Gorge....? :D

oc

[G.]

Even in the snow belt, with the first decent storm you get to see who remembers last winter. I can even include myself as one that sometimes has a bit of amnesia.

First snow covering, I go out into an empty parking lot and do donuts, powerslides, and abrupt stops. Then I swear and shut off the elect. stability control and try again. :D

And I send out Mrs. G. to do the same.

After a snow or two, people usually figure out how to drive without doing something completely unexpected.

Windy, whiteout and COLD today. Driftbusting is way more fun when it's a surprise.

[Cam]

Even in the snow belt, with the first decent storm you get to see who remembers last winter. I can even include myself as one that sometimes has a bit of amnesia.

First snow covering, I go out into an empty parking lot and do donuts, powerslides, and abrupt stops. Then I swear and shut off the elect. stability control and try again. :D

And I send out Mrs. G. to do the same.

After a snow or two, people usually figure out how to drive without doing something completely unexpected.

Windy, whiteout and COLD today. Driftbusting is way more fun when it's a surprise.

I had an 84 Pacecar Fiero. Thing was downright dangerous in the snow. Rear end would snap out at the mere lift of the clutch. Lightweight with big fat Goodyears on it was a white knuckle experience. Still got around better in the nasty stuff than my 03 Protege. :cry:

[dando]

Meh. Nothing beats a good Cbus marathon for a severe weather outbreak or the 2' of snow we had last year. I think they were on for 48 hours last March when we had the 2 footer. :laugh: :saywhat: Sadly, I watched some as well. :shakehead

-Kevin

[cameraman]

Either I don't watch enough TV to even notice or they don't do that in Utah.

[TKGAngel]

The street closures are listed on the same crawl with the school closures. :gomer:

Most of our closure lists include schools, businesses and bingo games all mixed together, except on the one station that refuses to say the word bingo on the air.

[oddlycalm]

Either I don't watch enough TV to even notice or they don't do that in Utah.

Utah gets winter every year so you are spared. This kind of over the top idiocy is reserved for places where winter is an occasional visitor. I've seen the same frenzied team coverage of the swowflake in Baltimore, DC, Atlanta, etc. There is added drama because there isn't much in the way of snow plow or removal equipment in any of these places. If we get a couple feet of snow here even t the emergency vehicles can't get around.

The irony is now that we actually do have some serious snow not enough of the TV people made it in to work to continue the silliness of the last few days. :gomer:

oc

[Tim]

I still check to see if Madison schools close even though I'm 26. They've had more snow days in 2 weeks than I had in 4 years of high school.

[racermike]

Nice balmy 36 degrees about 250 miles south of where you would think the world is coming to an end because of 9" of snow. (P-town)

I drove back south last week after the first snow, and my normal 4 hour drive turned into a 9 hour drive. (Took 5.5 Hours just to get from Portland to Eugene)

Funny, driving a rear wheel drive Ford Ranger, with studded tires all the way around, and 250lbs of sandbags over driven wheels, and I was passing all these glorified SUV's that were stuck, crashed, rolled over, etc. Makes a huge difference having winter tires on.

All these NW Drivers, that are so confident their driving their $50,000 AWD SUV's, and they are the first ones to get stuck and/or crash.

On the downside, this has cancelled my christmas plans to be back in Portland this week, despite the fact that I know my truck will do fine, its just not worth the hassle or the risk as of this moment. Guess I will wait 48 more hours to see if anything changes, but I doubt it.

[racermike]

If you have morbid curiousity, and are outside of the snowflake, here is some entertaining TV (as long as your hitting the bottle at the same time)

http://mfile.akamai.com/25578/live/reflector:49025.asx
(open in Windows Media Player, or your program of choice)

[Michaelhatesfans]

And when was the last snow or ice storm when I-84 wasn't closed through the Gorge....? :D


The upside is you get to see which reporter is on the station manager's s#it list. It's whoever they send out to the truck stop in Troutdale. Watching that poor bugger get pelted in the face with freezing rain and trying to shout over the wind while sucking up the diesel fumes of 400 stranded trucks just makes you think, "Wow, that guy must have really pissed someone off...":laugh:

[oddlycalm]

The upside is you get to see which reporter is on the station manager's s#it list.
:laugh: Very true. Our daughter has a close friend whose day job for many years was doing the news graphics at KOIN (CBS) and we got to chat with the folks there at several gallery openings and screenings of his documentary films. The Troutdale winter storm assignment was always referred to in ominous tones with eyes averted whenever I brought it up, which I inevitably did...:gomer:

oc

[SurfaceUnits]

They should all be exiled to Duluth to learn about real winter weather...:cool:

ocJust send them to Pendleton, the garden spot of Oregon

[oddlycalm]

Just send them to Pendleton, the garden spot of Oregon
Agreed, but the real idiocy is that all they need to do is drive aast of town for 40 minutes and they are in Government Camp which often has more than 150 inches on the ground by the end of winter. Back in 2001-02 they had 220", and that was after it was all settled. Total snowfall was well over 300" for the season.

But that's still not that cold that cuts like a razor blade that you get in Duluth and the Michigan UP. Even Chicago and Minneapolis. People in Portland have no idea what a 40mph wind feels like when it's -20.

BTW, I have noticed that it's generally a bad sign anywhere they have names for the winter wind...:laugh:

oc

[Gnam]

Playing in snow is very serious offense, comrade. :thumdown:

Snowzilla shutdown (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/12/22/national/a134610S21.DTL&tsp=1)

[ChampcarShark]

All this horror stories about how people drive like crazy in bad weather make me appreciate the we do not have much of that.

Here has been a comfortable 50 degrees or so the whole week.

Maybe you guys can migrate south for the winter.

[dando]

BTW, I have noticed that it's generally a bad sign anywhere they have names for the winter wind...:laugh:

oc

I was listening to Tirico and SVP on E$PN Radio last week and they mentioned that the storms are named in Connecticut.

-Kevin

[SurfaceUnits]

Holiday shopping season

748" inches of snow in 112 major cities
3 degrees colder than average
every 1 degree colder cost 1% of revenue
$14 billion in lost holiday shopping dollars

[TravelGal]

I hear ya. I'm not going out in this. It's below 60 degrees! I'm in three sweaters and ear muffs. Not quite but still............ I'm sure it's against the law to wear an actual coat in California so this extreme weather is taking its toll.

That said, I wait impatiently for a snowflake. ANY snowflake. Vegas got 4 inches. Why can we get a measly dusting? If I wake up and it's 37 degrees outside, I EXPECT SNOW DAMMMMMMIT.

[Insomniac]

It snows here all the damn time and the people are every bit as moronic.

It didn't seem anywhere close to this bad in WV. It snowed a whole lot more there.

[Insomniac]

I hear ya. I'm not going out in this. It's below 60 degrees! I'm in three sweaters and ear muffs. Not quite but still............ I'm sure it's against the law to wear an actual coat in California so this extreme weather is taking its toll.

That said, I wait impatiently for a snowflake. ANY snowflake. Vegas got 4 inches. Why can we get a measly dusting? If I wake up and it's 37 degrees outside, I EXPECT SNOW DAMMMMMMIT.

I thought you broke out the winter coats when it gets below 60? :D

[oddlycalm]

Now that the temps are higher and the melting ice is falling off of power lines and trees can breathless team coverage and dire falling ice warnings be far behind....? :gomer:

oc