Atlanta cold snap

[cecilsgarden1958]

Will the cold snap and snow/ice in Atlanta among other southern areas improve their tomato crops any this season? I thought maybe a few of the diseases may be hampered somewhat.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Yeh, man! Pray for us. Diseases ran rampant through us in 2013.

[travis]

We need to have a drivers exchange program with those poor, no snow-driving woosies in Atlanta.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Indeed. In the one snow storm per year, tonight, there are "countless" accidents in Atlanta. My sister was on the road for 7 hours going home, and my nephew for 8 hours and is still 20 miles from home. We do not know understand what to do when the road gets slick with ice and snow. Technical assistance accepted with gratitude.

[Zana]

Back when I was in undergrad in Atlanta, they were predicting a "huge storm" (for Atlanta) the day of the storm, one of my classes was supposed to take a field trip to La Grange. The day before the storm was due to hit, the President of our (then) small College walked into the classroom where we were, walked up to me and asked me if I had my drivers license and for how long. I said yes and for 5+ years. Then he said was I comfortable driving large vehicles like a van. I told him I learned to drive on a 9 passenger station wagon and a farm tractor pulling haying wagons. He laughed, then he asked if he could have my license for a few minutes, because he wanted me to drive the College's 9 passenger van the next day to La Grange. I said sure. The prof went ballistic. The President turned to her and asked if her if she had ever lived north of Atlanta. She said no. Had she ever driven in snow. She said no. Then he turned to me and asked me if I had driven in snow (and he winked at me). I said I took my drivers test the day after a 3 foot dump of snow...and passed with over 90%....and had been trained in winter driving as I had taken my driver training in the winter. At which point the Pres said he rested his case.

Next day the roads were like ice and maybe an inch of snow. Back then (1981), Atlanta might have had all of 3 snow plows for the whole city....so clearing wasn't happening. We got on I-285 and it was like pinball with people driving too fast, slamming on brakes and pinging off the concrete rails. I was doing skid turns to avoid idiots who were swerving all over the place. Lots of fun...and the other students weren't freaking out...but the prof was! LOL

Finally pulled off after listening to too much crap from the prof.....especially when she kept sucking in her breath....which was freaking me out. See when somebody does that when I'm driving, I think I've either just missed something, or somebody has just missed me and I didn't see it. She was driving me nuts. I pulled into a huge Walmart parking lot, handed the other students $10 and sent them into the open Dunkin Donuts to grab everybody coffee. Then I told the prof I wanted her to watch and then do what I did. I did a figure 8 in the parking lot at about 25 miles per hour...no more. At less than 5-10 miles per hour, she took up almost the whole parking lot trying to do the same....she skidded everywhere. Finally looked at me and said, this was crazy, how did I know what to do. I said, I'm a Canuck.....we grow up in this crap....and if you learn to drive (except perhaps in Vancouver), you know how to drive in snow in Canada. She finally admitted that growing up in the KEYS, she knew jack about snow....let alone driving in it. LOL

We finished the rest of the drive in relative peace. But she did ask me for lessons when we got back from La Grange.....how to drive her car. LOL Told her the safest thing she could do was leave her's in the College's parking lot and either take a cab or let me drive her home. LOL I drove her.

Yep.....Atlanta drivers haven't changed. Sad to say.

[amideutch]

Was TDY to Zaragoza Spain and woke up one morning to see a light blanket of snow covering the base no more than a inch thick. The next hours was a hoot as it turned into demolition derby as the locals had no clue on driving in the snow.

Ami

[ExpendableZero]

Saw this posted.

[b54red]

Most of us in the deep south are out of our element in icy conditions. Was in southern California about 30 years ago on business during a huge rain storm and got to see how people who rarely see rain drive. It was eerily similar to southerners on icy roads, only with more cars and bigger pile-ups.

Bill

[gssgarden]

Do the people up North really think they would be able to drive on our roads? With a inch of ice? No salt? Sand? or salt Spray? and no plows??

DON'T THINK SO!! ICE IS ICE!!

[Penny]

Stay safe you guys....gotta be scary since yous rarely if ever, see conditions like this.

[gssgarden]

Penny, It's the fact that the southern cities don't have the resources to combat this stuff. No salt or sand on the roads, haven't seen a plow down in the Charlotte area in the 8 yrs I've been here either.
There are a lot of tall tree-lined roads, so the surface doesn't get the sun to warm them up.

That's why I laughed, and continue to laugh at such things like the above post calling drivers 'woosies'.

I guess people up north must have some kind of 'super car' that can drive safely on an inch of ice that we don't.

I grew up on Long Island and lived there for 35 years so I've seen my share of snow and blizzards. A good old ice storm is a lot different than a snow storm for sure.

Greg

[Labradors2]

Driving on ice is all about using the brakes - DON'T. At least try not to, and if you have to, use them extremely gently and make sure that your wheels are straight when you apply them.

We had 2" of snow in eastern NC and it's a state of emergency! Coming from the north, we think that's highly amusing, although we do understand that they simply do not have the equipment here to deal with snow.

We found it mind boggling when we visited the Outer Banks some years back and saw them using snow ploughs to move SAND off the road - at least THEY have some snow ploughs!

Drive safely everyone - if you have to go out. We are staying in and taking the dogs for a fun romp in the snow

Linda

[Penny]

Originally Posted by gssgarden

Penny, It's the fact that the southern cities don't have the resources to combat this stuff. No salt or sand on the roads, haven't seen a plow down in the Charlotte area in the 8 yrs I've been here either.
There are a lot of tall tree-lined roads, so the surface doesn't get the sun to warm them up.

That's why I laughed, and continue to laugh at such things like the above post calling drivers 'woosies'.

I guess people up north must have some kind of 'super car' that can drive safely on an inch of ice that we don't.

I grew up on Long Island and lived there for 35 years so I've seen my share of snow and blizzards. A good old ice storm is a lot different than a snow storm for sure.

Greg

Absolutely, and I guess you also don't have snow tires either, do you? While snow tires help, when its ice, its ice.

Stay safe.

[gssgarden]

Myself. Wifey, (who works mostly from home), and three kids are on lock down for the day!! lol

It's only getting to 32 degrees today, maybe so the ice will stay until tomorrow afternoon. Prob no school for the kids again either.

And no, no snow tires for us down here!! lol

Greg

[ScottinAtlanta]

I don't think Northerners completely understand our Southern ice. We don't get just snow - we get a layer of smooth ice on top of it, today about an inch of solid ice in Atlanta. Without snow tires, salt, or any other intervention, I doubt that anyone in a normal passenger car would be able to drive safely. Most of the accidents are just slow motion drifting - cars going sideways without any control at all. That said, we definitely lack the skills that would probably avoid many unnecessary accidents.