Winter Storm - 90M people under wind chill alerts

[msmerymac]

I grew up in Buffalo and have relatives there and my dad’s cousin has been without power for 48 hours. The city itself received record amounts of snow (my dad’s family are mostly northeast of the city) - most storms actually hit south of the city harder. Plus wind gusts up to 70-80 mph. It’s like a hurricane inside a snowstorm. All the fire trucks got stuck basically and they can’t even plow this much snow - they need equipment to dig it out.

My dad lives right on the eastern end of Lake Ontario and this was his backyard yesterday morning. They also have a travel ban, so even though my brother lives 20 minutes from both sets of our parents, everyone was snowed in.

[buffalogal]

Dec 24, 2022 22:48:10 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

The band sat over Buffalo and the north towns (where I am) from Friday morning till late Saturday night. We were lucky we didn’t lose power and neither did my parents three blocks away. The wind was relentless. DH’s mom is in the city and probably won’t be able to get out till later in the week. Most major streets are full of abandoned cars, and driving bans are still in effect today. Tops and Wegmans are still closed today. There are photos of Transit (a 5 lane major highway) and it’s looks like a parking lot.
The Target in Cheektowaga hosted a number of stranded people, giving them food, clothes, air mattress, phone chargers, and games for their stay.
This will be one for the record books. I saw at least 18 dead.
Normally the north towns don’t get hit that bad, while the south towns will get feet we get a few inches, but this band of lake effect snow and hurricane force winds just sat and pummeled us.
Edit to add- it is snowing again, light winds. DH just said we are expected to get another foot of snow over then next 24 hours.

[mcsangel2]

Dec 26, 2022 9:52:07 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

Dec 24, 2022 22:48:10 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

The band sat over Buffalo and the north towns (where I am) from Friday morning till late Saturday night. We were lucky we didn’t lose power and neither did my parents three blocks away. The wind was relentless. DH’s mom is in the city and probably won’t be able to get out till later in the week. Most major streets are full of abandoned cars, and driving bans are still in effect today. Tops and Wegmans are still closed today. There are photos of Transit (a 5 lane major highway) and it’s looks like a parking lot.
The Target in Cheektowaga hosted a number of stranded people, giving them food, clothes, air mattress, phone chargers, and games for their stay.
This will be one for the record books. I saw at least 18 dead.
Normally the north towns don’t get hit that bad, while the south towns will get feet we get a few inches, but this band of lake effect snow and hurricane force winds just sat and pummeled us.
Edit to add- it is snowing again, light winds. DH just said we are expected to get another foot of snow over then next 24 hours.

I gotta say, if you have to be stranded somewhere for a couple of days away from home, Target is probably the best place to be.

[sweetchix]

Dec 26, 2022 10:21:50 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

Dec 26, 2022 9:52:07 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

The band sat over Buffalo and the north towns (where I am) from Friday morning till late Saturday night. We were lucky we didn’t lose power and neither did my parents three blocks away. The wind was relentless. DH’s mom is in the city and probably won’t be able to get out till later in the week. Most major streets are full of abandoned cars, and driving bans are still in effect today. Tops and Wegmans are still closed today. There are photos of Transit (a 5 lane major highway) and it’s looks like a parking lot.
The Target in Cheektowaga hosted a number of stranded people, giving them food, clothes, air mattress, phone chargers, and games for their stay.
This will be one for the record books. I saw at least 18 dead.
Normally the north towns don’t get hit that bad, while the south towns will get feet we get a few inches, but this band of lake effect snow and hurricane force winds just sat and pummeled us.
Edit to add- it is snowing again, light winds. DH just said we are expected to get another foot of snow over then next 24 hours.

I gotta say, if you have to be stranded somewhere for a couple of days away from home, Target is probably the best place to be.

Agreed! I saw that picture of Transit. Crazy!!

I just got back in from digging out more furnace vents. As far as I know there is nobody else without heat in our complex. Northern Erie County is supposed to get another 8-12” into early tomorrow. I’m hearing unconfirmed reports of close to 40 dead on the Buffalo Blizzard 22 FB page. Many heard DOA calls on the scanner. This is awful.

[Velar Fricative]

Thanks for checking in, Buffalo residents! Glad you are safe. But man, my heart breaks for everyone there, especially those who died or whose loved ones died.

[buffalogal]

Dec 26, 2022 12:50:26 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Thanks for checking in, Buffalo residents! Glad you are safe. But man, my heart breaks for everyone there, especially those who died or whose loved ones died.

I was only 2 for ‘77, no one talks about ‘85 much, but I think this one will be hard to forget.

There have bee so many heartwarming stories about people helping out complete strangers. One woman saved a man from dying, he was practically frozen with severe frostbite on his hands. Rescuers finally got to her house and took him to the hospital. Another woman was at her work and took in several stranded motorists. A Walmart also hosted stranded people like the Target.

Of course there are also photos of looters circulating.

Ever since the thanksgiving storm- that spared us- my son has been completely enamored with my Blizzard of ‘77 board game. Look it up. He asked to play tonight and we all emphatically said no. 🤣

[msmerymac]

buffalogal the only thing people talk about regarding ‘85 is Jimmy Griffin’s quote about grabbing a 6 pack and staying home.

I just saw 57 people have died nationwide and 27 of those in Erie County. There are people at Salvatore’s (the hotel part) and they’re running out of food. Stores aren’t open in a lot of places and there was still a driving ban in some towns.

My dad’s cousin still has no power. She and her younger son had to go to a hotel (she said driving was terrible) because of her medical issues since the temp in her house was in the 40s. Her husband and older son stayed to intermittently run the generator to power the sump pump because they just moved and gave a ton of stuff in the basement.

Here’s my brother’s sidewalk. It’s up to his shoulder and he can’t use the snowblower because it’s too much.

[buffalogal]

Dec 26, 2022 23:45:12 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

buffalogal the only thing people talk about regarding ‘85 is Jimmy Griffin’s quote about grabbing a 6 pack and staying home.

I just saw 57 people have died nationwide and 27 of those in Erie County. There are people at Salvatore’s (the hotel part) and they’re running out of food. Stores aren’t open in a lot of places and there was still a driving ban in some towns.

My dad’s cousin still has no power. She and her younger son had to go to a hotel (she said driving was terrible) because of her medical issues since the temp in her house was in the 40s. Her husband and older son stayed to intermittently run the generator to power the sump pump because they just moved and gave a ton of stuff in the basement.

Here’s my brother’s sidewalk. It’s up to his shoulder and he can’t use the snowblower because it’s too much.

We had to knock down the snow to use the blower. We cannot get off our back porch, the snow has completely filled in the alley from the back porch stairs to our garage’s back door. We were able to get some of the snow off the gazebo that covers our hot tub so that it would not collapse.
Old lady across the street from us refused any help, from neighbors and snow removal crews on the street to clean other people’s driveways. She told the crew that was doing my next door neighbor today that she was having fun. She’s got to be pushing 85. The snow on our streets was at least 3 feet high and the driveway approach was rock hard from the plows going down the street. But she cleared it. Ironically the two neighbors who are not at home currently, one is in Florida the other was taken to the hospital two months ago, and hasn’t come back yet, were the only two to actually get plowed out.
My aunt went to tops today and posted photos of the completely empty shelves. She said she saw one customer take all the gallon jugs of water on the shelf and another had five loaves of bread in her cart. I hope they were helping others and not being hoarders.
I did forget about jimmy’s sage advice on how to handle a blizzard! Back in ‘85 we lived in the city and the day the blizzard started my dad fell at work and broke both his arms. I was 10, and I remember we all thought he was at work when really he was at the hospital getting casts from mid biceps to mid forearm on both arms. When he got home my brother and I had to feed him. Then we watched the drunks walk up and down the street from bar to bar the rest of the blizzard.
I hope your relatives get power soon!

[memenee]

I loved the story out of Buffalo where the Korean tour bus got stuck on a street and rang someone’s doorbell to ask to borrow shovels to dig out. The homeowners invited them in for the weekend and they had a blast - cooking up Korean food and drinking - the pics were awesome - I love stories like that.

[nothingcontroversial]

Dec 27, 2022 1:13:23 GMT -5 memenee said:

I loved the story out of Buffalo where the Korean tour bus got stuck on a street and rang someone’s doorbell to ask to borrow shovels to dig out. The homeowners invited them in for the weekend and they had a blast - cooking up Korean food and drinking - the pics were awesome - I love stories like that.

What the hell were they doing going on a tourist trip to Niagara Falls when everyone knew that this storm was coming? Stories like this enrage me. 

[msmerymac]

buffalogal, I saw photos of the line waiting to get into the Wegmans on Amherst St today, and it was wild. They were low on meat and seafood, but apparently had a lot of milk, eggs, and dry goods. Only 3 cashiers could make it into work, so they were only letting in a few people at a time!

There was also a big storm over Thanksgiving 2000, which I remember because I was home from college and staying with my grandmother in Williamsville, where they got 27 inches in 24 hours. My BFF's dad got stuck overnight on the Thruway. And the October 2006 storm that knocked out a bunch of power...

[buffalogal]

Dec 27, 2022 15:26:25 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

buffalogal, I saw photos of the line waiting to get into the Wegmans on Amherst St today, and it was wild. They were low on meat and seafood, but apparently had a lot of milk, eggs, and dry goods. Only 3 cashiers could make it into work, so they were only letting in a few people at a time!

There was also a big storm over Thanksgiving 2000, which I remember because I was home from college and staying with my grandmother in Williamsville, where they got 27 inches in 24 hours. My BFF's dad got stuck overnight on the Thruway. And the October 2006 storm that knocked out a bunch of power...

I remember the thanksgiving 2000 one fondly, we were partying on Chippewa a day or two later!
We did loose power back in Oct 2006, had that storm hit later in the year it would not have been as bad. The wet heavy snow and the trees full of leaves caused the enormous amount power outages.
The line to get into the tops parking lot by me was down 3 blocks yesterday. We didn’t need to get anything, but DH drove by.
Saw a photo of the amount of snow on the 33 today and that was wild.
There is a website now to locate abandoned cars, over 250 have been towed. Police have also been arresting looters.

[rubytue]

Dec 27, 2022 9:36:58 GMT -5 nothingcontroversial said:

Dec 27, 2022 1:13:23 GMT -5 memenee said:

I loved the story out of Buffalo where the Korean tour bus got stuck on a street and rang someone’s doorbell to ask to borrow shovels to dig out. The homeowners invited them in for the weekend and they had a blast - cooking up Korean food and drinking - the pics were awesome - I love stories like that.

What the hell were they doing going on a tourist trip to Niagara Falls when everyone knew that this storm was coming? Stories like this enrage me. 

Let see, on a guided, preplanned bus tour, in a foreign country. Probably the tourists “they” were just trusting the bus driver/tour organizer.  And, you may see it as a tourist trap, but it is also very cool and a must see thing for many people traveling to the US. My  friend tells me whenever her extended family comes to DC, they have to rent a van and drive to Niagara Falls. It’s a thing. 

It’s easy to judge when you aren’t there, but imagine you are on a bus tour of Korea. And the weather report says snow, but the tour guide says “check out, load up, let’s go”. What are you more likely to do, get on the bus, or figure out a new place to stay, food, lodging, travel arrangements, etc?

edit - ok, it does say tourist trip, not tourists trap (which is something many say about Niagara Falls). I still think a little empathy for the folks involved rather than being enraged about the story would be a good thing. 

[kadams767]

Dec 27, 2022 21:10:18 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Dec 27, 2022 9:36:58 GMT -5 nothingcontroversial said:

What the hell were they doing going on a tourist trip to Niagara Falls when everyone knew that this storm was coming? Stories like this enrage me. 

Let see, on a guided, preplanned bus tour, in a foreign country. Probably the tourists “they” were just trusting the bus driver/tour organizer.  And, you may see it as a tourist trap, but it is also very cool and a must see thing for many people traveling to the US. My  friend tells me whenever her extended family comes to DC, they have to rent a van and drive to Niagara Falls. It’s a thing. 

It’s easy to judge when you aren’t there, but imagine you are on a bus tour of Korea. And the weather report says snow, but the tour guide says “check out, load up, let’s go”. What are you more likely to do, get on the bus, or figure out a new place to stay, food, lodging, travel arrangements, etc?

Whoa.  She said tourist TRIP, not trap.

And not speaking for OP, but I’m not blaming the tourists themselves, more the tour operators for continuing their journey against all warnings.  This was absolute negligence on the part of the tour company.

[rubytue]

Dec 27, 2022 22:14:43 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Dec 27, 2022 21:10:18 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Let see, on a guided, preplanned bus tour, in a foreign country. Probably the tourists “they” were just trusting the bus driver/tour organizer.  And, you may see it as a tourist trap, but it is also very cool and a must see thing for many people traveling to the US. My  friend tells me whenever her extended family comes to DC, they have to rent a van and drive to Niagara Falls. It’s a thing. 

It’s easy to judge when you aren’t there, but imagine you are on a bus tour of Korea. And the weather report says snow, but the tour guide says “check out, load up, let’s go”. What are you more likely to do, get on the bus, or figure out a new place to stay, food, lodging, travel arrangements, etc?

Whoa.  She said tourist TRIP, not trap.

And not speaking for OP, but I’m not blaming the tourists themselves, more the tour operators for continuing their journey against all warnings.  This was absolute negligence on the part of the tour company.

Oh shit. It is trip. It’s still rather unempathetic. But less so as trip, instead of trap. 

[kadams767]

Dec 27, 2022 22:20:45 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Dec 27, 2022 22:14:43 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Whoa.  She said tourist TRIP, not trap.

And not speaking for OP, but I’m not blaming the tourists themselves, more the tour operators for continuing their journey against all warnings.  This was absolute negligence on the part of the tour company.

Oh shit. It is trip. It’s still rather unempathetic. But less so as trip, instead of trap. 

I don’t know the whole story, it’s not really clear to me if this was a self-guided group or a tour company or what happened.  But given the warnings for this storm, it’s not entirely unreasonable to be kind of WTF about why this happened in the first place.  And I do feel bad for anyone who got stranded, no matter what, for sure.  The situation was awful, and these people got very lucky.  

[rubytue]

kadams767, yeah. There is some WTF, that is true. My knee jerk reaction was to someone being “enraged” by the feel good story of good people in the world. Sure, the set up to the story has issues, but a warm fuzzy ending. Really easy to armchair judge lots of stuff, but getting enraged by the stupidity of traveling? It’s like the discussion after a hurricane as to why people didn’t evacuate. Sometimes, there are reasons and let’s not continue to kick people when they are down.

[Velar Fricative]

Dec 28, 2022 10:16:04 GMT -5 rubytue said:

kadams767, yeah. There is some WTF, that is true. My knee jerk reaction was to someone being “enraged” by the feel good story of good people in the world. Sure, the set up to the story has issues, but a warm fuzzy ending. Really easy to armchair judge lots of stuff, but getting enraged by the stupidity of traveling? It’s like the discussion after a hurricane as to why people didn’t evacuate. Sometimes, there are reasons and let’s not continue to kick people when they are down.

I’m with you. I imagine I might not get important news if I were in a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language. In any case, even though they should have never been on the road to begin with, I too prefer to focus on how heartwarming this story ultimately ended up.

[kadams767]

Dec 28, 2022 10:58:22 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Dec 28, 2022 10:16:04 GMT -5 rubytue said:

kadams767 , yeah. There is some WTF, that is true. My knee jerk reaction was to someone being “enraged” by the feel good story of good people in the world. Sure, the set up to the story has issues, but a warm fuzzy ending. Really easy to armchair judge lots of stuff, but getting enraged by the stupidity of traveling? It’s like the discussion after a hurricane as to why people didn’t evacuate. Sometimes, there are reasons and let’s not continue to kick people when they are down.

I’m with you. I imagine I might not get important news if I were in a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language. In any case, even though they should have never been on the road to begin with, I too prefer to focus on how heartwarming this story ultimately ended up.

Like I said, I feel bad for anyone and everyone that ended up stuck in this.  But I am also giving a little grace to anyone here right now, it's been a very long and stressful 5 days or so and frustrations are high.  I agree it had a feel-good ending and I am happy and relieved to see it.  It's just not as easy to ignore the facts surrounding it when you are right in the thick of things.  

[jeaniebueller]

Honestly I cannot understand the government response in Buffalo. According to the FB groups and Reddit, earlier today there were still people unable to leave their homes, parking lots not plowed, people worrying about getting food, etc. And the driving ban is definitely understandable but people are worried about their jobs. People whose rental houses had burst pipes being homeless and worried about finding and paying for a place to stay, etc. It just seems like the response among citizens banding together in social media was stronger then the city government response. Believe me, I get that it was an unprecedented event and tons of snow but there were warnings all last week and seems like zero preparations were made at the city level (no I’m not criticizing individual residents—they are just trying to survive. I can’t imagine being snowed in for days without heat and with kids or elderly or medically fragile loved ones). I think this situation is going to get more national attention as they continue to add up deaths. Someone on Reddit said that initially the city told people who were stranded in their cars on Friday to call a number and wait for help in their car. And then like 12 hours later said they were unable to rescue people. I really fear that the death toll is going to be much much higher.

[pixy0stix]

What, exactly, is the city supposed to do, though? The city is made up of human workers, many of whom are also probably stuck somewhere. What is the city supposed to do about burst pipes? What is the city supposed to do about people who traveled when they weren't supposed to? There is no way the city could keep up with what happened. I can tell you that here when there is a snow event the city pulls everyone they can into working. Even putting office workers into trucks with plows on the front to try to clear areas.

Did the state call out the national guard?

[aprilsails]

Yeah, for the scale of the event in Buffalo the only fix would have been the National Guard I think, which is a negotiation process between the city, state and DoD I would imagine (I am Canadian, and could be wrong here).

I have a lot of family who work in snow removal and as city plough drivers here, and also who work for municipal government, and there is a tendency for these people to live well out of the city core. My Dad has a 15 minute drive to get to the plough storage yard. My uncle 30. That might be impossible if the roads are completely impassable. And they have big trucks to get there and myDad still said that was the scariest he’s ever been on the road, and we mostly got rain so they could keep up with the snow here. In Buffalo the amounts plus the wind would have been a nightmare.

I have friends in an open area near Kingston, Ontario and all of the roads in their township were closed for two days. No ploughs, no highway, no emergency services. Nothing. Too much wind and blowing snow and they really only got a foot there.

[Velar Fricative]

Dec 28, 2022 22:53:11 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

What, exactly, is the city supposed to do, though? The city is made up of human workers, many of whom are also probably stuck somewhere. What is the city supposed to do about burst pipes? What is the city supposed to do about people who traveled when they weren't supposed to? There is no way the city could keep up with what happened. I can tell you that here when there is a snow event the city pulls everyone they can into working. Even putting office workers into trucks with plows on the front to try to clear areas.

Did the state call out the national guard?

Yes, the NG was called up.

And also, the rescue workers needed to be rescued themselves in Buffalo. Maybe there are things that could have been done differently that an investigation will show, but to me so far it seems that the storm was simply unlike any other.

[buffalogal]

Dec 28, 2022 21:40:36 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Honestly I cannot understand the government response in Buffalo. According to the FB groups and Reddit, earlier today there were still people unable to leave their homes, parking lots not plowed, people worrying about getting food, etc. And the driving ban is definitely understandable but people are worried about their jobs. People whose rental houses had burst pipes being homeless and worried about finding and paying for a place to stay, etc. It just seems like the response among citizens banding together in social media was stronger then the city government response. Believe me, I get that it was an unprecedented event and tons of snow but there were warnings all last week and seems like zero preparations were made at the city level (no I’m not criticizing individual residents—they are just trying to survive. I can’t imagine being snowed in for days without heat and with kids or elderly or medically fragile loved ones). I think this situation is going to get more national attention as they continue to add up deaths. Someone on Reddit said that initially the city told people who were stranded in their cars on Friday to call a number and wait for help in their car. And then like 12 hours later said they were unable to rescue people. I really fear that the death toll is going to be much much higher.

the city of buffalo is an old city. lots of residential neighborhoods of older homes on narrow streets. many of those homes are multi-dwellings, 2-4 apartments, with very small or no driveways so lots of street parking. plowing these streets is a dauntless task with a few inches of snow, we had close to 36 hours of 50+ mph winds causing enormous drifts around houses, parked cars, abandoned cars, buses, everything.

some lessons have been learned after previous storms school cancellations at even a hint of snow being one of them. kids were stranded on buses after 2000, or was it 2006? as the snow hit mid day. now they cancel school at the suggestion of a storm. all schools were closed for this past November's storm and northtowns & the city got a dusting while the south got walloped.

the national guard was called in, they were stationed around the heavy equipment so there were no accidents. the heavy equipment was sent and stationed outside the storm and not let in until the storm was over due to visibility

yesterday the county exec and the mayor were not please with each other

[kadams767]

Dec 28, 2022 21:40:36 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Honestly I cannot understand the government response in Buffalo. According to the FB groups and Reddit, earlier today there were still people unable to leave their homes, parking lots not plowed, people worrying about getting food, etc. And the driving ban is definitely understandable but people are worried about their jobs. People whose rental houses had burst pipes being homeless and worried about finding and paying for a place to stay, etc. It just seems like the response among citizens banding together in social media was stronger then the city government response. Believe me, I get that it was an unprecedented event and tons of snow but there were warnings all last week and seems like zero preparations were made at the city level (no I’m not criticizing individual residents—they are just trying to survive. I can’t imagine being snowed in for days without heat and with kids or elderly or medically fragile loved ones). I think this situation is going to get more national attention as they continue to add up deaths. Someone on Reddit said that initially the city told people who were stranded in their cars on Friday to call a number and wait for help in their car. And then like 12 hours later said they were unable to rescue people. I really fear that the death toll is going to be much much higher.

I am not exactly a governmental apologist in any sense, but there is absolutely no way for them to win in this situation.  I understand from the outside (and honestly, likely in certain places on the inside as well) that it might look like there was no preparation.  I assure you, there was.  We had very dire, extreme warnings all week leading up to this.  They started canceling events days in advance - which is huge, particularly when the upcoming weekend is a huge ass holiday.  Rest assured, that even while this was all happening, there were people who thought the government and others were completely overreacting.  So now imagine a scenario where all this preparation took place and the weather event does not materialize.  People are out with pitchforks.  There is no one who sings the "better safe than sorry" tune, and it turns into a Boy Who Cried Wolf scenario for the next storm where people fail to heed the warnings even more - some of the situation here is already a result of this, whether anyone wants to hear it or not.  It is an insanely delicate balance between when/how to coordinate a response to these things. 

And then there is just the facts of the situation.  We had 30+ hours straight of snow combined with hurricane force winds.  There is no magic super snow rescue plan for that.  It's not like they could have been out plowing continuously or saving people while it was happening and chose not to.  It was just not possible.  Like another poster said, the city itself is old and very difficult to clear during a normal storm.  My street had areas of over 5ft of snow in the middle of it.  Ambulances, fire trucks and plows all got stuck while attempting to rescue people, respond to medical calls, and plow the streets.  I am not sure what more people expected to be done when first responders literally cannot go any further.  The National Guard was/is here - I saw them personally at the end of my street starting on Sunday night and they have been here since.  Were there some things that were done wrong?  I'm sure.  But I am not really convinced that it was a large-scale failure to prepare.  It's a natural disaster and it's absolutely terrible. 

And the idea that individuals banding together on social media handled this better than the government is silly - it's comparing apples to oranges.  Yes, I was able to check on my neighbor, and yes, I was able to help people shovel and snowblow.  Because I am one person and can walk out my front door and reach these people within 1 minute on foot carrying a shovel.  And yes, that happened in areas all over the place in small doses.  Are people mad that there weren't government officials or emergency personnel stationed on every corner in advance with a high powered snowblower or plow, and emergency supplies?  I mean that kind of seriously, because that is really the only scenario I can envision wherein they would have been able to reach everyone in a timely manner since you absolutely could not drive for approx. 2 full days.

To address the issue with housing, pipes bursting, etc., that is a systemic issue that absolutely needs to be addressed, but has nothing to do with storm preparedness.  That is about keeping buildings to code, taking absentee landlords to task, and not allowing the systemically impoverished to flounder day after day.  But that is a nationwide problem in every area in this country.  

[ggirl]

The only thing the county MAYBE should have done was issue a driving ban earlier than 930am Friday- when it was already starting to get bad. I saw a lot of posts of people who had to go into work because no driving ban (which is totally capitalism issue too of course). I also think people forget it was a Friday and for a lot of people who get paid on fridays- that was the day they could prepare for the storm and had to be out getting items. It was just a lot of factors that created this mess.

[buffalogal]

Dec 29, 2022 16:43:55 GMT -5 ggirl said:

The only thing the county MAYBE should have done was issue a driving ban earlier than 930am Friday- when it was already starting to get bad. I saw a lot of posts of people who had to go into work because no driving ban (which is totally capitalism issue too of course). I also think people forget it was a Friday and for a lot of people who get paid on fridays- that was the day they could prepare for the storm and had to be out getting items. It was just a lot of factors that created this mess.

The county exec addressed the ban and not calling it sooner. He was hoping third shift workers would be able to get home before he issued the ban which is why it was called ‘too late’ he took full responsibility for that.
Unfortunately conditions deteriorated way faster than they had anticipated.

[kadams767]

Dec 29, 2022 16:43:55 GMT -5 ggirl said:

The only thing the county MAYBE should have done was issue a driving ban earlier than 930am Friday- when it was already starting to get bad. I saw a lot of posts of people who had to go into work because no driving ban (which is totally capitalism issue too of course). I also think people forget it was a Friday and for a lot of people who get paid on fridays- that was the day they could prepare for the storm and had to be out getting items. It was just a lot of factors that created this mess.

I agree with this.  But also know that if they issued it earlier, people would still have been out because it was still driveable at that time, and like you said, it was Friday.  And the Friday before a major holiday, nonetheless.  I myself went out Friday morning (at the ass crack of dawn, but still) to get food because I could not do so Thursday night.  The grocery store was mobbed at 6:45AM.  I was home by 8:00 and it was still not bad at all yet.  An hour later was a different story entirely.  It's such a crap shoot sometimes.  And I mean, all of the highways were closed Thursday night.  So they did try and mitigate this to some extent.  

[ggirl]

Dec 29, 2022 17:11:26 GMT -5 buffalogal said:

Dec 29, 2022 16:43:55 GMT -5 ggirl said:

The only thing the county MAYBE should have done was issue a driving ban earlier than 930am Friday- when it was already starting to get bad. I saw a lot of posts of people who had to go into work because no driving ban (which is totally capitalism issue too of course). I also think people forget it was a Friday and for a lot of people who get paid on fridays- that was the day they could prepare for the storm and had to be out getting items. It was just a lot of factors that created this mess.

The county exec addressed the ban and not calling it sooner. He was hoping third shift workers would be able to get home before he issued the ban which is why it was called ‘too late’ he took full responsibility for that.
Unfortunately conditions deteriorated way faster than they had anticipated.

I know but I can understand how for retail workers that also put them in a major bind, of course, companies should take care of their workers but we don’t live in an ideal world like that. So I see both sides about it.

[ggirl]

Dec 29, 2022 17:22:37 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Dec 29, 2022 16:43:55 GMT -5 ggirl said:

The only thing the county MAYBE should have done was issue a driving ban earlier than 930am Friday- when it was already starting to get bad. I saw a lot of posts of people who had to go into work because no driving ban (which is totally capitalism issue too of course). I also think people forget it was a Friday and for a lot of people who get paid on fridays- that was the day they could prepare for the storm and had to be out getting items. It was just a lot of factors that created this mess.

I agree with this.  But also know that if they issued it earlier, people would still have been out because it was still driveable at that time, and like you said, it was Friday.  And the Friday before a major holiday, nonetheless.  I myself went out Friday morning (at the ass crack of dawn, but still) to get food because I could not do so Thursday night.  The grocery store was mobbed at 6:45AM.  I was home by 8:00 and it was still not bad at all yet.  An hour later was a different story entirely.  It's such a crap shoot sometimes.  And I mean, all of the highways were closed Thursday night.  So they did try and mitigate this to some extent.  

I remember the 2010 dec storm when people
Got stuck on the 90 (and I think. At least one time since then). I almost took 90 home that day from work and took 5 home instead. At least they did learn from those storms.