I had a lot of time stuck inside this weekend during the recent blizzard to think about the anatomy of a pending weather event and how different regions handle these kind of crises. So far since Christmas I have been in two major weather events: The tornadoes that struck the Dallas area on Dec. 26 that killed 11 people and destroyed 400 homes and businesses, and the "Blizzard of The Century Except For The One In 2006 That Was Actually Bigger" this weekend.
Now, I know tornadoes and blizzards are two distinctly different kinds of weather events. Tornadoes can come up quickly and furiously, and are famously unpredictable while with blizzard there is plenty of advanced warning with fairly accurate predictability. Of the two, I prefer to be in a tornado in Texas over a blizzard in New York City. Why? Because of the "whine" factor. God, how New Yorkers can whine. I haven't really heard any whining and complaining from Texans before, during or after a big weather event like I do from New Yorkers. Texans and most other people in other parts of the country deal with what's coming and the aftermath. They pick up the pieces and move on.
(Okay, it is not lost on me the irony that I am whining about their whining...)
Just for a point of reference, anyone remember the devastating tornadoes that hit in the South that preceded the one in Dallas...42 people were killed and thousands of homes and business were destroyed. Have you heard anything about that since it happened? I don't even remember that President Obama did any kind of fly-over to survey the damage. But here in New York City, the whining started from the beginning and continues. It ranges from not doing enough to clear the snow to being too heavy-handed in closing down the streets to non-emergency vehicles. And in DC, it was reported that federal employees got a "snow day" today.
On the lighter side: See the photo above? Those are not zombies walking down my street like I first thought. I have it on really good authority (my learned brother Joel) that zombies do not attack during the cold weather months because they don't like snow and can't wear coats. The weight of the heavy materials causes their limbs to fall off and the hats that their victims wear impede their brain-eating abilities. Phew! Good to know.
And finally I leave you with this bit of trivia which seems to be fitting this political season: Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
The floor is open...
Now, I know tornadoes and blizzards are two distinctly different kinds of weather events. Tornadoes can come up quickly and furiously, and are famously unpredictable while with blizzard there is plenty of advanced warning with fairly accurate predictability. Of the two, I prefer to be in a tornado in Texas over a blizzard in New York City. Why? Because of the "whine" factor. God, how New Yorkers can whine. I haven't really heard any whining and complaining from Texans before, during or after a big weather event like I do from New Yorkers. Texans and most other people in other parts of the country deal with what's coming and the aftermath. They pick up the pieces and move on.
(Okay, it is not lost on me the irony that I am whining about their whining...)
Just for a point of reference, anyone remember the devastating tornadoes that hit in the South that preceded the one in Dallas...42 people were killed and thousands of homes and business were destroyed. Have you heard anything about that since it happened? I don't even remember that President Obama did any kind of fly-over to survey the damage. But here in New York City, the whining started from the beginning and continues. It ranges from not doing enough to clear the snow to being too heavy-handed in closing down the streets to non-emergency vehicles. And in DC, it was reported that federal employees got a "snow day" today.
On the lighter side: See the photo above? Those are not zombies walking down my street like I first thought. I have it on really good authority (my learned brother Joel) that zombies do not attack during the cold weather months because they don't like snow and can't wear coats. The weight of the heavy materials causes their limbs to fall off and the hats that their victims wear impede their brain-eating abilities. Phew! Good to know.
And finally I leave you with this bit of trivia which seems to be fitting this political season: Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
The floor is open...
13 comments:
I remember the Tuscaloosa twister. 64 fatalities.
Bev, I had to laugh at you saying that New Yorker's whine. They do!! They love to pretend that they're tougher than everyone else, but they whine like crazy.
Great point on the zombies! :)
Kit - and what about Hurricane Katrina - It hit Mississippi just as badly, but one never hears about that. Major tornadoes in OK that wipe out the same general area over and over. There never seems to be the need for a media follow up on any of this stuff.
Bev, I hear that a couple of your boroughs are complaining that they didn't get their snow cleared like Manhattan did. I guess deBlasio loves rich people, huh?
Andrew - Oh, that's a long running feud with Mayors. Bloomberg Admin would famously ignore the other boroughs. Why not? He lives on the Upper East Side and the official Mayoral residence (Gracie Mansion) is also there.
The Blas promised to change all that because he was a Brooklyn borough dweller. His first big snow event, he made good his promise and left the Upper East Side untouched while the boroughs got the royal treatment.
Ah, but here is where it gets fun. During the summer of his first year, the De Blasios ended up moving on up to the East Side into Gracie Mansion...now guess where gets the royal treatment again...
Snow day? What's a "snow day"?
Obviously, I kid. It's just that in Nebraska, snow day is a bit of a misnomer. If we were accurate, we'd call them car crash days, because the roads never close for snow or even ice. They only close once too many cars are piled up in the streets.
OT: I just felt a great disturbance in the Force. As if two generations of age-related Abe Vigoda jokes cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear the inevitable has finally happened.
Abe Vigoda, R.I.P. 2/24/1921 - 1/26/2016
OT: Donald Trump has announced he will not be participating in the Iowa debate this Thursday.
America responds: LINK
He may change his mind but let's hope and pray he keeps it. If he does anything else, let's not watch it.
Kit, I guess Megyn Kelly scares him.
Rustbelt, I'm honestly shocked he was still alive as of yesterday! I thought he died in the 1970s! In any event, I enjoyed his work a lot. RIP!
BTW, Bev, We were told that we would get a TON of snow this winter because of el Nino, but it hasn't happened. So either they meant the other kind of snow or el Nino turned out to be el Dud-o. How much did you really get in the city?
Andrew, the comedians are going to feel the pinch from this one.
LINK The answer at 4:04 is, at this point, "yes."
We got 26 inches in Manhattan. Some of the other boroughs got more. It's not like we haven't seen this before...Farmers Almanac predicted it and they are right 80% of the time.
Anyone want place a bet on whether Trump will triumphantly take the stage for the debate or not? I think this is just a reality show publicity stunt for Trump or He thinks he can get Kelly taken out of the debate if he threatens not to come.
Should we take bet
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