(disclaimer: I've never lived in the north and know nothing about the effects of heavy snow)
So, according to the news coverage of the storm in the Northeast, they're expecting (or have already gotten) over two feet of snow from the blizzard up there. That's a heck of a lot of snow. But how does that compare to, say, 20" of rain? Here on the Gulf Coast we have gotten our share of epic amounts of rain and flooding - TS Allison, for instance.
Now, I know nothing about heavy snowfall, but it seems to me it's not as bad as the same amount of rain. For example, cars get buried or stuck in snow, but you'll get it back with a shovel (I guess). If you get the same amount of rain, you'll see reports of cars and people getting swept away in the flood; just several inches of fast-moving water can take an 18-wheeler off the road. Eventually the snow will melt and the water will have to go somewhere - we'll see what happens then.
Snow, for the most part, stays outside the house; flood water, on the other hand, will come right on in and ruin your home. You can play in snow. You can also play in flood water, if you don't mind flotillas of fire ants and maybe getting sucked into a storm drain. Do blizzards spawn tornadoes? I don't know, but heavy thunderstorms sure do.
Heavy snow knocks out power for thousands and so does rain - we'll call that a draw.
The point being, while the news is hyperventilating about the storm up there, it doesn't seem as bad as it is when we get monster storms down here like we do every other year or so that can bring a foot of rain or more. Am I missing the big deal here?
So, according to the news coverage of the storm in the Northeast, they're expecting (or have already gotten) over two feet of snow from the blizzard up there. That's a heck of a lot of snow. But how does that compare to, say, 20" of rain? Here on the Gulf Coast we have gotten our share of epic amounts of rain and flooding - TS Allison, for instance.
Now, I know nothing about heavy snowfall, but it seems to me it's not as bad as the same amount of rain. For example, cars get buried or stuck in snow, but you'll get it back with a shovel (I guess). If you get the same amount of rain, you'll see reports of cars and people getting swept away in the flood; just several inches of fast-moving water can take an 18-wheeler off the road. Eventually the snow will melt and the water will have to go somewhere - we'll see what happens then.
Snow, for the most part, stays outside the house; flood water, on the other hand, will come right on in and ruin your home. You can play in snow. You can also play in flood water, if you don't mind flotillas of fire ants and maybe getting sucked into a storm drain. Do blizzards spawn tornadoes? I don't know, but heavy thunderstorms sure do.
Heavy snow knocks out power for thousands and so does rain - we'll call that a draw.
The point being, while the news is hyperventilating about the storm up there, it doesn't seem as bad as it is when we get monster storms down here like we do every other year or so that can bring a foot of rain or more. Am I missing the big deal here?