Weather Wimpiness


Wherein Our Heroine Shakes her Head and Sighs.
It snows here in Maryland. Not a lot, and not often, but enough so that the entire region should not have to freak out when the white stuff falls from the sky. About an inch landed about midday yesterday, and schools are delayed today. You would think that seventeen hours or so would be enough for dealing with a thin layer of fluffy frozen water, but apparently not.

Considering that the local methods of coping with snow, or what they refer to down here as "snow removal" drive me crazy, I probably shouldn't be surprised by today's school delays. Back when we actually had a big snow and were snowed in for three days, the plow came in with the blade about six inches off of the actual road surface, creating an icy, pot-holey, miserable driving surface that later had to be removed with a backhoe. Additionally, the local regional authority seems to be very fond of salt as a "snow removal" device. A light dusting of snow means mounds of dirty grey, slightly glittery, car-eating sodium chloride scattered around the roads.

Of course, there may be a better reason for keeping schoolchildren home when there has been snow in this area. The wealthier denizens of this region, in common with their brethren across the country, are fond of their SUVs and seem to be too trusting of their anti-lock brakes and four-wheel-drive. When faced with the threat of an H2 or Lincoln Navigator roaming around loose with a driver who is inexperienced with snow and ice at the wheel, I would definitely prefer to stay home too.
Posted: Thursday - January 20, 2005 at 09:05 AM         | |

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