Since when does 1-3" of the white stuff = a 'Winter Storm'

We live in the northeast.  We get some of the white stuff (4 letter word) from time to time.  

Why does everyone (incl. our maybe glorious governor) freak out every time we get a little winter precip?

It's not the fluffy stuff of concern -- it's being near the freezing line and the potential for slick clear stuff that is the concern. 

And if we're near the freezing line, then there can be 3 different weather experiences within one commuting corridor.

Not sure anyone is "freaking out," but the November incident changed the game a bit. Folks simply don't want to be unprepared and have a repeat of that.

since we had one crazy storm no one was prepared for. Now we’re going to panic at every tiny storm

It is a bit ridiculous.

The panic is kinda working for me. It has been getting my office more work-from-home days, as well as more days the office is closed early.

People used to be taller.

author said:
People used to be taller.

 Ha !!!    

You make a funny, but its a sad true. 

American life expectancy is shortening with the average height of Americans by age becoming lower. Maybe due to nutritional deficiency, crappy junk food. 

In our new modern age of Trump we seem to be cascading to second world status.

tomcat said:
We live in the northeast.  We get some of the white stuff (4 letter word) from time to time.  
Why does everyone (incl. our maybe glorious governor) freak out every time we get a little winter precip?

 Glad it is not just me thinking the same thing.  When I was the DPW Director we only had snow days when it was a big storm or the timing of it did not allow for school maintenance crews to clear the sidewalks in time.

I can remember the 5 a.m. calls with the Police Chief, Town Administer, and the head of maintenance for the Bd. of Ed.  They would call me to see how the roads were, could the schools open, should there be a delayed opening, or should they just call a snow day.  This was always a difficult decision to make at 5 a.m.  Cancelling school was always frowned upon, so if there was anyway we could open school we did.  I would then pray the snow did not intensify before the opening of school.  I only remember 1 (maybe 2) times where school was cancelled the night before. 

Now it seems like they cancel school with just the mention of snow.  Also, I have noticed a significant drop in the number of cars on the road when it snows now.  That is a good thing.  But back then the roads always had traffic as if it wasn't even snowing.  I used to get nuts watching people go in to the corner store in the village for a newspaper during a heavy snowfall. 

I think the reduction of traffic is due to the blizzard we had a few years ago when everyone got stuck and just abandoned their cars in the middle of the road.

We would salt and plow from the start of the storm and continue nonstop so that anyone who went to work or school could make it home.  It was also important to keep the roads open for emergency vehicles.  Now it seems like they salt at the beginning of the storm and then wait to plow.  After the first round of plowing it seems like they wait until it stops before they come back out to plow.

Sorry for the thread drift. No pun intended.

My experience in South Orange is the plows are out pretty consistently during a snow storm clearing the roads.

Do people remember the magnitude of the difficulties because of what happened in November? Kids were stuck in school for hours. Buses were stuck on the roads. People were in their car for hours to go a few miles. It was a huge mess. So yeah the next day there was no school.

By my count there has been one snow day since then, and if you were following Max's weather thread that day it was a day that easily could have been a lot worse. One delayed opening as well. 

It's the middle of February. Why is anyone surprised there have been a couple of cancellations?

I remember a snowstorm in the early 2000s. It started around 8 and intensified quickly. They called an early dismissal. People who spent an extra long commute into the city had to get back on trains with massive delays to try to get back to SOMA to pick up their kids on roads that were a mess, salting and plowing notwithstanding.

It's got to be a super difficult decision, knowing that if you send the kids to school on an iffy weather day it could turn into some potentially dangerous.

And 1-3 inches here, like sprout said, could be 6-10 inches 20 miles from here. So that doesn't make it any less of a snow storm. 

I am not surprised that there has been cancellations.  I was agreeing with the OP that the mention of snow has people freaking out regardless of the amount predicted.  It wasn't like this years ago.

The canceling of school or not canceling school is a difficult decision.  Open them up....potential of not being able to get home.  Close them....parents have to scramble to find a sitter, lose a days pay, or in worse case scenarios parents leave their young children home alone.  That may sound extreme but I have seen it done here.  

There are places that get real, serious winter weather where they don't close anything no matter how bad it gets.  Life goes on, people adapt and prepare.

Here, we get a flurry and people act like the world is coming to an end.

Agreed.  But as I stated earlier, it wasn't always like this.  

The thing that really gets me is the need to run to the supermarket to stock up on milk, bread, eggs, bottled water, and whatever else one would need to survive a 3"-5" snow storm. 

EricBurbank said:
Agreed.  But as I stated earlier, it wasn't always like this.  


The thing that really gets me is the need to run to the supermarket to stock up on milk, bread, eggs, bottled water, and whatever else one would need to survive a 3"-5" snow storm. 

 I remember when you were in charge, Maplewood would always have the roads plowed before south Orange and union. I survived the early '90s with kids in Tuscan school. Seems to me a lot more kids used to walk to school back then. Kids used to enjoy walking to school in the snow...we even had the ice rink in memorial Park! Early dismissals were always a pain. 

Thank you for your nice comments.  Things are different now, not necessarily worse, just different.  

When it snows now I run the operation from my front window until my wife reminds me that I am retired.

Even with great road treatment, rush hour storms tend to be messy.  Roads like I-78 which might be okay in the snow with light traffic are a complete mess with heavy traffic.  I think erring on the side of safety is reasonable.

tomcat said:
We live in the northeast.  We get some of the white stuff (4 letter word) from time to time.  
Why does everyone (incl. our maybe glorious governor) freak out every time we get a little winter precip?

 There is a tradition of political careers (esp. mayors) dying as a result of being caught unprepared for a snow storm.

tjohn said:

tomcat said:
We live in the northeast.  We get some of the white stuff (4 letter word) from time to time.  
Why does everyone (incl. our maybe glorious governor) freak out every time we get a little winter precip? 

 There is a tradition of political careers (esp. mayors) dying as a result of being caught unprepared for a snow storm.

 Agreed.

While Christie didn't lose his seat, he sure took a lot of s**t for being out of the state on vacation when we got slammed with a storm. 

The tempest is upon us.

Something just started coming down.  Looks light and wet.  Outdoor temperature reading in middle Maplewood is currently 31 degrees.

Eric, we had better snow storms when you were in charge too.  More storms = more snow cocktail parties.  

Very true.  You live on one of the most friendly blocks in town.  There are only a few blocks in town that are like yours when it comes to partying with your neighbors. Lol

EricBurbank said:
Very true.  You live on one of the most friendly blocks in town.  There are only a few blocks in town that are like yours when it comes to partying with your neighbors. Lol

So true, Eric.