Houston is Closed!

[EMom]

Schools around us are announcing closures for tomorrow. Usually, the students living near the school on well traveled roads can get to school safely because the ice has melted. The problem is, districts often have some students who live in more rural areas, where the roads stay icy longer. (The same thing happens when it floods. Most kids can make it to school, but 10-20% can’t.) The schools are obligated to run buses to ALL students on ALL routes. If they can’t do that safely, they don’t run at all. They can’t say, “ We can get the majority of the kids to school, so let’s go ahead and hold classes. Those left at home will just have to catch up.” That is not how it works. I’m sure if they could get 98% of the kids to school, it would be different. But they can’t.

 

[Elle23]

So weird that the cities south of us are getting the crazy weather this season. DFW hasn’t gotten anything, while Austin, San Antonio and Houston have had several rounds of snow and ice.

 

[kirstenb1]

Ice is no joke! I'd much rather drive in lots of snow, than just a fraction of ice.

 

[LSUmiss]

New Orleans is closed too!

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

It was kinda frustrating waiting for AISD to call it after everyone else in the area already had yesterday. I work in AISD but live in the LISD area. I was checking for texts constantly.

My username notwithstanding, we're also in LISD. We're back to normal tomorrow, thank goodness!

 

[CdnCarrie]

Yup every region has their "thing". We just finished an extended extreme cold warning spell.
Temperatures were -40 for many days since Christmas. Yesterday was brutal.

We do get ice. Not the big ice storms. But most people have snow tires and they dump sand on the road.
Up here buses run to all suburbs so people can hop public transit to work and school if the roads are really bad.

In the summers we can get some severe thunderstorms. Never known anyone to freak about them.

It's rare that we "shut down". A blizzard once a decade or two. That's it.

 

[BrianL]

"Every region has their things", but in a nutshell you find northerners or New Englanders whiners and complainers?

For the record, I'm a Michigander and I find ice storms to be nothing to mess around about. Has to be much more challenging where there is little to no resources to deal with it. Of course it is much easier to face knowing it will melt tomorrow. Here a serious icing might hang around a while, along with days of no power and dangerous cold.

No, my point is that it's all about one's perspecitve and experience. I thought it was weird to think it was hot up there. They'd think we're silly for locking down over 2 inches of snow. It's not a big deal is what I am saying. Us Southerners right now are doing plenty of whining about this cold snap right now, myself included! When's Spring?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You southerners can't drive winter.

Sincerely multi car pile ups in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

One salt truck costs 170,000 dollars. One. That's your basic single axel (one set of wheels in the back truck. Want a tandem axel? Fork over another 40k. That's before you even pay for the salt mixture or the drivers. For a city such as Houston, it's just not cost effective to be buying multi millions of dollars worth of equipment and supplies for one day's use or two a year.

 

[Sabeking]

One salt truck costs 170,000 dollars. One. That's your basic single axel (one set of wheels in the back truck. Want a tandem axel? Fork over another 40k. That's before you even pay for the salt mixture or the drivers. For a city such as Houston, it's just not cost effective to be buying multi millions of dollars worth of equipment and supplies for one day's use or two a year.

Thank you! We are supposed to have 4 inches in N.C. tomorrow. Schools are called off tomorrow and may be Thursday as well. People always comment about how we southerners can’t drive in snow. Three quarters of the people in my area are transplants from the north. We have wrecks everywhere! It is the road conditions. As you said, we just don’t have the resources to deal with it. As I mentioned on another thread we have to find the guy who has the keys to the one salt truck we own to salt all the roads in the county!! Now talk hurricanes and we have that down pat!

 

[LSUmiss]

Thank you! We are supposed to have 4 inches in N.C. tomorrow. Schools are called off tomorrow and may be Thursday as well. People always comment about how we southerners can’t drive in snow. Three quarters of the people in my area are transplants from the north. We have wrecks everywhere! It is the road conditions. As you said, we just don’t have the resources to deal with it. As I mentioned on another thread we have to find the guy who has the keys to the one salt truck we own to salt all the roads in the county!! Now talk hurricanes and we have that down pat!

I have a friend from Ohio who lives in NOLA now. She doesn’t like to drive in it here b/c she said they aren’t prepared & don’t do the things to keep the roads safe that they do up there.

 

[Marchand63]

You southerners can't drive winter.


Sincerely multi car pile ups in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Yup western MA, ice not snow.

I always feel bad for non-snow states that get hit. Here if it isn't ice or a foot of snow & you can't drive, you're an idiot.

 

[AustinTink]

My username notwithstanding, we're also in LISD. We're back to normal tomorrow, thank goodness!

Two-hour delay for AISD! I get to sleep in again. Nothing for Leander?

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

Two-hour delay for AISD! I get to sleep in again. Nothing for Leander?

Nope, back to normal schedule. But we also had school the day after the “Great Blizzard of 2017” back in December when nearly every other district canceled, if my memory serves. We’re tough up here!

 

[MillauFr]

I feel really badly for areas not used to dealing with this weather get it. Here, of course, we are well equipped to handle weather much worse than what Houston is experiencing. Heck we are all looking forward to the "big" warm up coming tomorrow when it is supposed to get to where Houston bottomed out. LOL.

Yes I remember living in Minneapolis during college. As soon as the temperature hit 35 degrees in the winter the car washes would reopen and there would be a 30 minute line to rinse all of the salt off of your car.

 

[robinb]

Stay safe everyone! I don’t mind driving in snow, but ice is a different matter.

 

[EMom]

One salt truck costs 170,000 dollars. One. That's your basic single axel (one set of wheels in the back truck. Want a tandem axel? Fork over another 40k. That's before you even pay for the salt mixture or the drivers. For a city such as Houston, it's just not cost effective to be buying multi millions of dollars worth of equipment and supplies for one day's use or two a year.

And we might not have ANY ice for years. Spending money for a weather event which happens so rarely isn't a great idea.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Yup western MA, ice not snow.

I always feel bad for non-snow states that get hit. Here if it isn't ice or a foot of snow & you can't drive, you're an idiot.

And it's nearly always ice in the south too. So you northerners can't drive it any better than us.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Thank you! We are supposed to have 4 inches in N.C. tomorrow. Schools are called off tomorrow and may be Thursday as well. People always comment about how we southerners can’t drive in snow. Three quarters of the people in my area are transplants from the north. We have wrecks everywhere! It is the road conditions. As you said, we just don’t have the resources to deal with it. As I mentioned on another thread we have to find the guy who has the keys to the one salt truck we own to salt all the roads in the county!! Now talk hurricanes and we have that down pat!

HAHA so true. It's the same here. Most people here are transplants. And they're the ones out crashing because well they're from ________ and they're invincible because they know how to drive snow. Then they hit the ice and weeeeeeeeeee.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Hehe.... Wait until you hear a FLORIDIAN, like myself, complain about winter driving(in NY). I hate driving in just an inch or two!