Panicked Shoppers Fight Over Food Amid ‘Snowpocalypse’

reply to post by Hijinx


I lived in Chicago most of my life last year my wife and I moved to Arizona and after this short time we can not handle anything under 40 f without putting on my winter clothes.
Also I have noticed that your fellow countrymen have had enough of those crappy winters too considering my whole block is a majority of Canadians during the winter

reply to post by Hijinx


My fiance, who is from Calgary (born and raised), was here during our last snowstorm followed by ice storm. We got about 7 inches plus a good coat of ice. When I tried getting my car out of the driveway (no chains--we don't typically get much snow and never had a problem motoring around even when there was and RWD), he had me get out of the car to let the "expert" give it a shot as it almost immediately got stuck on the unplowed road once I backed out of the shoveled drive. After many attempts to get moving, he barely got my car back into the driveway.

My Calgarian would like to point out that what happens during snowfall in milder climates is this--you get snow, sure, but you also end up with an extreme amount of ice as the ground is warmer (warmer climate-->freak snowstorm --> solid ice beneath the snow) that may be compounded by freezing rain. My Calgarian, when we needed to supplement our fresh food supply, took the bus with us to the grocery store. He also commented on the fact that only one snow plow was spotted over the entire time and that was to clear the main arteries. The residential and side streets never once saw a snow plow.

So there you have it: a Canadian very used to driving in snow getting basically snowed in by a meager 5 inches and having to take the bus for a food run.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


Front wheel drive? Back into your driveway every time if there's snow in the forecast. The opposite if it's a rear wheel drive.

Always have a bag of kitty litter in the trunk. It's really good for getting unstuck in a slushy mess. If that doesn't work, use the little plastic shovel you should also have in the trunk.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


That's exactly the problem. Yes, it was a couple inches of snow, but it was also up to an inch of ice in places, freezing rain last night, and worse it's been warm today so it's mostly melted. The reason it's worse is because they're calling for freezing temps overnight. So all that melted snow and ice is going to freeze.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


This is a good point. Snow tires or chains. It is common in the north like battery chargers in hotels for cold mornings. I have rented cars, gone out in the morning and it was 4 below and it needed a jump. Things that you do not think of living in the south like ice scrapers but, with the advent of the internet and smartphones, it is a search away to find out how to prepare. This is not the 1880's and no warning with people freezing to death.

A little common sense and prep can go a looooooong way. Just my 3 cents...

masqua
reply to post by WhiteAlice

 

Front wheel drive? Back into your driveway every time if there's snow in the forecast. The opposite if it's a rear wheel drive.

Always have a bag of kitty litter in the trunk. It's really good for getting unstuck in a slushy mess. If that doesn't work, use the little plastic shovel you should also have in the trunk.

edit on 13/2/14 by masqua because: (no reason given)

Rear wheel drive and it was in reverse. No problems going in reverse, it was going forward that was the issue as the tires were spinning on about an inch of ice underlying the snow. Mother learned to drive in North Dakota and Alaska. Father in North Dakota. Both made a point of making sure that I know all the tricks of driving in the snow. You forgot weighting down the back of a vehicle though to help with traction.

However, like I said, when the even more experienced Canadian tried, he ran into the same problems. Spin, spin, spin. Kitty litter is great for a momentary snag but getting stuck every two feet and having to go about a 1/2 mile til one can reach actually plowed and sanded road would mean a whole heck of a lot of kitty litter. Cities that don't get a whole lot of snow do not have snow plows, sand trucks and salt to clear every roadway. Only the main arteries see that stuff. My Canadian compared it to something that happened with Toronto years ago where the Canadian army had to come out and help people. I don't know the particulars of that event but he kept bringing it up and commenting on the similarity of conditions.

He used to joke a lot about our "inability to drive in the snow" though he gave me more credit as he knew I handled it very well. He doesn't anymore and sees exactly why people get stuck/trapped and will run to the store for food in advance of a snow warning.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


I talked to some truck drivers that were up in Canada for that. They said the snow was so deep they were having to use snow plows in the truck stops to take fuel to the trucks. They were having to idle because of temps and were running out of fuel. It took something like 4-5 days to clear the truck stops enough to get the trucks out they said.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


I know what I said... All you did was explain more of what I already said. I live in Alaska, yet have traveled around the world. Wherever I go I am prepared for the worst cases scenario...

My God. Is the new age man such a ill prepared and numb animal to planet earth!!!

If they are freaking out, that is their problem. I am sure that many in Atlanta had food, and all the nessicaries they needed for that snowstorm.. I do not have any symphony for an of those not prepared. In Alaska you have to prepare for he worst all year round, as I'm sure many other places around the world.

This problem is because most people really do not know how to survive or take care of themselves.

I could survive a tsunami, -70 degrees, flooding, fire, etc.. I might not have a new suv, or some lavish expensive crap, but I have a special set of skills that will allow me a much higher chance of survival than others... That's what men do, and the ones who stayed home in Atlanta probably saw this event coming and are home safe unlike the others.

People are so blinded that because of a lack of awareness, laziness, and procrastinate till the last minute they are not appropriately trained of any sort for a unknown natural disaster.

I would suggest many survival books of all sorts from a book store or library to be read by all those freaked out by that snowstorm. Good Education isn't the norm in USA today, so by reading a good survival book or being a bit more educated this event was 100% preventable as to people's reactions.

If I was in a different country and I was in the dessert I would prepare for flash floods and dust storms before I enter that environment. I'd say 90% IMO that tourists are not when put in a different environment.


Plain and simple it all comes down to PREPAREDNESS. And they were not.

reply to post by AK907ICECOLD


So to be "real men" they need to ignore other obligations for things they MIGHT need?

A lot of these families face the choice of food or bills and are barely scraping by. Dropping money for things they might need a couple times is not an option.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Yep and yep to the ice. We had so much ice coating the roads that people were ice skating on them without ruining their skates in the process.

lol, it was so wrong. We basically went from having mosquitoes and humming birds already out to 21 degrees within hours and more snow and ice than I've ever seen fall on the valley floor in my 25 years of living here. Mosquitoes are back now for us though, lol.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


Oh I know. We came out of Florida yesterday. It was showing 90 on the truck sensor. We stopped in Valdosta last night to dodge the Atlanta mess and by the time we crawled into the bunk it was showing low 40s.

Zaphod58
reply to post by WhiteAlice

 

Oh I know. We came out of Florida yesterday. It was showing 90 on the truck sensor. We stopped in Valdosta last night to dodge the Atlanta mess and by the time we crawled into the bunk it was showing low 40s.

The climate has gone ADHD. That's my theory for it, lol. Glad you made it safely to where you needed to be. Kind of funny how it can be "skirted" too, isn't it? lol

It is certainly true that some people are in the position that they can't actually afford to spend money to "be prepared." We all should be aware that this is true for a given percentage of people. Indeed, preparing for 'survival' is always easier the more discretionary money you have. Few people are willing to dedicate $5-$10K for a serious survival kit. It's a sliding scale from there to the $200 it might cost you for a Coleman stove and sufficient canned goods to get you through a couple of weeks.

But I don't have much sympathy for people who have the ability to prepare, but don't consider it a priority--no matter what their income level. There are people who will claim poverty and inability to prepare, but willingly pay their $150 per month cable bill every month. And on their large screen TVs, it looks pretty good. There are also people who live in million dollar homes who have done nothing whatsoever to prepare. I live in a relatively affluent area (where "all the women are good lookin' and the children are above average.")* and I'll bet you about one house in 100 even has a generator, much less a few months of food and water. But there are only two grocery stores on this rock, and if the bridge fell down those shelves would be as bare as those in mid-town Atlanta. Yet every single one of these households has the money to prepare to last three months if they wanted to. They'd just rather trade in their old iPhone for a new one.

It's not so much a matter of money as it is a matter of attitude. Buying a single extra can of beans per week and setting it aside is enough if you'll just do it. In this case the coming storm was known a week in advance and the disaster of the last storm was on everyone's mind. And they still didn't prepare? One way or another that simply screams incompetence to me.

*Garrison Keillor: Lake Wobegon.

In every weather related case this winter, it has been the jet stream which has been responsible. All one need to do is watch as it moves south because lows coming up from the south block the jet stream's easterly movement. Wherever the lows, carrying moisture, butt up against the jet stream, that's where the really sloppy weather happens because on the northwestern side of the jet stream is a high pressure area, containing arctic cold, which then hits the warmer water-laden lows riding it north.

All that happens slowly, so forecasters can get a picture a week ahead and do better than a coin toss.

Zaphod58
reply to post by AK907ICECOLD

 

So to be "real men" they need to ignore other obligations for things they MIGHT need?

A lot of these families face the choice of food or bills and are barely scraping by. Dropping money for things they might need a couple times is not an option.

Well I do see what your saying. As for the majority it's their fault for putting themselves in that position. You opinion is still a minor detail.

I can live just fine, but yet to have kids. I don't want to have children until I. Maintain a min of 20,000 in the bank a house.. But it's all choices and perspective.

To be honest I would rather eat top roman for a few weeks to buy a first aid kit( a very good one) and a water purifier tablets to make sure my family is that much safer. I starve sometimes and go semi broke to buy essentials that i may never use. It's a messed up event.



It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Unfortunately the idea of Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest rings partially true.

Some will make it, some won't. That's how life is in most kingdoms.

Thanks

reply to post by xuenchen


People act like such animals anymore. Ugh.

This is how people act with their first hurricane in FL that have never been through one. Most people in Atlanta are NOT use to snow like this so they are freaking out but it doesn't make what they are doing ok. It's ridiculous. They knew it was coming, be prepared before, instead of last minute. Sadly though most people wait til the last minute to do anything anymore then they panic and freak out when there isn't anything left.

How to avoid the mobs of people in the south who buy up all the bread, milk, pizza, and ground beef:

1. Pay attention to the weather in the winter.
2. Keep a supply of bread, milk, pizza, or ground beef in your refrigerator or freezer so that it will last at least a week.
3. If you hear bad weather may strike a few days away, buy more that night if needed.
4. If you can't get to the store immediately and need to do shopping for other supplies, wait until it starts snowing. Roads are usually just wet at this point in the south. Grocery stores have already been mobbed of milk, eggs, bread, ground beef. In some cases, some things may already be restocked. Crowds are usually gone already at this point. They are all on their way home on the highway unless they closed up everything already.

5. Plan on 20% percent of the population to always act like idiots buying up the above supplies as if it's the end of the world for milk, eggs, bread, and ground beef.

[

Zaphod58
reply to post by AK907ICECOLD

 

So to be "real men" they need to ignore other obligations for things they MIGHT need?]



Yes, but seems to me that you don't quite grasp what I am saying. I'm sorry you don't see my view, it may save you. I'm thinking if you lived in Atlanta you might be one with a struck/stuck vehicle and pushing people over for bread and aspirin, no?

edit on 13-2-2014 by AK907ICECOLD because: (no reason given)

reply to post by AK907ICECOLD


I have gone through much worse than what hit Atlanta just fine thanks. I'm perfectly capable of handling things.

Zaphod58
reply to post by AK907ICECOLD

 

I have gone through much worse than what hit Atlanta just fine thanks. I'm perfectly capable of handling things.

Lol, I'm sure you are. You do see what I am saying though, right?

To be blunt: some are awake, and some are asleep. A beautiful dichotomy of awareness.

Are you cranky? Lol


In a anology let's say a man moves his family to a island and doesn't own a boat. So when he needs one he has to relie on his nieghbors from time to time for supplies. What happen when community leaves and he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Could have been prepared better or made a better choice. All different combinations of ideas in this secnerio could take place. I'm just saying they most knew the cold snow was on its way and they panicked and SHTF. FEMA could have helped and didn't.

It is what it is. I remember shoveling in Valdez and Cordova 30'+ of snow. I was unprepared but prepared enough to be survived by my shovel. People just have to make the best out of a bad situation: ATLANTA, you fail.