Icepocalypse 2014

Not one to make fun of my fellow Houstonians, but I feel that, sometimes, we tend to overreact a wee bit to certain situations.  We can handle hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, droughts, fire ants with some aplomb (ooh, one of them 5 dollar words).  However, when it comes to colder temps, we have a tendency to go into the tend to an apocalyptic, end of the world mode.  With the onset of the polar vortex down south, we have seen our temps dip into, to quote local newscasters, a "frigid, arctic blast".  Last Friday, there was a full on panic over the icy road conditions and winter weather warning that had a lot of businesses and schools closed.  I had planned to take off Friday morning for a dentist appointment and arose to icy roads and freezing temps.  Work had asked everyone to delay the start of the day until 1:00 but I headed in at 1030 (roads were not that bad).  A number of the freeways and overpasses were closed because of icing.  A lot of people made it in without any problems.  And this was because the temps got down to a brutal 30 degrees.  

This week, it was round 2. Tuesday's forecast was for rain/sleet/snow with temps getting as low as, dare I say it?, 30 degrees.  Local weather forecast was pretty much doom and gloom (Oh God, Oh God, We're gonna die!).  Given the weather reports and projections for icy conditions, people went into full on apocalypse mode.  All of the area schools closed.  Most businesses closed.  City was put on emergency standby.  The hoard (12) of trucks were dispatched to toss chat rock on the roadways (we don't do salt down here).  Everyone was prepared for the end of the world.  My office had prepped everyone not to come in until 1:00 pm like earlier to allow the roads to clear.  So, when we awoke to temps still around 40 degrees, we were told to come in.  For all the projections of doom, the weather never really got extreme.  No way this can compare to some of the conditions that you guys are experiencing now.  

Now, I am no expert, but I have to admit that I have lived in colder climes during my life.  I spent more than a few years in my youth in New Jersey (I recall many Jersey winters plowing dad's driveway with the snow blower).  Later on, I spent several years in Germany with the Army, so I am not totally immune to cold weather conditions.  I realize that we don't want to risk people's safety for some minor goal or project, but it seems that we sometimes jump the gun on emergency response.  A lot of people on the net seem to be having fun with the Houston Icepocalypse 2014:  

 

 

  

Good thing this Icepocalypse ended quickly.  Otherwise, we might have had to resort to cannibalism.