Storm preparation: I don't get it.

[turnkey4099]

Good point Nate......I don't understand the lack of preparation either. In our neck of the woods....it rains...it rains alot. When the weather folks say another storm is coming in off the ocean.....guess what....we get rain. You don't see a mad rush down at the stores for rain coats, umbrellas, rain boots.....they're already in our closets. When they call for high winds......we all know some trees will fall over or branches will be lost. That's why I have a chain saw in the shop and a generator for when power goes out. Maybe some folks just like the feeling of being rushed....kinda like last minute Christmas shopping???

And over here on the dry side the weather reports are known as the "RUN, HIDE REPORTS". If we had gotten all the snow this year that they forecast several days out we'd be neck deep in tall giraffes. Reality? I had the snow blower out once for a 4" snow and that was mostly just to keep ruts forming in the old fall in case we got more on top of it (we didn't). Just finished another "winter storm warning" that went over the top of us during the night - result just enough to turn the ground white.

And the Thunderstorm warnings. To listen to their over-the-top reporting, one would expect dead bodies laying in windrows.

Harry K

 

[Western]

I've seen the national news where they show folks up there actually boarding up like a hurricane is coming, is that normal?? When I was maybe 6-7, we lived in Battle creek Michigan for one winter, I remember lots of snow, but dont recall a frenzy to "button down the hatches"??

 

[clemsonfor]

I give them a little bit of a break, because many people can't really afford storm supplies and won't buy them until forced to spend the money.

I live in the country with plenty of resources: 2500 gallons of gravity feed water, a wood shed with several cords of dry firewood, no mortgage, a tractor, travel trailer, generator, and a barn to store stuff in. My pantry takes up two whole walls of floor to ceiling shelves in my 2-car garage, and I have two cupboards dedicated to nothing but batteries, oil lamps and candles. My wife loves that the comfort level of our house doesn't change when the power goes out, and we frequently quit buying groceries for a month or more just to rotate what's on the shelves.

Yes, I worked and planned for this lifestyle, but a lot of it was luck and timing. I try to remember those who are not as fortunate.

I can see this, if you cant afford it and dont ussually need it dont buy it mentality, esp if you live check to check.

But i guess my thinking is that in those areas you will usually need a shovel once a year to shovel your drive or walk to get to the shed or mailbox, that is of course if you work. So then why now do they need a shovel?

 

[tractchores]

It does seem pretty silly. I also don't understand the rush to buy groceries and things. It's not like you're going to perish because you didn't have milk or bread for 2 days... maybe people just don't keep any food in their houses, so 24 hours without being able to get out is a serious issue? I think it's just hype and an attempt to make people spend more money. For us the only thing we did is I filled my diesel can for the tractor and filled the car (because it was on E anyway). I'm not sure what other major supplies are needed.....

 

[Tig]

Wallyworld was nuts yesterday, empty today. Mostly staff.
It's snowing pretty good from the east now. But visibility is decent so if you have to travel, it's not a big deal.
As far as prep goes I stacked all the wood I was splitting and did a fluid check on the tractor.

 

[MacTractor]

Fuel the mass hysteria! Batten down the hatches! Head into the grocery store and buy everything you can!

Meanwhile here on planet realistic...... I like others have a couple of cans of diesel (I always do) and do try to keep the vehicles topped up. (Do anyway to prevent condensation during days with large temp swings) We will just sit back and watch the over the top foolishness on the news with the reporters "barely" able to stand upright.

We have become the nations of Drama!

I have lived in the east coast of Canada for much of my life and remember one Tropical Storm that we had where the reporters were out in full force. I remember a girl yelling on camera standing with her face to the wind and rain trying to loprecariousarious as possible when we were standing 10 feet frocarryingarying on a normal conversation. I wanted to jump on camera and licigarettegarete or something......(Even though I don't smoke)

 

[PRF]

I truck raw milk for a living, and the dairies go bonkers trying to keep up with the demand from supermarkets when these storms get all blow out of proportion..... Jeez, snow storms like these happened all the time when I was a kid in the 60's... I swear people forget where they live sometimes!!

 

[Travelover]

......... It's not like you're going to perish because you didn't have milk or bread for 2 days... ..............

For sure. Now I can see stocking up on beer.

 

[mbohuntr]

When they call for a storm predicting a couple of feet, we just giggle. We get that many times over the course of a season and nobody notices.... It's called lake effect, and now I remember that I broke my old barn shovel a couple of days ago and need to replace it.

 

[dave1949]

You have to figure also, that for a two day storm, say, a lot of the people who would normally grocery shop on those two days will go early, figuring they can stay home and safe during the storm. That makes the store crowded. The people who normally shop on the day before the storm are there also.