I got to work about 7:45 this morning, which is usual for me, and a few minutes later sent an e-mail to a colleague in Chattanooga. Her response was close to immediate and her first question was, “oh, my goodness, how on Earth did you get to work?” This was how I found out that the incredible gridlock caused by a surprise snowstorm yesterday had made it onto news outside the area. (For the record, I live on a main road that is usually among the first to be cleared; I’m also close enough that I can ride the bus if need be. The weather has to be really rotten to prevent me from getting to work, but I was the first in this morning by almost an hour.)

There have been a lot of comments flying back and forth, and the most frequent one seems to be surprise at the gridlock. Many people do not understand that persons from eastern or east-central North Carolina never learn to drive on ice and snow because it doesn’t happen often enough. We usually get snow once or twice in a winter, but it’s often a dusting that does not stick to the road. Give us 65 mph crosswinds from a hurricane and we can handle it (I find Chicago’s “small car advisories” hilarious); give us hundred-plus-degree heat and we can keep from overheating our cars. But snow and ice are a different story, although most people believe they can drive on it and that it’s the other drivers that create the problem. (I’m one who admits I’m not that great on snow and ice – my preferred method of handling it is to stay off of it – but I’m rare.)

In addition to the plethora of inexperienced drivers, including those with a false sense of security because of a 4WD vehicle, the snow fell during the lunch rush when roads are a little more heavily traveled anyway. The heavier travel melted the snow on the roads, but as the rush faded the slush re-froze. That meant an inch of ice on the roads, not an inch of snow. The final factor in the gridlock was the fact that nearly everyone immediately left work to try and get children and get home. That by itself, with no other issue, would cause a noticeable amount of traffic. In addition to all these factors, since the weather only forecast “a few flurries,” no salt/sand trucks were on standby the way they might have been otherwise. (Plowing tends to be useless when the problem is ice-slicked roads.)

I was lucky. I don’t have children, so I could (and did) wait the traffic out; I left work around 5:15 last night. By that point, the road had been sanded so the majority of my route was clear…of snow and ice, anyway. Just south of the I-440 Beltline there were no less than seven abandoned cars completely blocking the southbound lanes I was using. I had to swing into the northbound lanes to get around them, which was rather nailbiting although it was dark enough that all cars had headlights burning and were easier to see. Other than that, I had clear sailing all the way home. It still took me an hour for my usual ten-minute commute though, and I actually witnessed two minor wrecks in addition to passing several more.

I should note that I use a secondary road to get to work instead of the notorious Beltline, which is one of the area’s larger parking lots most evenings anyway. That may also have contributed: many drivers who usually use secondary roads switched to primary roads thinking the secondary roads were in bad condition. It’s my understanding that some of them were actually very good (scroll about halfway down the link to see what I mean).

A lot of people have been blaming or laughing at the situation, thinking it was mostly a case of panic and stupidity. I disagree. There were too many contributing factors for a problem to be avoided, and I think the fact that there were so many good Samaritans out there meant that the situation could have been a lot worse. I also think this means people are far more prepared for the system that’s going through tonight and the one that’s predicted for Saturday night.

Edit: I just peeped out my window and it appears to be icing outside. Yick.