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A comment on Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Virginia since last night. Parent comment

Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by pempem on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @04:13PM (#29800603)
No one kitts their car out like this in DC bc this amt of snow is basically unheard of...?
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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by jcranmer on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @05:00PM (#29801171)
The DC area gets a "good" snow storm (≥6") about every 2 or 3 years. Typical behavior is to get a snow day the day of the storm and often the day after as well. Anyone trying to go anywhere during the storm is likely to have a rough time--the local streets won't see anything like a plow come through for a good long while, so it's not really sane to attempt to go anywhere. Even for smaller storms, only 1-2" total, shutting down completely for the day is pretty typical.
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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by alistairSH on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @04:19PM (#29800683)
It's not so much unheard of in DC, more that we don't get enough snow to warrant heavier investment in snow removal - easier to shut down for a day or two. Anybody who sees snow in the forecast and gets on I-95 or any other major highway in the area is insane.

This site lists most major winter weather events in the DC region over the past decades... https://www.weather.gov/lwx/winter_DC-Winters

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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by perl4ever on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @08:21PM (#29803640)
I haven't spent much time in/around DC in the scheme of things, but I would guesstimate from my experience there is some snow once or twice a year, and when it happens, everything shuts down. Businesses and government take a snow day just like the schools, as opposed to further north where a storm has to be extreme for that to happen.

That also was my experience in Richmond, VA, somewhat further south.

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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by fundad on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @04:27PM (#29800784)
we have a new climate
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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by throwawayboise on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @04:49PM (#29801051)
Right, we've never had snow and cold in Virginia before.
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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by chiefalchemist on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @04:45PM (#29800997)
One storm is not a trend.
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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by rbanffy on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @05:06PM (#29801259)
I'm almost willing to bet that storms will get progressively worse in the next few years.
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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by pempem on Tuesday January 04, 2022 @06:28PM (#29802482)
I think we all are willing to bet on your side.

People will kitt out their cars after this, but having lived in PA, NY and DC I can firmly say that in PA and NY I owned a brush, had water in the car and the like.In DC I legit brushed it off with my gloves.

6" was enough to just not go to work.

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Re:Motorists have been stranded on a major interstate in Vir... by chiefalchemist on Wednesday January 05, 2022 @10:47AM (#29810398)
Interesting. The West Coast got a TON of snow in the last couple of weeks and this did not happen. The point is, over-confident and under-prepared humans are not a proxy for the evils of climate change. Let's not get too carried away. Climate change is new and it's real. Human stupidity? Much more established and reliable.
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