It came out of nowhere. No one was expecting anything. Last week, many southern states were hit by the sudden harsh winter weather.
Many accidents and other complications occurred. Most believe it was caused by people being unprepared for the harsh weather. However, it was the first time some people had seen snow, so how would they know how to prepare?
Snow is not common in the south. A lot of southerners tend to over-react when snow even considered a possibility. The snow that approached last week, took everyone by surprise. Alabama had not seen that much snow since the late 90’s.
Alabama, along with Georgia were two of the main states that were impacted by the winter storm Tuesday. Here in the Madison/Huntsville area, we didn’t receive that much snow.
Many of the meteorologist in the stated that there wouldn’t be that much to deal with. Meteorologist, James Spann tweeted, “We have heard of no travel issues and none are expected on a widespread basis.” Similar statements like that were reasons that caused people to be unprepared, and caused massive chaos.
Birmingham was expected to get a little “dusting.” Instead, they received about 2 inches of snow. However, the snow, was not the main problem. The main problem was the ice.
Most of northern Alabama was going through a cold spell caused by a Polar Vortex. According to accuweather.com, “a polar vortex is a large pocket of very cold air, typically the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere, which sits over the polar region during the winter season.”
It’s quite normal for the Polar Vortex to move around during the winter, but it never really reaches as far south as Georgia or Alabama. The main sources of the cold air wave came from Arctic Sea, or possibly Alaska. It is quite possible that it also came from the Hunson Bay Region.
The foreign weather caused 23 injuries and claimed five lives. Over 100 accidents were reported, and some people deserted their cars. Many had to stay in fast food restaurants, or grocery stores overnight. The roads were considered too dangerous to travel, and lots of people were stranded.
About 8,000 students were stuck and forced to spend the night at their schools across Alabama and Georgia. When asked what they would to if they were stuck at school all night, a local 1st grader stated that they would “read books, draw on the smart board and they would play with Legos and on the computer.”
In the end, this severe weather moment will never be forgotten. It makes people see how grateful they are. It’s great to see that the people are finally safe in the comfort of their homes. It’s also great to know that the cold weather is finally leaving.
