Snow in the Eastern Shenandoah area is supposed to happen just a few times per year, is usually just a covering of a few inches ,and is rarely over 12 inches. It stays just a few days before warm weather returns to chase it away. Sure the old timers talk about the real storms of the past but they are usually associated with the Blue Ridge or Appalachians and taken with a grain of salt. The District of Columbia, that is over 50 miles to the east, has usually been spared even that modest amount. The most talked about snow in DC recent history was January 22, 1961, the day of the Kennedy inaugural. That day DC got a whopping eight inches which created havoc in the inaugural celebration events.
That is why two successive storms over 25 and 30 inches of snow each, combining with winds to whip up towering drifts, were so appalling to us. They essentially imprisoned most of the population around DC for over a week. It was a perfect example of how easily Nature can brush aside mans’ petty agendas and come forth with its own.
As in always true when Nature flexes its muscles its raw power was overwhelming. Our plows, energy reserves, food and heroic physical efforts were temporary barriers and couldn’t compete with the peak level storms. Schools, politics and almost all social functions faced reality and were cancelled and forgotten. Health care reform and the economy were dropped from TV for 24 hour coverage of the storm. We were put in our proper place each night as the bitter cold winds re-drifted the snow, destroying the days hard plowing.
As always, Nature final relented and the struggle slowly turned in our favor. The winds became less ferocious, the snow stopped, the main roads became passable, and the essentials of our society returned. The drifts and mountains of plowed snow remain but are largely out of the way of our critical life systems.
What important bits of knowledge can be gleaned from the experience? There are several:
We are a pretty tough society that fights back hard.
When the scope of the storms was understood a hardworking cooperative meta-organization was immediately formed. This front line defense was shared without hesitation by contractors, government, local volunteers and neighbors.
The commitment of the personnel who formed this line against the storms showed the toughness of the American workers. This includes both those fighting the snow and those restoring power. Many served consecutive 12 hour shifts or longer to work all night in bitter cold moving and blowing snow. A tremendous amount of back road plowing was done by private owners.
The commercial delivery system was also outstanding under very strenuous conditions. Large delivery trucks make it through on very marginal roads. As soon as a route for delivery to a commercial area was configured by the road team the word was spread and the delivery vehicles came through.
It was an excellent job by overextended teams. Another example of how good the American worker can be when challenged. A curse on those idiots that sent so many of their jobs overseas.
Citizen Behavior
Generally good, with the usual exceptions that caused suppressed resentment. The most common was people with the wrong vehicles stuck and blocking roads. Some residents didn’t grasp the need for high road clearance to travel through deep snow. They became stuck and blocked streets that had been previously passable by four wheel drive trucks, jeeps and most SUVs.
Side Events
There was a well deserved shift of wealth to construction operators that put previously underutilized construction equipment into 24 hour operations moving snow.
Many unemployed construction workers earned well deserved good paychecks for the period.
The internet was a priceless local information center for the citizens. You could always get the latest status of a local road or route by queries on the internet.
The storm was especially tough on restaurants, because neither staff nor customers could make it in.
A Philosophical Thought
This once again confirmed that when Nature is in a state of violence the tools of mankind are weak and only allow us to wait it out. We absolutely count on Natures violent excursions lasting only a limited time before returning to a quieter level where we can regain control. That is what happens in almost every clash of civilization with violent Nature, be it earthquakes, thunderstorms, volcanoes, hurricanes or flash floods. As expected, this is what happened in our record snow storm of 2010.
As powerful as it is, however, the damage done to mankind by Nature is small in comparison to that which man inflicts on himself through wars and stupidity. (Possible future cosmic events not considered)
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