I’m not so much disagreeing with anything you’ve said, just expressing frustration at the lack of preparedness that Maryland and VA had with this storm. Its not like having the necessary resources is impossible. It’s all about the funding to private businesses that specialize in snow and ice removal.
In my job, we had a client come in who used to own a plowing business in the 80s and 90s here and he said that what he had seen this winter was a joke. He would have his people parked at the malls an entire day in advance to salt it and they would stay there until it was plowed.
Anecdotal example, but given how the entire state looked for the past month, I think he made a good point.
I will be 46 in a short time and have experienced only a handful of ice storms in my life. That literally was a once in a generational storm where the forecast called for a 1/4'' of ice and then we all woke up to an inch of ice followed by 3 weeks of temps that never got out of the 20's. There was no way for the state or any local office to be prepared for that at all. Frustrations aside, there was nothing anyone could do except bring in crews of temp labor and have 500 shovels and skid loaders for days.
Our history shows that the snow won't hang around that long. Besides the 4' we got in back to back storms in 2010, this is the longest I remember seeing snow still on the ground at the depth it was when the storm passed us by. We had 8'' of snow covered in an inch of ice on the ground for 3 weeks.
And the point I’m making is that if they were prepared on day zero, before the snow even touched the ground, then it wouldn’t have been “once in a generation”.
Its all about money at the end of the day. They made a decision to not put the necessary amount of funds within that first 48 hours.
I’m not gonna pretend to know how much that costs, i’m just stating my frustration that they didn’t, especially at my job and neighborhood.
Guess I am lucky to live in an area that prepared days before with salting and had plows all through the night constantly plowing and salting. Even still, the snowcrete ultimately won. Thin layer of ice at the bottom, 10 inches of snow, 3 inches of top ice layer. Was a pain being "stranded" for a bit and having to hire someone to dig me out because shoveling wasn't working but honestly, it was the most beautiful storm that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. Blizzards of yesteryear or 2000s don't compare to the effect that ice layer gave. Ice skating in the front yard was cool too. Being able to walk on top of the snow no matter how much you weigh was a first. Watching the foxes on top of the snow not make tracks. Loved it! Last night's snow was pretty and is melting off quick but I will always remember our Snowcrete 2026. Lol
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u/nthomas504 Feb 22 '26
I’m not so much disagreeing with anything you’ve said, just expressing frustration at the lack of preparedness that Maryland and VA had with this storm. Its not like having the necessary resources is impossible. It’s all about the funding to private businesses that specialize in snow and ice removal.
In my job, we had a client come in who used to own a plowing business in the 80s and 90s here and he said that what he had seen this winter was a joke. He would have his people parked at the malls an entire day in advance to salt it and they would stay there until it was plowed.
Anecdotal example, but given how the entire state looked for the past month, I think he made a good point.