The great storm is five days in the past, but the evidence of it remains. University opened on a delayed schedule again but the county schools stayed closed. And, with Monday being a holiday, it means these snow cancellations will give them a longer break than the official spring break will … no word on how or if the time will have to be made up.
View out the windshield as I departed early this morning.
Caution tape remnants on stairs that were extremely dangerous a day or so earlier.
There was a lot of debate about the university opening today. Even the delayed, 11 a.m. time seemed, well … odd. The county schools were closed and even their decision to have staff come in at a later time was dropped once the road conditions were better understood.
So, with warnings from the city and police department to not drive, 40,000+ people headed to campus, four days after our record snow fall.
In case you’re curious, the university is opening at 10 a.m. on Friday, county schools will be closed again and we’re being warned to stay off the roads still. The sun and just-barely-above freezing temperatures today did nothing but provide source materiel for more black ice. There are entire neighborhoods that you can’t get to because of ice on the roads.
All that said, my commutes were uneventful. The decision to keep the public schools closed makes perfect sense as I didn’t see a single county side walk that was clear unless it was in bright sun all day. Any shade and it was a lawsuit waiting to happen. Rumor has it none of the school parking lots have been touched.
Good thing we have a long weekend ahead …
Day Three of Snowpocalypse 2011 … this is just getting silly. Thankfully, the university has announced we will go back tomorrow. Even if it is on a delayed opening, it’ll be nice to return and get this semester started.
Day Two of the 2011 Snowpocalypse … no classes for the kids or me. Day Three has been confirmed (along with the canceling of my conference later this week) – we’ll all be home again tomorrow.
The Small Boy and I grabbed cameras, boots and hats and went for a walk.
What to shoot, what to shoot ...
Look at that - finding the anomaly, finding the pattern.
Took a drive because we were running low on … well, salsa … (I know, I know …)
Five and a half inches in the front yard, close to seven in the back as the snow turns to freezing rain and sleet … this is going to get messy, fast.
Interesting note from Zach Klein of WSB on Twitter:
The City of Chicago.. close to 200 snow trucks. The City of Atlanta.. 8 (and we borrowed 3 for this mess) #getwegetsomehelpplease?
As we sat around last night watching the first flakes float by, my wife turned to me and asked, “Do we even own a snow shovel?”
I, the guy who used to spend weeks researching snow tires, who owns three different types of winter boots, almost a dozen pairs of gloves and several pairs of flannel lined pants, calmly, quietly answered … “No.”
From a quick walk outside as the light levels started to rise …
Fluorescent lights are just getting weirder … pulsing and shifting … but they are fun to play with when you leave your white balance on cloudy.
