Southerners Weather Winter Storm Better Than In Past Snow/Ice Crises; Northern System Doesn't "Cooperate" So No Nor'easter

National Weather Service map from Thursday. That
huge area of pink in the South was winter storm warnings.
You'd expect a major crisis with that much of the 
South under a winter storm. While the storm proved
disruptive, it was not nearly as chaotic as 
previous, similar-sized southern winter storms. 

That big Winter Storm #2 of the past week just performed as expected Friday, spreading snow and ice from Texas to Georgia and Virginia, but one aspect of this storm did not follow the script. 

The South usually goes into a panic mode and grinds to a halt when it snows or freezes.  There's gridlock on the roads, people are stranded for hours or days, the power goes and out and people freeze in the dark  and it's a huge mess.

All that sort of thing happened, a little bit, but a funny thing happened on the way to the storm. 

For the most part, warnings were heeded, people stayed off the roads, and schools and businesses shut down everywhere. 

That kept most people indoors, and out of danger. People were actually having fun.  If you counted snowmen as people, the population of the South probably would have doubled on Friday. 

The South is not having a weather crisis. 

Part of it is the fact that there really hasn't been a widespread winter storm in the South for two or three years now. So when this one finally hit, people had the proper fear of God and prepared - and stayed home. 

I also think lessons have been learned from previous storms. 

For instance, Atlantans are still gun shy from a 2014 winter storm that stranded thousands of Atlanta area workers and students at their office and schools overnight. 

This time, pretty much everybody who could canceled classes and closed offices, asking people to work from home if possible. 

The 2014 storm gridlocked Atlanta because instead of just canceling things before the storm arrived,  everybody was sent home during the storm at once into three inches of new snow, which was more than enough to thoroughly screw up a southern city. 

This time, things were much more relaxed. That's not to say the current storm didn't mess things up at all. 

Hartsfied-Jackson airport in Atlanta, the nation's busiest, went through two ground stops Friday, meaning planes at those times could not take off from or land at the airport. nearly 1,200 flights were canceled. 

It started as snow in Atlanta, with more than three inches reported, but then during the day, things changed to an uglier freezing rain. 

The chaos in Atlanta during the January, 2014 winter
storm. The one that hit Friday was disruptive, but
did not cause a crisis like the one more than a 
decade ago did. 

Because ice was in the mix along the entire path of the storm, at least 75,000 power outages were reported Friday, mostly in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi

Cars and trucks were indeed stranded on the roads across the South, but it fell well short of a critical mass. There weren't thousands of people stuck in cold cars on frozen interstates all night. 

The snow was pretty substantial in spots. A few reports of a foot of snow came in from Arkansas.  Little Rock reported a little under 10 inches so snow, a city that averages roughly 4 inches per year.

Parts of South Carolina had wintry weather for the first time in three years. 

Up in North Carolina, they canceled an outdoor inauguration ceremony for new Gov. Josh Stein and other elected officials.

WHY NORTHEAST MISSED OUT

The storm causing the mess in the South is scooting out to sea along the North Carolina coast this morning and eventually become a really powerful storm Sunday well southeast of the Canadian Maritimes. 

Though it's not happening in this go around, Sometimes, this type of storm southern storm comes roaring up the East Coast as a big boisterous nor'easter. 

In order for that to happen, you usually need the cooperation of a weaker northern storm. 

It's called "phasing." That weaker northern storm positions itself roughly due north of the southern storm. That arrangement draws the southern storm up the East Coast. Often the northern and southern systems will merge in the Northeast to become that big ass nor'easter. 

This time, our weak northern storm lagged a little bit. While the southern storm moves off the North Carolina coast, the northern little guy is just getting around to coming off the Great Lakes toward the New England.

The two storms didn't line up properly. They didn't communicate, they didn't line up property. If this were an office, I think the boss would have a word regarding this. 

In any event, the weak northern thing comes through Vermont today, depositing a light inch or two of snow before moving on and being forgotten.

Then, we're left with another upcoming week of seasonably cold temperatures and occasional chances of light snow and flurries. The quiet, chilly January of 2025 continues in New England.