Snow in Georgia

Most of you were probably doing the same thing that I was doing after the snow had fallen: looking out my window in disbelief. Before moving to Atlanta, I thought all the rumors of winters without snow were true. People told me that snow was as rare as a good Nickelback song. Until this December, that is. The storm of 2017 delivered up to 7-12 inches of snow to Atlanta and surrounding areas! School was dismissed early, roads were frozen, and power lines were down. The people of Atlanta were dizzied by the frenzy that occurred, concerned that this might mimic "Snowmaggedon" of 2014.

Even though that was more of an ice storm, it made clear the limitations that Atlanta has in dealing with such conditions. The last "real" snowstorm that occurred in this area was in the year 1993. That snowstorm was considered the "Storm of the Century," and it was a severe and unexpected blizzard for Southerners sipping sweet tea. Most people that have never experienced such snow were very surprised by the impact it had on our everyday lives. Roads were so icy that it was hard to get to work and driveways were filled with snow.

In the South, most people are not equipped with the materials and supplies needed to cope with such weather because they don't need to waste money on equipment that they will only use once every 20 years. Likewise, municipal governments in the south do not incorporate resources to deal with such wintry conditions as it is cost restrictive given the infrequency of these kinds of storms. Northerners viciously made memes of our reactions to the snow, but they can receive several feet of snow at a time, so this seems like nothing. However, to us Georgians, this was our snow of the century!

-Jaiya Dua