I don’t understand why everyone just didn’t hunker down for a day or two. Why were kids stranded at school and on buses?
It's pretty easy to criticize after the fact, but ten years ago or so, Buffalo [and we should know about these things] went through the same thing.
Snow heavier than expected. Businesses let everyone out early as it became obvious that it would get bad. Schools dismissed at the normal time. Everyone in town hit the roads.
Same result. Kids stuck on buses overnight; other kids stuck in schools overnight. People slept in their cars. Motorists on the expressways spent 24 hours waiting to be rescued. Took me 3 hours to drive seven miles and, even at that, I abandoned my truck and walked the last half-mile home (and glad of it).
It's tempting to say that Atlanta should have taken heed of Buffalo's mistakes and learned from them. But why the hell would someone in the deep South do anything but chuckle at Buffalo's woes? I'm not a fan of Atlanta's political leanings, but I really can't fault its leaders for failing to see this one coming.