A PSA for Nashville: Inclement Weather Is Possible Friday Morning – Prepare, Don’t Panic, and Listen to Your Fucking Meteorologists

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***UPDATE***

It looks like this shit’s gonna hit us a lot sooner than initially reported:

Stay safe out there, Nashville. Read on.

Original article:

Nashville isn’t exactly known for its wonderful drivers and traffic conditions. We can’t drive in the rain. We can’t get on the same page at intersections. Just overall, the quality of Nashville drivers is not good. I’m a part of that – I’ll own it. That’s why I just try to stay out of rush hour as much as I can. But, the word ‘snow’ hits the forecast, and the city descents into chaos.

Courtesy of Nashville Severe Weather:

Rain beginning Thursday night will continue Friday morning, dumping about a half inch before the chance of snow arrives Friday around the evening rush hour, plus or minus about 4-6 hours.

Temps will drop through the 40°s into the 30°s while it’s raining. When we hit freezing sometime Friday afternoon or evening, all that water is going to freeze and slick up the roads. Yes, this transition may occur before school lets out, or before/during the evening rush hour, but right now I think it may hold off until the evening. Stay tuned on this.

Therefore, snow or not, hazardous travel is expected Friday night. Bridges, overpasses, and areas at elevation will freeze first. The later we get into the evening, the higher your risk of encountering ice. This will continue into Saturday morning. We aren’t expected to rise above freezing until Monday just before lunch.

Yeah, that doesn’t sound pleasant. I’m looking at all the possibilities and each scenario points to a big “NOPE” on that Friday evening rush hour traffic. So, I’m probably going to either head out early around lunch time, or just work from home that day. I know not everyone has the luxury of choosing, and that may make for a sloppy ride home to end the work week. Maybe there’s nothing we can do to avoid that, and the best practice here is just to exercise caution and try to plan ahead. Businesses, I’m looking at you – be considerate of your employees.

But, once you get home safely, or for those of us who do have the option to just dodge the whole damn thing: please just heed two bits of advice here now that this news has dropped.

Be Prepared

You don’t have to buy the local Kroger out of milk and bread. I mean, I don’t know where that trend started anyway. When I’m snowmageddon prepping, I go for the wings, pizza rolls, and beer.

My point here is that you’d be wise to assess all possible scenarios and prepare for each. Really, preparation is only a real issue in the worst case scenario. You get snowed in, you need sustenance – that simple. But, it does no harm if you’re prepared and nothing happen. Then, you just have an over abundance of good shit like beer and wings.

Also, don’t flood your grocery stores. You don’t have to contribute to the madness when most of your local convenience stores carry the essentials (mainly beer as we’ve established). Hell, we live right down the road from a Walgreen’s. Every time we get snow, I just mosey on down, there’s no crowd, I get a few things (don’t go overboard – save some for the rest of us), and I’m back safely. Tons of ancillary markets around downtown – the more people and vehicles you get in one spot, the more you’re just asking for a collision.

I’ll likely head out tonight or tomorrow night and buy a few things just in case. If I’m prepared enough, then I won’t even have to think about leaving the house during potential inclement weather, which means one less car on the road, which means one less opportunity for disaster.

Chain of events, people – gotta understand how these things happen.

Listen to Meteorologists

Meteorologists get a bad reputation with us common folk because people don’t stop to take the time to understand what’s happening with the weather. Someone says, “2-3 inches,” and when it doesn’t happen, the know-it-alls inevitably shake their heads and say, “that damn weatherman is always wrong – how does he have a job?”

Oh, I don’t know, maybe because they’ve studied and researched weather for their entire adult lives. Gone to accredited institutions to hone their craft. Have YEARS of experience…you know…things that pretty well qualify someone to do the job.

Regardless, that leads us to discredit more than we should.

From reading the blogs of Nashville Severe Weather and Paul Heggen, I’ve learned that forecasting is incredibly nuanced, far more complicated than I ever imagined, and has completely changed the way I digest my weather forecast. As a younger man, I was guilty of looking outside, saying, “nah – everything looks fine.” I ended up in the middle of a tornado’s path doing that one day (true story).

Just because you look at the sky and it’s clear doesn’t mean that weatherman is wrong and it isn’t going to rain later. Or, in my case, a fucking tornado will blaze through (seriously, how stupid is that? How dumb was I?). It’s just common sense, people. If your doctor tells you to cut out fat, you cut out fat. If your lawyer tells you to keep your mouth shut, you keep your damn mouth shut. So, it stands to reason that if your meteorologist says to stay inside, just stay inside.

It’s not hard to understand them when they say, “the best thing to do is just to avoid travel if you can.” And, guess what – if you’ve prepared, that won’t be so hard.

Plus, for fucks sake, what is more fun than getting shit faced drunk at home snowed in? Not much. Not much at all, folks. I’ll be preparing tomorrow night – probably a big ol’ pot of chili, some cornbread, and plenty of DCLs (Delicious Coors Light).

Prepare yourselves and be aware. Be willing to stay inside if that’s what the credible sources are saying. That easy.

Sorry if this sounds abrasive, agitated, and grumpy. It’s a bit of a sore spot with me – I’m always annoyed by the panic we show during winter weather. I love my city – I just want us all to #BeBetter, folks. That’s all.

Oh, and people – for the love of God, follow @NashSevereWx and @PaulHeggenWX on Twitter, and consult multiple sources for your weather.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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