Don't give in to the fear-mongering!

Fear and panic, panic and fear!

As the St. Louis, Missouri area braces itself to prepare for a forecasted 3-6 inches of snowfall, the Missouri Department of Transportation has issued a "no travel advisory."  And people are taking it seriously.

I grew up about 140 miles north of St. Louis.  The weather in Quincy tends to be about the same as that in St. Louis, with the exception that we tend to be a few degrees cooler.  That, however, is not enough to make much of a difference.

When I was boy, it was not uncommon for us to have at least three 6" snowfalls each winter and snowdrifts 3 feet deep were commonplace.  School was never canceled because of a possible 6" of snowfall and only rarely because of cold windchills.  And somehow all of us survived and the fear and panic now being constantly incited by the weather media.

I've never before heard of a "no travel advisory" in the Midwest.  Three winters ago 23" of snow fell on Quincy within 24 hours and a "no travel advisory" was not issued.  Somehow we survived.


By no means do I mean that caution and common sense should not be exercised as snow covers the roads, but at the same time 6 inches of snow is no cause for fear and panic.  We've seen it before and we've driven on it and through it before.  This is what winter in the Midwest is like.

You'll survive this, too, if you have a little food in the pantry, drive with a bit more caution than normal and a bit slower, begin breaking sooner, and take a little more time to accelerate.  Just do what you've done every other winter and you'll be fine.

As I watch the continued incitement to fear and panic on the part of the media from the vantage point of Rome, it's all very ridiculous and makes me seriously question in what part of the country the meteorologists presently working in the Midwest grew up.  It also makes me question the memory of those who give in to the panic and fear, seemingly forgetting that they've seen weather at least this severe - and much worse - several times before and come through unscathed.  It's almost as silly as the meteorologists in Hawaii complaining about the "freezing weather" when the temperature drops below 74.

Don't give in to the fear-mongering!