Why We Cover "Travel Weather" As We Do

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Posted earlier this week:


In today's newspaper,

CULLMAN, Ala. — A traffic jam that extended at least eight miles on Interstate 65 in Alabama, forcing hundreds of motorists to camp out in vehicles overnight after a rare Southern snowfall, finally cleared Friday as rising temperatures melted remnants of the freeze.
Some questioned whether road officials were caught flat-footed by a winter storm that had been predicted for days, but the state highway department denied being unprepared.
Hundreds of people spent a cold night trapped on I-65 north about 50 miles north of Birmingham after a winter storm dumped snow around the Southeast and caused at least one death in Mississippi.
Generally, we cover storms that have the potential to cause problems. Unless it is early in the season, for example, we generally don't cover six inches of snow in Minneapolis because it just doesn't cause problems because they are so well prepared.

On the other hand, we did cover this week's light to moderate snow in the South because we knew it would cause huge travel problems.

So, in a way, it is a compliment if we don't cover your storm if you live in an area that is well-equipped to handle it.

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