Snow Hysteria; The insanity that occurs in the general public when frozen flake-shaped water is predicted to fall from the sky.
Normally, the correct response when hearing about snow is to drive immediately to your nearest grocery store and buy 400 gallons of water and enough milk, bread, and eggs to feed a small sovereign nation, because obviously 1/4 inch of snow equals the next 100,0000-year-long ice age, and obviously with the glaciers ringing your doorbell, you won't be able to go anywhere!
As someone who grew up in an area where significant snowfall was a relatively common occurrence, I find myself irritated by the idea that any amount of Winter precipitation is the trigger for over reaction and paralysis. That said, I'm willing to accept that if you didn't grow up dealing with the road conditions created by winter weather it can make driving a much more genuinely difficult thing to do. No, I'm not OK with people dying in car accidents, snow or no snow. But I think it's the acceptance of the fear of what might happen if one ventures out in the Winter conditions, instead of accepting & learning how to handle them.
It also doesn't help that local TV weather machines churn up the drama trying to give the viewers the idea that Snowmageddon is upon us...and they need to stay tuned for more updates! In the past I've even struggled myself to manufacture the drama on radio stations, knowing the reality was just not that bad. Strong music and scary words can elicit an expected & desired reaction from the general populace.
From the time I moved to NC and expressed my astonishment to Snow Hysteria, I've been derided as one of "those people", someone from "up there", and basically told I'm an "ass". I wonder what people in Minnesota say to someone from "down there" when they won't leave the house every time there's a snow shower?
So you will see, hear, or sense my irritation every time the forecast calls for a minor event...that results in Snow Hysteria because it's the Snowpocalypse! Now, where are my mittens?
