12:58 PM CST on Thursday, December 8, 2005

By LUCY JONES / WFAA.com

WFAA.com staffer Lucy Jones—who moved to Dallas from London in August—observes how Texans are dealing with today's winter storm warning. Your comments follow below.

AP

Snow threatens to bring Dallas to a standstill.

When I moved to Dallas, the last thing I expected was a local obsession with the weather on par with that of the British.

We Britons, with our grey skies and drizzle, are well known for our small talk about the weather.

A hot day in spring brings London to life like a scene out of the film Awakenings.

But here in Dallas, even with its reliable big blue sky and sunshine well into November, people are equally weather-fixated.

This latest snow warning has practically led to state-of-emergency conditions.

The cold front was the lead item on several of our news programs and had all of you clicking on WFAA.com in droves.

There was talk of schools closing, of people not showing up for work. Our television station showed people lining up to buy firewood. Have a flashlight and extra batteries on hand, we were warned.

And pity those poor Southwest Airlines crews! At least they would be given protective jumpsuits and boots to deice the visiting jets.

It is almost as if Texans have never seen snow before.

“We’re waiting for the skies to fall, for Armageddon, The Day After,” WFAA’s news director Michael Valentine had dryly remarked in an editorial meeting.

But the conversation immediately returned to the cold. People in North Texas are worried about their swimming pools freezing over, water from automatic sprinklers forming ice on the roads, the cost of heat, our reporters said. And what about New Orleans evacuees who have no coats?

An extra journalist was dispatched to the weather story.

WFAA meteorologist Pete Delkus, who himself is new in Dallas, thinks people nationwide are equally fascinated with the weather. But when Texans get a blast of Arctic winds, they are just not used to it, he says.

“The city is not as prepared as a northern city. There you have lots of salt and if it gets cold enough, they have chemicals.”

Last Christmas, I was out shopping when Dallas froze over. I expected to see salt trucks and speed warnings. There were none, but I saw plenty of wrecks and chaos on my way home.

Today, the city of Dallas has 30 sanding trucks and 70 personnel on standby for when the ice hits. A total of 80 trucks can be dispatched if need be. But Kelly High of the Streets Department admits that it is “not something we’re used to dealing with.”

He urges people to slow down on the roads. “I don’t know anyone who can drive on ice,” he says.

But if Texans balk at the cold, they have an almost inhuman toleration of the heat.

“Oh, it’s not that bad this year,” one Texan told me this summer, after temperatures had sizzled above 100 degrees several days in a row.

Not that bad? I had hardly left my apartment. Even the trip to the mailbox was torture.

But other people must have felt the same way as that Texan. Whenever I did venture out in the heat, I would see people walking their dogs and even jogging. I would pass the neighborhood tennis courts, and they were always full—and that was at midday.

How do you think Texas is dealing with the weather? Please E-mail ljones@wfaa.com. Your comments follow below.

I liked your article. It is true that we're all a little nutty about the weather! Mostly because it seems to always be changing. But I think Dallasites are kind of treated unfairly by those who are more used to the cold. I think if you check with the meteorologists on staff, they could confirm (or possibly deny... there's always the possibility I could be wrong) that we experience more icy conditions than snowy conditions. Up north, all of the layers of the atmosphere are cold, therefore the snow forms high in the atmosphere and as it falls, it stays frozen! But here, where it was 80 degrees last weekend, there are still layers of warm air! The snow passes through and melts and re-freezes and then it hits the ground and freezes again. And ice is far more dangerous to drive on than snow, I don't care where you live or how skilled of a driver you are or what kind of tires you have on your car. Unless you drive a Zamboni, it's best to stay home! Dianna Orender, Lewisville

Local media is the culprit for any obsession. A light snow flurry, and an entire news cast gets devoted to the weather! Any time the weather is even the slightest inclement, I have learned to avoid, local news broadcasts. Why waste 30 minutes of my day watching the same tired routine: interview a sanding truck operator, a tow truck driver, show a couple wrecks, then have each newscaster / weather man take turns repeating the exact same information. Enough already!!! Kevin Jones

I am from Boston but lived 18 months in Dallas, and although we are back in Boston now, I still follow things there, especially the weather. So my story goes as such: when we moved to Dallas in Feb 2003, I left 2 feet of snow that I was perfectly capable of driving through only to arrive to 3 inches of ice and be house-bound for 3 days! Go figure. But, it is so not cost effective to have that hefty snow removal equipment for the 1-2 times a year it would be needed, so, Texans, enjoy your time off! Julie, Boston, MA

Sad, but true the weather is something I can not stop looking at on the net and on TV. I am originally from Brownville, Texas, way down in deep south Texas. If you think people overreact here for the weather you should go down there. If it drops down below 60 they are opening shelters and asking that everyone stay inside and you should see the flocks of people bringing out the heaviest of jackets! I have also lived in south Florida, so in reality, I am not used to cold weather at all. Just this last Christmas Brownsville had snow on Christmas Eve, it started exactly at midnight! It was magical; the last recorded snowfall was almost 100 years ago. For someone who lives in a cooler climate this might not be much but for somewhere like Brownsville with some residents who had never seen snow, it is something quite awesome. I have only seen snow twice so a winter storm like this is so exciting for me. It is almost 3 in the morning, but I don't want to go to sleep in fear that I will miss the first flake! I have a two-year-old daughter and can't wait til morning and I hope there is snow so she can see it. Winter storms may be bothersome for some, but for some this obsession with the weather is something out of the movies and it's so exciting!! I just hope everyone plays it safe and watches out for the icy roads. Anon

I think it's funny that WFAA did a story on it because I have been joking with everyone how people have been obsessing about just the possibility of freezing conditions for three days! That just cracks me up! They don't think about it just being 80 degrees and shorts so the ground is warm, all they think about it getting out of work or school, etc. Yesterday, my employer (as many others did) allowed people to start leaving at 12:30 p.m. Of course, they had to use their Paid Time Off hours if they left or come to work on Saturday if they didn't have any PTO hours. You would not believe the mass exodus! There were a hand full of dedicated and smarter employees and supervisors left. Most of us didn't want to get in the mix with hundreds, if not thousands, of weirded out, worried and ignorant travelers that drive either too fast or too slow. So, we waited, left at our usual time and it was the same anyway. However, we got paid the additional 4 hours and didn't have to worry about not getting paid. So, thanks for doing that piece. Texans are extremely obsessed with the weather...they can't even drive in the rain, much less ice! Be Safe! Jodi Moss, Watauga, TX

It's the news people who are obsessed with the weather! Several stations stopped all programming this afternoon to "cover" the storm's arrival. Nothing was happening. Things were basically dry and static. Yet on and on they droned, checking in with various live reporters (as opposed, I guess, to dead reporters) on locations. "Well, Bill, it's cold out here and the roads are slick... LIKE I SAID 22 MINUTES AGO IN MY LAST REPORT." The news almost seems hopeful that the storm will be a bad one and cause mayhem. Now for you to run a story on how we're obsessed with weather is the last word in hypocrisy. Of course, Texans are talking about the weather today - it's unusual for us. But we aren't the ones that can't talk of anything else - the media is! Mark Roberts, Bedford

You are right. I am fixated. Today I must have gone to wfaa/weather like 50 times to see how the weather is. I am originally from Africa. When I was back home many years ago, I never understood why expatriates always talked about the weather. Then I came here and the weather was crazy. From extreme cold to extreme heat to tornadoes to hurricanes to earthquakes. Then, I started talking about the weather. I never leave my house without seeing what the weather is, even in good days. In bad days, that is all I watch. I even wake up at night to see how the weather is even on weekends when I don't have to be anywhere. You think I am weather crazy? Francesca Njoki Hudson

Please retitle your story from "Why are Texans obsessed with the weather?" to "Why is the DFW Media obsessed with the weather?" I have lived here since the 70s and every year the media goes berserk with the possibility of a snowflake. The amount of attention the media devotes to this is really embarrassing. The weather today didn't cause my wife's commute home to take two hours instead of the normal 15 minutes. It was the media causing this chaos! Bruce Blair, Arlington

Ok, I think that is so true! Texans are a bit obsessed with weather details. I can't believe how the salt truck men are treated as celebrities! I never once saw the news media interview the salt truck men in Alaska or Seattle, where I lived for many years. It is too funny. Terry and Mary Gibson

Funny article. I'm a Native Texan, from Dallas, but currently I live in Philadelphia. I'm so obsessed with the weather that I am on a Dallas News Web site looking for the big ice storm news! Even though, it is going to snow tonight in Philadelphia, I am more interested in the ice in TX! SRH, Philadelphia, PA

I went to school in Grand Rapids, Michigan for two years and after dealing with lake effects snow and temperatures reaching highs in the teens on some days, this would seem like a heat wave for any Michigander. Being a Native Texan, I understand the fear such weather instills in the hearts of southerners. Especially, when it comes to driving. After getting my roommate's car stuck in snowbanks three different times in one Michigan winter, I learned the tricks of driving in wintry weather. However, here in Texas, we don't have soft, cushioning snowbanks to gently glide into if we lose control. Instead, we have each others vehicles. I guess that's the trade off for having 90 degree weather in December. Lauren Sciba, Plano

I am also a native Texan I have been here all my life and yes I am fascinated with the cold weather. We don't get much of it. People make fun of us Texans about how we drive in this kind of weather but I think it really the transplants because they think they know how to drive on it most of us born in Texas know it is better just to stay home and let the so called people who know how to drive in it have the road. Real Texans know when to stay home. Rick Carter, Irving

I find it funny too. I lived in Moscow, Russia for a year and the cold was unbelievable. They had low temps in the mid -40s. That is cold! People here say it gets “too cold” to snow. That is not true. I would be out walking in Moscow and my eyeballs would kind of freeze, forcing me to purchase sunglasses to keep them covered. I watch people pass by in these huge coats with fur lining! The biggest coat I wore in Russia was a leather jacket, although I had on about four shirts and long johns! But there were people out on the coldest days eating ice cream cones but refusing to use ice in cold drinks for fear of catching a cold. I likened it to the heat in Texas. It was as cold there as it is hot here. But, I’ll go home tonight and get a blanket and watch TV just like in Russia. Jason Smith

I'm with you; Texans are nuts when it comes to weather. I moved to Dallas from Michigan in January. I drove through worse weather leaving Detroit to get here then, than is forecast for this "storm" and thought nothing of it. One woman came in this morning and immediately began saying, "we need to go home." When I said "this is nothing," she said, "maybe to you, but the others on the road will kill you." My response, "then, I guess this is the safest place to be." She's gone home, and I'm still at work. Michèle Weibel Murphy, TX

I just read your story about the weather obsession and from one non-Texan to another - you are so right! I am from Germany and as far as I am concerned there is no bad weather - only inappropriate clothing. Cold weather is easier for me to deal with because you can dress in layers and you can put more layers on if needed. The heat is another story, because you can take off only so much - considering laws and what the human eye can endure. However, you can dress in cool fabrics, cover as much of the exposed skin, and run for cover :) I find it rather amusing to listen to endless reports of the inclement weather conditions. How can they talk about it so much? It will ice over, prepare accordingly (Period). Now, let's move on. Drivers are ill equipped for the icy conditions because common sense isn't so common. In ice, drive slow, keep additional safe following distance, don't attempt to go up or down ramps and if you have to, put your car in the lowest gear possible. Oh, and my other favorite, get your car somewhat winter ready: tires, anti freeze, ice scraper, just to name a few. However, I see people speeding right past me with tires as bald as Michael Jordan's head. Christa, Dallas, originally from Germany

I too am a transplant from England albeit many years ago now - I have been here for 25 years. I can honestly say however that as cold as it may have ever been in England, I have never known it to be as bone-chillingly cold as it occasionally gets here. I remember days when the wind-chill was -45 degrees. But the real issue is the ice. This peculiar phenomenon known as freezing rain is quite a thing to behold. It accumulates in trees and on power lines bringing them all to the ground under the weight and of course then provides enough cold air that the environment has a hard time warming enough to melt it. But the best thing about all this (admittedly this is a little cruel) is watching all the Yankees blathering on about how Texans know nothing about driving in winter conditions and how they'll show everyone. Almost immediately after they attach snow chains and start out of the driveway they find the first ditch and plant their cars in them... Perhaps we should have pointed out that they were using snow chains and there was never a flake of snow. These are ice storms...quite different. Giles Hawkins, Dallas

In response to your article about Texans' fascination with the cold weather especially. First of all we Texans know how the weather can get (i.e. Black Ice), and most of us just stay home. Second, a least 3/4 of the people in the Dallas area are not from Texas. They are the ones you have to watch out for, because they think they can drive on this stuff because they grew up in the ice and snow up north. I'm here to tell you, that no one can drive on this. Our roads are not made of the same material in many cases as they are up north, we do not have snow tires or chains, and we do not have the road equipment to meet the demand. So we, as the few Texans in this area, save our cars and our lives and stay home. Roz Henwood Grand Prairie, Texas

I happen to disagree with Roz Henwood: It doesn't matter if 3/4 of the people in the metroplex are from Texas. People in any state and in any city, expecting severe weather, have an inclination to overreact. It is incorrect to say that "those are the people you need to look out for" because everyone handles driving conditions differently. With additional factors, such as cell phones, people are bound to have numerous accidents while out in this weather. I am from an area that gets a tremendous amount of snow each year. I learned to drive in the snow. Since Texas doesn't receive much snow, it makes sense that some Texans do not drive well in the snow. Driving is relative to the area you live in. We all have to adapt when we move to different areas and it is okay to admit that weather/driving are major issues in Texas, as well as other parts of the country. AJ-Denton

I agree with you when you say Texans are obsessed with the winter weather. After all of this time, they still aren't used to it getting cold in winter. They don't prepare for a couple of days of inconvenience. I'm from Kansas and I know to always keep a full tank of gas, keep a blanket, water and snacks in the car in the cold months and to weigh my jeep down for days such as this. I've lived here over six years now and it's the same each year. Snow flurries and the entire metroplex shuts down as if they need to brace for storms like they are getting up north, where they are really having winter storms and temperatures dropping below 0. Audrey E. Jones

I work nights, just woke up and checked wfaa for a weather report. I saw your story, read it and now have regrets because you struck a nerve w/ me. I feel obligated to tell you the jokes on you guys. We non-journalist folk laugh at the weather obsessed media. From standing outside in rain, tornadoes, hurricanes, snow, ice ect you guys feel the need to go on and on about what we already know. Example, cold+water= ice and it's slick. Terl Bey

I was laughing about the same thing last night while watching the news, it seemed as though the entire broadcast was about the weather :) The funny thing is...I am a native Texan, I really should be used to this. Wendy Parkhill

You couldn't have said it better. I hate the heat in the summer and no one seems to mind here. I frequently listen to BBC radio 1 and they even ran a story over there about the government telling forecasters to be more cheery with the forecast ie: instead of rain and drizzle they should say it will be "Dry in spots" Anon

Complaining because Texans are not used to winter storms makes as much sense as complaining because people living in the North are not used to 100+ degree temperatures, days on end. If Minnesota was to have a 110 degree heat index one day, I'm sure it would be a major local news story. Same same! Some of us are not from Germany, or Russia (-40 degrees is not cool, I don't care who you are), or anywhere else that gets really bad winter storms. Some of have lived most (if not all) of our lives in Texas. We're not all idiots, we're just not used to it. If Dallas is ever hit with an earthquake, I now expect someone from LA to ask, "What's the big deal?" - Matt, Fort Worth