© AP –A pedestrian walks down Spring Street in Atlanta Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011.
The snow-and-ice storm that has shut down much of the South slowly rolled toward the Northeast on Tuesday, revealing a regional culture clash along the way.
Southerners seemed resigned to waiting out winter headaches such as slick roads and paralyzed airports. But people from Ohio to New York, who face up to a foot of snow in their third blast of winter in as many weeks, were already putting pressure on state and local governments to spare them from travel tangles and snow-choked roads.
Across the South, communities remained encrusted in ice and snow for a second straight day. Road crews fared little better than in the storm's opening hours, owing mostly to their lack of winter equipment. Frustrated motorists sat idle on slippery pavement or moved at a creep. Millions of people just stayed home.
In Atlanta, which had only 10 pieces of snow equipment when the storm hit, officials planned to bring in nearly 50 more pieces - the most resources marshaled for a storm in a decade. Mayor Kasim Reed said backup supplies of salt and sand were on the way, too.
Mail delivery was restricted to just a few places because postal employees could not get to work. Many schools and other institutions planned to stay closed Wednesday out of caution. The storm has been blamed for 11 deaths and many more injuries.
Despite the inconvenience, Southerners confronted the aftermath with patience - and a certain amount of wonder.
Comment: Well...it may NOT be a "once in a decade event". For more information on the changing climate, see this SOTT Focus article