I was just going to send a “boot” to the weatherman for getting it wrong once again, but that wouldn’t have been any fun.
Emergency services personnel probably grumble loudly every time there is a weather event that makes travel unsafe and people refuse to heed the warning. Just recently rain resulted in ice-covered highways. There were soon reports of semis and other vehicles in the ditches. “Why can’t these people just stay home,” is likely a mantra of the police, tow-truck drivers and EMS.
One possible reason could be they just didn’t believe what they were told.
Monday we were promised a nasty day with snow and blowing snow making travel inadvisable. I know at least one person who heeded the warning, heading out on the highway Tuesday instead. Monday’s big storm (and what prairie chicken doesn’t revel in the prospect of a good rip-snorter experienced beside the comfort of the blazing fireplace?) was a bust. Tuesday there were no excited proclamations of rotten weather and poor visibility on the highways. Tuesday was a terrible day to travel. Visibility was nil in some locations with snow swirling around driven by persistent gales.
So can those hapless folks who venture out when they really shouldn’t really be held responsible? Environment Canada’s propensity for hyperbole, crying wolf, could be making travellers deaf to their warnings.
