Ntxw wrote:txtwister78 wrote:Ntxw wrote:
It's all semantics at this point. North and Central Texas are at the crosshairs of highest qpf and below freezing temps (especially NTX) so issue it now or issue it later doesn't make much of a difference. Plenty of maps seen.
One beef I need to take is even at the NWS and some in public 'this is not as bad as 2021'. We need to stop downplaying this and comparing it to 2021. For about 2-3 days it's going look and feel just as bad. Roads will be even worse.
In my opinion they've done a good job of ramping this up without going full apocalypse which this event is not I believe (even in DFW). I honestly think a lot of the "not as bad as 2021" commentary is coming from social media responses. So, messaging wise I think they're doing enough. Again, just my .02. That's not saying folks shouldn't be prepared for a significant event Thursday in DFW but creating "panic" and flooding stores probably not helpful either especially when you have strain from ongoing distribution issues as it is (but that's another subject for a different forum).
Agree though about semantics. Probably waiting to decide between ice storm warning or winter storm warning.
I agree with most of your points. I just can't tell you how many times I've seen and heard this, and NWS FW had the comparison too albeit they did note the effects. A lot of the general public is very simple minded. You say not as bad as 2021 and they think back when they could drive around because many were successful in the snow after their power went out. The roads may become nearly impassible in this situation where sleet is plentiful. This may not compare to 2021 but likely as bad as any event since 2000, potentially, up here. This is the kind of storm you see trucks and cars stuck and backed up for miles in the sleet and ice.
Oh yeah, we've had them down here too (ice storm in 2007 for example) and we got 500 accidents in a span of three hours, but I think with 2021 being so fresh in everyone's mind, I do think they have a responsibility to at least stress that even if the storm upcoming is significant in its own right, it's not on that level. Ice is ice and so you're always going to have foolish behavior from the public no matter how many times you stress "stay off the roads", but again take 2021 out of the equation (particularly the recent experience) and this is a significant event on its own for sure. Just don't think they should be called out for acknowledging the "differences" is all.
Edit last thing.... I think the people focusing on the "it's not going to be worse than 2021" sentence are on the other hand ignoring the other things they are in fact saying. It's not downplaying it in my opinion just because you acknowledge that.