We in Prince George frequently laugh at people in Vancouver early in winter, when they get a half-inch of snow and the whole city shuts down.
Meanwhile, we probably got six inches that day and just kept right on going.
I think even we in Prince George, however, would have had trouble dealing with what Buffalo got hit by at the end of last week. They called it a ‘mega-blizzard’, and that term was accurate.
The forecast was for four to six FEET of snow in about a three-day period. They had three feet by Friday afternoon, and it was still coming. The Internet, of course, had a lot of pictures of the scenes, and it was . . . impressive, I guess might be a good word.
One TV reporter filmed what was happening at what looked like a major intersection, and what was happening was not much. He counted 10 vehicles stuck in the intersection. Tow trucks were finding the going as tough as anyone else.
One member of the Buffalo Bills football team sent a picture of what I think was his truck Friday morning. I say ‘think’ because it looked like there was a big spare tire in what I took to be the back of the vehicle, but there was so much snow there was no way of telling exactly what it was.
He and the rest of the Bills didn’t have to practice Friday (big surprise) but they did have to figure out how to get to the airport. The Bills were supposed to host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, but the NFL decided on Wednesday to move the game to Detroit.
The last time the NFL moved a game because of weather? It was 16 years ago and yes, it was the Bills again who had to move a home game.
There were pictures of the stadium, and it was pretty clear even if the snow had stopped right after the pictures were taken Friday, it would be pretty tough to get the field ready for Sunday.
The biggest reason the NFL and the teams decided to move the game, though, was a logical one. If the game had gone ahead, the roads around the field would have been heavily congested most of Sunday, meaning a lot of snow equipment would have to be diverted there to keep things open.
That equipment could be better used elsewhere in these circumstances, and that was the main reason the decision to move the game was made.
It actually works out not too badly for the Bills, having to move the Sunday game to Detroit. Tomorrow (as you read this) is the American Thanksgiving, and one of the big features is NFL games.
This year, one of the games is Buffalo in Detroit, so the Bills just stayed in Detroit a few extra days, and probably hoped at least some of the snow was gone by the time they got home.
The next time we in Prince George get four or five inches of snow and start complaining, remember, it could have been worse.
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