People who have wells instead of city water will have no water if their electricity goes out. Bed-ridden people who use life support equipment will be in trouble if the power stays off for any length of time. That means I have to take vacation time or time without pay. A couple of days last year they canceled school and it didn't even snow. But people don't want to be caught having to drive around when the weather is really bad, or if they lose power.
Most people agree that the media hype causes a rush of early closings and a stampede to get home.
This leads to potential accidents as already difficult conditions become more hazardous. In this context, the common refrain among vanpoolers seems to be that ridesharing during winter storms really beats going it alone. We have an extremely dependable driver and back-up driver, and during the winter storms it's been so much better than it was the two years I drove alone. Byron said the van parks in an underground garage, so her only worry on wintry mornings is getting to the commuter lot, which is about three miles from her house. However, other vanpoolers complain that media-hyped early closings cause scheduling problems when riders from one workplace are ready to leave at noon while riders from another company need to stay until the end of the day.