Exaggerated and Dangerous Snow Hysteria- Why Not Use More Public Transportation?

As the mother of five and a grandmother I certainly can understand this drive to protect and even overprotect loved ones. But I think that the demands that we stay home, because most Israelis don't know how to drive in the snow has made things worse than need be.

The recent snow isn't all that deep nor serious. It shouldn't have forced us to miss work, school etc. A decent amount of bus traffic plus some plowing could have gotten the roads safe and clear.

Bus drivers should be trained to drive in snowy and especially slushy conditions. Taxes should be lowered or even cancelled on good quality tires, because good tires are the key to safe driving in snowy and wet conditions, tying with careful driving. The better the treads the safer the driving.

There's no reason for us to be so isolated just because of snow. This is no blizzard. Cancelling public transportation is not a good idea.

Snow Scam?

I keep hearing all this hype about "major snow storm" or a "blizzard" that is expected here in the hilly, OK mountainous parts of Israel, like Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and Binyamin-Shomron where Shiloh is located.

Jerusalem and all of the regions surrounding it have canceled school long before even one snowflake has fallen from the heavens. And that's long before any numbers have actually stuck to the ground. In order to guarantee that they stick, Jerusalem's Mayor Barkat wants the roads emptied. Maybe he's hoping to ski. Now, if you want clear roads, and only a couple of inches of snow, if any, are really going to fall, then keep the vehicles heating and melting the snow. With all the cars, buses and trucks around, we can probably save money and have clear roads for free.

For years I've been mocking these well organized media "snow panics." It's clear why they are being done. Someone is making money. The television media stars and cameramen, probably directors and producers, too, have been out for hours or more all bundled up ready to interview the first snowflake. They had better watch out with the lights, or the poor thing will melt before he or is it she or it can get a name out. That would be a shame, wouldn't it?

And the other people/unions who/that make money from these snow scams are the "snow removal experts." No doubt they're the ones who have instructed Barkat on how to make sure the snow looks impressive by emptying the roads so the snow can pile to its maximum. They really want to show their prowess on the snowplows. Maybe I'm wrong, but I keep thinking of their trying to puff up the flurries on a flake version of Viagra. 

Nu, so I decided to do some independent research. Instead of reading the news headlines and interpretations of the forecast numbers. I've been going to the weather sites that give me simple to understand numbers. Remember that I'm a CPA's daughter...

Let's start with Arutz 7, which has me totally confused. I checked both Ariel and Jerusalem. The temperatures for both are almost identical, but the drash, the interpretation is different:
Ariel

4-13°Today January 06
Windy 

0-4°Wednesday January 07
Rain Mixed with Snow 

0-5°Thursday January 08
Rain Mixed with Snow 

0-4°Friday January 09
Rain Mixed with Snow 

Jerusalem

3-12°Today January 06
Windy 

0-4°Wednesday January 07
Heavy Snow 

0-4°Thursday January 08
Heavy Snow 

0-3°Friday January 09
Heavy Snow 

And here's another weather site that shows us Shiloh:

Tue. J. 6		Wednesday January 7								Thursday January 8								Friday January 9								Saturday January 10								Sunday January 11								Monday January 12
Local time	20		02		08		14		20		02		08		14		20		02		08		14		20		02		08		14		20		02		08		14		20		02		08		14
Cloudiness, %
Precipitation, mm
Temperature, °C	+9		+7		+8		+5		+5		+6		+8		+6		+6		+6		+6		+3		+4		+4		+5		+5		+5		+6		+7		+6		+5		+4		+6		+8
Feels like, °C	+5		+3		+4		+1		+1		+1		+5		+3		+3		+2		+4		-1		+1		+1		+3		+2		+2		+3				+5				+2
Pressure, mm	687		687		686		686		688		690		692		691		692		691		690		689		691		691		692		690		689		688		689		691		695		696		698		697
Humidity, %	40		57		60		84		70		65		68		78		77		77		78		85		66		66		69		79		85		81		83		85		83		80		81		75

Please look carefully at the numbers. Shiloh's weather is between Ariel and Jerusalem. Even their "Feels like," which would be considered "wind chill factor" isn't as low as the temperatures on the Arutz 7 site.

And here's another one, Weather in Jerusalem:

Wednesday 07 Jan

5° 1°

rain
chance of precipitation 83%

Thursday 08 Jan

8° 1°

rain
chance of precipitation 88%

Friday 09 Jan

4° -2°

mixed rain and snow
chance of precipitation 93%

Saturday 10 Jan

6° 1°

light rain
chance of precipitation 51%

Sunday 11 Jan

8° -1°

rain
chance of precipitation 40%

Monday 12 Jan

9° -1°

Maybe someone forgot to tell them that the password is "snow." Perhaps they're not on the "take." Granted I may be wrong. I'm just a nobody at a dead-end job who blogs for my sanity. The joke may be on me. But I can't imagine the blizzard that's being hyped... Not this week at least.

Last year's blizzard