10 Comments on “Blizzard Cancelled, Travel Ban Still In Effect”

1. 
   Snore'Easter said at 6:27 am on January 27th, 2015:

   Told ya’ so.

2. 
   Snore'Easter said at 7:00 am on January 27th, 2015:

   To Clarify;
   Not happy about this at all.
   Just really P.O.’d that so many heavy-handed decisions were made in the higher echelons of the NJ state govt., based on what were clearly erratic storm models.

   Taking away the rights of citizens for their perceived protection is never cool.

3. 
   Middletowner said at 7:26 am on January 27th, 2015:

   Does Szatkowski still have a job today?
   Is his unit liable for costs incurred or lost revenue by businesses?

4. 
   Gozer said at 7:27 am on January 27th, 2015:

   so Snore, if the storm took a different turn, which was possible, it would have been very bad. If these heavy handed officials did less and the storm was as predicted we would have had drivers stranded and many possibly deadly accidents and situations. Then people like you would be crying that thosen in charge should have done more.

5. 
   Snore'Easter said at 7:54 am on January 27th, 2015:

   Sorry Gozer.
   Your argument does not wash.
   This is is a mess on every level. The storm models were leanining towards the weather we have now, as early as 7pm last night, if not earlier. Plenty of time to make subtle corrections in managing the state during a weather crisis. Someone was sleeping at the wheel.

   With regard to the travel ban;
   it is always wisest to err on the side of the rights of the people and I truly would be surprised if you were to choose to argue otherwise. That aside, you ARE free to give away your rights.

   I decline to give away mine. I thank you for respecting that.

6. 
   Tom Stokes said at 8:41 am on January 27th, 2015:

   Tis always better to be safe than sorry…again some overhype by news media, but just think what could have happened if people weren’t prepared. Public officials are not weather forecasters and must act according to the best information they have at hand.

   It wasn’t just New Jersey, but several other states as well that instituted travel bans.

   The old Boy Scout motto serves us well – “Be Prepared”!

   The real problem is that everyone will lose what little faith we had in the weather prediction services and should the next storm come, and really hit hard, people will not be prepared. That is unfortunate, as lives could be lost.

   I acknowledge the conservative principle of not giving up liberty for security, but really, we do need some common sense thrown into this mix.

   Be thankful the storm did not hit as predicted.

   After action report – check how well prepared you and your family were. What could you have done better? Did you have sufficient supplies? Back up power? Communications? Evacuation plans if you couldn’t shelter in place?

   Plan and prepare; we could get hit with another storm like Sandy in the future.

7. 
   B. Real said at 8:58 am on January 27th, 2015:

   Snore,
   1. No human rights have been violated here. You’ve been inconvenienced, that’s all.
   2. Trying to pin down fickle Nature with imperfect technology ensures that mistakes will occasionally happen. I, for one, prefer those judgement calls err on the side of public safety. Predictions are not guarantees. To expect perfection all the time in a field like meteorology is unreasonable.
   3. Mr. Szatkowski admitted his mistake and apologized for this error. There were no attempts to cover up or pin blame elsewhere. I value and appreciate that.
   3. It bears remembering that Mr. Szatkowski is the meteorologist who urged many people to evacuate the shore during Superstorm Sandy. He got that judgement call 100% right and quite possibly saved lives.
   4. ALSO, if the military is concerned enough with safety to limit operations (even after last night’s modified weather forecast), it makes sense that the state also protects the safety of its citizens.
   From Joint Base MDL: “Current as of 4:30 a.m., Jan. 27. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is at limited operations and the installation commander has determined that only those personnel designated as mission, weather essential A and B or emergency essential, as determined by mission partner commanders, are required to report for duty.”

8. 
   Bob English said at 10:22 am on January 27th, 2015:

   Agree with last two comments and would also note that one of the biggest difficulties in dealing with the storm four years ago was that hundreds (if not thousands) of cars where abandoned on NJ highways which put the lives of people at risk who had to rescue some of the occupants and also delayed the ability of snow plows to attempt to manage the snow as it came down

9. 
   Tom Stokes said at 11:34 am on January 27th, 2015:

   While they may have been off for NJ and NY, looks like New England bore the brunt of the storm….url: http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2015/01/27/travel-bans-lifted-after-northeast-blizzard-misses-most-area/?intcmp=latestnews

10. 
    Jim Granelli said at 7:13 pm on January 27th, 2015:

    So, I wonder.

    If the storm had hit NJ hard and no warnings given, would Snore Easter be whining that he couldn’t get to work because the roads were impassable?

    @Middletowner, same for you.

    Come on guys, Mother Nature is fickle. How many hurricanes have we seen veer off at the last moment. Did you complain about that?

    Get real please. Better safe than sorry.