Winter Weather and Public Administration 

How many of you got caught in last week's snowy disaster of a commute? I was stuck at work on a conference call when the snow first started to come down. After the call, my coworker and I looked out the window and decided we had better try to head home before it got dark and the conditions got worse. Unfortunately for us, it was to late. Traffic was backed up everywhere. It took me 3 hours to get back to my apartment, which is normally a 20 minute commute. There was no where to go or nothing to do besides in sit in traffic like the rest of Northern Kentucky. 

The forecast had originally said snow would start to fall around midnight, but as we experienced it the snow started to fall much, much sooner than that. Which I believe why the road conditions and traffic ended up so bad. Nobody was expecting that kind of weather at that time of day. The plows hadn't had the chance to treat the roads yet because they were supposed to have another 5-6 hours to work. But, while I was in sitting in traffic I never saw a snow plow either. I saw plenty of police officers and emergency vehicles assisting drivers who slide off the road, ended up in an accident or just directly traffic. But no snow plows. It left me wondering how this played in the public administration plans the cities and counties in Northern Kentucky had in place.

One WBKO article mentioned how Governor Beshear declared a state of emergency due to the winter weather. This directed the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management and Department of Military Affairs to execute the Kentucky Emergency Operations Plan. Allowing agencies to coordinate across jurisdictions and with private relief groups. It also directed the Finance and Administration Cabinet to provide funding for the response and authorizes the Emergency Management to request additional resources as needed. (Read more here https://www.wbko.com/2021/02/11/watch-live-gov-beshear-provides-update-on-weather-conditions-and-state-response/). 

With the upcoming weather forecasted for this week, I wonder how last week's predicament will affect everything. Will administrations be extra precautionary, treating the roads and declaring emergency early?, or will they stick to their normal plan of action and "wait to see what happens"?