Snow in the Forecast. Georgians Prepare.

Here in the deep South, ya’ll, we joke about going to the grocery store and blitzing the bread and milk aisles before a snow storm.   You’ve seen the news of our recent mishap.  We don’t have much equipment to handle snow or icy roads.  A winter storm forecast means we’re stuck at home (or, worse, not at home), possibly for days.  And possibly without power.

Or, maybe not.  The forecasters are sometimes in league with the grocery stores to empty their shelves.   No matter how many false prophecies, we actually do rush out and buy bread and milk.

“This is one of Mother Nature’s worst kinds of storms,” said (Governor Nathan) Deal, who added: “We’re not kidding.  We’re not crying wolf.”  2/11/2014

“Crippling ice,” “huge event,” “historic,” “catastrophic,” “epic collisions between ice and Georgia’s white pines” 

Heck, Atlantans, brush your teeth, dust off your LL Bean jackets, and be prepared to hit the streets.  The media will be driving by come daylight to hear how you survived the worst storm since... the last one.

How do we prepare for a forecast slathered liberally with rain, freezing rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, wintry mix, and more snow over the course of 36 hours? 

Below is a photo-journal, taken 48 hours in advance of THE BIG STORM, of how one community (Woodstock, GA) depleted a local Kroger grocery store, which we’ll assume is representative of the 5.5 million living in the greater Atlanta area.

Bread (still some calorie packed peanut butter though):

Milk - half gallons of Skim and 2% gone:

Well, there go the basics, based on common folklore.  What else?  Well, we're ape over bananas.

Beans?  Seriously?  That's a big dent.

With all that milk, one might assume less cereal would be visible.  Heck, there's still an ample supply of Frosted Flakes.  Wake up, people!

Apparently, we all favor one particular type of cheese.

Eggs.  No doubt the ones remaining are either cracked or grade B, Medium eggs, if there are such things.

Frozen fries took a hit. Go figure.  I can’t.

Cat Litter. Just proves we're not completely self-centered.

Mac 'n Cheese.  Gotta feed those kids something... EZ.

If the meat's been ground or portioned, it's gone.

Orange Juice supplies will definitely expire before the big day.

Onions?  Really? Someone want to share their secret Ice Storm Onion Recipe?

Toilet Paper.  A smart choice in all seasons.

1 lb. of sugar lasts forever, except during winter storms.  Hmm.

Bottled water.  No argument.

And lastly, to thoroughly thwart the Southern red neck thang...  the beer aisle wasn’t a priority for emergency preparations.*

* To be fair, this is the dead season for southern sports.  College and pro football have ended, basketball isn’t a drinking occasion, and baseball and NASCAR seasons haven’t started yet.  It’s all in the timing.