Primul cod rosu de ninsoare :) / Our first winter storm alert

Romanian:

Salutare,

     Hai ca am trecut cu bine si peste prima avertizare de winter storm. Un fel de cod rosu de ninsoare in Romania. A fost un pic diferit fata de ce eram obisnuiti:). A inceput cam cu 2-3 zile inainte cu aunturi pe toate canalele TV si pe toate aplicatiile meteo:). Se anunta ca zona afectata va fi NE SUA ceea ce includea si Philadelphia si evident eram mai interesati ca in alte dati. Avertizarea era pentru aproximativ o zi (de luni seara pana marti seara). A iesit si primarul New York-ului sa anunte ca este cea mai mare furtuna de zapada din istorie, lumea sa nu subestimeze aceasta furtuna. Chiar incepusem sa fim curiosi:). Masurile luate au fost extrem de stricte. Toate avioanele si trenurile anulate, scolile inchise si chiar au anuntat ca este interzis masinior sa iasa pe strada dupa ora 23.00. Amenda 300$. Pentru noi era ceva nemaivazut. Nici nu stiam cat de tare sa ne speriem:)). Vazusem de cateva ori ca americanii mai si exagereaza, insa deja masurile anuntate erau foarte stricte. Partea buna este ca in aceste cazuri ai voie sa nu mergi la scoala (de cele mai multe ori se si inchid) si chiar sa lipsesti de la serviciu. Securitatea si siguranta personala primeaza intotdeauna.
     Si a venit luni seara. Scoala Andreei se inchisese de la pranz, asa ca ea era in siguranta acasa. Eu eram la birou si deja aflasem ca trenul cu care merg de obicei inceteaza sa mai circule de la ora 20.00. Semnele erau bune, deoarece pe la ora 18.00 inca nu incepuse sa ninga. Asa ca am plecat si eu de la birou si am ajuns in siguranta acasa. Si asteptam sa inceapa furtuna. Si am asteptat si asteptat...Deja pe la ora 22.00 inca nu incepuse si tot ne ziceam ca poate mai tarziu. Cand ne-am culcat ne si gandeam cum a doua zi vedem mormane de zapada. Am bagat pana si masina in garaj sa o protejam:). Marti dimineata arata asa in fata casei:

     Mare dezamagire mare:). Nici la New York nu fusese nicio furtuna. Cativa fulgi pe aici, pe acolo, dar atat. Vedeam dimineata imagini cu aeroportul din Philadelphia care era gol fiind inchis din cauza ,,furtunii''. La fel multe gari importante din New York. Pustiu peste tot.
     Marti pe la pranz au inceput sa iasa declaratiile cu scuze si regrete:). Se gresise cu cateva zeci de mile. A fost intr-adevar furtuna rea, insa intr-o zona mult mai restransa.
      Per total insa pot sa spun ca prefer aceasta abordare fata de cea romaneasca ,,ne-a luat prin surprindere'' chit ca zapada vine in mijlocul iernii. De multe ori americanii sunt poate extra-precauti si pot parea penibili, insa asa cum am zis prefer varianta lor.

Better safe than sorry!

English:

Howdy,

And  we manage to safely pass our first winter storm alert. It was a bit different than what we were used to. It all started 2-3 days before with news and alerts on all TV station and all weather apps. The alerted area was NE US that included also Philadelphia so that’s why we were more interested in the subject this time. The mayor of New York made public declarations not to underestimate this stor, that is going to be the hardest in New York history. We started to be curious. All safety measures were extremely strict. All planes and trains were cancelled, schools closed and even announced that no car is allowed on the streets after 23.00; fine 300$. For us this was something we had never seen before.  We didn’t even knew how scared we should be. We saw before that Americans tend to exaggerate a little but all this measures were too strict and hard. The good thing is that in this cases you are allowed to miss school and work. Safety comes first.

And we come to Monday evening. Andreea school was closed from noon so she was at home, nice and safe. I was in the office and already heard that my train won’t travel after 20.00. At 18.00 the snow didn’t started yet so I manage to get home safely. And we waited in the house, looking at the window for the snow and winter storm. And waited and waited…When we went to bed we thought that in the morning we would see a lot of snow. We even put the car in the garage to protect it. Tuesday morning this is how our house looked like

   

Big disappointment. New York didn’ t had any storm. Some snow here and there but that’s it. In the morning we saw at news images with Philadelphia Airport that was empty J being closed because of the ,,storm''. Same for a lot of big train stations in New York. Empty everywhere.

Tuesday at noon the city officials were coming out with public apologies. They made a mistake about the affected area. There was indeed a storm but on a much smaller area.

Overall I can say that I prefer this approach as oppose to the Romanian ones ,, we were caught by surprised even if snow would come in the middle of the winter. 

Many times the Americans are over precautions and sometime may seem embarrassing but like I said, I prefer their approach.

Better safe than sorry.