Editorial: The Blizzard of 2016

This Editorial appears in the Feb. 1 print edition of Transport Topics.Click here to subscribe today.

It has been anything but business as usual along the Eastern Seaboard the past few weeks.

As the massive dig out continues into this week from the historic blizzard, the event served as another reminder of the critical role that trucking quietly plays in maintaining a sense of normalcy.

Formally Winter Storm Jonas — but also nicknamed “Snowzilla” — this monster system actually formed out in the Pacific. As it crossed the United States, picking up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, the warnings came across loud and clear days in advance: Stock up now.

Residents of the region responded by flooding grocery and hardware stores and gasoline stations with long lines that stretched for hours.

That sudden spike in demand for everything from frozen pizza to shovels could have been met only by fast logistical planning and expedited shipments to stores by truckers.

Then the snow started. It kept going. And then it snowed some more.

Before the storm ended on Jan. 24, 2 to 3 feet of snow fell everywhere from Washington, D.C., to New York, with many other regions also affected along the way.

During the blizzard, and especially in the days afterward, hundreds of thousands of pieces of heavy equipment and their drivers took to the roads to begin the recovery process.

Those brave men and women put their own lives at risk so others could get back out there more quickly. The snow was so thick that a number of plowing trucks got stuck and had to be towed. Even more notably, an estimated two dozen people lost their lives in traffic accidents during Jonas.

Even as the federal government and schools remained closed for days, the same stores that were emptied by the storm’s beginning were under way with the restocking process. Trucks operated by courageous drivers were the key to that.

Not all deadlines were met as some longhaul drivers got caught in the storm and spent hours in traffic jams before being forced to wait at truck stops along the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

For them, the idling caused by Jonas was a dir¬ect hit to their wallets. Yet their patience and choice to put safety first is another example of their professionalism.

Just try to remember: Spring is only seven weeks away.