Bob CollinsIf a blizzard doesn’t hit the Twin Cities, is it still a blizzard?
This is a tough time for the news media which, understandably and justifiably, gets criticized for making things sound worse than they really are. “Mother Nature is going to throw everything she’s got at us,” KARE 11’s anchor announced last night, shortly before throwing it to the weatherperson standing outdoors with an umbrella even though it wasn’t snowing or raining, and ignoring that earthquakes, volcanic disruptions, floods, tornadoes, and drought weren’t in the forecast.
So when we look out the window in the Twin Cities and see gray skies and drizzle, it’s easy to give them a little shot for their hyperbole. The problem is, it’s a big state and — cover your ears, Twin Cities — there’s more to it than just the metro. And this particular blizzard really is bad — and I guess newsworthy — for the people in the northwest and west-central part of the state. For example, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota State Patrol have closed Highway 210 from Fergus Falls to Breckenridge in the last few hours. I-94 from Moorhead to Fergus Falls is closed as is the stretch from Fargo to Jamestown, and Highway 10 from Moorhead to Lake Park. (See other road closings)
It doesn’t appear the blizzard is going to affect the Twin Cities, leaving those of us who lamented the prospect of another snowstorm feeling just a little — admit it — left out of the excitement.
