>The city population grows by 80% every day, more than any >other American city. Federal government offices close in DC >because alot of workers are come into DC from all over >Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and even West Virginia and >the snow removal in all of those areas is variable.
Chicago's metro area is at least 2x the size of DC's in terms of population and land area and also includes 3 states. but the city doesn't shut down over 2 inches of snow. ppl from the outlying areas can get in and out - movement may slow down a bit but it doesn't stop b/c of a few inches of snow.
indeed, we received 3 inches of snow last night. i work in the suburbs and was able to get to work on a train w/o issue. and the air temp was like 5 degrees too, btw. my coworkers who drove said traffic was slow and most of them were a little late getting in. but they all got here. jurors have arrived for trials today - a little late but they're here. life is going on despite 3 inches of snow and single-digit temps.
>Plus winter temperatures in this area are often right at the >line between snow and rain so every storm is a crapshoot as to >what kind of preparation is really necessary.
meteorology is a thing. there are scientists who can reliably predict the weather and whether there'll be ice or snow w/in 24 to 48 hrs of the event. it doesn't take much more time than that to get prepared. and in both cases the prep is basically the same - rock salt or other ice melting substance on roadways. snow plows on roads. it's not difficult - it just takes the will to do it.
>Teleworking is becoming alot more common so the offices >closing really isn't as big a deal as it once was.
if that were the case then we wouldn't have any offices at all and everyone would work from home all the time.
there is no good reason to shut down that metro area once or 2x every year due to a perfectly predictable and manageable weather event. it's dumb as hell.