I am proud to be a Southerner, especially during the "Snowpocalypse"

Yesterday my sweet home Alabama was hit with an unexpected snow storm around 10 a.m. This resulted in possibly hundreds of people stranded at work or on roadways as many highways and streets became impassable due to ice and abandoned cars. I was one of the lucky ones and managed to make it home in about three hours. (My commute is normally less than 15 minutes.) My younger brother, who was living a doctor's appointment when the snowfall started didn't make it home until about six hours later. 

Things got bad. Really bad. I think Birmingham columnist John Archibald described it best:  

Snowpocalypse. Car-mageddon. Our day of wreckoning. Children separated from their families, pregnant women trapped in SUVs, infants stranded without formula, traffic snarled beyond belief, icy cold misery from the Shoals to the shore.

In a state that always over-reacts, that sells out bread and milk days in advance of "a dusting" and calls off schools at the threat of wind chill, we were caught with our snow pants down.

Some Northerners may scoff at our panic over a few inches of accumulation and deem us as country bumpkins, but those people can suck it! (Oh, I'm sorry. That wasn't very Southern or ladylike of me, was it?) Just as people in some Northern states consider 85 degrees a heat wave because they don't have central air, the South is crippled by snow because we don't have the equipment or resources to handle it. And while I'm lucky enough to have had much experience driving in snow and ice due to my years living in the Midwest, most of my fellow Alabamians don't have such knowledge and thus have every right to freak out when white stuff starts falling from the sky. 

But in the midst of this mess Southerners stuck together. 

Image via The Daily South

Erin Shaw Street of Southern Living and Julie McKinney of Alabama Media Group both compiled examples of heartwarming southern hospitality. 

People were helping complete strangers push cars that were stuck. Businesses and churches opened their doors to stranded motorists who were hungry and cold. People even opened their homes to those who needed a place to sleep overnight. And teachers across the state stayed at school to take care of kids who couldn't make it home. 

Alabama School of Fine Arts kids spending the night at school

We Southerners even used the Internet as a way to help, tweeting out traffic information and details about shelters.  A Facebook page was created to help stranded motorists. 

So, no, we may not have the equipment to deal with snowfall and ice, but we have hearts of kindness that can weather any storm.