Last week there was a mild (magnitude 4.5 on the Richter scale) earthquake centered about 30 miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Many people here in the DC area also report having felt it, including one of the Admin. Assistants right outside my office; jealously, I admit, I didn't notice anything.
Saturday night we had a little snow--2 inches at most--and yesterday was rainy with temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s, so by this morning there was merely a dusting left on grassy areas, and none at all on the roads. Yet nearly all area schools opened two hours late today. What is up with that? I lived in Boston for seven years and I don't recall the schools ever closing. Yet when someone spits in the street in DC or Northern Virginia the roads come to a standstill. And if someone spots a flurry of snow, the schools rush to close down. I blame the lawyers.
I didn't feel it either. I was rather jealous myself. And I agree about the snow, its rather silly how fast they are to close the schools around here.
Try Texas and Mississippi. Ice on the ground? No school.
I remember...6 blasts of the town fire alarm meant no school. It would happen now and then if the storm dumped a couple of feet of snow or more. Maine was pretty capable of handling winter weather with plows and salt/sand trucks. Unfortunately, the salt also does a number on your vehicle. Odometers rarely turn over to that magic 100,000 up there because the rust eats them long before the mechanical parts give out.
Too bad you missed the earthquake. It was an interesting sensation, although I would definitely not like to experience a more severe one. It was fun enough as a curiosity, but it was enough for me. And I think you're right about the lawyers and the schools. No one wants to risk a lawsuit from a bus accident.