Snow and walkers: A tale of two Atlanta apocalypses

There were more similarities between Snowpocalypse and The Walking Dead than just gridlocked roads
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Yes, we’ve all seen that image floating around social media and even the Daily Show. The cars trapped in gridlock on the Connector during Tuesday’s snowfall looked far too similar to the scene Rick Grimes stumbled upon when he rode up to Atlanta in the first episode of The Walking Dead.  The jokes comparing the Snowpocalypse to Walking Dead’s zombie apocalypse have been endless, so we decided to have a match-up of our own. 

    

The threat 
Snowpocalypse: That cold yet pretty shimmery stuff that while no big deal to folks up North, makes life a living hell here in the South  

Zombie apocalypse: Zombified corpses that (slowly) roam the streets and eat anything that has a pulse, creating a non-living hell, so to speak

    

The prediction 
Snowpocalypse:
The fluffy stuff arrived with some, little, or no warning, depending on which politician you ask about it. But we did know that something was coming our way.

Zombie apocalypse: No advance warnings that we know of, as poor Rick, our eyes into Walking Dead’s world, woke up from a coma into the world of zombies. But there’s always someone out there predicting the end of the world, right?

  

The exodus 
Snowpocalypse:
Midday Tuesday, as the flakes started to fall, schools, government, businesses, and stores shut down, causing thousands to take to the roads…and never leave. After hours of gridlock, many Atlantans abandoned their cars and took to traveling on their own two feet.

Zombie apocalypse: Eerily similar. It would seem many Atlantans again took to the streets to try to escape, as Rick’s team gets stuck in a patch of interstate gridlock just south of Atlanta while attempting to flee the city. At least in the zombie apocalypse you can weave through cars without getting honked at or rammed into. You just might get overrun by walkers instead.

  

The shelter 
Snowpocalypse:
With the roads hopeless,  Atlantans took shelter wherever they could—many hunkered down in Home Depots and drug stores while some kids had sleepovers at their schools.

Zombie apocalypse: Rick first meets Glenn, Andrea, T-Dog and co. hiding out in a downtown department store. But as they quickly find out, no shelter is safe. Schools are overrun, and even homes such as Hershel’s comfy farmhouse fall.  But there’s always prison.

  

The weapons 
Snowpocalypse:
According to Mayor Reed, 30 spreaders and 40 snowplows. Plus good Samaritans with sandwiches and the MARTA rail line (when it wasn’t on fire).

Zombie apocalypse: Crossbows, swords, guns, knives … pretty much if it can poke a zombie in the brain, it’ll do. But sunlight won’t melt a walker, unlike two inches of snow and ice.

  

The tiny miracle 
Snowpocalypse:
Atlanta’s own Lil’ Ass Kicker, this one with the much gentler name of Grace, was born on 285 after her parents got stuck on the way to the hospital. Thankfully, mother and baby were fine.

Zombie apocalypse: Lori goes into labor in perhaps the worst of scenarios—in the middle of a zombie attack—but baby Judith arrives healthy and kicking. Lori on the other hand … well, we’ll let you watch it yourself if you haven’t already.

  

The aftermath 
Snowpocalypse:
Snow survivors, many with help from the SnowedOutAtlanta Facebook group, finally got home, and Mayor Reed, Governor Deal, and GDOT have still got a lot of splainin’ to do.  

Zombie apocalypse: We’re only at season 4, so maybe in a few years we’ll finally figure out how to stop the walkers once and for all? Maybe? Yeah, we know, there’s about as big of a chance of that happening as the city learning to deal with snow.

The verdict 
While we hope that Atlanta figures out better solutions to future winter weather situations, we don’t have a whole lotta faith that we’d survive a zombie outbreak were it to happen tomorrow. Then again, if we keep this stuff up, “Snowpocalypse: Atlanta” just might be the next great disaster film airing at 3 in the morning on SyFy.

Image credits: Traffic/Walking Dead mashup: many sources, including Instagram user kylemack13; Car in snow: Myrydd Wells; Walkers: Scott Garfield/AMC; Weather map: NOAA; Rick waking up: Scott Garfield/AMC; Traffic: Rebecca Burns; Walking Dead gridlock: AMC; Home Depot: WSB-TV; Shopping mall: AMC; Snow plow: Derrick Coetzee/Flickr; Daryl: Gene Page/AMC; Grace: Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Judith: AMC

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