December Debacle: 5 year anniversary

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - It's hard to believe that it has been five years since the December Debacle snow storm that left children stuck on school buses for hours.

The several inches of snow was not that impressive, but the timing the snow made marks one of the most disruptive storms in Rhode Island history.

The snow started just after lunch on that Thursday afternoon in December and many commuters, school buses and children didn't make it back until late that night.

The storm was not unexpected. Meteorologists had been forecasting the snow since the night before.

The timing was the problem. It seemed that almost everyone in the state went to work in the morning and then tried to head home early that afternoon. The combination of the high traffic volume and snow removal trucks, and the slow conditions was too much for the roads to handle.

Poor planning and preparation were also blamed, as the city and state officials faced heavy criticism in the aftermath.

An independent commission made recommendations on how the state could better prepare for future storms, including making a call to cancel schools the night before.

Rhode Island seems to have learned from the December Debacle, since we have had many storms with greater snow falls since and so far no repeat debacles.