While officials urged millions of Americans to stay home during a severe January blizzard, mail carrier Jason Thompson still fought his way through the snow in suburban Cincinnati. He says he drove on dangerous, snow-packed roads only to find his post office lot poorly plowed and mail trucks trapped in heavy snow.
After he posted a Facebook video about winter storm safety, he was briefly placed on unpaid “emergency” leave.
Thompson told local station FOX19 that his commute to the Fairfield, Ohio, facility took more than twice as long as usual because roads were snow-covered and slick. When he arrived, he says trucks were still buried and there was no mail to deliver, yet carriers were expected to dig out their own vehicles with shovels. Management, he says, asked him to take the post down and put him on leave before later telling him to return.
A historic storm in a warming world
Winter Storm Fern, the system that hit Cincinnati, dumped more than thirty inches of snow in some areas, cut power to hundreds of thousands and has been linked to deaths across several states. Roughly 200 million people were under winter weather alerts or extreme-cold warnings as blizzard conditions, ice and bitter wind chills spread from the Rockies to the Atlantic.
Climate scientists say events like this fit a textbook pattern rather than contradicting global warming. Warmer air holds more water vapor, which means a heating climate can deliver heavier snow when temperatures stay below freezing.
Long-term NOAA records show that extreme snowstorms in the eastern United States have become more frequent even as average temperatures rise.
Safety promises versus reality
In response to questions about Thompson’s case, the Postal Service told FOX19 that it “continuously monitors” weather and that employee safety is the “top priority,” pointing to emergency plans, cold-weather gear and warm-up breaks.
A 2024 audit by the Postal Service Office of Inspector General confirmed that carriers receive cold weather awareness training and extra supplies, but also stressed that postal workers “risk illness and injury while working in extreme hot or cold temperatures” and that federal law requires a workplace free of recognized hazards.
What needs to change?
At the end of the day, winter resilience is not just about power grids and plows. It also means clearer rules for when routes pause, better communication from headquarters and basic steps such as hiring professional snow removal so carriers are not digging out heavy trucks by hand.
Customers can help by clearing sidewalks and mailboxes and by accepting that delays during violent winter storms are part of living in a warmer, wetter climate. The next time the forecast turns white, it is fair to ask what “reliable service” should mean.
