Many businesses told workers to stay at home while most of the East Coast rides out the widespread snowstorm. However, one Florida woman says her job made her get on a plane right into the middle of it.
In a video with over 415,000 views, TikToker Meg Wieland (@meg.wieland) sits on a near-empty Delta flight. She wears a hoodie and raises her phone over the back of her seat, showing rows and rows without passengers. A few other travelers sit in the back of the plane.
Wieland explains her predicament in on-screen text, writing, “When your work decided to send you to New York today…”
The video was posted on Jan. 24, the day before meteorologists predicted up to 2 feet of snow in some areas along the coast.
She continues in the caption, “Great timing! 100% getting stuck here.”
How Much Snow Did New York Actually Get?
According to NBC New York, Sunday’s storm was the most snow the city has seen in around five years. Measurements taken in Central Park suggest New York ended up with around 10 inches of snow, while surrounding areas got up to 18 inches.
The TikToker may have landed in New York just in the nick of time since LaGuardia, one of the city’s major airports, closed around 1pm on Sunday due to poor conditions. CBS News reports that around 90% of flights to LaGuardia were canceled even before the airport closed.
Now, it’s just a matter of getting back home to Florida for Wieland. While she didn’t share how long she plans to stay in New York, airlines cancelled over 1,000 flights on Monday, too, per the New York Post.
Why Would Her Job Send Her On A Work Trip In The Snow?
In the comments of the now-viral TikTok, viewers questioned why Wieland’s company would send her into a storm on a weekend.
“Do they hate you?” one joked.
Another suggested, “I have never seen a plane that is so empty. Must have been an important deal.”
“With this weather that’s a one way trip,” a third commented. Another agreed, writing,” Your work doesn’t want you to come home.”
“Wow they are really irresponsible!” a fourth adds.
Others couldn’t believe that Wieland agreed to leave Florida to travel during inclement weather.
“Literally only person crazy enough to leave warm Florida to fly into the worst storm the state has seen in over 5 years,” a viewer said.
“Hope you like snow & frigid temps,” another remarked. Wieland admitted in a comment that she didn’t pack many warm clothes due to a lack of options in Florida.
Wieland’s manager more than likely didn’t send her into the snow with a personal vendetta. But other workers on Reddit share that sometimes inclement weather lines up a little too perfectly with important out of state meetings.
One woman in r/preppers said she was organizing travel for a fellow worker, who ended up stuck in Tampa, Fla., during a major hurricane.
Another worker suggested renting a car to avoid bad weather if flights are cancelled ahead of the roads becoming dangerous. They wrote, ” Trust me, the rental car agency wants the car outta there too…I had to do this for the storm that hit NOLA last year, couldn’t get a flight until I got as far north as Atlanta.”
@meg.wieland Great timing! 100% getting stuck here 🤠 #nyc #nycsnowstorm
BroBible reached out to Wieland via TikTok direct message and comment for further comment. We will update the story when she replies.