The snow of a white Christmas can quickly turn into a powdery nightmare when it comes to getting back home, and this was exhibited perfectly on Virginia's I-95 earlier this past week. It was here in Virginia that the world witnessed not just one, but several snow-related transportation disasters which left thousands of people stranded without bathrooms, food, or water.

What can we learn from this? Are there lessons to glean? Let's take a closer look…

The I-95 Fiasco

The chief weather-related incident of note this past week is the I-95 fiasco. After 11" of snow fell on parts of Virginia, roads became an absolute mess. And the road that became the biggest mess of all was I-95.

It was on this road that the interstate was reduced from a route of passage to a parking lot. An over 40-mile-long parking lot. This all began after a semi-truck jackknifed on the ice causing a blockage.

Ordinarily, a semi blocking a highway is a relatively straightforward occurrence. It happens all the time. But for some reason, this blockage wasn't able to be removed in a timely manner. The end result was thousands of people being trapped on the interstate for upwards of 19 hours.

Many of these motorists would be stuck overnight on the I-95 as temperatures plunged into the low 20s. Marvin Romero was one of these drivers. Along with his two little girls – one 8 and the other 10 – Marvin spent the night sleeping in his car on the interstate, trapped for 20 hours.