Winter weather thread

Don't forget the 2001 storm that coated everything with three inches of ice. You go into national forests and you can still spot trees that were felled by the weight of the ice.

 

The intimidation factor in all of this never ceases to floor me.

Ice? Worthy of intimidation and one should take all precautions.

Snow? If it's not blowing around, it's not that hard to drive on if you're not a moron about it. People seem to leave common sense at home.

For example, don't brake hard on the snow, give yourself plenty of space and just take your foot off the gas and let your car naturally decelerate. When you do hit the brake, tap it.

If you're on the interstate, sometimes the "snow lane" has better grip than the "traffic lane" because all of the cars in the more heavily-trafficked lane have worn the snow down to a sort of flattened out ice.

Of course it all depends on how good your tires are, what kind of car you have, what terrain you're driving on, etc., but there's really no reason to be intimidated by driving in snow.

 

Exactly right Bubbs.

I just wish we'd get snow instead of a freezing rain/sleet/ice mix.

 

Then there was the ice storm in DFW on Thanksgiving Day in 1993 ... the second Leon Lett moment.

 

Agreed, but when people make fun of the folks in Seattle or Portland, it's like they don't understand the terrain. Seattle is non-stop hills. That's why the city shuts down. Portland is hilly and has a million bridges, which get icy quick.

It's not like driving around West Texas in the snow, where people just act like idiots and it is as flat as can be.

 

My best memory of that 2001 ice storm was taking the freeway into the city. I'm cruising along at 30 mph, trying to stay off the brakes, and an SUV just barrels by me because that sumbitch wasn't gonna let some ol' ice intimidate him. I had a great view of him fishtailing around and sliding ass-backward off the highway and onto the grass on the only stretch of road where there wasn't a concrete barrier.

Guess he showed 'em.

 

Sunday afternoon, 62 degrees. Monday morning: 5 degrees.

Today: 3-5 inches of snow. Lots of dumbasses on the road.

Thursday: Possibility of ice storm.

I really, really hate this weather.

 

Driving with snow on the ground, no. Exactly as you say: slow down a little, don't spike your brakes, and watch out for the other idiots on the road, and you'll be fine.

Driving in a lake-effect whiteout = white-knuckle time no matter how many times you've done it.

 

It's about 65 here today.

 

A record high of 64 or 66 yesterday.

An inch of snow on the ground today as I type.

But yup. The weather is perfectly normal. No global warming. Once again, hondo the hick and the rest of the lunatic fringe are wrong.

 

You're always good for that post.

 

It's so fucking cold my fuel door was frozen closed.

Course, if I lived in Jersey, this would be no problem.

As it was, though, it was a pain in my ass.