Severe Weather

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Bear in mind that studded snow tires tend to not be allowed in many localities, since they'll chew up the roads something fierce if exposed directly to asphalt.

A set of good regular snow tires is likely all one needs for winter, and then only if you're going to be driving on actual snow or ice on a regular basis (as opposed to salt-created slush, as it more common in most large, cold metropolitan areas).

To be honest, we only got snow tires in Chicago on one of our cars the last few years, and this was specifically because I wanted the car my wife used for the kids to have them, as an extra precaution. I found, in Chicago, that with the use of salt almost all the time I was driving in slush anyway (at worst) and a good set of all-seasons that were good in water (rain) were good enough.

In Maine, where I am now, it's a different story. Maine uses a lot less salt, preferring sand instead, so you're often driving on packed snow, loose snow, and/or ice. We have Dunlop Graspics on the Subaru Forester and Michelin Ice-X's on the Honda Fit. Makes a huge difference to both. The Honda does amazingly well for such a light car, and driving the Subaru in snow is as if you're on rails.

In fact, a few weeks ago I had to drive from Bethel to Portland (roughly 70 miles on country roads) at night, after a day of freezing rain (and it was still coming down). There was probably 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice on the road. While it was challenging, the combination of the tires, the fact that it's a Subaru (AWD, wider track, low center of gravity) and, most importantly, the experience of having grown up driving on ice and snow, meant I made it without too much trouble, but it's definitely not something I'd recommend to anyone without the experience or proper gear (like, I'm guessing, most of the poor folks caught in the storm down south).

Anyway, stay safe folks, and stay off the roads!

Agree on some of this. It comes down to how vital driving is in your life too. And what you're carrying. If you're driving kids all around to vital functions, I think swapping in good winters tires around Thanksgiving is worth it. They also run the benefit of working better in cold winter when snow isn't on the road.

Otherwise invest in a good all-season tire. There are huge differences in them and you'll want to ask for one that offers the most protection in winter.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Heh, just saw someone raise an good point:

If anyone expected Atlanta to get hammered (even relatively), why the hell was Jim Cantore in Charleston, SC?

Not sure whether to or

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

I guess I'm starting to wonder--especially given that graphic of the roads become gridlocked SO quickly--if there's even more blame on the forecasting/adjusting the forecast side of things.

I can't speak to the specific situation but like I said, winter storms are extremely hard to forecast. A couple of degrees one way or the other and you can go from rain to ice to sleet to snow, which makes all the difference in the world. Similarly, a tenth of an inch of rain can be the difference between a trace and 2" of snow, which is practically an infinite amount in a southern city like Atlanta or Houston.

SI

[mauchow]

Insurance will have a blast for the next few months.

I do wonder how fast people were going initially. I tend to believe it all starts with idiots driving too fast and not understanding what snow/ice does to cars with circular wheels.

As many obviously know.. Wisconsin has been getting snow like crazy and with the constant below zero temps the snow and ice is not melting.. at all. It last snowed about five days ago and all my roads are still covered with a slick later of packed down snow about a quarter inch thick.. its still very slippery. The highways are still slick but finally with weather in the teens and a bright sun the highways are clearing up finally. We know(or most anyway) you need to SLOW THE FUCK DOWN. Not everyone has 4WD which does very little for you anyway..and nothing for you as far as stopping goes.

But to my point. . Once one person is swerving its gonna cause massive brake slamming and everyone is going to be put of control. You cant stop on ice with ease...

Such a sad string of events.. hope everyone gets home safely. Etc

[lungs]

I'd trust a drunk Wisconsinite to drive me in 2" of snow over most sober Georgians, that's for sure.

[Blackadar]

It's been crazy cold here in DC - colder here than in Fairbanks, Alaska. Wind chills into the negatives...YUCK! The Potomac River is covered by ice and snow. That used to happen a lot when I was growing up, but it supposedly hasn't happened in like 15 years.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by lungs

I'd trust a drunk Wisconsinite to drive me in 2" of snow over most sober Georgians, that's for sure.

I don't know about Wisconsinites, but...

Having lived in both Georgia and Massachusetts, I honestly don't see much of a difference in the drivers themselves. At least around here in the Northeast, the drivers are all still horrible idiots when it comes to bad weather and they think they are invincible due to 4 wheel drive or their "experience". So many accidents happen here when they could easily have been avoided due to people's overconfidence in poor driving conditions.

Really the main difference is the pre-storm preperation as others have mentioned I believe in this thread. Winter storms up here are handled by the local and state departments pre-treating the roads and an abundance of equipment keeping the roads cleared during the storm. In the south, they do not have the budget or equipment for it to be handled when this type of storm hardly ever happens.

The same exact thing that happened in Atlanta could happen anywhere in the north if the pre-storm preperation was different. Here is an example of a surprise ice storm in December that shut down the interstate in Worcester, MA after a 70 car pile-up due to the same type of ice.

Icy conditions create massive crash in Worcester - Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by mauchow

You cant stop on ice with ease...

Such a sad string of events.. hope everyone gets home safely. Etc

One thing that does help more than you think is popping the car into neutral once it starts to slip. This cuts the drive to the wheels during idle and can improve stopping distance a fair bit.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I don't know about Wisconsinites, but...

Ice will create problems no matter where you are. Obviously more urban areas= more drivers = more problems so my perspective of driving home in an ice storm on empty roads isn't really applicable.

I guess I just like to take jabs at the south, which outside of college football is easy enough already.

[Wolfpack]

Sorta predictable, but the storm actually fizzled a bit here and we struggled to get more than an inch or so, though it seems to have been localized to Raleigh somehow as I've seen posts of the more far-flung areas of Wake County getting up to three or more inches.

Worked a bit more than half a day from home which was strangely a nice thing, I guess because I've not been able to do it before. Then spent some late afternoon time outside with the girls. Main freeways are clear from what I've heard so it just may be a question of getting out of the neighborhood to get to work tomorrow.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by lungs

I'd trust a drunk Wisconsinite to drive me in 2" of snow over most sober Georgians, that's for sure.

Isn't drunk Wisconsinite a redundant term?

[EagleFan]

If anyone listens very closely they can hear the entire city of Buffalo laughing.

[RainMaker]

I will say that experience driving in bad weather is important. I lived in Minnesota for years and I feel like my driving skills are much better than when I first started in bad weather.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by lungs

I'd trust a drunk Wisconsinite to drive me in 2" of snow over most sober Georgians, that's for sure.

That should be its own thread. I'd take a drunk Wisconsonite over...

[cartman]

John Winger: C'mon, it's Czechoslovakia. We zip in, we pick 'em up, we zip right out again. We're not going to Moscow. It's Czechoslovakia. It's like going into Wisconsin.
Russell Ziskey: Well I got the shit kicked out of me in Wisconsin once. Forget it!

[rowech]

I guess there's some model out there (I don't know enough which one) that is projecting anywhere from 15-30 inches of snow for pretty much all of Ohio next Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm beyond hopeful this doesn't happen.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by rowech

I guess there's some model out there (I don't know enough which one) that is projecting anywhere from 15-30 inches of snow for pretty much all of Ohio next Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm beyond hopeful this doesn't happen.

I fucking hate winter

[EagleFan]

A few years back we had that record setting winter for snowfall but that was the strangest of winters. It would get cold on a Friday, drop about 20 inches of snow and then by Monday it would be back in the 30's-40's until the next storm. Record setting snowfall and I think the girls missed either 1 or 2 days of school total. This year it's been a bunch of smaller snowfalls but temperatures are insane. A couple days ago it got to the upper 30's and when I took the dogs for a walk my first thought was "it's warm today".

When I was in Vegas last week the first morning when I walked out of the hotel it was a something like 43 and sunny and felt like short sleeve weather.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

I fucking hate winter

I'm seeing the same thing. Basically 14-20" here in NKY.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Quickly rising on the list of things pissing me off about the Atlanta-area storm is the number of people (feigning) moral outrage that they have to pay to have themselves pulled out of a ditch or whatever other predicament they ended up in. We're not talking gouging, I'm seeing mostly standard looking rates mentioned.

Who in their right mind would expect towing companies to operate as a f'n public service in conditions that are both tougher than usual and more dangerous than usual?

Oops ... I think I spotted the problem. That whole "right mind" qualifier may explain a lot of it. But anyway.

[stevew]

So you're saying my theoretical tow truck would make some $$$$$ today?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Not sure when/if this will be stuck behind a paywall by the AJC but it's a short but solid read that basically says what I already suspected/had pieced together:

The DOT & state government did everything pretty much according to their brand-spanking new plan that was developed after the 2011 Snowpocalypse that basically paralyzed a lot of the state for several days.

The major problem with the new plan is that this wasn't the 2011 storm ... that hit on a Sunday night, not in the middle of a workday.

The only thing that could have prevented what transpired Wednesday was if they had stayed home rather than going about their daily activities

[flere-imsaho]

I can't read the article, Jon, but I will say that even if they pre-treated as per plan, I could see it being hard to keep the roads cleared / salted if the roads filled up quickly with slow-moving vehicles in the middle of the day. If freezing rain / snow was coming down simultaneously, it wouldn't be too long before the road conditions got out of control.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by rowech

I guess there's some model out there (I don't know enough which one) that is projecting anywhere from 15-30 inches of snow for pretty much all of Ohio next Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm beyond hopeful this doesn't happen.

I heard about this a couple days ago. Can't say I would be too thrilled.

[Lathum]

anyone have a link to that forecast?

[lungs]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Isn't drunk Wisconsinite a redundant term?

Indeed, you got me there

Originally Posted by JPhillips

That should be its own thread. I'd take a drunk Wisconsonite over...

Thread would be ruined when Wisconsin women get brought into the equation.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Originally Posted by Lathum

anyone have a link to that forecast?

Here's that Facebook weather guy that Ben linked to a couple of years ago on the upcoming storm possibilities: https://www.facebook.com/notes/wxris...40369076010354

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by lungs

Indeed, you got me there



Thread would be ruined when Wisconsin women get brought into the equation.

I didn't realize they came with cup holders.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I didn't realize they came with cup holders.

Ask lungs. I believe they can be milked as well.

[Butter]

So.... I was in Houston from Sunday to Wednesday morning. Guess where I connected to Dayton through? Houston had its own issue with cancelled flights on Tuesday due to an "ice storm" which was actually about a tenth of an inch of rain at around 32 degrees. That didn't amount to as much as they thought and didn't affect my business plans too much.

However, the night before I was to fly out (my initial flight was at about 10 AM to ATL), they cancelled that flight. I got a chance to re-book and scheduled a flight even earlier at 7 AM. I had no idea this was to affect the Deep South at all, because all I watch when I am on the road is local news, ESPN, and HBO when I am in my room.

So, flight to ATL gets bumped from 7 AM to 8 AM... not a huge deal in the grand scheme. As they are boarding for 8 AM, they announce a "temporary ground stop" in ATL, so the flight would be pushed back to 9 AM.

I hadn't boarded yet, so I got to hang out in the terminal for another hour. While I am sitting there, they have CNN on and all they are talking about is the horrible gridlock and terrible conditions in Atlanta. "Uh-oh," I think. "This isn't going to be good".

They board like normal for 9 AM, and we end up taking off around 9:30. Get in about 11:30 to ATL. As the flight is coming in, I can see at least 2 major roads with massive backups or abandoned cars. It is not totally unlike The Walking Dead from all skyward appearances.

My connection is supposed to be at 2-something to DAY. I get off the plane, and that flight is cancelled. But there is another at 4:30-ish. I am able to re-book on that one. It moves from 5:30, then 10 minutes later to 6:30. 20 minutes later, THAT gets cancelled. Flights to destinations near DAY (Cincy, Columbus, Indy) are all going down and getting pushed back as well. As the day drags on, it starts to look like I'm not getting out. The Delta app refuses to let me rebook, and there is no other flight to DAY on the books that I could find.

I head over to the counter (me and about 250 of my closest friends), and the lady says yes, there is another flight at 8:25 and re-books me into a nice exit row. Things are looking up, I think. I head over to maybe my 5th gate of the day. As I check the board for the gate, it already says it is delayed to just after 11 PM. Then about 5 PM, it shows 11:50, then moments later 12:23 AM, all at different gates. Using flightaware.com, I see that my flight is dependent on the arrival of a flight from Omaha, NE and turning that plane around.

As I am having dinner, people are getting a bit more panicky that they'll be spending the night in the airport. People applaud randomly as cancelled flights are announced (sarcastically, I imagine). Seems like they simply lack the staff to man a lot of areas. Half of the food court restaurants are closed due to lack of staff. Gates go unmanned long past boarding time. Flights are announced as cancelled due to the fact that the pilot staff is past their allowed work hours for the day. I get moved to the international terminal for the incoming Omaha flight, and they cancel 2 flights to Amsterdam, and those Dutch people are pissed... about 15 of them head to the counter, and they are all gesticulating wildly. People are bunking out on the horribly uncomfortable benches, chairs, and floors.

Please God, get me out of here.

I keep checking my phone, and the flight from Omaha makes it into the air at about 9 PM local time. That is a good sign. At 11:30 it lands. The gate it is supposed to come in on currently has a flight to LAX that was supposed to leave at 11:45, but hasn't even started boarding as of 12:30 AM. They move my flight to the gate next door. As we sit there (among other people sleeping there from a previously cancelled flight at the same gate), they announce another gate move... probably my 7th gate move of the day.

Everybody heads over to the new gate. As we all get off the "plane train" to the E concourse, the board states it has been moved AGAIN in the 5 minutes since we all left the International gate and it now shows as leaving at 1:08 AM. We all get back on and I get to the gate about 12:45 as the last of the people from Omaha get off of their plane. It took them an hour just to find a gate once they landed.

Once that plane was actually there, the new staff got on and turned it around. Everybody gets on board, and we get wheels up to Dayton at 2:03 AM, and are on the ground in Dayton at 3:06 AM. Get to my car in economy parking at 3:47 AM and crash in bed at 4:15 AM. Just now woke up.

That was fun times in the Atlanta airport yesterday. I bet a good 2 thousand people slept there last night.

[miked]

My wife works for Delta, they had so many staff that couldn't be used and couldn't get home that they put them on a plane somewhere else because there was no more room in the lounge. Crazy times.

[Ben E Lou]

It's 380 feet from the top of the Ravenel Bridge to the road. Surely there are bridges in cold-weather climates that big or bigger, right? They had to close it again today because of dangerous falling ice as the temperatures rose. Does this happen elsewhere?

Pics of some of the cars hit by ice:

Slideshow Landing Page - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

[flere-imsaho]

I know in Chicago in the winter you're often warned about ice falling off of buildings.

[claphamsa]

50 yesterday, 50 today, 50 tomorrow... and were expecting 5 inches of snow monday

my bet is it will just be cold rain... but still, fuck this shit.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by claphamsa

50 yesterday, 50 today, 50 tomorrow... and were expecting 5 inches of snow monday

Meanwhile we're hearing about the possibility of an ice/snow storm starting Friday that will make last week look like summer.

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

It's 380 feet from the top of the Ravenel Bridge to the road. Surely there are bridges in cold-weather climates that big or bigger, right? They had to close it again today because of dangerous falling ice as the temperatures rose. Does this happen elsewhere?

Pics of some of the cars hit by ice:

Slideshow Landing Page - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

I've never seen a closure here for it. However, they tend to design structures to shred the ice as it falls so you don't get huge pieces of ice hitting the ground.

[The Afoci]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Isn't drunk Wisconsinite a redundant term?

I always.

I got nothing.

[bob]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Meanwhile we're hearing about the possibility of an ice/snow storm starting Friday that will make last week look like summer.

Where are you seeing this?

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by The Afoci

I always.

I got nothing.

The Afoci sighting?

SI

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by bob

Where are you seeing this?

I haven't really seen any Friday predictions, but more Saturday/Sunday. To quote Wade's weather boy, something significant is going to happen along the East Coast this weekend (8th/9th), but exactly where the rain/snow line is and how much will fall is up in the air. There is a large cold front coming down from Canada over the upper east coast right now, which will contribute to a decent sized snowfall for the Northeast on Wednesday, and the question is whether the Feb 8/9 front bringing precipitation from the west will be strong enough to push that cold front away (leading to larger snowfalls in the northeast), or will get pushed south by it, creating snow and freeing rain conditions along the ATL/Carolina/VA/MD corridor.

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

The Afoci sighting?

SI

Will there be Lobsters with Laser Beams for Claws next?

Meanwhile, the State of Pennsylvania has decided to surrender to the storm, I was on several roads this morning unplowed on wet icy snow, and I turned back. If they don't want to bother will keeping the roads clear, then I won't bother trying to make work on a commute that is an hour when it's good conditions.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks like we're going to be in the 6-9 inches band of snow tomorrow. Just going to close down the business for a day and go home to watch movies/play video games.

[nilodor]

Welp, back in the freezer, high's in the -20's all week.

[CleBrownsfan]

Yet another storm that's going to put 8-12 inches of snow on us tonight into tomorrow. The morning commute should be interesting...

[Lathum]

Just went from a winter storm warning to an ice storm warning. Up to 1/2 inch of ice and 4 inches of snow/ sleep/ freezing rain. I really hope we dont lose power. Getting to work tomorrow is going to be the suck.

[Warhammer]

Going to be interesting the exact track this storm takes. Looks like a big difference in snowfall in just a few miles.

[Suicane75]

It's raining ice. I think frogs are next.

[SirFozzie]

yeah, they're saying 8+ inches of Snow tonight, and then if everything goes right (or in this case, wrong), it could be two FEET of snow on sunday night/monday

[stevew]

Now sounds like this weekend is likely to be a non event on the east coast. Or at least not the roided up Winter Storm Seahawk that was being called for.

We did get pretty pounded tonight and it shows no signs of slowing.

[Lathum]

Walked out to start my car this morning and didnt even sink through the snow. I hate that I work for a company that preaches its people are its most valued asset yet I have to go to work. At least I have a company car if I wreck it.