Let it snow, and the fears grow. [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

Harold Burrell

12-26-2012, 12:21 PM

It's snowing ever so slightly here, about half an inch of accumulation. Sand trucks and plows are scraping the streets and parking lots. The usual lot of addiction friendly "contractors" found lurking for clients in the local Home Depot are all buying out all the salt they can and are all excited about potential new clients willing to pay a "pro." Why on earth do people fear a small or even reasonable amount of accumulation? It's winter and we are past the date of doom by several days.

I guess it all depends on what you're used to and the area where you live.

Here we are expecting about 12". Fortunately, in northern PA, that is a mere inconvenience.

Jerome Stanek

12-26-2012, 12:33 PM

The Media makes it worse than it is. They talk about how bad it could get and try to put fear into everyone. Get over it it's winter and it sows. Why does the weather channel have to name storms now and if they name one why is it that that storm is out west and another is down south but they act like they are the same storm

paul cottingham

12-26-2012, 12:43 PM

Here in Victoria, BC, 1/2" of snow is an excuse for half the city to get in their cars and hit the other half of the city.I was born and raised here, and still marvel at the spectacle.

Ken Fitzgerald

12-26-2012, 12:55 PM

I think the media does over-dramatize the bad weather reports. Some of their reasoning is self-agrandizement and some of it societal changes. Some people ignore the increased dangers of winter weather and some people over-react to winter weather.

I live in an area where 2-3 feet of snow is not unusual but I don't have to live with it every day. It's not unusual to come off the top of the canyon where there might be 2-3 feet of snow and yet there is bare ground and dry roads at the bottom. The 2000'+ elevation difference makes a significant difference in the temperatures and the snow we receive. But it's not unusual to have snow here in the valley.

Yet, after our first snow fall each winter, you will find a multitude of vehicles off the road or involved in multi-vehicle accidents. They have to be reminded to slow down, to increase braking distances and times.

I carry a "kit" in the car which includes 2 sets of tire chains. I got into this habit when elk hunting in the late fall/early winter and camping at elevations at 7000' where snow fall is often the expected norm. When we skied regularly, periodically I would chain up my front tires to pull another vehicle out of the deep snow after they had been driving too fast and slid off the road. I removed the chains before continuing on down the road. A little cautious driving will get one through most of the dangers and but I am prepared if I encounter the situations. When we skied and now on long winter trips I carry a couple winter sleeping bags good to -20º F just in case I would be stranded.

But...we have driven through numerous whiteout winter storms safely. Only one time did I let a winter storm stop me from getting to a destination. It was the wind and not the snow it was blowing that made visibility too bad to be driving so very early into our drive I turned around and returned home.

I'll never forget my youngest son's first deer hunt.....-15ºF when he, I and a friend left town. We drove to our favorite whitetail deer hunting area. The snow from earlier snow storms was waist deep as we parked the vehicle and tried to walk into our favorite area. My friend and I let my son finally decide the cold and snow too deep to allow it to be favorable hunting or fun and we returned to our vehicle and just drove in the snow covered mountains......We turned around on a muddy snow-covered logging road at the top of a mountain. As we started back down the snow began and it was whiteout conditions. Creeping around a slow turn on that logging road, there was a slight break in the wind driven snow and as if by magic......we saw a lynx....off to the side of the road by about 20' or so.....it was there....the wind picked back up....the wind driven snow increased and it was gone......magical moment.....

We skied with season passes for a number of years. Our youngest son was a ski instructor in HS and college. I can see my 2 sets of snow shoes sitting less than 3 feet from me here in our family room. We also took him to the ER when his ego got into the way of him wearing a ski hat that didn't match his ski outfit. His frost bitten ears that were 1/2" thick and blistered cut short our ski trip by 4 days......

Winter weather.....embrace it...prepare for it.......respect it........ enjoy it!

Stephen Cherry

12-26-2012, 1:08 PM

I've seen plenty of crashes with just a dusting of snow. With a little ice, all bets are off.

Jim Koepke

12-26-2012, 1:23 PM

Ken,

It sounds like you are well able to handle the situation and keep your wits with you.

All but the last few years of my life have been mostly spent in areas without snow. Even as a unexperienced driver in snow my knowledge of slip, friction and enough patience to be careful kept all the passengers and me safe.

While attending school in the Chicago area my fellow passengers knew of my lack of snow experience. Some were amazed when one challenged me to slide in to our parking space when it was done better than most pulling into a space on a dry day. When it is my duty to be the driver of passengers, my intention is to offer the smoothest ride possible. One time, while driving a passenger van, a dozing passenger started to get up and reach for the door. Seeing him in the rear view my response was to ask him to sit down. That is when he became a bit bewildered saying, "Gee, I thought we had stopped."

My history hasn't always been of a thoughtful and careful driver. Time has shown me it is less stressful and likely better on my insurance rates.

We now live in an area with snow. Our tendency is to have enough of our daily necessities on hand to not need to be on the road in bad driving conditions. My worry isn't about our abilities as much as it is about some of the tick bit yahoos that like to get out in the snow and spin around on the highway like they are the only people out and about. That was what happened after our first snow storm up here. Some idiot was intentionally sliding sideways and every which way he could make his truck go. My only defense was to just drive slow and stay well back from this idiot. Fortunately, a vehicle pulled out of the fire station and saw him. The fire fighter turned on his flashing lights and spoke to the "brain dead" driver. My only guess is the fire fighter told him he didn't want to have to clean up his mess.

With today's weather forecasting abilities, it is uncommon to be hit by unexpected weather. If we see a forecast for bad weather ahead, we check our supplies and make the trip off the hill and in to town as needed.

jtk

Ken Fitzgerald

12-26-2012, 1:37 PM

ray hampton

12-26-2012, 2:49 PM

driving in a foot of snow are easier than driving in a 1/2 inch of snow, the scant snow will cause spinning and bad stopps, driving on ice or stoping on ice without chains on the wheels are hopeless, I can drive in deep snow IF MY SPEED ARE KEEP LOW and no stopping while driving uphill

ray hampton

12-26-2012, 2:57 PM

[QUOTE=Ken Fitzgerald;2026332]Jim,

I got transferred to Chicago in the summer of '78. I had a 4X4 International Scout II with a 6 cylinder, 258 CI engine. I was a young manager and had 6 engineers working for me. When the snow hit and closed things down pretty tight for about 2 weeks late December and early January, myself and 1 engineer ran service for about a week. We had a bunch of hospitals that were counting on us. Everybody else was digging out.

I pulled off Lake Shore Drive onto Wilson Avenue one day headed for Ravenswood Hospital. I had a guy chase me for 2 blocks wanting me to pull his car out of the snow where he had parked it a week earlier. I had several CT scanners that broken, needed service and I just didn't have the time to stop and help him.

Tough winter that year (77-79) in KY
I work nights during this time and one night I try to drive up a hill four times but would have to stop because the of the other drivers,finally decide to wait for the salt truck whom ask if I were stuck , the driver got to count my fingers

David G Baker

12-26-2012, 3:35 PM

Try driving on the hills of San Francisco after a snow fall especially on the cobble stone streets. It doesn't snow there often but when it does it is entertaining from the sidelines watching the vehicles slide.

Rich Riddle

12-26-2012, 5:10 PM

Just had a gentleman knock on the door and ask if I wanted the driveway shoveled/plowed. Mind you at most there was less than two inches total accumulation. I have a circle drive with a short extension going into the garage. $100 for the fee, but that would include being on "his list" when it really snowed.

I mentioned that the drive had just been shoveled and took about 15 minutes so there would be no work to clean it. Again, he stated it's a fee to get on "his list" for when it really snows. He says all kinds of people accept this retainer if they want him to show up when it really snows. If it really snows, I just start the Honda 828 hydrostatic snow blower. I can only imagine how many old people are getting bilked out of money with these types of folks ringing doorbells.

Steve Costa

12-26-2012, 5:27 PM

We live in So West Colorado. As of today we have about 2 feet of snow and are expecting more soon. I have a Kabota tractor with a front mounted snow blower for our 200' driveway and use my Honda 928 for the sidewalks, deck and dog pen. I have had the Kabota for 7 years and the Honda for 9 years. I would not trade either for all the tea in China as they are both great machines.

The county does an OK job of snow plowing but as we live on a secondary road we are usually the last on their list.

As for the Weather Channel -- what morons decided to name winter storms!!!! Hurricanes, yes, Winter Storms NO!!!!!

Matt Meiser

12-26-2012, 6:09 PM

Offered without comment other than to say be sure to click on a green truck.
http://compass.waynecounty.com/

Rich Riddle

12-26-2012, 6:38 PM

Matt,

Detroit is one of those cities that looks better covered in snow.

jeff . whitaker

12-26-2012, 6:48 PM

Living in L A (lower aladamnbama ya'll) I have to ask... What is SNOW????

Kevin Bourque

12-26-2012, 7:06 PM

I love it when the TV news shows Georgia or South Carolina when they get 1/64" of snow and the whole state shuts down.

Jim Stewart

12-26-2012, 8:28 PM

I do love the snow! Not as much as I used to, but I still love it. We get so little these days in Indiana. I did a little clearing with the bobcat but will use the tractor for the lane in the morning. Hope to get in some x-country skiing in for the next few days.

John Coloccia

12-26-2012, 9:02 PM

I haven't even bothered to put the plow on the ATV yet. These are just little snow sprinkles. We might get 6" tonight.

I lived in San Jose for a year. I remember once that we had a little rain shower during lunch. On our way back, we walked by a landscaping crew that were huddled around a little puddle. I joked that they were probably looking for the leak.

Then I went down to the Lancaster/Palmdale area for three or four years. The ground simply had no ability to absorb any water whatsoever. We had a bit of rain one year and ended up with a new little lake/pond on the way out to EAFB, by avenue E/Sierra Hwy, I think, for those in the area. If it's still there, FYI that WASN'T there when I moved down in 2004. They did get a little silly about it, though. It's the only place I've ever lived where stores would close on account of flooding from a whopping 1/2" of rain, or some minor drizzle like that.

Rich Riddle

12-26-2012, 9:16 PM

Brian Elfert

12-26-2012, 9:37 PM

I love it when the TV news shows Georgia or South Carolina when they get 1/64" of snow and the whole state shuts down.

They don't have any plows or salt/sand trucks. I drove down to Florida from Minneapolis in my motorhome on Christmas day 2010. They had had a snow/ice storm in Tennessee/Georgia. I was on the interstate and as soon as I crossed into Georgia from Tennessee the road was noticeably more icy. I saw ice an inch thick at the bottom of one entrance ramp. Within 1/4 mile of crossing into Georgia a car in the left lane spun out, hit several vehicles, and I thought the car hit my motorhome so I stopped. Luckily, the car had not hit my motorhome. That was scary.

Even when you've been driving on snow and ice for 20+ years it really doesn't prepare you for driving on ice where nothing has been done with salt and/or sand to improve traction.

paul cottingham

12-26-2012, 9:41 PM

When I was a kid, in 1978 I believe, we went to Disneyland for Christmas. It snowed. A whole inch. The freeway outside palm springs was so backed up, it took us 4 hours to go 4 miles. My dad and a guy from Big Bear seemed to be the only 2 drivers that knew how to drive in it. everyone else seemed bent on hitting each other.
Not really surprising, considering it was southern cal, I guess.
i think it was the first snowfall in that area in over 45 years.

Jim O'Dell

12-26-2012, 10:32 PM

I wish everyone around here would stay in when it sleets or snows. They make it dangerous for those of us who can drive in it. Back in the late 80s/early 90s, we were at my folks house at Lake Texoma watching the Cowboy game. Sleeting on the field. All of a sudden it dropped on us. I looked out the window and said, Uh, I think we better go. LOML and I and 3 Irish Setters in a 1987 Mazda pickup with a 5 speed manual trans. I was amazed how many truckers were trying to inch up the hills on I-35 and spinning their tires, and sliding backwards. I weaved in and out around them the whole way home. Drove about 40 mph the whole way. Glad the roads were clear today coming home. If not with the number of vehicles on I-35 today, I'd still be out there!! Jim.

Rick Potter

12-27-2012, 2:57 AM

Around here, anytime they expect measurable rain, they call it storm watch. A busy freeway undergoing repairs becomes
'carmageddon'.

Rick Potter

Ole Anderson

12-27-2012, 9:51 AM

We haven't had a really good snowstorm in the Detroit area for 30 years, I mean the kind with 16" of snow and 40 mph winds where you can't even get in your sub after driving home from work following the plow truck. Going to school in East Lansing in 1966 we had one storm with 24" of snow. That was a snowstorm. Well I guess I will get off the computer now and go out and blow a measly 5" off my drive. So I can get to my snowmobile trailer. Then back down to the shop to work on a project. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

As for the media, snow is news and news generates ratings and ratings generate money. So they make a big deal out of it.

Rod Sheridan

12-27-2012, 9:54 AM

I think it has a lot to do with hype in the media.

A few years ago I was sitting with a group of people at a BMW motorcycle rally in North Carolina.

My motorcycle has a small Canadian flag on it, leading one person to ask why I lived in a place that had winter snow storms, why didn't I move somewhere safe?

It turned out that he was from Florida and couldn't understand why I wouldn't move somewhere to avoid winter.

My reply was that when it snowed enough to cause problems, I took the day off and could watch the snow fall and the birds in the feeder, while enjoying a mug of tea, which is much better than watching your neighbours house get flattened by a tornado.

He looked at me for a moment and replied that he hadn't thought about that but storms in the south look a lot better than snow storms.

I guess it's what you're accustomed to.

Funny story, a couple of decades ago I was working at the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Generating Station in Tennessee.

It's a very foggy morning and as the TVA guys are driving me to the station I notice the Cat's Eyes reflectors in the middle of the road, we have to stop so I can look at one.

I get back in the car and of course my first question is "Do you take them out in the winter so the snow plow doesn't break them?"

The guy driving starts laughing and explains that the other two guys have probably never seen a snow plow, however he's from NY......I guess they got a good laugh out of the Canadian that day..........Rod.

Ken Fitzgerald

12-27-2012, 10:32 AM

Rod,

If one has never seen "real" snow, it's hard to comprehend and even believe what is done to live with it.

In 1976 I got out of the US Navy and went to work for a small company headquartered in Solon, Ohio. The following February, my wife and I flew to Bend, OR in central Oregon where we bought our first home. That summer the house sale closed, and I moved my family there while I continued to travel around the US working where needed.

Later that fall I finally came back to Bend and installed the 1st CT scanner in the newly opened ST. Charles Medical Center. One day we left town to take a drive up Century Drive which has since been repaved and is now a national scenic by-way. As we started up into the mountains, my wife a life long flat-lander asked what the 8' vertical orange fiberglass rods were along the highway. When I told her they were to mark the edge of the road for the snow plows, she accused me of trying to tease her. Later in mid-February, I brought up to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort so she could realize what the orange poles were really used for. Mt. Bachelor, OR IIRC averages 232 inches of snow annually. The poles are really markers for the edge of the road so the snow plows know where the road shoulder is.

Brian Elfert

12-27-2012, 10:38 AM

Just over 2 years ago we had a 24" snow storm here in Minneapolis. It caused issues for more than a week. The day of the storm one of my co-workers left around 4 pm. She called about 45 minutes later and she said she had made it two blocks in her car in that 45 minutes.! Downtown Minneapolis turns into gridlock when it snows any significant amount.

The snow plowing was horrible for that storm. We lost entire driving lanes on city street due to snow banks. Even one of the major interstates was down an entire lane because there was so much snow they didn't plow that lane. Our snow plowing used to be the envy of the entire world, but it has gone way downhill since the state started having budget issues over a decade ago. The last thing they should cut is snow plowing, but snow plowing is something that gets hit first when budget cuts are made.

Jeremy Brant

12-27-2012, 10:58 AM

I grew up in CT and went to college about 45 minutes from the Canadian border in upstate NY. I'm quite familiar with driving in snow, and drove a rear wheel drive car from the time I started driving. During winter I would just throw a few sandbags in the trunk to help with traction. I knew a few people that would put on a set of winter tires, but that wasn't in my budget so I made do with a set of all-seasons with a more open tread design. I've now been living in southeastern Virginia for 10 years and we might get a couple inches a year. They cancel schools a day ahead of a snowstorm where we might not be expecting more than an inch. If we actually get that inch of sow, there will be over 200 accidents during the course of a morning commute. There are a handful of plows owned by the cities around here, but its all they can do to plow and/or sand down the major roads. The year before last we had about 4 inches or so in a single snowfall. Our neighborhood never got plowed, so it got compressed into a solid sheet of ice that didn't melt for a week in the shaded spots.

Jim Matthews

12-27-2012, 11:39 AM

Living in L A (lower aladamnbama ya'll) I have to ask... What is SNOW????

It's Yankee for "Go buy milk, bread and toilet paper."
It should be Yankee for "We have coated our backsides with high-fructose corn syrup."

Dave Anderson NH

12-27-2012, 12:21 PM

If you live in NH snow is just a part of life and we deal with it. It does have a downside for some storms though. like today. I had to get up by 5AM this morning to go out and snowblow the driveway of 8" so that Sue could leave for work. Normally I would have slept in until either 5:30 or 6AM.:D

Michael Weber

12-27-2012, 12:33 PM

We don't get a lot of snow in western Arkansas and that generally melts during the day. It leaves a nice ice coating that night when it refreezes. My BIL who is from the mountains of Colorado was always saying that people from the South just didn't understand how to drive in the winter. So when he moved to northwest Arkansas and ended up in the ditch twice during one day because it was ice on the road and not snow I had a good laugh.

Rick Potter

12-27-2012, 12:49 PM

When I was a fireman, one station I worked in was at the base of an 8,000' mountain, with a ski lift at the top. When it snowed up there we usually had traffic accidents. A common cause of them was people, usually high school kids, who drove up in their small pickups, loaded the back with snow, and drove down the mountain in high gear, burning out their brakes. They had no idea about using gears, or how much the snow weighed.

The good ones were when they went into the up side of the road, the bad ones were when they went over the edge into a canyon.

Rick Potter

Ken Mosley

12-27-2012, 1:15 PM

Snow is a none factor here in Lower Alabama. If we get any at all, the tornadoes will just blow it away.

Rod Sheridan

12-27-2012, 1:49 PM

Hi Ken, and a belated Merry Christmas.

I understand your point about comprehending snow.

I'm one of those people with no familiarity and no comprehension of tornadoes and hurricanes, I'm the one wondering why people live in those areas.......LOL.

Now down to the basement to cut some tenons for my hall table........Regards, Rod.

Thomas S Stockton

12-27-2012, 3:43 PM

!/2 inch! we've had over 5' since last thursday here in northern California, power was out for 6 days. I think we played every board game in the house and I spent 16 hours keeping our driveway open. The good part is we're prepared have lanterns a stove and on demand water heater that work with the power out and our water system is solar powered. Still at one point we did think of bailing and heading south for the week, glad we didn't it is really nice out.

Tom

ray hampton

12-27-2012, 4:11 PM

When I was a fireman, one station I worked in was at the base of an 8,000' mountain, with a ski lift at the top. When it snowed up there we usually had traffic accidents. A common cause of them was people, usually high school kids, who drove up in their small pickups, loaded the back with snow, and drove down the mountain in high gear, burning out their brakes. They had no idea about using gears, or how much the snow weighed.

The good ones were went they went into the up side of the road, the bad ones were when they went over the edge into a canyon.

Rick Potter

the weight of snow will depend on what state it in

Rick Potter

12-27-2012, 7:45 PM

Come on Ray,

I said the state was CA.:cool:

Rich Riddle

12-27-2012, 8:51 PM

Thomas,

Look at the birth rate in your local hospitals nine months after the storm system to figure out what a lot of your neighbors did with their time during the power outage.

ray hampton

12-27-2012, 9:10 PM

Come on Ray,

I said the state was CA.:cool:

Excuse me Rick but I meant the state of the snow like fluffy and light -7lbs per cubic foot or the type of snow that will pack down and weigh in at about 40 lbs[40 lbs are a guess based on the weight of water per cubic foot =60 lbs

Belinda Barfield

12-28-2012, 10:00 AM

They don't have any plows or salt/sand trucks. I drove down to Florida from Minneapolis in my motorhome on Christmas day 2010. They had had a snow/ice storm in Tennessee/Georgia. I was on the interstate and as soon as I crossed into Georgia from Tennessee the road was noticeably more icy. I saw ice an inch thick at the bottom of one entrance ramp. Within 1/4 mile of crossing into Georgia a car in the left lane spun out, hit several vehicles, and I thought the car hit my motorhome so I stopped. Luckily, the car had not hit my motorhome. That was scary.

Even when you've been driving on snow and ice for 20+ years it really doesn't prepare you for driving on ice where nothing has been done with salt and/or sand to improve traction.

You hit the nail on the head, Brian. I lived in Augusta, GA for a number of years. Augusta typically gets a "snow storm" about twice a winter. It is an absolute disaster when it snows there. We got more ice than snow. It usually started out with sleet, then snow, then warmed up just enough to start melting the snow, then the temp would drop again and voila - ice sheet. Also, the ground never freezes so the snow falls, melts, and you get that nice glaze of ice under the snow. I lived at the bottom of a very small "hill". One year I couldn't get up my driveway for 3 days. I was working at an area hospital another year and just missed getting out the door before the disaster lockdown went into effect. I was there for two days. The state does usually sand the most traveled overpasses if it gets really bad.

Rich Engelhardt

12-28-2012, 10:31 AM

I spent a month one day driving across Texas in 1985 when they got hit w/a snow storm.
I had Ohio plates on the car and I got the distinct impression I was being held personally responsible for the snow ;).

Ken Fitzgerald

12-28-2012, 11:58 AM

While stationed at NAS Meridian, MS in the ealy '70s, on my days off at the base, I worked in the warehouse at the local Sears store. One year they got 1/2" of snow and it closed the area down. I drove to town and worked at Sears that day. Where there might have normally been 100+ employees working, about 10 showed up. The manager who showed up held a quick meeting. He instructed us to lock the doors at 3 different time periods....1 for morning coffee and break....the 2nd for lunch and the 3rd for afternoon break. At the appointed time for lunch, I closed the warehouse doors and went to the cafeteria. While eating lunch, one salesman said "I don't know how you Yankees do it." I asked "Do what?" He said " Drive in this stuff. I was driving 70 mph hour, crossed a bridge...spun clean around 3 times before I got across that bridge." I told him " Us Yankees don't try to drive 70 mph when the conditions are like this."

Moses Yoder

12-28-2012, 1:28 PM

HaHaHa. I just had to laugh out loud (LOL as opposed to LMAO). This whole entire thread, and the time I am taking to respond to it, was started by a half inch of snow. LOL!!!:D

Matt Meiser

12-28-2012, 1:30 PM

I told him " Us Yankees don't try to drive 70 mph when the conditions are like this."

Well, some of us anyway. Last night a friend and I were discussing whether to stop if the guy in the SUV who blew past us on an icy back road went in the ditch or just honk as we drove by.

Ken Fitzgerald

12-28-2012, 1:39 PM

Well, some of us anyway. Last night a friend and I were discussing whether to stop if the guy in the SUV who blew past us on an icy back road went in the ditch or just honk as we drove by.

Of course, I was talking about the sane and sober Yankees.......LOL!

When we skied, more than once I pulled a vehicle out of a snow bank. Normally we delayed leaving and let the idiots go first. Some skiers mistakenly think they can drive the way they ski. One time, we left when the mountain closed and a car load of college students passed us in a narrow turn and I had to slow down to let them back into the downhill lane suddenly due to oncoming traffic going to the mountain. They spun around and slid off the road shortly after coming out of the turn. There was a huge line of traffic behind us. I didn't even consider stopping to pull them out.

We got to town, had supper and while I was gassing up, they pulled into the gas station.

Rich Riddle

12-28-2012, 6:52 PM

The weather forecast here states we will get up to four inches of snow tonight and people are acting extremely scared. I don't understand it, but there are many things in life I don't understand.

Curt Fuller

12-28-2012, 9:53 PM

I live in the west (Utah), but I get my daily news from the internet which is usually national news. Every time a major storm approaches the midwest or eastern part of the country there are headlines making a big deal about it on msnbc dot com. I've often wondered if storms that hit here in Utah ever even make the news at all. Yesterday (12-27) we got a little over a foot of snow at my house. That's a pretty good sized storm for us in our somewhat desert climate. But there wasn't a word about it on msnbc, nothing about power outages or stranded travelers or any of the stuff I read when a similar storm hits the east. Does it ever reach the east coast?

Ken Fitzgerald

12-29-2012, 1:48 AM

Curt,

I think the reason that the storms while in the west don't get the same headlines is location and population density.

Jim Koepke

12-29-2012, 2:08 AM

Believe me, if snow like that fell in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Sacramento it would be all over the news.

Here a, little west of Portland, OR, we get an accumulation of a few inches unless something odd happens.

jtk

Rich Riddle

12-29-2012, 5:01 AM

Curt,

Two years ago in Northern Kentucky we had record snowfalls. Other than that, last year we had no accumulation at all. I am looking out the window and it looks like about three inches fell. If it was a foot, it would be national news. You are correct in your belief that no mention of the snow in Utah was broadcast in this part of the country. Don't you folks get lots of snow?

Jim Stewart

12-29-2012, 6:44 AM

I live near St. Paul Indiana now. That is near Greensburg. I was born in the hills of Jackson Co.

Jim Stewart

12-29-2012, 6:53 AM

The news does hype things up. News used to be on for 1/2 hour. Now it is on for 1 1/2 hours. They called this last snow a blizzard but it was so wet it did not drift much because it was so wet. I went cross country skiing yesterday. We got two more inches last night, so I will try that again today. I learned to downhill ski on the little icy slopes of Indiana. When I worked during my career at the USGS I went to Colorado quite a few times. I remember skiing out there when everyone else was in the lodge because they said it was icy. I just considered it hard packed snow. Great times!

Ole Anderson

12-29-2012, 11:38 AM

According to Jeff Foxworthy (edited to just winter related things):
* If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you may live in Michigan.
* If you've worn shorts and a jacket at the same time, you may live in Michigan.
* If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you may live in Michigan.
* If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you may live in Michigan.
* If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Michigan.
* If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you may live in Michigan.
* If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you may live in Michigan.
* If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you may live in Michigan.
* If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you may live in Michigan.
* If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you may live in Michigan.
* If you actually understand these jokes, you definitely do live - or have lived - in Michigan

Dick Latshaw

12-29-2012, 12:53 PM

* If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you may live in Michigan.

At least there are four seasons. When I lived in Minneapolis, the local joke was that were only two seasons: Winter and August.:cool:

Rich Riddle

01-25-2013, 10:28 AM

Here we go again. We have less than half and inch of snow with less than three expected. It's already crippling the city and snow alerts are happening.

Jerome Stanek

01-25-2013, 11:28 AM

And they had to name it. Last night one station was saying how bad it was going to be in Cleveland and another said just a little snow. My wife and me had a bet going who was going to be more on the station that claims to be the most accurate or the other one.

Glenn Vaughn

01-25-2013, 12:31 PM

About 10 years ago my son and I went to New Jersey for a computer gamin convention in February. The area was hit with a snow storm that dumped about 3 - 4 incjes of snow. The govenor of Jew Jersey closed all hioghways for a couple of days. We were stuck in NJ for several days because of cancelled flights.

The day after the storm a group of us had gone out to have lunch. As we were leaving the restaurant a camera crew from a local TV statiion stpped us and asked if some of us would be willing to do an interview about the storm. We agreed and they started with me. The first question was "What do you think of the storm?" my response was "I don't understand why all the fuss.". The reporter then asked me where I was from. I replied Colorado. She turned to the cameraman and said "Cut!" then moved on to someone else.

Brent Ring

01-25-2013, 1:05 PM

Jim,

I got transferred to Chicago in the summer of '78. I had a 4X4 International Scout II with a 6 cylinder, 258 CI engine. I was a young manager and had 6 engineers working for me. When the snow hit and closed things down pretty tight for about 2 weeks late December and early January, myself and 1 engineer ran service for about a week. We had a bunch of hospitals that were counting on us. Everybody else was digging out.

I pulled off Lake Shore Drive onto Wilson Avenue one day headed for Ravenswood Hospital. I had a guy chase me for 2 blocks wanting me to pull his car out of the snow where he had parked it a week earlier. I had several CT scanners that broken, needed service and I just didn't have the time to stop and help him.

Tough winter that year (78-79) in Chicago!

Fond memories of that winter - I was in 9th grade, - did not go to school for two 1/2 weeks. It was crazy - it took us 3 days to shovel out our driveway and we did not see snowplows down our residential, South Bend, Indiana street for 2 weeks. Walked with a sled to a grocery store, and had never seen a store empty of nearly everything except mops. I love the snow now. Living in Utah is great!