I had driven right up the driveway on Sunday afternoon and never spun a tire. Checked on all the stores that were closed or closing early and made it home with no issues. Monday everything but the range was closed. Tuesday morning I can't get up the hill to get on the road. Had to wait until 9:00 and let the sun soften the ice a little before I could get any traction. Snow/ice melt/freeze cycle here is the worst part of winter. If I had planned ahead I could've scooped up a couple buckets of dry (so it doesn't freeze into a big chunk) beach sand and kept them in the garage. A couple shovels of sand (ashes, dirt, anything dark) on top of the ice during the day when the sun is out would've had it all melted away before I needed to go back to work. Sand will give traction on ice if you have to leave before the sun does it's thing. As soon as this snow melts off I'll spread some sand on the sidewalk to dry and sweep it into a bucket or two. Probably won't need it here at the beach for another fifteen years, but you never know with all this "climate change."
The snow was nice. What wasn't nice here was the 17 degrees the night after which turned all of those car tracks to solid sheets of ice. Apparently we got some real snowplows from the upstate this time, first time I ever recall seeing them here. The worst thing is the idjits going 3 mph keeping me from developing the necessary momentum to keep traction over the slick spots. My one high point was the night of the snowfall I was passed by an a-hole in his Jeep doing at least 20 mph over my 45. 2 miles down the road I caught up to him standing beside his Jeep that was buried up to the axles on the side of the road, the tracks showing how he lost control in a curving rise in the road. I rolled down the window and asked if he was OK, and he was. I then told him he got exactly what he asked for and told him to have a nice day.
We had rain turned to sleet then turned to snow over night. Thank god we din't loose power but I do have a backup generator. Here it is Saturday and still have snow and ice on the roads in town supposed to warm up --sooner it's gone the better. Son is in gulf breeze FL lives on a saltwater canal had 8" of snow and temps in the teens art night --he sent me a picture of the canal filled with dead mullet --sudden drop in water temp. Fillet a bunch of big ones to eat and kept a bunch for crab bait (put in freezer). Where is global warming when you need it.
This is a pretty good example of our thaw/freeze cycle. Three days difference between the pictures. table top snow first shrunk, then slid, then froze. pretty cool.
I have lived on dirt roads for over 50 years. Ice driving is a whole different skill. it's when Ice is between 30-33 on the roadway that driving gets really interesting. Dedicated snow and ice tires are a must up here in the Taiga. Even those in poverty up here have winter tires. Summer or all-seasons are a no go if you expect to escape winter unscathed. I think that is the reason that those down south that are experiencing snow for the first or second time are basically stuck in their 15 minute cities now is 50 percent improper tires and 25 percent skillz and the balance is the other idiots on the streets. You know, that below zero, an icy road basically feels like you are driving on bare tarmac? And you can basically run 60-70mph on it. Granted, we have 6-8 foot snow piles on the side of the road to pinball you back into the roadway if your skillz (or equipment) aren't up to the task. Anyway, easy to spot a yankee down there this time of the year. They are the only ones out in the winter mess. please note, in this picture, the street is plowed and GTG. You won't see actual pavement until sometime in march - may.
Best advice for driving on ice is, "Don't Do It"! Y'all in the Lower South got the snow and we in the Upper South just got the COLD! Couple of weeks ago we got the snow (6-8") and it hung around for a week. Hell, there are still piles of it in parking lots 2 weeks later.
I think they scraped a little too hard on the painted lines. I saw all these white and yellow flecks on the shoulder. Sure enough it was from the lines on the road. Probably took off all the blue reflectors the fire department uses to find hydrants
Here in Tallahassee, Florida it snowed Tuesday night, and I still have snow in my yard today, Saturday! Last time it snowed was 1977, I was stationed at Tyndall AFB, Fl. near Panama City, a little over a hundred miles from home here. It was more a light dusting, melted away once the sun came up. We had icycles hanging from our car bumpers. So, 48 years between snows. And a completely different situation. I even lost power early Wednesday morning at 4:30AM, got it back at 10:30AM. Out of ten thousand households losing power, I was in the very last group of a couple dozen to finally get it back.
I spent a lot of time in the mountains and taught my family how to deal with the snow. I tarp my vehicle at night which keeps the ice off the windshield and out of the locks and from prying eyes. Never spin the tires, that action actually dulls the edge on snow tires. When this would occur I took a drive to the desert roads and resharpen the treads. I found the narrowest snow tires for the front, and standard snow tires for the rear. At the time I had a 1958 3/4 ton Cheve truck 2 wheel drive only. the narrow snow tires in fron was like having 4 wheel drive actually cutting into the ice covered roads and turns. Usually I picked a snow covered parking lot large enough to get up to speed and break into a skid , then recover and do it again till it became natural. I took my family through thus test as well . to my knowledge they have had no accidents due to this training. A good shovel pays off, and not a toy a real one. Prepare for winter travel, NO ONE is going to be there when things go wrong.
It's like doomsday down there. We call 4-8 inches of snow ... Tuesday. Today is almost 30 degrees. We haven't been above freezing since Christmas. I'm thinking about wearing shorts outside to feed the livestock.
Had a similar event happen many years ago. I was crossing a bridge in the snow and ice when a little blue 4x4 truck came around me. That truck was like a pinball all the way across that bridge, which was a shame cause it WAS a pretty little blue truck.
