NC blizzard

[5quarter]

Gents...The 2-3 inches of snow was not the problem. it was the 1/2" of clear ice on smooth asphalt, combined with having no sand or salt or equipment to pretreat the roadways that paralyzed Atlanta. Took my Sister 9 hrs to go 4 miles and still could not get all the way to her house as she couldn't get the car moving on her road when she finally got to it. It did not help that the whole city shut down at once and everyone got on the roads at the same time. Its funny to laugh when the south sees snow, but this situation was different. My sympathies go out to anyone caught in that kind of weather.

[ddcuning]

I drove in to Chapel Hill to work yesterday with roads covered, no problem (20 miles). Never put the truck into 4 wheel drive. Our company is based out of WI and a lot of our guys are from up there so we are always open. It was more slick coming home last night then going out yesterday morning. I am up tending the fire at 2am and it is 6 degrees outside so all of that melt yesterday I am sure will be nice and slick when I head to work in a few hours.

Dave C

[bandmiller2]

Our weather patterns are changing, when I was a kid Cape Cod very rarely got snow, now they get as much or more than inland. Southern cities and towns will have to invest in sanders, salt sheds and at least a token number of plows. Local governments will need to watch the weather and tell folks to stay home when an ice event approaches. It only takes a handful of twits to gridlock a highway. Frank C.

[WDH]

We got no snow.  It was ice from sleet and freezing rain.  Looked white on the ground like snow, but it is treacherous. 

[Ga Mtn Man]

hamish,

I would like to point out to you that 50% of the population of the Atlanta area is from somewhere else and most of those semi's that were stuck on slick entrance and exit ramps or jack-knifed in the middle of the interstates came from up north.  Please dismount from your superior-than-thou high horse.

[Hilltop366]

This southern snow is a bit different from what you northern guys are used to. For one, it's wet, just a few degrees from freezing and slickern grease. It tends to thaw out during the day, then freeze back at night. Ice with ruts in it. Nobody runs snow tires either, but they don't make a lot of difference.

This is often the kind of "snow" we get here in southwest Nova Scotia, it is way worse than "real snow" I call it blowing slush. We joke and call it 3 months of bad snowmobiling.

This year has been the exception where it has snowed 6 to 12" several times but it has also melted away and the frost has come out 4 times so far. Right now some of you guys in the south have more snow than we do.

[jueston]

i grew up in Minnesota, and lived in Georgia for a few years while in the army, and i can vouch that its a different kind of snow. here in mn it could snow a foot during the night and by morning the roads are half cleared and the highways are salted and sanded and everyone is going to work.

the first time someone told me not to go to work because it had snowed i thought they were kidding, but those roads are more dangerous with an inch of snow in Georgia then a foot up here in Minnesota.... i don't know what it is, but after that first time i tried to drive in it, i learned my lesson... i think the roads are just smoother, so when that sticky slushy snow hits those roads they just turn to an ice rink....

i hope all yall are staying warm down there.

[clww]

So I guess when a Hurricane is coming everybody just heads to work in the morning and decides to leave their kids at school? 

Stay home, easy simple, it will warm up.  Not like leaving the house you will accomplish anything apart from worsen the situation.

I would have no qualms about going to Atlanta, the weather didn't create this situation, the population did.

Glad to see you have it all figured out for us. :D :D

[hamish]

Glad its above freezing for those of you down there.

[sawmiller7753]

No snow in Beautiful Beaufort by the Sea.  Only ice.  Road are good now.  CLWW you went and I left.  That is I got orders to Korea in 1988 and got out in 1990.  Was in reserves but missed the Gulf by luck.

[clww]

For me it was: Army 1986-1992
                      Navy 1992-2012

[sawmiller7753]

For me it was USMCR 1985-1987; US Army 1987-1990; US Army Reserves 1990-1993.  101st D co. 20th Eng.; 2nd Eng. Group Yong Son, Korea and I had a Comms MOS.

[Ernie]

Sounds like Al Gore was right--Global Warming at its best ???

[Dodgy Loner]

It did not help that the whole city shut down at once and everyone got on the roads at the same time.

I think this was a just as big (if not bigger) problem than the ice and snow. We got about 2" of solid sleet on the ground here in southern MS. Not a single flake of snow. I didn't even get in my truck for 2 days, although I saw a lot of people passing on the road in front of our house without incident.

[Brucer]

... Any car can drive through 2" of snow.  ...

I live in snow country -- average annual snowfall is 11 feet. The snow is sloppy and wet at the start of the season, and sloppy and wet at the end of the season. Sometimes the snow packs, sometimes it's light as feathers. Sometimes the roads ice up. Sometimes the snow is coming so fast there'll be 6" on accumulating on the highway before the plows come back for another pass.

I grew up here and I learned to drive here. The first winter after I got my license my dad took me out to an empty parking lot and taught me how to get into a skid, and how to get out of a skid. So I can assure everyone here that, yes, any car can drive through 2" of snow --- if the driver has the skill and experience to drive in it.

If it doesn't snow where you live, then it's pretty hard to acquire that skill and experience.

I can probably come up with a half dozen winter driving tips for the folks in the south, but the best one is simple, easy to remember, and intuitive. Stay home!  ;D

[WDH]

2" of solid ice is not the same as 2" of snow from what little I know about it. 

[Magicman]

I drive in snow almost every year in Colorado.  Yes, I have chains but very rarely put them on.

With this ice, most assuredly, I did not leave leave home for two full days.

[clww]

I just returned from driving my wife the 15 miles to work. Two full days after the snow and I still had to use 4WD to make it down our neighborhood street. SOLID ICE.

[bandmiller2]

Nothing gets any traction on the ice especially if its wet on top. Used to plow sidewalks with an Oliver OC-3 two in the morning, dead tired, noticed the scenery hadn't changed in ten minutes, tracks just spinning on a frozen puddle. Frank C.

[dgdrls]

I feel for you folks, Sleet and Ice takes salt and a warm-up to cure
However, being "stuck" at home for x-days brings opportunities we wouldn't otherwise have. ;)

DGDrls

[Finn1903]

Yup, we had a big storm here in NC last week, I pulled out my "Yooper Scooper" to clear the drive way and side walks. 

[xlogger]

This one is worst than the last one. Took me 3 hours to get home from 8-9 miles. You northern guys can have this :'(

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I'm FREEZING!  ;D

[julio]

We have 3 inches of ice , sleet and rain . And the temp is fixin to drop even more.
>:( >:(

[scsmith42]

It's a bit nippy here at the farm.  Poor Tom, I'm sure that weather like this is new to him... I ought to go put a jacket on him!

At the moment, I'm glad that I have a warm shop to hang out in!