Ice Storm coming. No work tomorrow? (Austin, Round Rock: dangerous, office, commute)

[Papillon Mom]

The only ice storm I was ever in was when I first moved to Raleigh, NC. The snow started falling but the schools did not want to close until lunch was served (so the day would officially be counted). By the time the schools closed and the buses got there it was 2 pm (school got out at 2:15 usually). We all hit the roads at the same time and traffic stood still.
Took me 12 hours to go 10 miles. Left school at 2 pm and got home right after 2 am. Some buses got totally stuck and some of the teachers and kids were never able to leave the school. They had an unexpected "sleepover" in the gym.
Cars were sliding everywhere. At one point going up a slight hill my speedometer was at 90 mph and I was literally inching up the hill. There was a pile of cars at the bottom and I did not want to join them.
I was never so happy to get home (even if it was 2am)!

[woodinvilleguy]

I think I might setup a lawn chair on Parmer and watch the fun.

[mm57553]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

I think I might setup a lawn chair on Parmer and watch the fun.

OK, that was funny. As a transplant from the Northeast, I have to say I find it pretty amusing to watch Southerners try to drive in ice / snow as well.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by mm57553

OK, that was funny. As a transplant from the Northeast, I have to say I find it pretty amusing to watch Southerners try to drive in ice / snow as well.

It's also funny watching northerner's trying to drive on ice thinking it's a piece of cake seeing where they came from

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by mm57553

OK, that was funny. As a transplant from the Northeast, I have to say I find it pretty amusing to watch Southerners try to drive in ice / snow as well.

As a northerner traveling down to Austin I was first critical of the way the city reacts to ice. A little ice shuts down the city?????

Once I started living here and getting out into the country, I realized that the approach was actually the safest. Many of the secondary roads have too many hills, sharp corners and other issues that can make driving on ice deadly.

I there is significant ice on the roads tomorrow, I for one will be staying home.

[statefan]

I know I give a lot of people a lot of crap about this topic, but the truth is, I do not drive in it. And once I had children (and while I was still there, forever ago), my feelings on the schools have changed dramatically. If there is any hit of trouble, call it! The kids ride the bus because they want to. But I still do not want theirs' or another other bus traveling on some back hill or country bridge road that is even in the slightest bit icy. It is not worth it!

About 2 years ago, my DH was driving from Nashville to Albuquerque, in his 4- runner, hauling a trailer with his 6 month old Harley. It was icing bad, I was talking back and forth with him, checking road conditions. On the west side of Abilene, a semi flies by him, causing my DH to jack knife, flipping the trailer only over(luckily), throwing his motorcycle out of the top of the trailer. I was a wreck, he was calm, standing on the side of the interstate, talking about how nice the people in Texas were to stop and help!

[car957]

We locals actually enjoy watching the ice melt. We caress our kids, make breakfast, all the while we are not wearing body casts. My girlfriend and I enjoy these brief moments.

I'll see you all in June when you cry and moan about 100F and 80% humidity. We'll be at Lake Travis, slathering (yes this is a word) sunscreen on each other, drinking cold beer, and watching you anti-heat heathens dropping like flies.

Life is short - enjoy your ice.

[Mdlx]

Originally Posted by mm57553

OK, that was funny. As a transplant from the Northeast, I have to say I find it pretty amusing to watch Southerners try to drive in ice / snow as well.

There is a HUGE difference between driving on an inch of bare ice and driving in half a foot of snow. As someone with northern driving experience you would probably agree.

Driving on thick ice with no sand/snow for traction is impossible no matter who you are.

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by Mdlx

There is a HUGE difference between driving on an inch of bare ice and driving in half a foot of snow. As someone with northern driving experience you would probably agree.

Driving on thick ice with no sand/snow for traction is impossible no matter who you are.

I'll second that.

I LOVE driving is snow, fish taling around corners and doing doughnuts in a parking lot. Of course all of this is done with no traffic around.

I HATE driving in ice.

[love roses]

I'll 3rd that too. Snow driving isn't bad, it's the ice that is. It was a big problem in Colorado, same as here. My husband is the fan of doing donuts