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Would cities like Hudson and Stow get significantly less snow than Cleveland since they are considered the "secondary" snowbelt? I have looked at the snow totals map so many times and it looks like Summit Co has two shades of orange...one looks like 40-50 in and the other band looks like 50-60 in. Hoping that if we do relocate that we can live as far as south possible in Summit Co. 40-50 inches of snow annually makes me feel better than 50-60 in.
For a frame of reference, I've driven on slippery freeways/Interstates in Greater Cleveland for decades, even commuting to downtown. Only twice do I remember leaving a freeway/Interstate to take a local road due to winter conditions. Once, the Shoreway suddenly was buried under a 4-foot drift around Gordon Park. In fairness, there was ongoing blizzard and the Shoreway was closed, but it didn't look too bad downtown so I decided to take it. Nobody else was on it, so I easily backed up and took Route 20 east with no problem. Even in that extremely bad weather, perhaps my travel time was doubled (I was able to get back on Route 2/I-90 in Euclid).
Countless times, I've driven on Cleveland freeways in slippery, slushy (think salt) conditions during ongoing snow storms, even blizzards. Outside of rush hours, traffic in the slow lane generally travels between 30-40 mph, with traffic in faster lanes moving (arguably stupidly) even faster.
During commuting hours, road crews aggressively treat roads. Often I've "crunched" my way over salt for miles on pre-treated roads in anticipation of a storm.
With Doppler weather radar now available, I'm surprisingly able to minimize my travel in bad conditions, just by traveling a few hours earlier or later when possible.
Would cities like Hudson and Stow get significantly less snow than Cleveland since they are considered the "secondary" snowbelt? I have looked at the snow totals map so many times and it looks like Summit Co has two shades of orange...one looks like 40-50 in and the other band looks like 50-60 in. Hoping that if we do relocate that we can live as far as south possible in Summit Co. 40-50 inches of snow annually makes me feel better than 50-60 in.
Cleveland, especially western Cleveland, isn't considered to be in the snowbelt by most Clevelanders.
I honestly can't answer your question, partially because 10 inches of snow over an entire winter, much of it melting on contact, doesn't make much difference IMO and I certainly don't distinguish areas by that much. It's not worth living in a lesser community or enduring a longer commute IMO.
The distinction really is between areas in Greater Cleveland that 1) are to the east and more often subject to prevailing winds as the shore bends to the northeast making the area vulnerable to lake effect snow caused by westerly winds sweeping across the length of Lake Erie, and 2) to areas that are at higher elevations. Eastern areas are also more vulnerable to northwesterly winds sweeping across the length of Lake Huron. Some areas, such as Chardon, are both more east and at a higher elevation.
Should I get some new tires? Snow tires? I learned to drive in this weather and did fine, but I've been out of the game for so long that I'm just trying to be cautious.
No need for snow tires as long as you have good all-weather tires, front wheel drive, ESC, and drive carefully. I used to use snow tires, but no longer.
Some all-weather tires, such as certain Michelin tires, are much better than others due to compounds and tread design. See Consumer Reports. Costco often has good sales on Michelin tires. I believe that Conrad's, which I like a lot if you live near one, will match any prices.
I currently have Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires on my sedan, and they are the best winter tires that I've ever owned regarding skids, etc.
I always buy A Traction and A Temperature (for summer) tires.
Just remember to slow down when conditions are bad or questionable and to allow a safe stopping distance when possible. Remember that freeze/thaw conditions are perhaps the very most dangerous.
It's amazing how much of a difference ESC makes in winter driving. For fun, try putting your car into a skid when your first encounter some slippery, snowy conditions when the ESC is on, as I've found it difficult to do when I've tried. I used to enjoy my skill at skidding into turns.
This winter (based on NOAA forecasts), like the majority of the winters for the past decade, likely will be very mild. I hope you report back about any perceived difference from your memories once you've lived through this winter. I think you might be shocked by the difference.
In fairness, after thinking about it and reading some articles, I might consider winter tires if I didn't have great flexibility in my driving patterns, had to to do a lot of winter driving including daily commutes, or regularly hauled kids. I just hate the cost, hassle, the fact that tires will get less use over their 5-year best life, having to store the tires, etc.
And yet there's no report of any snow in Cleveland after 7 a.m. on Thanksgiving 2014. I guess we would have to take your word for your claims, if we were prone to taking your word for many of your IMO outrageously negatively statements about Cleveland.
In good conditions, it takes less than 45 minutes to drive from Cleveland to Akron. It took your friend 8 times as long to drive there, with no reported adverse conditions. Yeah, right.
It says a lot about your mindset (or faulty creativity) that you have no problem believing him.
Here's a report given before 8:30pm on 11/27/15 which predicted under an inch, but it was more like 4-5 along 71 near 480. Thanksgiving day was fine in Cleveland area till around 8:30pm, and that's when it hit.
What was that again about no report of ANY snow in Cleveland on Thanksgiving 2014?
It says a lot about your mindset that you would go to such lengths to try and discredit something so simple as snowfall in Cleveland on Thanksgiving day. And yes, I do believe him that it took that long to make it to Akron because he has no reason to make up such a story.
Here's a report given before 8:30pm on 11/27/15 which predicted under an inch, but it was more like 4-5 along 71 near 480. Thanksgiving day was fine in Cleveland area till around 8:30pm, and that's when it hit.
What was that again about no report of ANY snow in Cleveland on Thanksgiving 2014?
It says a lot about your mindset that you would go to such lengths to try and discredit something so simple as snowfall in Cleveland on Thanksgiving day. And yes, I do believe him that it took that long to make it to Akron because he has no reason to make up such a story.
Because I'm actually genuinely curious about the story, did your friend elaborate on the ride? Was it just him in the car? I'm guessing this was on his drive back from Thanksgiving dinner, so at least food wouldn't have been a problem, but if I was stuck on the highway for 6 hours after consuming a Thanksgiving meal, I imagine I would have an epic (and probably very inappropriate) bathroom story to share, lol.
Here's a report given before 8:30pm on 11/27/15 which predicted under an inch, but it was more like 4-5 along 71 near 480. Thanksgiving day was fine in Cleveland area till around 8:30pm, and that's when it hit.
What was that again about no report of ANY snow in Cleveland on Thanksgiving 2014?
It says a lot about your mindset that you would go to such lengths to try and discredit something so simple as snowfall in Cleveland on Thanksgiving day. And yes, I do believe him that it took that long to make it to Akron because he has no reason to make up such a story.
?????????
Here's the link you posted:
<<Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Neoweather. We hope that you are able to enjoy your time with friends and family. Fortunately getting to and from your festivities should be a non-issue across the area, even with some snowflakes flying around this afternoon and evening. Accumulations will be light, generally under an inch. It will be chilly with highs in the lower 30s. A chilly overnight is also in store with lows falling into the lower 20s. Snow will continue to fly through early Friday morning before tapering off.>>
Did you post the wrong link? I don't see anything about 4-5 inches of snow anywhere, and given the likely ground temperatures at the time, even 4-5 inches wouldn't have been a big deal.
Conditions that would have caused a six hour trip to Akron are unimaginable to me and would certainly have warranted some serious media coverage.
The National Weather Service reported that all of the snowfall in Cleveland occurred before 7 a.m.
And here's a report from Ohio.com (the Akron Beacon Journal website) that reported only "light snow" Thanksgiving, not even saying it was in the afternoon or evening. There is no reference to a blizzard, or anything like 4-5 inches of snow.
Light snow is a northeast Ohio euphemism for a "smattering" or "sprinkling." Six hours???? Six hours???? Six hours????
I'm going to "great lengths" to question an absurdity????? Anybody who has driven in northeast Ohio should recognize the ridiculousness of your argument.
BTW, in the absolutely worst blizzard that I could imagine, I likely could drive to Akron in less than 3 hours if necessary at an average speed of less than 20 mph.
I repeat with great conviction, taking six hours to get from Cleveland to Akron, especially with the conditions that I both remember and as reported on Thanksgiving Day 2014 is a ridiculous claim. It would be a ridiculous claim even under the conditions that you describe as being so onerous.
Candidly, I also don't believe that any long stretch of an interstate in northeast Ohio wouldn't be plowed if any serious accumulation was occurring without a road being shut down due to blizzard conditions.
Because I'm actually genuinely curious about the story, did your friend elaborate on the ride? Was it just him in the car? I'm guessing this was on his drive back from Thanksgiving dinner, so at least food wouldn't have been a problem, but if I was stuck on the highway for 6 hours after consuming a Thanksgiving meal, I imagine I would have an epic (and probably very inappropriate) bathroom story to share, lol.
Driving home after Thanksgiving Day dinner shouldn't have wrecked his friend's day, but you're right, if conditions didn't worsen until 8:30 p.m., his friend likely was traveling home after that time, unless his Thanksgiving Day Dinner was at midnight, or something like that, based on Maxmodder's claim that conditions didn't get bad until 8:30 p.m.
Yes, that was the report PREDICTING what the snowfall was going to be like before it actually hit. 1-2 inches was predicted but it was much more than that. 1-2 inches isn't going to cause traffic to come to a 15mph stop and go crawl like it did for me during my commute from Cleveland to Strongsville that night but when it's a white out and you cannot see, traffic is going to come to a crawl. Not one single plow truck was out the entire 1.5 hour commute, and why would there be with everyone still enjoying thanksgiving. I didn't measure it but I'd say it was more like 4-5 inches. I have Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires as well.
As for my friend's trip to Akron, you are assuming that traffic was actually moving during all parts of that commute. It most likely was not due to the limited visibility caused by the snow. It was Thanksgiving night. There were probably accidents involving alcohol. And since the weather was fine up until that point, no one was prepared for it.
A few weeks before that Lake County got hit with 12 inches.
The point isn't about how long it actually took, but the fact that my friend felt that the weather and road conditions on Thanksgiving evening ruined his Thanksgiving experience. Now I don't see how it completely ruined it given the fact that he was able to see his wife's parents in Cleveland without issue, but apparently the long delay in getting to his parents house in Akron and the hassle getting there was enough for him to say that the day was ruined.
Last edited by maxmodder; 07-30-2015 at 11:06 AM..
Yes, that was the report PREDICTING what the snowfall was going to be like before it actually hit. 1-2 inches was predicted but it was much more than that. 1-2 inches isn't going to cause traffic to come to a 15mph stop and go crawl like it did for me during my commute from Cleveland to Strongsville that night but when it's a white out and you cannot see, traffic is going to come to a crawl. Not one single plow truck was out the entire 1.5 hour commute, and why would there be with everyone still enjoying thanksgiving. I didn't measure it but I'd say it was more like 4-5 inches. I have Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires as well.
As for my friend's trip to Akron, you are assuming that traffic was actually moving during all parts of that commute. It most likely was not due to the limited visibility caused by the snow. It was Thanksgiving night. There were probably accidents involving alcohol. And since the weather was fine up until that point, no one was prepared for it.
A few weeks before that Lake County got hit with 12 inches.
The point isn't about how long it actually took, but the fact that my friend felt that the weather and road conditions on Thanksgiving evening ruined his Thanksgiving experience. Now I don't see how it completely ruined it given the fact that he was able to see his wife's parents in Cleveland without issue, but apparently the long delay in getting to his parents house in Akron and the hassle getting there was enough for him to say that the day was ruined.
Any competent driver could have gotten from Cleveland to Akron in less than two hours, likely much less than two hours, even during that early November 2014 snow storm, but that storm has absolutely nothing to do with the Thanksgiving Day 2014 weather and your friend's perplexingly epic journey.
With the weather on Thanksgiving, even my friends who won't drive on freeways could have made the drive in less than two hours.
Now we have a whiteout, according to your telling, that dropped 4-5 inches of snow over the 35 miles southeast from Strongsville to Akron and the 45 miles north from Akron to Cleveland, and this late day Thanksgiving Day storm totally escaped the attention of all media reporters!!! What's next, an avalanche?
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