Dealing with snow? (house, luxury, schools)

[tallrick]

Being born and raised in south Florida I have had very little experiences with snow, and have only seen it twice in my life. But due to Florida's bubble and failing economy I will have to abandon ship in a year or two unless things improve. Question is, how does the snow affect your lives up morth? It doesn't rain in Florida much in the winter, does snow come down regularly or is it a relatively rare occurrence? I am thinking of the midwest area. As for ice, how often do you have to deal with it on roads or sidewalks? When streets are plowed, does it push compacted snow up your driveways? If someone lives on a dirt road who clears the snow? I hear from people comming to Florida how terrible it is to shovel snow, and it's torture to have to scrape ice off their cars. Is there anyone out there who actually enjoys the stuff?

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Being born and raised in south Florida I have had very little experiences with snow, and have only seen it twice in my life. But due to Florida's bubble and failing economy I will have to abandon ship in a year or two unless things improve. Question is, how does the snow affect your lives up morth? It doesn't rain in Florida much in the winter, does snow come down regularly or is it a relatively rare occurrence? I am thinking of the midwest area. As for ice, how often do you have to deal with it on roads or sidewalks? When streets are plowed, does it push compacted snow up your driveways? If someone lives on a dirt road who clears the snow? I hear from people comming to Florida how terrible it is to shovel snow, and it's torture to have to scrape ice off their cars. Is there anyone out there who actually enjoys the stuff?

Snow itself is nice if it's only a couple of inches at most and falls entirely as snow. Occasionally in the Midwest you get an ice storm first that coats every outdoor surface in ice. If the freezing rain goes on for long, the ice gets thicker and thicker. The storm we had Nov. 30 started as freezing rain, then converted to more ice in the form of sleet. This sleet went on from about 8am to about 11pm before changing over to snow. That sleet combined with the ice already on the ground to form an ice layer about two inches deep. On top of that fell the snow. That is when snow SUCKS. It's too hard to shovel out of the way because it's solid ice and driving on it is like putting ice skates on and slipping and sliding...very dangerous. The ground in southwest Missouri is just now getting spots of exposed ground but the ice/snow cover remains, though it should melt away quickly now that we'll be having temps in the 50's for a bit. THANK GOD. It's been 10 days of frozen hell. Had it been only snow, I could have shoveled the walks and driveway the next day and been fine. One good thing with snow cover is that at night when the moon is out, you can be at midnight, all lights out in the house, curtains pulled back and the house will be illuminated enough to see where things are. I like that part. It also makes postcard Christmas pics

When it's pretty. This pic was taken December 1st, 06.


When it sucks. This is the 'wall' of ice, snow on top, that I had to drive over to get out of my garage for a week.

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I hear from people comming to Florida how terrible it is to shovel snow, and it's torture to have to scrape ice off their cars. Is there anyone out there who actually enjoys the stuff?

Well, I think I can say with near certainty that NO ONE enjoys shoveling the snow or scraping ice off of their cars. As for the actual snow, it's quite nice to look at, but another issue altogether when you have to actually venture out into the snow for your daily needs (work, grocery store, ATM, etc.) where you have to deal with even more horrific driving than usual, snow plows, some roads that are unplowed, slippery slush, black ice, lack of parking spaces (snow plows dump the snow into parking spots oftentimes), etc. Snow can be a beautiful backdrop though to a lazy Sunday at home spent reading the paper and having some hot chocolate, looking outside and seeing a white Winter wonderland and hearing the happy squeals of children sledding and such. Like most people, I loved snow when I was younger, when snow meant a day off of school where you can goof off with your friends and go sledding and build snow forts. As an adult though, it's become more something that I dread knowing of all the traffic delays and ice scraping and slick roads I'll have to deal with. Not to mention, there's the after-effects of snow. The salt stuck to your shoes that people bring inside, the dirty cars from melted snow and road salt, the ugly brown slush that accumulates on the side of roads and sidewalks, the high piles of once-plowed snow that turn brown and black after several weeks, and the muddy grass leftover after the snow melts. If snow meant a day off where everything closed, I think I would still enjoy it. I don't hate it and always wish for a white Christmas and a winter without snow feels so wrong to me, but it's just not something that I celebrate like I once did.

[tallrick]

Here's an idea, would it help to have your cars in the garage , and keep a skid loader in there to dig your way out to avoid the hand shoveling? I guess that it's no problem until you have to go somewhere. Maybe if it was bothering me I would think of Miami traffic, rude drivers and out of the world expenses.

[Cosmic]

If you are not in regions where it snows regularly and just get the info from the news or other people it can seem pretty universal. Up North everybody gets snow and suffers equally. Not True.

Can be huge variations just in one state or small regions.

Example in Ohio if you generally live North of I-70 which cuts pretty much horizontal across the mid section of the state, you will get zonked pretty good all winter. Most storms will lay something on you. Winters can be pretty severe both in snow, ice, temps, etc. Storms tend to come in patterns, maybe one ever week or two. Or you can get periods where it will warm up enough to rain more than snow, again depends on your location. In SE Ohio we will get periods of rain and days up into the 50 - 60's during the winter. Actually December can be our coldest month, it is pretty well over by early March.

If you live below I-70, it will be milder. As you go east the weather again tends to be more severe. My sister lives sort of east of me but a bit further north about 120 miles as the crow flies. Our temps vary with me getting about a 15 degree warmer advantage on average. I really never catch big storms in the SE part of Ohio, get a little snow but usually it melts in a few days at the most. She can get it pretty bad. Just about on the PA line, they are in that path of weather coming off the Great Lakes. My weather comes mostly from the West sort of straight in, lot of the moisture can get wrung out before it makes it up into the higher elevations where I live.

It is bad if you are in a general situation where it never lets up. Always snow or ice on the ground. In a place like Boston you can think winter is going to last forever. Can get snow as early as October and as late as into May. Can get some huge blizzards on rare occassions. Storms one right after the other a few days apart are common with 4 - 6 inches or more of snow. The worse part is when you totally run of of place to put the stuff. Urban areas can be brutual. The country is not as bad, push the stuff out of the way a bit. Make a path thru it. I spend one winter in upstate NY, snow ****-hole deep to camel, never again.

The snow plow can dump a lot in your driveway. Especially in built up areas, one way of getting it off the blade, they typically can't go very fast. In the more rural areas another problem is they set the plows up to more "Throw the snow" than push it, use a lot more speed. Can come off with great force, depends on their speed, can knock down mail boxes, do some good property damage to anything too close to the road. Some plows have a gizmo on the back to clean up after the blade and pile it higher further off the road.

Ice can be a bear. Some smaller county roads in the counties around me can be super dangerous. Steep, hilly, rugged, narrow, winding in the best of times, travel at your own risk in bad weather. Even major freeways will only have one really good plowed / salted / sanded lane until the storm blows over and they can catch up. You can get some very slow travel speeds, like 20 - 30 MPH. Lots of variation in how it can get you. Need good tires in winter and a vehicle that does bad weather well. Light pickup trucks can be a scream, horrible in snow, especially without 4WD.

Depending on who owns the dirt / gravel road will govern who plows it. If it is a public road, county, township or the like, usually it will be on somebody's route. The smaller out of the way places get plowed last. Lot of public roads get plowed by people living out that way just to get to work or town or whatever.

Naw, you get to where you don't enjoy it much. Endure it is more like it. The snow I can take, I hate it with super cold weather. Usually when it gets super cold it doesn't snow. Ohio is not bad in general. 3 months at the worse, usually only two of those can be really bad. Last winter was real mild and we got little snow. Not all winters are the same.

Out west was different, snowed a lot but was part of the scene. More powder dry snow, moved easy, lot more room to get around in it. Not as slippery.

[Need_affordable_home]

Ill be dealing with snow when I move to Oil city. Do people use snowmobiles to drive around to work and shopping?

[kdm31091]

As far as I know most people just wait for the roads to be cleared, unless they have a job where they HAVE to go in, or they HAVE to shop for something.

[ijwyo]

Drive slower, use lower gears, keep a shovel, sand, good tires, maybe even chains, an ice scraper, hat, gloves, extra boots, socks, a coat, food, water, and a blanket in your car. You can hydro plain on slush when the snow is melting, and ice you can't stop or turn fast at all. On a dirt rd. you plow or pay your neighbor to plow, in town you get a plastic shovel to clear your drive and walk, it is pretty outside and if you dress well with layers and stay dry it is fun! It may snow for 2 days in a big storm, then nothing for weeks, it may start to melt then freeze at night creating ice! You have to warm up your car in the morning and put the heat on high, you can get automatic start on an auto. tranny car for luxury, or get a garage. You can't wear slick dress shoes in the winter! Sneakers will get wet and you will freeze in snow! Allow extra time, if the rd. to work is a fifty mph, plan on goning 25-35 miles per hour, but only after you get your "snow feet", meaning you learn how to drive in the stuff. Yellow glasses are great in foggy, windy, blizzard types of snow storms. If you pull into a shoulder of a rd. plan on getting stuck, small cars get high centered blasting through snow drifts, like when a plow leaves a miny hill by your driveway. Get a sled or cross country skies and you'll love the snow even more! Sleds are great for hauling groceries and kids up a long walkway in the snow, too! Snowmobiles are not going to be allowed or even usable on city roads, you need snow depth and plowed roads don't have this, even unplowed rds. get driven on, it packs down, gets ruts and slick, then melts in spots, I think Pinedale,WY is the only place I've actually seen a snowmobile used to run errands. a frontwheel drive car with studded tires on the front tires will get you around just fine, 4x4s are for unplowed rural rds, mtn. drives, mud in the spring from the snow melting, and it will not keep you from sliding or losing traction, it will let you drive in deeper snow and get up icy hills better, studded tires are great for better traction in ice. If you get stuck driving on a bad rd, turn on your hazards while you drive slow and let people pass you if you can. Be aware some places don't allow studded tires, others have passes that require snow tires or chains. Check your antifreeze and mix it into your window fluid in your car. Don't leave garden hoses, fragile plants, or glass bird feeders out in spring or fall, freezes come on fast and you could be away from home and find frozen/ burst pipes and dead gardens! Schools don't close, the buses out here have chains! It's gotta to get to whare the plows can't keep up before they close school, not just a few icy spots on the rd. like back east. The wind drops temps, as does altitude, a 2,000 ft higher spot on a hwy pass can be 10 degrees colder and rain can turn to ice! This makes roadtrips in the west interesting, as it is hard to always avoid driving through varying terrain and predicting the weather where you are headed. Trucks without sand weight in the bed spin out on ice! Plowing doesn't mean scraping off snow, just the top couple inches, then traffic packs it down and it gets slicker than the fresh powder! Good stuff!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by ijwyo

If you get stuck driving on a bad rd, turn on your hazards while you drive slow and let people pass you if you can.
Be aware some places don't allow studded tires, others have passes that require snow tires or chains.
Check your antifreeze and mix it into your window fluid in your car.
Schools don't close, the buses out here have chains! It's gotta to get to whare the plows can't keep up before they close school, not just a few icy spots on the rd. like back east. !

Good points all.
The never-say-die attitude got old for me when we lived in Colorado.
Snow is a lovely scene on a lazy Sunday afternoon (great description, dullnboring), but is to be grimly endured on Monday morning.
School hardly ever shut down.
I don't know how many Snow Days we had during the 20-odd years we lived there, but I know that I can count them on only one hand.
Yes, the main thoroughfares were plowed, but not the side streets.
For me the worst of all is the black ice--this happens more in spring and fall.

[grammy164]

Blizzard in Ohio.....
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Blizzard in PA....
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Ice in Ohio--caused roof and ceiling damage
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Snow can be pretty, but isn't always fun. Bad storms can cause power outages, numerous auto accidents and the winds during some of the storms can cause structural damage to your home. I've experienced each one.