The Harpoons, man them. (buy, taxes, cost)

[caution]

snow | al.com

Redstone is sending the gubment folks out.

Panic.

[zenjenn]

It's all a matter of services and infrastructure. My husband came home at noon today after Cecil Ashburn closed and came home to the HC area via Governor's. He said he passed salt trucks in front of the hospital but coming over the hill it was extremely slippery and untreated and dangerous.

It's easy to be smug from colder climes where you have tons of salt trucks and snow plows and everyone has snow tires. If Huntsville got several feet of snow things would shut down, and it's not because people in Huntsville are "wimpier" than people in Denver.. but how, precisely, would you clear the road on your way to resuming daily life? Would you shovel your way to work, school, shopping?

I'm glad to see the city has some salt trucks going but I doubt HSV has enough enough to hit all the roadways. It IS a dangerous situation for Huntsville, with temps that got high enough to melt some snow, but will then refreeze into ice tonight, and if current forecasts are accurate it will STAY ice for a good 2 days, with temps staying in the 20's. They will salt some major roads and intersections but I highly doubt they can get everywhere. My hubby is working from home tomorrow and we'll be sitting tight in our neighborhood until it melts in a few days. For those who have to drive.. BE CAREFUL!

On the plus side, conditions were perfect for snowman building. My family built a decent-sized snowman!

[Pirat_cat]

I'm glad your husband got home safe! Also glad to hear my husband and I weren't being overly cautious in staying home today. I was afraid of getting stuck on the other side of the mountain away from home. Old Big Cove Road isn't a super-safe road even when it's dry and I'm sure it's not high on the list of roads to be salted. Maybe we'll get out tomorrow, maybe not. We got our bread and milk earlier in the week.

[rnc76]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

It's all a matter of services and infrastructure. My husband came home at noon today after Cecil Ashburn closed and came home to the HC area via Governor's. He said he passed salt trucks in front of the hospital but coming over the hill it was extremely slippery and untreated and dangerous.

It's easy to be smug from colder climes where you have tons of salt trucks and snow plows and everyone has snow tires. If Huntsville got several feet of snow things would shut down, and it's not because people in Huntsville are "wimpier" than people in Denver.. but how, precisely, would you clear the road on your way to resuming daily life? Would you shovel your way to work, school, shopping?

I'm glad to see the city has some salt trucks going but I doubt HSV has enough enough to hit all the roadways. It IS a dangerous situation for Huntsville, with temps that got high enough to melt some snow, but will then refreeze into ice tonight, and if current forecasts are accurate it will STAY ice for a good 2 days, with temps staying in the 20's. They will salt some major roads and intersections but I highly doubt they can get everywhere. My hubby is working from home tomorrow and we'll be sitting tight in our neighborhood until it melts in a few days. For those who have to drive.. BE CAREFUL!

On the plus side, conditions were perfect for snowman building. My family built a decent-sized snowman!

Exactly, the real danger is overnight when all these wet roads freeze over. It is going to be nasty tomorrow morning.

[tammie2]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

It's all a matter of services and infrastructure. My husband came home at noon today after Cecil Ashburn closed and came home to the HC area via Governor's. He said he passed salt trucks in front of the hospital but coming over the hill it was extremely slippery and untreated and dangerous.

It's easy to be smug from colder climes where you have tons of salt trucks and snow plows and everyone has snow tires. If Huntsville got several feet of snow things would shut down, and it's not because people in Huntsville are "wimpier" than people in Denver.. but how, precisely, would you clear the road on your way to resuming daily life? Would you shovel your way to work, school, shopping?

I'm glad to see the city has some salt trucks going but I doubt HSV has enough enough to hit all the roadways. It IS a dangerous situation for Huntsville, with temps that got high enough to melt some snow, but will then refreeze into ice tonight, and if current forecasts are accurate it will STAY ice for a good 2 days, with temps staying in the 20's. They will salt some major roads and intersections but I highly doubt they can get everywhere. My hubby is working from home tomorrow and we'll be sitting tight in our neighborhood until it melts in a few days. For those who have to drive.. BE CAREFUL!

On the plus side, conditions were perfect for snowman building. My family built a decent-sized snowman!

I am glad your dh made it home safely!! Mine stayed home with my urging, I was afraid he would get to work and be unable to get home without driving all over, so he humored me and said he would take a wait and see approach(dressed in his work clothes of course) and he ended up staying home and saying he was glad he listened to me...I was too, I would have been too worried.

My aunt and I were just having this conversation yesterday. No, no one in Huntsville are wimps, there are two factors at work, 1) lack of tools to deal with the weather and 2) lack of experience. Believe it or not, those of us from cold climates HAVE driven on the roads before they were cleared/salted(my dad even took me on plow runs when I could drive as he used to clear parking lots in the winter and on breaks/weekend I helped a few times). However, part of drivers ed was how to drive on ice. We had several weeks devoted to it. But, I will admit I was clueless in the Texas rains when we first moved there. I had never seen water on a road before....and people were driving through it. They all knew how. After awhile I did to. It is simple experience and what you are used to, you learn to deal with what you have in order to survive.

My aunt asked why we don't get the equipment. I thought long and hard and here are my thoughts, I would love to hear others....

1)It isn't needed very often and equipment is quite expensive.
2)We don't have enough drivers experienced with snow/ice driving to handle more equipment.
3)The equipment damages roads, and for what a few days a year?

[zenjenn]

Those are the reasons I assumed as well. I don't blame the city one bit for not having a lot of equipment. I do believe Huntsville does have some, or access to some, to treat essential roads for emergency services, but it would be a total waste of money and effort for the city to commit the money and resources for snow management when it rarely comes up.

A lot of people assume things "just happen" and take it for granted, and don't realize the work, money, resources, logistics that go into things.

[Charles]

My plane lands at HSV around 330 tomorrow afternoon (if I make it out of BUF, where it's 100% snow tonight and 100% snow tomorrow AM).

So, what is my best plan to drive home to Hampton Cove?

My normal route 565 to 431?
565 to 72 to Gurley and then cut in?
565 to Memorial Parkway to Airport?

The first route seems like it is most likely to be treated but it's also probably the busiest.
The second route might be the least busy but 1) I'm not sure if 72 will be treated out to Gurley and 2) I think Eastern Bypass is still closed and there's a real convoluted detour, back roads probably not treated.

The third route involves all the potentially closed Memorial Parkway overpasses but, since it is such a heavily used route I would think it would be treated. Also, it would involve Cecil Ashburn which has been closed at least once already.

I've driven on a lot of icy roads in Colorado and I hated it. But, I'd be willing to drive on icy roads for a longer time if there wasn't a lot of traffic. I don't want to be stuck in a long line of cars or have to worry about somebody else sliding into me. That's why the 72 route might be a good idea. It doesn't seem so busy out there. Governors if icy will be hell.

I'll have my wife make phone calls during the day, but what (route) would you do?

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by Charles

My plane lands at HSV around 330 tomorrow afternoon (if I make it out of BUF, where it's 100% snow tonight and 100% snow tomorrow AM).

So, what is my best plan to drive home to Hampton Cove?

My normal route 565 to 431?
565 to 72 to Gurley and then cut in?
565 to Memorial Parkway to Airport?

I'll have my wife make phone calls during the day, but what (route) would you do?

Forget it.

I'd say you have a slim chance making out tomorrow and, if you do make it out, don't know if you can land. If you can land, chances are the roads all all iced up. If the sun is up, there maybe a chance that sun can warm up and melt the ice on the road. But the current forecast is below freezing during mid-day high for the next 2 days, so no chance of that.

I'd say you might as well enjoy the next 2 days in Buffalo.

[Charles]

Madison County Road Conditions:

Twitter / HMCEMA (http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/101856187.rss - broken link)

from

Madison Co Road Conditions

Alabama Road Conditions:

Emergency Road Closures (http://aldotgis.dot.state.al.us/RoadClosures/Default.aspx/Default.aspx - broken link)

[tammie2]

Originally Posted by Charles

My plane lands at HSV around 330 tomorrow afternoon (if I make it out of BUF, where it's 100% snow tonight and 100% snow tomorrow AM).

So, what is my best plan to drive home to Hampton Cove?

My normal route 565 to 431?
565 to 72 to Gurley and then cut in?
565 to Memorial Parkway to Airport?

The first route seems like it is most likely to be treated but it's also probably the busiest.
The second route might be the least busy but 1) I'm not sure if 72 will be treated out to Gurley and 2) I think Eastern Bypass is still closed and there's a real convoluted detour, back roads probably not treated.

The third route involves all the potentially closed Memorial Parkway overpasses but, since it is such a heavily used route I would think it would be treated. Also, it would involve Cecil Ashburn which has been closed at least once already.

I've driven on a lot of icy roads in Colorado and I hated it. But, I'd be willing to drive on icy roads for a longer time if there wasn't a lot of traffic. I don't want to be stuck in a long line of cars or have to worry about somebody else sliding into me. That's why the 72 route might be a good idea. It doesn't seem so busy out there. Governors if icy will be hell.

I'll have my wife make phone calls during the day, but what (route) would you do?

By 3PM it is supposed to be 27 and sunny, so I don't think it will be too terribly bad, just be careful-and don't dilly dally in the airport, it will be freezing quickly once the sun goes down.

The first roads to close yesterday were Cecil Ashburn and 72 over Chapman, so Governors is likely to be your best bet. If I had to leave for some reason, that would be the route I would take-it also seems to be the only route that has been getting any sort of treatment.

Good luck and be careful!!!!