Winter ice storms (Indianapolis, Denver: 2014, school, living)

[marya521]

Hi, I am from Colorado where its dry, winters are okay (avg 40-50 degrees) with snow at times in the Denver area, but still lots of sunshine all year around.
I am considering moving to Indy and have never experienced an ice storm and wondering if you can tell me what that is like. Someone told me that you get ice on the buildings, its hard to walk, of course driving as well, etc...
Also, do ice storms occur a lot in Indy?
Do you get more rain in the winter or snow?
And how bad is the humidity?

Thank you.

[Toxic Toast]

I can remember two ice storms of note in the last decade, February 2010 and January 2014 I think. Ice storms can happen here, but are not particularly common. Yes, when those storms happened ice was everywhere and it was no fun. We get more snow storms then ice storms.

[ischyros]

If you look at climate stats, winter is our "dry season" if you can call it that. January and February are the only two months of the year that average less than 3 inches of precipitation and that's mostly because snow doesn't hold as much moisture as rain. Often what falls in January and February is snow but it isn't uncommon to have some warmer days with rain.

I don't think ice storms occur very often here. I do definitely remember the February 2010 one that TT mentioned. That was the worst I remember. Typically we end up with rain (or melting snow) during the day that freezes at night or what seems to be worse is an inch or so of snow that during rush hour just turns to ice on the road and leaves nothing for the snowplow to actually plow. I usually fear the small half inch to an inch snows than the ones that dump a few inches. Blowing and drifting snow, especially in more rural areas, can be especially dangerous as well.

[rrah]

Ice storms, or icy roads, are more common about 50 miles or so south of Indianapolis.

There was a pretty bad situation last winter involving ice. ‘Unforgiving’ ice conditions trap Indy drivers for hours | FOX59

[indy_317]

We don't get much ice. I remember the most recent one, which was pretty bad mostly because we had a huge drop in temps and thus even the sun and ice melt wasn't working for a couple of days. The other one I remember was when I was a kid, and there were tons of trees down and such, but my folks still went to work because they dropped us off at the grandparents since school was called off. This had to be back in the late 80s or early 90s.

Depending on the temps will determine if we get rain or snow. A mild winter just means more likely rain than snow. As with the humidity, it is the same. Some years can be pretty bad, others not so bad. As I've gotten older (just hit 40) I've actually come to embrace the heat (not really the humidity) and dislike the around freezing temps. It is like a complete 180 from how I felt in my younger years. The one thing where the higher humidity and temps sucks is when I'm trying to get yard work done. Just makes it hard to workout in long days. Gets one a good sweaty workout, but it seems to zap my energy.

[MortonR]

You should be more concerned about the lack of sunlight than ice storms, which happen rarely, maybe every 2-3 years at best.

Unlike living on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, there are stretches of time in the winter where you won't see the sun for a good week (or more.) It will be a significant change from Colorado in this regard, for sure.

RM

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by MortonR

You should be more concerned about the lack of sunlight than ice storms, which happen rarely, maybe every 2-3 years at best.

Unlike living on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, there are stretches of time in the winter where you won't see the sun for a good week (or more.) It will be a significant change from Colorado in this regard, for sure.

RM

Yes, easy solution is Vitamin D supplements when needed. The relative lack of tons of sunlight is a huge advantage overall because it prevents more people from moving to Indiana..

[sheerbliss]

Being from Denver, you're familiar with black ice. When driving on it, you slow down, leave more room between you and the car ahead of you, reduce distractions, and stay off the road if possible. The only thing I'd add here is to turn on your flashers if you're stopped or crawling and visibility is bad. Keeping your tires inflated will help your traction.

As I've written here before, I actually spend more time in the sun here than I did in Colorado. Sunny winter days there were nice, but the rest of the time I felt like I was roasting. I much prefer the milder sun, humidity and the greenness of Indiana. It's personal preference.

[marya521]

Originally Posted by sheerbliss

Being from Denver, you're familiar with black ice. When driving on it, you slow down, leave more room between you and the car ahead of you, reduce distractions, and stay off the road if possible. The only thing I'd add here is to turn on your flashers if you're stopped or crawling and visibility is bad. Keeping your tires inflated will help your traction.

As I've written here before, I actually spend more time in the sun here than I did in Colorado. Sunny winter days there were nice, but the rest of the time I felt like I was roasting. I much prefer the milder sun, humidity and the greenness of Indiana. It's personal preference.

How long have you lived in Indiana Sheerbliss? Also, you know how dry the heat is in CO, how bad would you say the humidity is in Indiana when you were used to the dry climate? Was it hard to get used to?

[sheerbliss]

I've lived here two years next month after spending almost all my life in Denver.

I'm trying to think of a way to describe the feel of the air here, but I can't. It's certainly not as hot or humid as when you step out of the shower. It's not like working in a commercial kitchen, either. It doesn't feel like the air during a rain in Denver. There are far more trees here, almost all broadleaf, and the altitude is lower. And the summer temperatures are lower--usually the highs are in the mid-80s. Slightly velvety is the best way I can describe the air.

There's less temperature variation between night and day--it stays pleasantly warm on summer nights, and because we're on Eastern Time, it stays light until 9PM. You can see fireflies as it gets dark. Sunsets are more orange than pink. On the Fourth of July, the air smells like a shooting range from all the fireworks. The rest of the time, the air has a certain warm, earthy scent, especially around sunrise.

You can smell fires in the winter (I don't think we have wood-burning bans). There aren't many mild, sunny winter days here, and people sort of hibernate. IME, people here don't like to go out in the winter as much as they do in Colorado. But it feels colder here in the winter because of the humidity--I gave up wearing canvas tennis shoes in winter here for wool socks and boots. The cloudiness of the winter bothers some people; I go for walks if the weather isn't too bad and enjoy indoor hobbies like reading and cooking. A cloudy day is just a cloudy day to me.