Winter advice

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by dognh

This is one of the "arctic scare" posts I was talking about. Total BS.

Good catch. It almost never gets that cold up here. Certainly it in no way gets that cold for several months at a time, lol. This fear of NH winters is WAY overblown ! In these modern times with 24/7 plowing of the roads & heated homes & cars winter is just not that big a deal.

[Valerie C]

SSsshshhhhhhh!!! When you see a quote like this (especially from somebody with Boston in their name)just agree with them

Originally Posted by dognh

This is one of the "arctic scare" posts I was talking about. Total BS.

[BoxCar Willie]

41 years living in southern Maine and worked on the coast of BOTH Me. and NH .

1 Cotton kills!! get good wool long johns. Get good heavy pants and carry BOTH gloves and mittens Gloves will help gripping something BUTG mittens will keep your fingers together and warmer.
2 Get a good hat and wear it while outside You lose more heat from your head and it will kill you.
3 learn the signs of exposure IF you start shivering get inside where it's warm and stay warm.

4 Get your vehicle winterized in Late September or early October carry either cat litter or a bucket of sand a good flat shovel and set up a bag in the vehicle with some food some candles [something to light them with] extra blankets [WOOL ]

Get drygas and when you fill your tank put in a bottle about every third week or so [ALSO never let it get below 1/2 to 1/4 tank as you'll get water condensation and it will mix with the gas and freeze the lines.

WHEN the weather man says you got snow coming do not DO NOT wait till the last minute go to the store and get bread milk and some other easy to prepare foods cause if you lose power you may not be able to cook and sandwitches can be very tastey when the power is out.

As was said dress in layers and get some good warm boots. I preferred the Pacboots with felt liners [they are leather uppers and rubber bottoms ] they ALWAYS kept me warm even in very bad temps. As some have said temps usually don't get that bad BUT I remember back in Dec 1989 the WHOLE month never went above 32 degrees [I was working nights and they were BRUTAL!!]

Enjoy the winter up there I will one day [hopefully] be back up there so i can enjoy the cold and not this blasted furnace.

[Mac_Muz]

Winta' 93/94 was the coldest I can recall and it was -40 at mid night for a month in the Ossippee Range. The winter of 07/08 is the most snow I can recall and in the back dooryard at one time the snow depth was 6'6".

It can happen, will it happen is another matter.

The best place to get winter clothing in NH hands down is in N Conway. There is a LL Bean, EMS, Ragged Mountain, IME and other shops. IME (International Mountain Equpiment) and Ragged both have used stuff in the basements too, and that stuff is excellent for a lower price.

City water can depend on the city. In the last ice storm any city needing power to run pumps din't have any water.

Ice storms are not in cold weather, only cooler weather. To have a ice storm the high air has to be warm enough to rain and near the ground cold enough to freeze the rain. The ground temps then would be around 32. I lost power for around 14 days that time, but ran a wood stove all the time and had a nice brook for water then.

This can be typical

[C2ShiningC]

I lived in SoCal for 50 years, moved here in fall 2005, here are some of my thoughts.

Make sure you never put water in your windshield washer reservoir, always use this stuff: Amazon.com: -20 DEGREE WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID -- GALLON: Automotive You can find it everywhere, grocery stores, drugstores, etc. If you park your car outside at work or at home, get a large piece of cardboard to put across your windshield, under your wipers, makes cleaning the snow off a lot easier.

Even if you have somebody plow your driveway, you will still need to follow after with your shovel to get the remainder of the snow off, shovel whatever walkways you plan to use, and put down ice-melt like this: 80LB HALITE ICE MELTER BAG: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food I see a lot of people who don't do this, and once your driveway/walkway freezes, it most likely won't get warm enough to un-freeze for a long time, and you will be forever walking/driving on a sheet of ice thereafter. I have seen people out spending hours chipping ice off their driveways. You will also undoubtedly have days when you will have to shovel several times - DON'T LET IT GO because you're tired or feeling lazy (always very tempting), get it done.

Read this about safety in snow shoveling, you want to protect your lower back especially: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/fitness/fn1518.pdf This is the same as doing heavy lifting, snow can be very wet and very heavy, and it can take a long time and a lot of effort to shovel (snowblower helps a lot!). Shortly after moving here, I developed an abdominal hernia from surgery scars, and now I can barely lift a gallon of milk, I can NOT shovel snow, keep this in mind if you have had any abdominal surgeries (i.e, caesarean section), keep those muscles strong and protect them.

My best article of clothing for winter is a fleece vest. I wear them in the house all winter, over a long sleeved shirt, and they are just great for layering. Layering clothes is your friend, much better than a heavy sweater. You might have fun with scarves, I never had occasion to wear them in SoCal, so I kind of go crazy with them here.

Give yourself more time when you're going out, just getting dressed takes longer than slipping on a pair of flip-flops. Practicing driving is a great idea. Even roads that look easy during the rest of the year suddenly look different when covered with snow or ice, the slightest downhill can get you sliding, so try to practice. I got stuck trying to go up an offramp once, I would just make it to the top and go sliding back down, it was a tad stressful. I think most people here drive quite safely in winter, so you don't usually feel pressured, so just take your time and you'll be OK. I drive a FWD, never had snow tires, and do OK - family members are the same, been here (southern NH) almost 30 years, never put on snow tires, used to commute to Boston, we all have different experiences.

I've lost power several times, but not this last winter. Winter of 2009-2010 I lost power for a couple of days, and 2008-2009 lost power for 4 days, no generator, lost almost everything in the fridge and freezer, so that was expensive. I have a down sleeping bag rated at -20F and lived in it for a few days.

The fun side - I've been through 6 winters now, and I still get excited every time it snows, I just love to watch it, it's so beautiful and peaceful. I've figured it out that at about 18 degrees, my nose hairs freeze the instant I step outside - I purposely walk outside when the temps get low just so that happens. It does get very cold sometimes in January and February, and my friends always hear about it, this was my Facebook post January 24th this year "And now for this evening's weather: 'Clear. Cold with lows 10 below to 15 below zero. Northwest winds around 10 mph. Wind chill values as low as 30 below.' It is -7.3 at the moment, I'm sure that .3 makes a huge difference." It was -19 the next morning at 6:30 when I got up. I have a nice thermometer on my window and check it all the time. I love to go out and look at the animal tracks in the snow, even the smallest animal leaves tracks, you can see the paths the animals take through your yard when you're fast asleep. There is an incredible silence to the world after a heavy snowfall that is just wonderful to experience. Driving around this last winter looking at the HUGE icicles on everybody's houses was fun, and if you drive on any of the major highways, check out the frozen waterfalls that pour down the granite on the sides of the road - just beautiful.

The bad side really is that winter simply lasts too long, and NH loses an hour more of sunlight at the Solstice than SoCal. Since this state is heavily wooded, if your lot has lots of tall trees around it, you will lose light even earlier, and that can feel rather depressing. Of course, we make up for it by gaining an hour over SoCal by the summer Solstice, so it all evens out. But I do struggle with not being able to just go and sit outside for half the year. I think the longer you can look at the beauty of it and the novelty of it after living in SoCal, the better you can deal with it.

If I think of anything else, I'll be back. This is already my War and Peace of posts.

[Spork29]

I left Keene (Spofford), NH after 32 winters and moved to So Cal. While I badly miss the small town values, beautiful woods and mountains, twisting country roads and rainy fall days I do not miss winter at all!

I've been out here for 33 years now so probably lot has changed back there but most of the posts here are pretty good.

When I lived there I had a 4X4 plow rig, a tractor with a snow blower attachment and still had to shovel to clean up. I would plow the snow out my driveway and dump it over the bank across the road (Westmoreland rd) into a Creek/swamp. The last year I was there, we had so much snow the pile got so big and grew into the road and started to block it. I couldn't push the snow any farther so the town sent down a 10 yard (yahd ) loader and loaded the snow into the back of a dump truck to haul away!

One of the worst things is going to be what your car looks like after a few storms. The snow is beautiful when it first falls back after a few days it will turn a nice shade of gray, kind of like dirty washer water. Your car will turn chalky white (if it's a dark color) or dull gray (if it's a light color). After a few year it will start to rust and eventually develop large gaping holes in the sheet metal!

Back in the day, we used to drill holes in the door and body panels and squirt in used motor oil to prevent rust! I think the EPA would frown on that practice now. Wash you car as much as you can on above freezing days.

Like others have said, first snow fall, go to an empty parking lot and get used to the feel of your car going sideways. Start by turning the wheel one direction and gunning the throttle to kick the back end around then crank the wheel back the other direction to straighten out the car. One you get the feel of it you won't freak out when it happens on the road.

Always try to maintain forward motion, especially going uphill. Get a good run at the bottom and stay on the gas going up (but not too much). If the tires start to spin, back off the gas slightly but not so much as to lose forward momentum. Watch out for "Flat landers" that are stuck and blocking the road!

[kiggy]

Originally Posted by Spork29

I left Keene (Spofford), NH after 32 winters and moved to So Cal. While I badly miss the small town values, beautiful woods and mountains, twisting country roads and rainy fall days I do not miss winter at all!

I've been out here for 33 years now so probably lot has changed back there but most of the posts here are pretty good.

When I lived there I had a 4X4 plow rig, a tractor with a snow blower attachment and still had to shovel to clean up. I would plow the snow out my driveway and dump it over the bank across the road (Westmoreland rd) into a Creek/swamp. The last year I was there, we had so much snow the pile got so big and grew into the road and started to block it. I couldn't push the snow any farther so the town sent down a 10 yard (yahd ) loader and loaded the snow into the back of a dump truck to haul away!

One of the worst things is going to be what your car looks like after a few storms. The snow is beautiful when it first falls back after a few days it will turn a nice shade of gray, kind of like dirty washer water. Your car will turn chalky white (if it's a dark color) or dull gray (if it's a light color). After a few year it will start to rust and eventually develop large gaping holes in the sheet metal!

Back in the day, we used to drill holes in the door and body panels and squirt in used motor oil to prevent rust! I think the EPA would frown on that practice now. Wash you car as much as you can on above freezing days.

Like others have said, first snow fall, go to an empty parking lot and get used to the feel of your car going sideways. Start by turning the wheel one direction and gunning the throttle to kick the back end around then crank the wheel back the other direction to straighten out the car. One you get the feel of it you won't freak out when it happens on the road.

Always try to maintain forward motion, especially going uphill. Get a good run at the bottom and stay on the gas going up (but not too much). If the tires start to spin, back off the gas slightly but not so much as to lose forward momentum. Watch out for "Flat landers" that are stuck and blocking the road!

I hear ya! I remember commuting from Keene to Peterborough on 101 at 11 pm during a snow storm -- the most crooked, dangerous, unplowed stretch of highway you'd ever want to see! I now think I can drive under any weather conditions. However, now I'm wintering in Florida, so I guess it's a moot point.

[Mac_Muz]

Originally Posted by Spork29

I left Keene (Spofford), NH after 32 winters and moved to So Cal. While I badly miss the small town values, beautiful woods and mountains, twisting country roads and rainy fall days I do not miss winter at all!

I've been out here for 33 years now so probably lot has changed back there but most of the posts here are pretty good.

When I lived there I had a 4X4 plow rig, a tractor with a snow blower attachment and still had to shovel to clean up. I would plow the snow out my driveway and dump it over the bank across the road (Westmoreland rd) into a Creek/swamp. The last year I was there, we had so much snow the pile got so big and grew into the road and started to block it. I couldn't push the snow any farther so the town sent down a 10 yard (yahd ) loader and loaded the snow into the back of a dump truck to haul away!

One of the worst things is going to be what your car looks like after a few storms. The snow is beautiful when it first falls back after a few days it will turn a nice shade of gray, kind of like dirty washer water. Your car will turn chalky white (if it's a dark color) or dull gray (if it's a light color). After a few year it will start to rust and eventually develop large gaping holes in the sheet metal!

Back in the day, we used to drill holes in the door and body panels and squirt in used motor oil to prevent rust! I think the EPA would frown on that practice now. Wash you car as much as you can on above freezing days.

Like others have said, first snow fall, go to an empty parking lot and get used to the feel of your car going sideways. Start by turning the wheel one direction and gunning the throttle to kick the back end around then crank the wheel back the other direction to straighten out the car. One you get the feel of it you won't freak out when it happens on the road.

Always try to maintain forward motion, especially going uphill. Get a good run at the bottom and stay on the gas going up (but not too much). If the tires start to spin, back off the gas slightly but not so much as to lose forward momentum. Watch out for "Flat landers" that are stuck and blocking the road!

What's a loader? I know what a yahda' is In the futcha' try speeling the word right

We could give a rats bass about what the EPA thinks. I still soak my pinch welds with new atf, and then coat things as i see fit with a mix of new engine oil and roofin tar. Where I want the tar to dry in a time I don't add any oil.

2 times a year i blow new atf all over every vehical underside I own, and some i don't own, but treat anyway, except the motorcycles.

I bought and paid for my vehicals and i will treat them to anti rust measures as I see fit and the EPA can go pound salt, which they do plenty of so far as I can tell. Now, maybe if the EPA buys me new vehicals they can have some say, right?