Is this your first winter in TN if you moved from warm state? (Monteagle: home, school)

[mbmouse]

I thought it could be very informative to the newcomers from FL, Southern CA and other no snow states if some of us who have been here for at least a few winters could give them some tips. Also those who are coming from heavy winter states too. Here are my few tips, others please add your own.

If you are from warm states:

A knit hat (called a toboggan here) or something to cover you head and a pair of thick socks will keep the heat in more than just a coat.

Be sure to put all weather tires on your car and to use antifreeze, not just water.

Fall is a great time to check or install weather stripping around doors and windows if you need to, it is yucky to do in December!

If you have never driven in the snow or on icy roads, make a point to check your local news channels web site, and look for "winter driving tips" or something similar and try it out on a side road or empty parking lot. No, 4 wheel drive vehicles do not make you safe on ice, nothing but your driving ability's do.


If you are coming from heavy winter states:

Don't laugh at the locals because the whole town closed up and the grocery shelves are empty at the prediction of any snow, it is just the way here.

We do not have the road treatment and equipment you are used to have to clear the roads. We have some but not to extent you are used to. So if you plan to wait for the plow to follow it to work, you might be waiting all day.

Yes, school will close if any snow falls , even if it is a dusting: due to the above.

No, you do not need chains on your tires and they are illegal here.

Warning, people driving around you are NOT used to snow and ice, so please give every vehicle on the road plenty of space and time as they are trying and nervous, please be patient.

If you like to play in the snow, do it as soon as it hits the ground as it will be gone within a few hours, usually anyway, sometimes it might stay for a day.

[alleycat]

I'd add a few general suggestions . . .

Keep a few cold weather/rainwear clothes in the car (an old sweater or jacket, gloves, knit cap, etc.), you never know when you might get stuck either by snow, a traffic jam, a flat tire, or something else. And for you women, maybe a spare pair of shoes too. If you're on some back road and need to walk two miles to get help, do you really want to do it in four-inch heels?

In additional to anti-freeze, be sure your windshield washer reservoir is filled. A lot of times after a snow the roads will be wet and a grimy mess will be sprayed onto your windshield (especially if they've salted the road). You literally won't be able to see if you can't wash the mess off.

Use the lower gears of your transmission when you're driving is certain traffic condition. This will work as a gentle brake on hills.

Stockpile a few extra items in case the power goes off for a few days (whether due to storm, snows, or whatever reason), preferably things that can be eaten without cooking . . . like, say, possum! (I'm kidding!)

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Warning, people driving around you are NOT used to snow and ice, so please give every vehicle on the road plenty of space and time as they are trying and nervous, please be patient.

I'm used to snow and ice, but that doesn't make me very good at driving in it. If you see a red Saturn with Knox County tags, give it a VERY wide berth.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I'm used to snow and ice, but that doesn't make me very good at driving in it. If you see a red Saturn with Knox County tags, give it a VERY wide berth.

When it snows in Tennessee there are two kinds of drivers . . . those who are driving way too slow, and those who are driving way too fast (these will generally be people who have 4-wheel drive and like to show off, never mind that a 4WD slides just like any other vehicle). You will always be behind the former and in front of the latter.

[darkholme]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Don't laugh at the locals because the whole town closed up and the grocery shelves are empty at the prediction of any snow, it is just the way here.

A lot of people told me this and I just couldn't believe it was true! Coming from the Great Lakes area, nothing short of a few feet of snow gives me any concern. I almost can't wait to see this in action, lmao.

[hiknapster]

It's offical. I'm a true Tennessean! MBMouse says there might be a few flakes and I am thrilled out of my mind!

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by darkholme

Coming from the Great Lakes area, nothing short of a few feet of snow gives me any concern. I almost can't wait to see this in action, lmao.

Yes, a comment that anyone from anywhere north of Chicago makes (often . . . and repeatedly . . . to anyone who will listen).

I notice they don't laugh quite as much or act quite as bold coming down Monteagle Mountain with a semi-truck behind them. (And yes, I've been there, done that.)

;-) (Just teasing)

[darkholme]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Yes, a comment that anyone from anywhere north of Chicago makes (often . . . and repeatedly . . . to anyone who will listen).

;-)

I promise I won't laugh out loud at anyone in particular until I am in the privacy of my own home or vehicle.

I just ask the same courtesy come summertime. Anything higher than 80 degrees is just miserable to me The AC will be blasting and I will be whining, lol!

[LauraC]

Keep a cell phone charger in your car so that when you slide into a ditch down the side of a mountain you can still listen to downloaded music while you wait a few days to be rescued/extracted from your vehicle as long as the vehicle starts. No sense being thirsty and bored, plus the music might scare off the wild animals waiting to eat you.

On that same note, don't eat a lot of beans before a winter drive through the mountains.

If you decide to go ice skating on that pond in the back, just remember you are only one crack in the ice away from that brain eating amoeba shooting up your nose.

Okay, that's all I can think of right now.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Keep a cell phone charger in your car so that when you slide into a ditch down the side of a mountain you can still listen to downloaded music while you wait a few days to be rescued/extracted from your vehicle as long as the vehicle starts. No sense being thirsty and bored.

On that same note, don't eat a lot of beans before a winter drive through the mountains.

If you decide to go ice skating on that pond in the back, just remember you are only one crack in the ice away from that brain eating amoeba shooting up your nose.

Okay, that's all I can think of right now.

At least the giant mosquitoes won't be out . . .