Winter 2016 (Bend, Redmond: how much, cost, legal)

[Coniferian]

Nice winter shots.

[BendLocal]

Another cold morning with some temps around Bend dropping into the single digits.

[BendLocal]

2-3" of heavy wet snow this morning.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Possibly a white Christmas this year?

[BendLocal]

At the rate snow is piling up I don't see why not.

[BendLocal]

15 degrees this AM. A wintery mix late yesterday coated everything in ice.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I'm really appreciating my studded tires today.

I went out to get gas for the snow blower because it looks like it is going to get some use. As I pull up to a 3 way stop, the car in front of me puts on his brakes and slides right through the intersection. The car coming the other way went squirrelly as he accelerated away from the stop sign.

Coming home, with my little gas can full of clear, the guy in front of me went squirrelly and nearly lost control at the same stop sign, same place as the other car went wonkly.

Eddy (that's my car) has front wheel drive and when he has his tap shoes on, he can handle any snow or ice. The road at my house is covered in ice today, but no problems.

The stop sign at the end of my road has a low spot right at the stop sign and it is always in the shade. It will get a little ice skating pond and it doesn't matter how carefully you approach it, if you don't have studs you are likely to slide right into the intersection. I've slid across that intersection more than once in the big 4WD.

Anyway, no problems with snow and ice except for the other drivers on the road who don't know how to drive in it or who don't have the right equipment. Roads in Bend look pretty good today on the weather cam.

[Coniferian]

We had the same problem in Colorado. People who moved there from the south, usually Texas, bought a big 4 wheel drive and assumed they could stop as good as they could go in snow. Not much thought to a large mass and a low coefficient of friction.

Streets had frozen overnight here in Redmond and I wished I had studded tires a couple times. They do a pretty good job of putting pumice down on the intersections and what few little hills we have here, so no huge problems. By noon the sun had melted the glare off.

[BendLocal]

We've got snow for Christmas but darn was it chilly at 4 degrees this AM!

[BendLocal]

Morning walk brisk at 7 degrees but down right warm compared to the negative temps in Sunriver and La Pine areas. La Pine area reporting temps as low as -14.