Keyav8r Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Sitting on the couch watching the arrival of our first (hopefully only) 2017 Alabama snow/sleet/ice event. Looks like the front edge coming from Mississippi just hit the Birmingham area - freezing rain, etc - but the roads haven't been impacted yet. The ground is still fairly warm as we've had 50-60 F days for the last few weeks. I'm hoping this will turn out to be much ado about nothing, but I'm not betting that it's not going to get messy. Fortunately, I'm off today so didn't have to make the "should I go to the office and gamble on getting stranded there" decision. Yeah, I know that you Northern and Canadian guys are saying unkind things about Southerners getting all worked up over maybe 2"-3" of snow. Guys, we aren't prepared for this stuff like you are. Limited salting and de-icing equipment and no plows because we get snow so rarely and it stays on the ground for a short time. But, a decent snow (2" or more) shuts everything down. All the school systems cancelled Friday classes yesterday afternoon. And, of course, we've had the run on the grocery stores - milk, bread and beer stocks severely depleted! Everyone down here remembers the "Snowpocalypse of 2014" that shut down Birmingham, Atlanta and other AL and GA cities, and stranded thousands at work or on the highways. Go ahead and call us wimps, but we don't want to do that again! Dang global warming is the culprit! Update - one of my wife's Facebook friends just posted that her car was completely iced over driving home from work. Looks like Snowpocalypse may be on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I was in Atlanta for 2014 and escaped from being trapped on the freeway with my father and my little nephew by maybe a half-hour. that woulda sucked. :ack: the radar shows tonight is going to be a rough one with the freezing rain, but I'll believe it when I see it with the snow on saturday. unlike 2014, this time we have a generator :D (heat pump here, no propane or gas or oil or coal or anything truly useful in frigid weather). It's just best for everyone to stay home (so I can have the roads to myself :D ) there are some definite plusses though. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Snow you say? It's okay. The first couple snowfalls of the year here usually mean a bit of chaos too until everyone calms down and figures things out. Doesn't mean we still don't laugh our asses off when Vancouver (a city that very recently hosted the Winter Olympics I'll remind you) gets completely shut down by a couple inches. If you're not prepared it's not always easy to deal with, and even we understand that. But worse is the ones who don't realize they aren't prepared or don't think they need to be and cause chaos by their stupidity. Be smart, help each other out where you can, make sure you've got warmth, food, and water, and if you're able to get outside and enjoy the winter weather by all means go for it! Winter's probably my favourite season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 We got about 2" this morning but the roads seem fine. Last year about this time I made it out of Cookeville about 20 minutes before the roads froze over. I saw several people go into a ditch and even saw someone going the opposite direction spin out into the ditch at about 60 miles per hour. I felt secure the whole way in the '91 with its Cooper AT3s. I really need to get those tires put on my new wheels. Dogs are loving it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRodder Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I have the pleasure of being in Atlanta for this one.... I have literally laughed at many people who I hear in public freaking out over 2-3" of snow. Wimps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpoly Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I myself am actually hoping for a little bit of a snow storm this year. though i understand why a lot of other people don't want it. we had around 6 inches a couple weeks ago in some areas 4-5 in others, like where i live. so my wife and i took a drive out to go have some fun. we watched some wanna be in a subaru try to drift in a parkinglot in which they almost hit a semi tractor trailer. but eh good thing they avoided it. EMS and Police services were pretty busy that night. several spin outs, and roll overs. and i witnessed an accident in which the driver was intoxicated and arrested while the passenger was being tested. but i think the biggest problem around these parts are the people being so impatient, and driving as if conditions were dry and not slick. and like you said not being prepared. we ended up helping several people up a few minor hills and offering others who made it after their tires were bald. hopefully if we get more snow people will be prepared. stay safe guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 technically it's not the snow that hurts the south as much as it is the ice. just no way to deal with ice down here (although I hear-tell of some chemical spraying trucks available for the highways). no one has salt, no one has chains, no one has skills, and the highways are mostly 2 laners made completely of curves with 10ft+ drops on either side and no guardrails. ice kills down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggilez Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Snow you say? It's okay. The first couple snowfalls of the year here usually mean a bit of chaos too until everyone calms down and figures things out. Doesn't mean we still don't laugh our asses off when Vancouver (a city that very recently hosted the Winter Olympics I'll remind you) gets completely shut down by a couple inches. If you're not prepared it's not always easy to deal with, and even we understand that. But worse is the ones who don't realize they aren't prepared or don't think they need to be and cause chaos by their stupidity. Be smart, help each other out where you can, make sure you've got warmth, food, and water, and if you're able to get outside and enjoy the winter weather by all means go for it! Winter's probably my favourite season. I'm jealous, Edmonton doesn't usually get too much snow, mostly cold and ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 technically it's not the snow that hurts the south as much as it is the ice. just no way to deal with ice down here (although I hear-tell of some chemical spraying trucks available for the highways). no one has salt, no one has chains, no one has skills, and the highways are mostly 2 laners made completely of curves with 10ft+ drops on either side and no guardrails. ice kills down here. TN salts the roads but we usually start running out about halfway through the winter. I've seen more plow trucks in the last couple of years though, so maybe someone is finally starting to realize that this happens every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 The snow just stopped here and maybe we have an 1-1/2" on the ground. The roads look clear except the bridges and overpasses are slick. We got all snow flurries, but down south around Birmingham it's mostly freezing rain. I'd rather have the snow. And the temp isn't getting above freezing it looks like until next Monday so it's going to stay like this for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 I've been watching the radar and the snow is trying mightily to reach us, but so far the heat is winning. nothing but regular rain and 36*. Atlanta is another story. I bet that place is a ghost town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Snow kinda fizzled around our house. Not really enough to cover the grass well. But the weather guessers were pretty close for some areas a little south and west of us. Looks like downtown Birmingham got 1-1/2" to 2" in places but not enough to close the airport. Temperature is down around 24 F with a 14F wind chill and dropping, so we'll have plenty of icy roads tonight and tomorrow. And, as Pete said, it's the ice that causes most of the problems down here. Most folks down here don't realize how little traction you have on ice without chains or studded tires and they try to drive like they always do. Lots of bent sheet metal as a result. I'll be in the garage working on the MJ until the thaw comes. Got gin and tonic and enough food to last a while, so won't be doing any traction testing. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere. If I were to rate 2014 as a 10, this one would be a 5, maybe a 4. Haven't heard of any people stranded yet and no major pile-ups. Icy roads tomorrow may change the score but maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Freezing rain is far and away the worst weather for driving. Even I stay off the roads. And if it's bad enough the ice buildup brings down trees, power lines... You name it. Not great. I feel for you guys. I'm jealous, Edmonton doesn't usually get too much snow, mostly cold and iceIt helps when you live on a... well around here they call it a mountain, but it's really just a bunch of big hills. But it makes a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desbennett004 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Snow you say? It's okay. The first couple snowfalls of the year here usually mean a bit of chaos too until everyone calms down and figures things out. Doesn't mean we still don't laugh our asses off when Vancouver (a city that very recently hosted the Winter Olympics I'll remind you) gets completely shut down by a couple inches. If you're not prepared it's not always easy to deal with, and even we understand that. But worse is the ones who don't realize they aren't prepared or don't think they need to be and cause chaos by their stupidity. Be smart, help each other out where you can, make sure you've got warmth, food, and water, and if you're able to get outside and enjoy the winter weather by all means go for it! Winter's probably my favourite season. I'm jealous, Edmonton doesn't usually get too much snow, mostly cold and ice Hey a fellow Albertan! I'm in Calgary. We have between 6-8" of accumulated snow right now, it's supposed to snow most of this coming week. I love this weather, it's the only time my Jeep outperforms the other vehicles on the road. Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Local channel weather coverage is showing a lot of the slipping, sliding, stalling in the middle of the interstate. Sections of I-20 East towards Atlanta are parking lots, mostly 18 wheelers that made it that far and stopped. Atlanta's airport, one of the busiest airports in the US (if not the busiest), is being reported as having hundreds of flight cancellations, really impacting travel to Tampa for the National Championship game. Since this storm continued across GA, it's probably hampering travel for Clemson fans. Should be better tomorrow as the sun is starting to do a pretty good job on the streets around here. If all these jokers who just "have to be somewhere" would wait a couple more hours they could get where they're going much easier. Leaving now they may wind up sitting on a blocked highway for a long time, or possibly wrecked in a ditch or against a median barrier. Despite all the miracles of modern medicine, you can't fix stupid and stubborn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Gadsden got almost nothing. I had to drive to work for an overnight last night at 9pm when the "snow" was coming down and I didn't slip or worry at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 nothing but a bit of ice here east of atlanta. the slightly warmer temps hung on and kept the snow at bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old man with MJ Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Ga. purchased some equipment after the 2014 disaster, someone in charge made the decision to start spreading brine the night before , but rain came in first and washed it off the road and they had to reapply when the storm started? I am outside the perimeter we mostly had ice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acerocknroll Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Got a couple inches in Philly and it's still coming down a bit. Hoping I can get out and play for a while when this dude goes down for his nap :) Update: got out to play! Snow was only like 3-4 inches but powdery and perfect for sliding around :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88mjblue Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 I was in Birmingham for Snowpocalypse 2014! I remember it well, but saw a bit more snow in colorado this year: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoCherokee Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Jackson, Wy got 20ft for the month of December. 5 ft last week, and 3 more feet expected this weekend. Needless to say, the ski'ing on the tetons and grand mountain has been excellent :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Yeah, we probably won't be doing much skiing since the forecast for the end of the week is 70F. This Snowpocalypse really didn't live up to its publicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypoid Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Ice is the worst! That is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody4359 Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 We had Snowmaggedon in 2012, I had over a foot in tacoma,wa and went to the hills to play. This year we have had a ton of snow and unfortunately they have switched to salt instead of the de-ice'er we have always used. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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