What safety precautions should residents take during snowmelt season?

[lisab]

Since it's snowing, why not come to PF chat (open today and tomorrow):
https://www.physicsforums.com/chat/flashchat.php

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful.
And since you are stuck where you're at,
Come and chat, come and chat, come and chat!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful.
And since you are stuck where you're at,
Come and chat, come and chat, come and chat!

There must be an award somewhere around here for "first PF Christmas tune"!

 

[Janus]

Well, its official, we have a White Christmas. We still have snow from earlier in the week and it is now snowing hard. It's the first truly white Christmas I've had since I was a kid in Minnesota.

 

[Borek]

Still no snow here. Perhaps traces tomorrow.

 

[OmCheeto]

We had some nice trashcan cone-head snow sculpture at work yesterday

I thought the snow was over with this morning so I spend 6 hours digging myself out and clearing a path for the mailman(...again... I'll never learn)

Of course, I was mistaken. 1 hour later, black was once again white.

The weatherman said this morning that the previous record snow depth on a Christmas day was 1".

I think we beat the record.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Astronuc]

We're having snow - again. It's about 4 inches (10 cm) and still snowing.

I have to go shovel the driveway.

 

[Redbelly98]

We (central NJ) are getting it too. It's about 3 millimeters (1/8 inch) and still coming down.

I have to go sweep the front steps.

 

[Astronuc]

We have a lot of bird activity at our bird feeders. Usually the activity picks up when it snows.

I have yet to see a green-haired redbelly.

 

[Doc Al]

We (central NJ) are getting it too. It's about 3 millimeters (1/8 inch) and still coming down.

Yep, seems to be coming down pretty hard. Sounds like I may as well go home! I can't work under these conditions.

 

[D H]

Ahhh. 64 F here and sunny.

 

[turbo]

Sunny and 25 deg F with thin cirrus. The chickadees are hitting the suet and the seed-feeder pretty hard. Maybe they know something about upcoming weather...?

 

[turbo]

No more cirrus - pretty socked in, now with snow on the way and a cold snap following. Night will be in the single digits or lower for the next few days. I love my wood stove!

 

[CylonMath]

Hey , here there is only slight rain and no snow outthere , it sucks.

 

[Redbelly98]

We have a lot of bird activity at our bird feeders. Usually the activity picks up when it snows.

I have yet to see a green-haired redbelly.

They're quite rare. Good thing I'm no longer in the market for a mate.

Yep, seems to be coming down pretty hard. Sounds like I may as well go home! I can't work under these conditions.

Sorry, the sun has come out and melted everything on the west side of the house. A very light dusting remains on the eastward side.

 

[Borek]

No, it is not snowing. But temperature plummeted down to zero.

Zero Fahrenheit.

And it is only 6 p.m. with clear sky, it can get even colder tonight.

 

[Andre]

And your zero is coming my way.

 

[turbo]

The ice-fishermen here would love some sub-zero weather, BUT they need heavy rain first. The snow-pack insulates what thin ice there is, preventing deeper freezing, and as a result many large bodies of fresh water are unsafe for fishing. Because of this and the poor economy, sales of equipment, bait, etc are way down. I don't think hopes for heavy rain are going to be fulfilled. We have about a foot of very crusty snow (more in the north), that the rain would run off before saturating, and it takes a lot of warm rain to melt a foot of snow. Ah, well.

 

[mgb_phys]

I've just spent 2hours shoveling another foot of 'turning to rain later' off the drive.
The snow banks are now higher than I am so that's it - I'm now waiting for spring.

 

[larkspur]

Turbo, I wish I could send you some of our rain. Here is our forecast:

* From midnight EST /11 PM CST/ tonight through Wednesday morning

* rainfall may be heavy at times beginning late tonight through
Wednesday morning. By Wednesday morning... widespread total
rainfall amounts of three to four inches will be possible
across most of the watch area. In addition... locally higher
amounts will be possible in a few areas.

 

[mgb_phys]

It doesn't snow in Vancouver!

If you buy a white car, remember where you parked it!

Thats a Range Rover (full size SUV) that won't be seen until spring.

 

[larkspur]

I can't imagine that much snow!

 

[turbo]

I can't imagine that much snow!

When I was a kid, a Nor'easter sat on us and delivered 5' of the new stuff in 2 days. Snowmobiles were VERY rare, and were used for rescue purposes, taking people food, kero, etc. Some people in remote parts of town were over 2 weeks getting bulldozed out so they could buy groceries, go to work, etc. I made a LOT of money during those weeks, shoveling out doors and windows, and clearing off peoples' roofs. It wasn't much in today's terms, but my dad earned maybe 50% more than minimum wage and I could easily double his wage on an hourly basis, helping people prevent damage to their property.

 

[Astronuc]

More snow - 6-12 inches (15-30 cm).

So, I'm home making another beef roast. :tongue2"

 

[hypatia]

I've lost track of how much we are getting, last measure was about 7 inches, that was 2 hours ago. And its still coming down strong.

 

[turbo]

Looks like the next weather-maker may pass over the Gulf of Maine, hopefully sparing us. I'm getting really sick of snow. I think the chickadees sense unsettled weather - they are hitting the seed feeders and the suet cage pretty hard today even though it is pretty mild (27 deg , currently). This morning I went out to reload the suet cage, and one of the 'dees was hanging off the bottom of it pecking at the frozen scraps. I walked up to him and held out my handful of fresh suet, and he just went on pecking at the frozen stuff. I held the suet so close to him that when he would pause to glance at me, he could take a bite of the fresh stuff without moving a bit. Nope! He was pretty stubborn. It's nice to see that they remember me. They all look pretty much alike so when a flock comes in, the only way I can tell if they are "regulars" is to approach them. If they flit away hollering "deeee, deeee, deeee", they are newcomers, and if they stay put, they're regulars.

 

[larkspur]

Those of you with snow, how about some snow angels and post a photo of your best?

 

[turbo]

Those of you with snow, how about some snow angels and post a photo of your best?

If you think I'm going to lie on my back in that horrid stuff and flap my arms, you're just nuts. If I had done that last March, my wife wouldn't have found me until late April.

 

[larkspur]

If you think I'm going to lie on my back in that horrid stuff and flap my arms, you're just nuts. If I had done that last March, my wife wouldn't have found me until late April.

Looks like the snow is high enough you won't have to lie down. Just lean against a wall of snow and flap your arms.

 

[Borek]

lie on my back in that horrid stuff and flap my arms

Ah, so that's an 'angel'. In Poland we flap both hands and legs and we call it an 'eagle'.

 

[OmCheeto]

This may go down as the snowiest winter ever.

 

[Astronuc]

We just had 5-6 inches (13 - 15 cm) of snow with about 1 inch of sleet, then a little freezing rain. It's supposed to turn back to sleet then snow some time during the night. Right now it's a light drizzle, and the backyard temperature is about 30°F (-1°C).

We are probably having a more normal winter, but not yet near a record accumulation of snow. We had a record snow fall several years ago, with an accumulation of over 5 ft.

Syracuse has had ~110 inches of snow so far this season, which is about the normal total for an entire season.

We're about halfway to looking like turbo's place.

 

[turbo]

The storm is coming through here, now. High temp today was 12 deg, and we've already gotten over 6" of snow with totals here in the foothills expected to run 10-18"

 

[turbo]

I shoveled a path from the front door to the area of the driveway where my wife parks. That was at 3:30. A little over 4 hours later, and you can't tell that I even touched it. It's coming down hard.

 

[Evo]

I am so glad that we are having a relatively dry winter. Very cold, but dry. Last year we had snow every other day.

Turbo, this is 2 years in a row that you are being hit, I feel for you.

 

[Cyrus]

I shoveled my drive way last night after coming home from work. I woke up today to find it literally one continuous sheet of ice. Actually, even the main road in my neighborhood was one big sheet of ice - literally. I had the fun of scraping the ice after come home from work today. It must have been a few hundred pounds of ice total that I moved.

 

[Evo]

<gah> Ice is the worst. Absolutely the worst.

 

[turbo]

I am so glad that we are having a relatively dry winter. Very cold, but dry. Last year we had snow every other day.

Turbo, this is 2 years in a row that you are being hit, I feel for you.

The snowmobile clubs and the restaurants, motels, etc, that get income from these heavy snows will benefit. I guess I can spend a few uncomfortable hours clearing this. We are losing mills, service industries, etc at a frightening rate, so the snow is a help for some. Watching local news interviews with snowmobile dealers is a bit odd. People don't have money to trade in and upgrade their sleds, so the local dealerships are trying to scale back on new inventory and concentrate on rebuilds and maintenance. Many local dealerships have gone under, because their franchise agreements require them to buy more sleds (in various value categories) than they can afford to stock.

 

[turbo]

<gah> Ice is the worst. Absolutely the worst.

We had ice so bad a number of years ago that we had power-crews and tree-crews from many states south of us and many provinces north of us, and still some people never got power back for over a month. I should be happy that this event will be all snow. After the last big ice-storm there was no power to the ophthalmic practice in which I was the network administrator, so I spent my days dragging little under powered generators around to the houses of the doctors who owned the practice, trying to keep their houses heated. It would be dead-still outside, and every gun-shot crack of another big branch or tree failing under the load of ice would make me think "crap! I'll be here again tomorrow and tomorrow".

 

[turbo]

We got over a foot of dry, but dense heavily-packed snow overnight. When I got up around in the early morning to feed the fire, I suited up and shoveled a path from our front door to my wife's car and entirely around her car so that she could scrape the snow off the car before heading to work.

The storm, which appeared to be over, still wasn't at that point because she had to do a little more shoveling to clean off her car around 5am. Still, that little Subaru Legacy sedan (with studded snow tires) blasted out through the driveway and the snow-bank and the road, dragging the under-chassis in the snow all the way. If there is anybody here that is in the market for a new car and you have to deal with snow and ice, GET A SUBARU and fit it with studded snows for the winter. Independent symmetrical traction-control and anti-lock-braking combined with skid control cannot be beat. 4WD vehicles with regular transmission/transfer case arrangements can't compete. I can't ski anymore due to bad knees, but when I'm looking for photographic subjects or other driving in the winter, I'm impressed by the number of Subarus that are on the roads around our larger ski resorts. 40 years ago, there were a lot of Volkswagens and Saabs on those roads. No more.

 

[Borek]

Was there an ice storm in Kentucky lately?

 

[Astronuc]

Was there an ice storm in Kentucky lately?

Yes - last week, there was an ice storm from Arkansas eastward through Tennessee and Kentucky. Kentucky had about 700,000 people without electricity service due to downed power lines.

Kentucky Hardest Hit By Deadly Ice Storm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/02/national/main4769197.shtml
State Asks Obama To Speed Federal Aid As Hundreds Of Thousands Still Without Power; Nationwide Death Toll Now 55

Thaw comes slowly to storm-ravaged Kentucky
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090201/ap_on_re_us/winter_storm

We only had 2 cm of sleet/ice on top of 10 cm of snow. All structures and trees were covered in thin layer of ice.

 

[Borek]

Thanks.

 

[wolram]

Us Brits had a little dusting of snow, it bought road, rail transport to a stand still, schools closed and even Heathrow was closed for a while.

 

[turbo]

Us Brits had a little dusting of snow, it bought road, rail transport to a stand still, schools closed and even Heathrow was closed for a while.

London's mayor pointed out that you get snow-storms so infrequently, it makes little sense to buy and maintain the heavy equipment necessary to deal with it. He specifically mentioned plow trucks, but of course in a city, once you have plowed the snow into banks, you've got to bring in front-end loaders, etc to transport it somewhere to be dumped. Buying and maintaining such a fleet is a very expensive proposition.

 

[wolram]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iR7p1-FovglATaqWxYPlxqGkf6zw

LONDON (AFP) — The snow storms which paralysed Britain may have cost businesses already battling the credit crunch up to a billion pounds, experts said on Tuesday -- and more blizzards could be still on their way.

A billion pounds would buy a fair few.

Edit

Even if are hard up the tight old twit could buy from here.

http://www.mod-sales.com/

 

[Air]

London's mayor pointed out that you get snow-storms so infrequently, it makes little sense to buy and maintain the heavy equipment necessary to deal with it. He specifically mentioned plow trucks, but of course in a city, once you have plowed the snow into banks, you've got to bring in front-end loaders, etc to transport it somewhere to be dumped. Buying and maintaining such a fleet is a very expensive proposition.

'We had the right type of snow, just the wrong type of quantity.'

I quite enjoyed the fact that London came to a halt, was a surprise. Many seemed to be away from the pressure and enjoyed their day.

 

[mgb_phys]

London's mayor pointed out that you get snow-storms so infrequently, it makes little sense to buy and maintain the heavy equipment necessary to deal with it.

The streets are ok - the problem is normally the railways, especially the tube.
It's now such a complex mix of government, government owned companies, private companies, maintenance contractors and local authorities that you would have 6 different organizations responsible for clearing the snow around a train.

It was even funnier here, Vancouver airport got a couple of cm of snow. It turns out that Vancouver doesn't do snow removal and de-icing, it's upto the individual airlines to supply their own. Air Canada obviously decided it doesn't snow in Vancouver and didn't have any so was grounded for a couple of days. Hopefully there won't be any snow for the winter olympics next year.

 

[mgb_phys]

Even if are hard up the tight old twit could buy from here.
http://www.mod-sales.com/

A bit off topic, but why do the Army have Harley Davidsons?
http://www.mod-sales.com/direct/vehicle/home/19078/Harley_Davidson.htm

 

[wolram]

A bit off topic, but why do the Army have Harley Davidsons?
http://www.mod-sales.com/direct/vehicle/home/19078/Harley_Davidson.htm

They buy them for the metal content, in times of hardship they can be melted down.

 

[turbo]

Currently, it is below zero (F) and will probably go to 15 below or lower. The wood-stove is getting a work-out! It is a lot easier to maintain an interior temperature than to let it fall and then try to recover. Since I don't have a day-job, I make sure to stay on the job as long as possible every day, so when my wife gets up she is comfortable and can go through her exercise routine, get her caffeine fix, an still have a little quiet time before heading out to work.