What safety precautions should residents take during snowmelt season?

[Redbelly98]

If it's snowing, then it's time to get the Christmas display ready ...

 

[Evo]

If it's snowing, then it's time to get the Christmas display ready ...

Love it! I still think you need antlers, like my friends here.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Heh, that's where I used to live. I got caught in a whiteout once.

Really?

 

[Evo]

Really?

Yeah, Ballston Spa.

 

[Redbelly98]

Love it! I still think you need antlers, like my friends here.

What, you think I can just magically sprout antlers because somebody thinks it would look cool? How silly!

"Dammit Jim. I'm a woodpecker, not a reindeer!"

 

[Evo]

What, you think I can just magically sprout antlers because somebody thinks it would look cool? How silly!

"Dammit Jim. I'm a woodpecker, not a reindeer!"

<snort>

 

[George Jones]

Here's what the national weather service says is in store for me tomorrow night:

WINTER STORM WARNING: Saint John and County. Issued at 3:28 PM AST SATURDAY 20 DECEMBER 2008

HEAVY SNOWFALL UP TO 30 CENTIMETRES WITH STRONG WINDS AND AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF NEAR ZERO VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS IS A WARNING THAT DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.

30 cm is 12 inches.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Portland [Janus], Oregon, is getting hammered right now; probably 8" today and another 4" tomorrow.

 

[hypatia]

We will get our first Winter storm starting around 6 am tomorrow. Its predicted to add another 4 inches on top our 10 inches left by our fall storm.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Solstice, do something special.

 

[lisab]

Portland [Janus], Oregon, is getting hammered right now; probably 8" today and another 4" tomorrow.

And further north where I am (Seattle area), we're also getting hammered. Lots of snow plus a wind storm coming through about midnight. Wind storms = power outages. YUCK!

 

[Redbelly98]

And further north where I am (Seattle area), we're also getting hammered.

We all got hammered last night too ...

YESH! drunk posting! <hic>

I love you guys! <hic>

 

[Janus]

Portland [Janus], Oregon, is getting hammered right now; probably 8" today and another 4" tomorrow.

And after that we're supposed to get freezing rain, and since we live in the NE part of the city, we will likely get hit hard (cold East winds blowing out the Columbia Gorge.)

We went out earlier, got some groceries, and had the bad luck to find out that the car's battery needs to be replaced. After leaving the store it wouldn't turn the car over.(cold always brings out the worst in a car battery; it hadn't been giving me any trouble until now) Luckily, we were able to get a jump and made it home.

We just got home and got a call from my daughter asking if I could pick her up. She had gone out sledding with friends earlier and had been waiting at a bus stop for bus that didn't seem to be coming. (by this time it was snowing hard and about 19° F) I wentback out to the car and it wouldn't turn over again(yep, definitely time for a new battery). So I defaulted to the back-up car. (The 91' Civic we park in the street) . Unfortunately, the Honda does not have a working heater/defroster. It did have a good battery however, and started. Had an anxious moment as to whether or not I'd be able to plow through the drift that had formed around the car even with chains, but got out and was able to get my daughter home, constantly wiping the inside of the wind shield the whole time to keep it from frosting over.

Now I'm sitting at the computer listening to the wind howl and rattle the windows.

 

[hypatia]

Janus, I'm glad daughter and you are home safe. I so dislike winter driving, and wish we were allowed to wear chains. My son had to come get the metal detector and his spare key, after loosing his keys while using a snow blower. Haven't heard if he found them yet.
Nice, well mannered snow has started to fall again here. Very lovely.

 

[offtheleft]

i HATE the snow :(

the day before yesterday, my mom put all new tires on my car. new tires + snow = BAD. especially when theyre summer tires LOL i was all over the road :( than, this morning when i was getting ready for work, my e-brake was frozen! UGH

 

[Andre]

And further north where I am (Seattle area), we're also getting hammered. Lots of snow plus a wind storm coming through about midnight. Wind storms = power outages. YUCK!

Winds seem to have diminished, Lisa, but now it's freezing rain. Not so good for power lines either.

 

[OmCheeto]

i HATE the snow :(

the day before yesterday, my mom put all new tires on my car. new tires + snow = BAD. especially when theyre summer tires LOL i was all over the road :( than, this morning when i was getting ready for work, my e-brake was frozen! UGH

We went out earlier, got some groceries, and had the bad luck to find out that the car's battery needs to be replaced.

Speaking of cars, their proclivity to break down at the worst time, and frozen e-brakes.
On Monday, I thought I had a frozen emergency brake shoe. I drove all the way to work, only to find out that my rear wheel bearing had disintegrated. I spent the next 36 hours fixing it myself, out in the snow and wind. All of the auto shops had lines around the block getting geared up for our little winter storm.

But all is better now.

 

[Astronuc]

I'm having a pre-Christmas special. Free snow!

We're having flurries and snow showers - with a few inches of accumulation so far.


We just saw what looked like a small Cooper's Hawk sitting on the bird feeder outside the window next to the computers. By the time my wife was set to take a picture, he/she flew away. Plummage was grey on top (posterior) and white with brown speckles/splotches on the breast.

 

[turbo]

Looking at picking up maybe 18" tonight. No joy.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We were supposed to be a foot deep in snow right now, but a warm front crept in, the temps jumped, and instead we are getting lots of rain. As much as I like the snow, based on the roar of the creek, snow would have been a bit much. We would certainly be stranded right now - with a foot of snow, we can't even get up the driveway. One year I tried to get up the driveway in a heavy snow with the pickup truck, and the truck ended up sitting in the flower beds for two weeks.

 

[Janus]

Here's what we're getting right now:

http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/snow.jpg

Here's some of the ice build up that we got from the freezing rain earlier this morning:

http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ice.jpg

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I heard the locks got 18" yesterday!

No power outages yet?

 

[George Jones]

Blizzardy, white-out conditions here right now.

 

[OAQfirst]

I'm expecting up to 20" overnight. It was almost 30 below last night. My car would not start. I had to bring the battery in.

This is a bad time to be homeless. I knew one homeless guy a few years back who lost all of his fingers in similar weather. There's also a gull that watches for me; it's missing it's right leg. But I haven't seen it lately. I hope it manages the winter safely.

 

[mgb_phys]

Vancouver police have blockaded some roads and are urging motorists to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary as the Lower Mainland continues to be pummeled by snow.

This is because of a forecast of 10cm of snow and temperatures of -4C !

 

[Janus]

I heard the locks got 18" yesterday!

No power outages yet?

Not for us, but my Mother-in-law just called and said that she has lost hers. If it's not back on by morning I'll go pick her up and bring her to our place.

 

[lisab]

Extraordinary snow here. Walking through my neighborhood, I can't tell where the street ends and the curb begins. It's just all a beautiful snow blanket...an unusual week, so much snow here in the Seattle area!

 

[Janus]

Extraordinary snow here. Walking through my neighborhood, I can't tell where the street ends and the curb begins. It's just all a beautiful snow blanket...an unusual week, so much snow here in the Seattle area!

I had a two foot drift in front of our driveway today. spent a good part of the morning getting rid of it and the clearing the driveway so that I could get the car out if needed. It started snowing again about 4 pm, and now I have another drift, though not quite as large. We might get more snow tonight so we'll see how it is in the morning.
The good news is that my Mother-in-law's power just came back on.

 

[turbo]

Still snowing steadily, and we have well over a foot on the ground. I got up to re-build the fire in the wood-stove and may have to get up again in a few hours to help my wife get out of the driveway and head to work.

 

[OmCheeto]

Still snowing steadily, and we have well over a foot on the ground. I got up to re-build the fire in the wood-stove and may have to get up again in a few hours to help my wife get out of the driveway and head to work.

The weatherman said we haven't had this much snow in 40 years. One of my employee's just called and asked if he had to go to work. I checked on-line and I was quite surprised that non-essential personnel don't have to go to work in the morning. Bus service has even been canceled. I've been working there for 25 years and I've never seen them do this before.

This afternoon, the "Flake-Watch '08" TV crew interviewed some people who had driven all the way from Denver. They said this area was the worst they saw it on the whole trip. There is a 50 mile stretch of the interstate that has been shut down for 24 hours, and they expect it to be shut down for another 24.

On the upside though, tomorrow will be the first day I've had off since July.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It would be pretty tough getting up that hill! Do you know if the tram can operate under these conditions?