Posted on 12/04/2009 4:32:49 AM PST by Patriot1259
Winter Weather Warning In Effect For Our Area Today
It happens on average every four years in the City of Houston. It happened last year briefly, and in 2004 it happened on Christmas Eve: That foreign, frigid white stuff falls from the sky delighting children of all ages and closing freeway overpasses. Snow!
(Excerpt) Read more at thecypresstimes.com ...
As a little girl growing up in Dallas, I can remember waking up to snow on Christmas morning once. We were swimming later that day.
I love that song........................
Houston. Snow. WTH, over?
3 - 5” in Harris County? Yeah. Okay, Houston is closed.
I remember when I was very young, my mom having me and my siblings put socks on our hands because it was so cold in Houston. This would have been in the early 60’s.
"There is a technique to driving in icy or snowy conditions, unfortunately due to the rarity of snow fall in Houston most drivers are not familiar with or practiced in these techniques."
I learned how to drive in Wyoming. For those of you not in the know, Wyoming gets freaking cold. We get severe blizzards and *feet* of snow, with temperatures well below zero and a wind-chill factor that kills people.
Now I live in Texas. A couple of years ago we had a decent freeze and a bit of snow here in Central Texas. I ventured out to go to the store, not too worried about the roads because I have the necessary driving skills.
It took everything I had to keep my car on that icy road and I ended up giving up and going home. Cars and big trucks were sliding side-ways down a hill. People were slipping through stop-signs and I was one of them. I learned how to drive on some of the worst winter roads in the country (in a Chevy Chevette) and I am very good. But there's only so much a person can do when you're driving on an ice-rink without chains.
There's something they don't mention about the roads up north. We sand them. We salt them. We scrape them. Millions of dollars are spent to keep the roads safe so life doesn't come to a grinding halt during the long winters.
We have none of that in the south.
I am so sick and tired of the authorities blaming accidents in Southern states during cold weather on bad drivers. Yes, driving on frozen roads takes skill and there is some technique to it, but that's not the whole story.
I understand why the locals don't invest in anti-ice measures for the roads down here. In the four years that I've been in Texas, we've only had a couple of bad days. It's really not worth it.
But don't just blame the drivers.
I lived in Montana for 5 years. In that time, schools were only closed 2 days for snow. Some of the school buses had snowplows on the front. They know how to deal with it.
If you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait a few minutes.
Can you use chains?
I’m just asking. I’ve driven in tons of snow but I avoid ice.
We did use chains on icy roads. They dig into the ice quite well.
When it snowed, the asphalt would warm the snow just enough to melt it. Then it would freeze solid very quickly. The ice hidden under the snow on the roads was the biggest problem.
In deep snow, you can get stuck, but it’s the ice that causes vehicles to loose control.
It is hailing now on the West side. No, really. Snow is evil.
In the UK that sort of ice is called “Black Ice”.
We have the same problems here. Unlike really cold places like e.g. Norway we don’t have to get used to ice and snow: with the result that we’re just not geared up for it.
“But don’t just blame the drivers.”
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I learned to drive in South Carolina on red clay roads that were so slick sometimes that you literally could not walk on them without falling down. I have driven fifty mile round trips on glaze ice more than once and I have done it without chains or studs. I no longer am willing to drive on ice though, there are too many owners of four wheel drive pickups who don’t realize that while they may be able to drive on ice they can’t stop any better than those with two wheel drive vehicles.
There is a TV show called “Ice Road Truckers” which is educational, they explain that ice is much easier to drive on when the temperature is below zero. Down South ice on the road is likely to be just barely frozen and may have moisture on the surface, this is MUCH slicker than ice at ten degrees below zero!
Here’s an article that might help:
http://www.glinx.com/~sbest/4chains.htm
According to this, there are different kinds of chains. Some work better on ice than others. (We weren’t that picky back in the 80’s.)
The difference between driving on ice with vs without chains is night and day. Yes, you have to go very slow with the chains on, but the control is incredible. (My little “beater” car was so light that I couldn’t go over 20 with the chains on or it would shake too much. It felt like it was going to shake apart!)
The smart thing to do is not to drive when you’ve got two inches of ice covering the roads; but, if you must, chains are the way to go. (And keep a bag of cheap kitty litter and a shovel in your trunk along with a cold-weather emergency kit. My kit saved my bacon more times than I can count. It’s a lot easier to wait an hour in below-freezing temperatures for a tow when you’re snuggled up in a sleeping bag!)
I do miss that crappy car! lol!
“There is a TV show called “Ice Road Truckers” which is educational, they explain that ice is much easier to drive on when the temperature is below zero. Down South ice on the road is likely to be just barely frozen and may have moisture on the surface, this is MUCH slicker than ice at ten degrees below zero!”
Very good point!
Thanks!
If you’re in a rural area with no curbs, and there’s a decent gravel or dirt shoulder on the side of the paved roadway, one way to maintain control on black ice is to drop two wheels off the pavement, which is very slippery, onto the shoulder, which is ice that will break under the tires, and therefore will have at least some traction.
This has gotten me up and down hills here in NC in the past, when the roads were nearly impassable, and it’ll keep the car in place at a stop when the roadway has a bank to it.
Low speed is very important, if you’re going to do this, though. Potholes, erosion, etcetera could damage the wheels or suspension, or throw you into a spin anyway, if you’re going much over 10-15 mph.
That’s what we say in Michigan, too. Though now I say to people, if you don’t like the weather in Michigan, move.
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