A snow day for some

kw: snow, beauty

Early this morning, after shoveling some snow, I just had to take a quick photo as the East warmed up toward sunrise. This pic isn't as clear as I'd like, but it is pretty good for handheld 1/10 second.

I feel lucky that we were just on the edge of the storm, and had only three or four inches of loose snow. Not much further north, there was more than twice as much.

There is something so specially pretty about fresh snow on a Dogwood tree.

Snow day, sequel

kw: weather, snow, ice

The radio shows this morning are full of talk about the snowstorm yesterday morning. It seems the President's girls also had the day off, and people are echoing his "learn from Chicago" ribbing. I'd be tempted to join in, but really, this isn't New England. Washington, DC was built on a subtropical swamp. It is just far enough north that it gets at least some snow most winters.

I've been there a few times in winter, and the problem is just its mid-Atlantic location. It is cold enough to get snow, but not cold enough to keep snow in solid form. Snow in the mid-Atlantic region quickly turns to slush, which is much more treacherous. The icy rain that fell on yesterday's snow made it that much worse.

A couple hours north of DC, where I live, I could get around by taking it slow. I knew before I started that I'd be late at work, and decided that was OK. The troubles on the roads were caused by people's impatience. It seems the most impatient people have a blind spot about weather. They don't plan ahead so as to have extra time, so they get twice as impatient with the slower drivers (like me) who did. I'm glad I didn't get rear-ended, but then, I drove at a time with less traffic, on the better-kept roads.

A reminder to everyone driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle: it is easier to get into trouble, because you have a false sense of security. Every vehicle has four-wheel stopping, so you actually have no advantage, there.

Snow day

kw: weather, snow, ice

For the schoolkids in the area, today was a snow day. Only one or two companies called the day off, and a few others started late. The rest kept their usual schedules. People in this area mostly seem to do OK, but some need to learn how to drive on snow or ice.

In 1978 I moved from California to South Dakota, where I lived eight years. There, snow is treated as a sediment, like a slightly evil form of sand. Most places, the road surface is left a bit knobbly, and the snow bonds to it when it is warmer (above 0°F), and just loosely packs into the crevices when it is cold. When it is -20°F (-29°C) or colder, it is too cold to snow much, so the typical blizzard will blow in with a half inch (about a cm) of powder, which will blow from here to there until the next thaw.

When I moved to Oklahoma, I soon became the designated winter driver in my carpool. Now, in the Delaware Valley, I don't carpool, or I'd probably also be the main winter driver. There is something to be said for having this attitude: snow is something you pack down and drive on.

Now, Ice is another matter. I've had one auto accident since my teen years, and it was caused by ice. This morning's ice is a good deal more risky than the snow, but fortunately, the main roads I drive on to get to work are all free of ice. They had enough traffic during the overnight storm to keep them from icing up badly. My main problem was keeping fresh ice from forming on my windshield. It sure is nice living only three miles from work. I could just poke along without making myself too late. This hasn't been bad for the first real winter storm of the season.