First of all, welcome back after a long break! There has been all sorts of exciting things going on, I guess I just haven't been inspired enough to write about them. The time has finally come though. Now, back to the snow!
It all started Saturday morning (the 14th). I had just finished dropping Michael off at the airport (to visit his brother in California, the lucky bugger), and was nearing my exit, when I started seeing cars pass me in the south-bound lane, covered in snow! At first I was confused, were a bunch of people coming back from skiing or something (at this time there was NO snow on the ground and none in the air)? As more and more cars passed with the same snowy coating, I figured something was up. Just as I pulled into my driveway, the flakes started falling, hard and fast. It was so warm out though, I was sure they wouldn't stick at all. But stick they did and by the end of that evening, we had about an inch. The following day was pretty much the same thing as was Monday. By Monday evening we had about 6" (it would have been more, but some had melted).
Unfortunately, I had to pick Michael up from the airport Monday night. So I went out and scraped the car for half an hour, until the worst of the snow was gone. I somehow made it out of my steep and slippery driveway and down the extremely icy hill we live on, knowing that there was no way I'd make it back up again (I was not about to put chains on. That is SUCH a pain in the ass!). So I picked Michael up from the airport (luckily I-5 was clear) and we parked at a Les Schwabs at the base of our hill, and walked the 1/4 mile up the hill to our house. Whew, the hard part was over!
Over the next 3 days, we continued to get blasted with snow until there was at least 10" on the deck (doesn't sound like much, I know). This brings me to a point about the differences between snow in Seattle and snow in other areas (I lived in Pullman so I will use that as my reference, but feel free to picture any other snowy area in this country):
1). There is ALWAYS a thick, layer of ice under our snow falls that makes it especially treacherous combined with
2). The numerous, steep hills that abound in this area. Now, Pullman had hills, but I never remember having much trouble traversing them in the snow, chains or no chains. I think this had to do with the fact that the snow there was drier, and more powdery, and easier for tires to grip. Also,
3). They put sand and gravel everywhere there (I fondly remember the streets looking like they were paved with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream). Why don't they do this in Seattle? Maybe its not cost effective, but boy does it work. It is so much easier to grip the snow if its packed with gritty gravel.
4). Finally, and probably most importantly, people there knew how to drive in snow. They had it all the time during every winter and were prepared for it. Its amazing how much of a difference studded tires and sane, safe driving practices can make! Here, practically no one has winter tires, and worse, people drive like morons when it snows here. Probably because they have had no experience with it. Here's a fun fact, when there is ice and snow on the ground, you CANNOT go 60mph around a sharp curve. Its true! I don't care whether you have a 4 wheel drive or not, you still need to drive safely. Yes, the laws of physics DO apply to you, owner of the giant, swerving SUV in front of me!
Ok, so clearly I get a little frustrated with this kind of weather at times! Its main redeeming quality is that it is just SO pretty. While I have been trapped in my house for the past 4 days (due to my aforementioned reluctance to put on chains and drive amongst the maniacs), the one positive thing I can do, is look out the window and see the pretty, pretty snow. I can't wait until it f-ing melts!
It all started Saturday morning (the 14th). I had just finished dropping Michael off at the airport (to visit his brother in California, the lucky bugger), and was nearing my exit, when I started seeing cars pass me in the south-bound lane, covered in snow! At first I was confused, were a bunch of people coming back from skiing or something (at this time there was NO snow on the ground and none in the air)? As more and more cars passed with the same snowy coating, I figured something was up. Just as I pulled into my driveway, the flakes started falling, hard and fast. It was so warm out though, I was sure they wouldn't stick at all. But stick they did and by the end of that evening, we had about an inch. The following day was pretty much the same thing as was Monday. By Monday evening we had about 6" (it would have been more, but some had melted).
Unfortunately, I had to pick Michael up from the airport Monday night. So I went out and scraped the car for half an hour, until the worst of the snow was gone. I somehow made it out of my steep and slippery driveway and down the extremely icy hill we live on, knowing that there was no way I'd make it back up again (I was not about to put chains on. That is SUCH a pain in the ass!). So I picked Michael up from the airport (luckily I-5 was clear) and we parked at a Les Schwabs at the base of our hill, and walked the 1/4 mile up the hill to our house. Whew, the hard part was over!
Over the next 3 days, we continued to get blasted with snow until there was at least 10" on the deck (doesn't sound like much, I know). This brings me to a point about the differences between snow in Seattle and snow in other areas (I lived in Pullman so I will use that as my reference, but feel free to picture any other snowy area in this country):
1). There is ALWAYS a thick, layer of ice under our snow falls that makes it especially treacherous combined with
2). The numerous, steep hills that abound in this area. Now, Pullman had hills, but I never remember having much trouble traversing them in the snow, chains or no chains. I think this had to do with the fact that the snow there was drier, and more powdery, and easier for tires to grip. Also,
3). They put sand and gravel everywhere there (I fondly remember the streets looking like they were paved with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream). Why don't they do this in Seattle? Maybe its not cost effective, but boy does it work. It is so much easier to grip the snow if its packed with gritty gravel.
4). Finally, and probably most importantly, people there knew how to drive in snow. They had it all the time during every winter and were prepared for it. Its amazing how much of a difference studded tires and sane, safe driving practices can make! Here, practically no one has winter tires, and worse, people drive like morons when it snows here. Probably because they have had no experience with it. Here's a fun fact, when there is ice and snow on the ground, you CANNOT go 60mph around a sharp curve. Its true! I don't care whether you have a 4 wheel drive or not, you still need to drive safely. Yes, the laws of physics DO apply to you, owner of the giant, swerving SUV in front of me!
Ok, so clearly I get a little frustrated with this kind of weather at times! Its main redeeming quality is that it is just SO pretty. While I have been trapped in my house for the past 4 days (due to my aforementioned reluctance to put on chains and drive amongst the maniacs), the one positive thing I can do, is look out the window and see the pretty, pretty snow. I can't wait until it f-ing melts!
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