How much snow does it take to snow you in?

[Sarah_Rose]

I grew up in Calgary, Alberta. I remember a winter storm where the snow on the side streets was up above my knees. I called my boss to tell her that I wouldn't be in because I couldn't get my car out of the driveway. She told me that if I waded out to the main road, she would pick me up in her 4WD SUV. I put on my ski pants and I went to work.

I worked as a teacher in southwestern Ontario. Between when I went into school in the morning and when school was cancelled around noon, my car was literally buried up past the doors. All the teachers helped dig each other out and push each other out of the parking lot, and then I drove home. The major streets were already plowed and it was slow going, but I got home.

In Seattle on Monday we got 3 inches of snow. The road out of our subdivision is at the bottom of a large steep hill (with a bridge over a river at the bottom of the hill - so, icy) and we don't have snow tires because it only snows once every 2 years, here. The hill is pretty dangerous right now and there are several cars that have spun out sitting on the side of the road. The DOT is still advising people to stay home if they don't absolutely have to leave their house. I am now on day 3 of being snowed in by 3 inches of snow. The storm was not nearly as bad as the snowstorm that shut down the city for a week at Christmas two years ago, but we lived downtown at that time and we had a great time walking around downtown in the snow with everyone else whose jobs were closed down for the snow.

How much snow does it take to snow you in, where you live?

 

[SaraJayne]

Well, I live in WI...do I need to say any more?

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

It takes at least two feet in 12 hours.....and it happens all the time!

 

[keetmommy]

Well, I live in WI...do I need to say any more?

Yah me too....

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I am a teacher. We had a two hour delay one day last year for "the potential for black ice."

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Well, I live in WI...do I need to say any more?

Yup, I know that feeling. The city I lived in in southwestern Ontario dealt with its snow like no other place I've ever lived. 2 feet would fall overnight and when I got up to go to work in the morning, not only would the major streets already be plowed, but so would the SIDEWALKS.

Seattle? Owns like 3 snowplows for the entire county.

 

[elgerber]

Well, I live in WI...do I need to say any more?

LOL I'm in MN, same comment from me...

 

[shortbun]

Once when the temp was 20 below and my plumbins was frozen, my car wouldn't start and there was over a foot of ice and snow on the road...my boss came and picked me up so I was at work.

 

[disykat]

I don't consider myself snowed in, I'm ICED in! Hills with snow, and freezing temperatures are not a good combo. We lost power for 29 hours so we're just so thankful to have electricity again (heat!) I'm not complaining about the roads - yet.

My husband got out to go to work today so I know we can get out, but I'm staying put! Church tonight has been cancelled because that neighborhood doesn't have power yet.

Around here people aren't even talking about the snow, it's all about the wind and the temperature!

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I don't consider myself snowed in, I'm ICED in! Hills with snow, and freezing temperatures are not a good combo. We lost power for 29 hours so we're just so thankful to have electricity again (heat!) I'm not complaining about the roads - yet.

My husband got out to go to work today so I know we can get out, but I'm staying put! Church tonight has been cancelled because that neighborhood doesn't have power yet.

Around here people aren't even talking about the snow, it's all about the wind and the temperature!

Where in WA are you? I guess you're right about it being more the ice than the snow! We haven't lost power here, so I guess we're doing pretty good. But yeah, the hills with the ice are just not a good combo. Also, we just don't know how to drive in the snow here in the Northwest. I say that lovingly, of course.

 

[minkydog]

Ya'll need to move down South. Here in Atlanta if we get even 1" of snow we get the whole day off! Woot! It's a great ol' big holiday! Then it all melts off and it's life as usual.

Down here, most cities and counties have little or no snow removal equipment. It's not cost effective to buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment that you plan to use 2-3 times in a 10 year period. We rarely get a real deep snow. For us, 4-6" is deep. Deeper than that and it's a blizzard.

The real issue for most of us Southerners is NOT that we can't drive in snow. It's that when we get snow, it comes with a 1-2" layer of black ice under it. Most of our snow events start with a huge media buildup for about 3-4 days, way before it gets really cold. Then the cold front moves in and the snow starts. Almost immediately everything comes to a screeching halt except the grocery stores. They will be open for the requisite milk-bread-firewood shoppers. Then we all stay home for a couple days while we wait for the snow to melt. After about 48 hours the temps are usually back up in the 60s and we're back in the saddle.

 

[golfgal]

LOL I'm in MN, same comment from me...

Ditto==I will say that 1/4" if ICE is enough to keep me home though. Snow is easy, it's the ice that is bad.

 

[laurie31]

None! LOL! All they have to do is PREDICT it, and they'll close the schools.

To keep us in our house, though, all it takes is freezing rain. We live on a hill that I have no desire to slide off of in my car. As Minky said, if we do get snow down here, there's usually ice under it, or sometimes it warms up enough around noon to melt it a bit and then it all freezes back as solid ice.

However, if I am scheduled to work I have to figure out some way to get there. If they close the interstates, we are expected to get to work BEFORE that happens. Which means if they predict snow, I get to camp out at work. Lat time that happened was the Ice Storm of Jan '96. I was 5 months pregnant, and we were stuck at work for 3 days. I was not a happy pregnant person. LOL.

 

[tvguy]

Funny, my Canadian Cousins (in Calgary, Saskatoon and Ottawa) all laugh at our snow days, chain controls, and snow road closures here in California (in the Sierra). They claim in Canada, snow is NEVER an excuse not to go to work or school.
My Uncle was coming down Interstate 80 from Nevada to California in a snow storm, and the Highway Department stopped him for not having chains. They called over the Highway Patrol, who looked at the Saskatchewan license plate , and said, "he'd know better than us if he needed chains"...and sent him on his way.

 

[dislaney]

Texas here- and we don't need any snow either. Sometimes just the threat of snow is enough to close everything down. The ice is really the problem most of the time though..

 

[elgerber]

Ditto==I will say that 1/4" if ICE is enough to keep me home though. Snow is easy, it's the ice that is bad.

Yeah, Sunday was very unpleasant!! And I have a very steep driveway!

 

[ugadog99]

Ya'll need to move down South. Here in Atlanta if we get even 1" of snow we get the whole day off! Woot! It's a great ol' big holiday! Then it all melts off and it's life as usual.

Down here, most cities and counties have little or no snow removal equipment. It's not cost effective to buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment that you plan to use 2-3 times in a 10 year period. We rarely get a real deep snow. For us, 4-6" is deep. Deeper than that and it's a blizzard.

The real issue for most of us Southerners is NOT that we can't drive in snow. It's that when we get snow, it comes with a 1-2" layer of black ice under it. Most of our snow events start with a huge media buildup for about 3-4 days, way before it gets really cold. Then the cold front moves in and the snow starts. Almost immediately everything comes to a screeching halt except the grocery stores. They will be open for the requisite milk-bread-firewood shoppers. Then we all stay home for a couple days while we wait for the snow to melt. After about 48 hours the temps are usually back up in the 60s and we're back in the saddle.

Yep, and it's fun, too!

 

[Nomi]

I am from Alberta, Canada, and I have never had a snow day, or been snowed in. -30 and two feet of snow? Were all going to school/work! We are just too good at dealing with snow, drat it. I've always wanted a snow day! The only problem is when a water main breaks. That was the only time we would get a day off from school.

 

[SandrA9810]

When I visited Flin Flon, Manitoba, there is no such thing as a snow day. The only time they get a day off from school is when there's a frostbite warning. Like if you're outside for more than 30 seconds, you can get frostbite on your fingers and toes. That is the only time the schools close down. I think it's gotta be like -60 C or something like that. But it's not uncommon to get that cold for an overnight low.

 

[mrodgers]

Last year was the first time I drove a car with snow tires (previous 15 years has been 4WD trucks.) I drove into the unplowed section of our parking lot just to see if I could get out. The snow was 3/4 of the way up my door in my 94 Honda Civic. I stopped. Tried to open the door and realized I couldn't. I thought if all fails, there are 50 employees that just drove in trucks on 2nd shift. I pressed the throttle and easily pulled through that snow. Had to be at least 24 inches deep. The snow plowed up over my hood and started to cover my windshield, but the little Honda with snow tires pulled through it just fine.

So, in a car with snow tires, it would have to be more than 24 inches on the roads before I'm snowed in.

In 1995 I bought my first little Toyota pickup. Previous to that, my car with sport tires (couldn't find even all-seasons in that size), if it even threatened snow I was sliding all over the place. Those 3 winters I had that car, I learned how to drive in snow. I drove more with the handbrake on to steer than I used the steering wheel.

Then, as I said, in 1995 I got my first Toyota 4x4. First thing I did with a big snow is head out and find the loneliest "no winter maintenance" road here in rural Pennsylvania that I could find. My buddy and I had a blast. I was stomping through feet of snow, the snow launching up over my truck, and giggling the whole time. So I guess, in the 4x4, I'd say that over 3-4 feet would be my limit of depth of snow on the roads (on the roads, not plowed off the roads.)

Snow doesn't bother me a bit. I don't care how deep it is. There has been times where I couldn't open my door to get out of the house because the wind whips around and deposits all the snow from the yard against the door. I would just open up the garage door, literally jump up and over the snow to get outside, clear around my vehicle and clear the vehicle off, and go.

I absolutely LOVE driving in snow, no matter how deep. I drive a manual transmission (important to have control and not give control up to the computer), I turn the traction control off (again, I have control, not the computer), and it ticks me off that all cars now come with ABS brakes and I can't turn it off. Complete manual control of the vehicle and understanding the physics of weight transfer and how the car will react to acceleration and braking are the keys to driving in snow, or otherwise. I have absolutely no problems driving in snow.

Everyone has the same statement, "Snow is one thing, but there's nothing you can do on ice...." Wrong. Again, manual control of everything. Manual transmission and no ABS, you can drive on ice. It's the automatic transmission and ABS that gets you into trouble. Leave it for a computer to control it and it's a recipe for disaster. Understanding how a vehicle will react under physics and taking manual control of the vehicle and even ice can be navigated safely.