snowed in from noth ga

[k0ua]

It has been a total clusterfvk. :laughing: We have about 2 inches here (45 mins north of Atl.). The wife went to work about 6 hours early yesterday (nurse) for her 7:00 p.m. shift and took two sets of clothes knowing she'd be locked in for a couple of days and she works tonight too.

It's a mixture of ice and snow along with the huge culprit of just not having the snow equipment (as stated previously here)...and of course no one has snow tires. The politicians took a beating in 2011 when this happened and promised it was a learning lesson...oops...this time was even worse.

HUGE traffic jams as everyone was let out of work around noon/1:00 p.m. I'm listening here 95.5FM & AM750 News/Talk WSB - Atlanta's news, weather, traffic | www.wsbradio.com and it's all about people having 12 HOUR drives to get home...if they're there yet. Many kids had to spend the night in their schools due to the buses not being able to get out (or having to return to the school once they tried).

I don't think the south will ever have the equipment to handle stuff like this, it's just not feasible economically to have millions/billions of dollars worth of equipment that just sits...and sits...and sits. Plus the manpower to try and maintain (and then utilize it maybe once every few years).

I spent part of my youth/young adult-hood living in the Syracuse, NY area (dad still lives there), I've driven in plenty of winter weather...the roads were NEVER as bad as they get down south with just a bit of snow/ice...because the equipment/manpower is there 24/7 to make the roads drivable, and everyone has snow tires. I've got a 4wd truck and there's no way I can even get out of our driveway (good incline) with the ice on it, I'd be a fool to try...been there, done that. :laughing:

It would be fun to have everyone who thinks they could drive this mess to come on down and give it a try...without snow tires, of course. I'll gladly watch...from a very safe distance.

And of course none of this is helped by our drivers who think they can drive in this stuff, and the people who just plain get stuck out in it.

Take it easy down there Jay, and wait it out. We are a little better off up here with more equipment, and materiel's, and some more experience, but still not equipped like they are up north, and it doesn't take too much ice and snow to shut us down too. Branson here is so hilly and dangerous, sometimes it is just a lot safer to stay home if you can. Take it easy and be safe man.

 

[Katahdin]

I wonder how many road problems are due to the fact Georgia does not require annual vehicle inspections to weed out problems like bald tires.

 

[grsthegreat]

sorry guys, but i still think its funny to see towns roll up due to 2" of snow and ice. I know its rough for those that live there...but its because they lack the basic equipment to maintain the roads.

We have snow and ice storms here every year. Had an ice storm last December. Never even made the papers. School buses still ran but took 2 hours longer to open school. Stores dont run out of food...cause people stock their own emergency supplies.

Nearly everyone has at least 1 generator.

Its called being prepared. Were use to this happening. I do feel sorry for those that have to get to work under these conditions. Those that dont need to work (police,fire,medical) should stay home.


Oh and i LOVED the atlanta snowpocalypse 2014 video...that was great.

 

[/pine]

Front wheel drive cars have a natural advantage in snow - the weight of the engine is over the drive wheels. Still, take it easy, many all-season tires aren't great on ice, or even snow.

The worst thing to drive is a 2wd open-diff pickup truck, esp. empty. 4wd trucks get going faster, but they don't really STOP any better.

Until a hard freeze (which you won't see) sets in, on a gravel drive I'll push snow with the rear blade reversed (less aggressive face). It tends to grab less non-frozen-in-place gravel that way, and also is a bit more forgiving if you push up against something you can't see hidden in the snow - like a short stump. Go slow, and be prepared (pedal pin out) to steer with brakes if needed.

Treat your diesel, if you haven't already.

Stay safe.

Rgds, D.

Exactly what do you call a "hard freeze"?...it was 6* here this morning...!

 

[J F]

Take it easy down there Jay, and wait it out. We are a little better off up here with more equipment, and materiel's, and some more experience, but still not equipped like they are up north, and it doesn't take too much ice and snow to shut us down too. Branson here is so hilly and dangerous, sometimes it is just a lot safer to stay home if you can. Take it easy and be safe man.

Thanks, I'm not going anywhere, just watching the dogs and birds. :laughing:

I wonder how many road problems are due to the fact Georgia does not require annual vehicle inspections to weed out problems like bald tires.

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it would be statistically very close to 0% for this current situation. I've got a 4wd truck with newish tires...it ain't getting out of our driveway, under its own power anyway.

 

[Larro Darro]

Larro,
did you make the video? Very nice job. I especially like the Ashokan Farewell in the background. I learned to play that on a violin/fiddle, not quite that well though.

No, I'm down here in Altha Florida. {where the tail end of the ice storm closed our county down} I'm subscribed to Paul Parks' channel on You Tube, and I saw the video last night when I logged on. Most of his videos are music related. A lot of them are of the George Walton Academy Marching Band from Monroe Georgia.

Larro

 

[bdobson]

A hard freeze when the ground is finally frozen. I saw somewhere a guy put a pvc pipe ( slit down the middle) on the cutting edge of his blade until the gravel froze

 

[3930dave]

A hard freeze when the ground is finally frozen. I saw somewhere a guy put a pvc pipe ( slit down the middle) on the cutting edge of his blade until the gravel froze

Both good points. ABS may stand up better than PVC, but hopefully you won't have to plow snow for long.

Yes, it takes a while for sustained below freezing weather to solidly freeze a gravel drive. Not an exact science time wise, and it will vary depending on the amount of surface water at the start of low temperatures, and gravel type too (meaning size - IMO stone dust will freeze in place the fastest).

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

It has been a total clusterfvk. :laughing: We have about 2 inches here (45 mins north of Atl.). The wife went to work about 6 hours early yesterday (nurse) for her 7:00 p.m. shift and took two sets of clothes knowing she'd be locked in for a couple of days and she works tonight too.

It's a mixture of ice and snow along with the huge culprit of just not having the snow equipment (as stated previously here)...and of course no one has snow tires. The politicians took a beating in 2011 when this happened and promised it was a learning lesson...oops...this time was even worse.

HUGE traffic jams as everyone was let out of work around noon/1:00 p.m. I'm listening here 95.5FM & AM750 News/Talk WSB - Atlanta's news, weather, traffic | www.wsbradio.com and it's all about people having 12 HOUR drives to get home...if they're there yet. Many kids had to spend the night in their schools due to the buses not being able to get out (or having to return to the school once they tried).

I don't think the south will ever have the equipment to handle stuff like this, it's just not feasible economically to have millions/billions of dollars worth of equipment that just sits...and sits...and sits. Plus the manpower to try and maintain (and then utilize it maybe once every few years).

I spent part of my youth/young adult-hood living in the Syracuse, NY area (dad still lives there), I've driven in plenty of winter weather...the roads were NEVER as bad as they get down south with just a bit of snow/ice...because the equipment/manpower is there 24/7 to make the roads drivable, and everyone has snow tires. I've got a 4wd truck and there's no way I can even get out of our driveway (good incline) with the ice on it, I'd be a fool to try...been there, done that. :laughing:

It would be fun to have everyone who thinks they could drive this mess to come on down and give it a try...without snow tires, of course. I'll gladly watch...from a very safe distance.

And of course none of this is helped by our drivers who think they can drive in this stuff, and the people who just plain get stuck out in it.

From what I see on the news, most of your problem is ice on roads.

Up here, over time, more heavy snow equipment has been contracted out, like many things.

Would take some money, but it looks like most of what you need is dry sand, and sanders. I think you folks built some material storage facilities after the last big storm, that's a start.

If the city/state bought some large sander units (sized to drop into privately owned dump truck beds) and stock piled dry sand, I'm guessing it wouldn't be hard to find some idled construction trucks this time of year. Negotiate standby contracts with private construction companies, and call in the trucks as needed.

Would have still been a mess, but might have meant the difference between getting home a few hours late, vs. a day or 2 later.

Best bet, stay put.

Rgds, D.

 

[J F]

I just don't see it ever happening, Dave, just too much money for something that might be needed every few years. I'm stocked up on hot chocolate, so I'm good.

I'm sure some thing will get a little better, but any ice (or snow above 1/2" :laughing is just going to shut things down 'til it melts.

I've been listening the the Atlanta mayor and the governor getting excoriated for things, especially not closing the schools, but when schools have been closed in the past and the storm DIDN'T hit as expected, they get all sorts of flak from parents who "don't have anyone to watch their kids when they're not in school" and business people who lose business from a "storm scare". You just can't win.

After awhile you just come to expect this, and there's not really a good alternative without spending A LOT of money, that will be considered "useless" by most, and then a few years would pass and people would wonder why all "that money" is being spent for snow /ice preparedness when it's never needed. :confused2: