1. Yes, the stuff looks beautiful and fluffy cute.
   And it will straight-up kill in all matter of ways.

   Stay calm. Stay put.

   Be prepared and attentive.

   3

2. What’s the saying “slow is fast?” Especially in snow/ice.

   2

   1. No chit on that one

      1

3. So, it’s no different than when lived in FL. 1. watch the weather channel. 2. stock up like you did for a major outage. 3. stay warm 4. read a good book or three.

   3

4. Just got back from a grocery run, along with all the other locusts who’d looked at the forecast.
   The drive was uneventful; by the time I got home, the radar map showed the snow being here already, but I haven’t actually seen any of it yet.
   I plan on going exactly nowhere from now until, maybe, Saturday afternoon. I don’t expect much of today’s snow to stick here, but what does stick will be around all through Friday.
   And… maybe I should see if FedEx can reschedule a delivery that’s currently expected tomorrow. Not sure I want to try clearing the driveway in the morning.

   2

5. Snow is a four letter word.

   2

6. Snow is a big deal if you don’t have training in driving in it. It is not that big of a deal once you have training.

   Find yourself a parking lot and do some stupid things in a safe way.

   Slam on the brakes and see what happens. Make sure you do it with anti-skid on and off (if you can).

   Start moving in a straight line then make a turn. See how the truck/car handles.

   Add a little to much gas when starting a turn and see what happens.

   Practice starting a skid then turning into it to recover.

   I’ve driven in snow storms in lots of things. Everything from a TA with to much power on 16″ wide tires (think no traction in snow) to a 1967 VW Microbus with chains. (Engine sits over the rear drive wheels, great traction).

   If you are new to snow and you use four wheel drive, take a note from my brother. Drive in two wheel drive, use four wheel drive when you need to get yourself out of trouble.

   Throw a couple of 50 pound bags of sand (or kitty litter) in the trunk. This can help reduce the amount of skidding you do. And if you need it, you can use it to get some traction under your drive wheels.

   Finally, slow the F. down. Speed limits are often way to fast. Take your time and get there safe.

   I’ve driven at putt putt speeds (35 on a 65mph expressway) and watched the cars pile up in the ditches as I got home 30 minutes late to many times to think that I really need to go faster.

   3

7. And once again…

   ABS does not increase available traction to dry-pavement levels. It just keeps the wheels from locking up when you brake.

   “Traction control” does not increase available traction to dry-pavement levels. Not just keeps the wheels from spinning when you hit the gas.

   You have less traction. So do everything more slowly and gradually …. especially steering, braking and accelerating. I use a rule-of-2. When it’s raining, allow twice as much time and distance as dry pavement. When there’s snow (or otherwise wet roads in freezing temps), allow twice as much time and distance as when it’s raining.

   Be careful going over bridges, as the surfaces really will ice up sooner than the regular road. I am especially wary in the morning if there was an overnight frost.

   Therefore’s advice re a parking lot romp is excellent, both for new-to-snow drivers and for experienced drivers to learn the limits on a new vehicle.

   2

8. Many, many years ago, I was with a friend at a New Year’s party when I realized it was snowing outside, hard. And sticking to the roads.

   After ferrying her home, I set out to find my own way home. A drive that normally took 20m took me an hour — at one point I had to detour onto a different route because my car couldn’t climb a hill without sliding back. And mind you, this was at 3AM — fortunately I had NOT been drinking.

   I got home at 4AM, called my friend so she knew I’d gotten home okay, and collapsed into bed.

   Go slow, watch yourself, and if you don’t THINK you can make it, don’t. Find a safe haven.

   1

9. Upstate NY’er here. In addition to stuff you have no control over, like how the local highway department deals with the stuff, tires can be a HUGE game changer. I’ve never been bright enough to stay in from the snow, but a good set of snow tires can actually enable you to drive in the stuff. So called “M&S” tires are likely not enough to give you the traction to stay on – or at least above – the pavement.

10. Laughs in lake effect snow fall rates that exceed 2″/hr…. Seriously though. You just moved from Florida. I bet you have 3 season tires. Those are fatal in the snow.

    1. Whatever tires they sold me down there at the Tire Kingdom. It has already been decided that next family vehicle will be a true 4×4 fixed to my specs

       1. AWD would be fine. My wife’s Subaru with snow tires will go anywhere. It’s actually better at times than my 4×4 Ram.

          1. 4wd and awd are really synonyms, awd is an alternative term for marketing purposes. And some of these are “full time” which might mean they kick in automatically, with some degree of reliability, or it might mean that they really are driving all wheels all the time.
             Subaru better than Ram is likely caused by being more balanced. 4wd is not all that effective if 80% of the weight is on just two of the wheels, as is typical for pickup trucks. If your Ram drives better with a half ton of cargo, that’s why.

             1. 4wd and AWD are NOT the same thing. 4wd can be broken easily by ignorance. AWD is idiot proof.

                2

                1. I guess I don’t know what it is you refer to by “4wd” then, because I don’t know any car with a drive system that fits your description.

                   1. 4wd requires manual engagement or selected to auto in some cases but normally runs in 2wd. 4wd has a transfer case that does not have a differential in it, so turning with the front axle engaged will bind or break things. AWD always has the front wheels engaged and has a center differential to allow the axles to turn at different speeds. Every, single, pickup, built by the big three is 4wd(or 2wd but we’re not talking about that), not AWD.

                      1

                      1. Ok. And yes, my Chevy 4wd with its manual transfer case definitely is noisier when in that mode, especially when making sharp turns. But “bind or break things”?

                         1. Engage the front axle on dry pavement and turn the wheel tight. It will hop because the transfer case is trying to drive the axles at the same speed but they need to be turning at different rates because each wheel is on a different radius circle. That breaks things when the force can’t be easily removed. My boss had the front differential grenade in his tractor from an employee doing that on pavement with a full bucket.

                            1

11. I work around 60 northern Un-Named Flyover State miles from home. One night, got out of work to find it had SIFAO. (Snowed….). AND, for bonus points, was still SIFAO. My daily driver was a 2008 FWD Hyundai Sonata.

    So, it turns out that, at 45 mph, my typical 1 hour drive approaches 2 hours. Particularly when, SIFAO as it was, I followed the exit ramp, thinking I was still on the expressway.

    You start to wonder about that, once the stop sign appears.

    I got home safely, the car gave me STELLAR gas mileage that trip, TDW-Mark II worried, and I galumped my crabby ass, along with considerable snow, into the house, unbruised.

    Thanks Be To Chthulu.

    So, Miguel, I agree: it’s snow joking matter!

    1

12. As a long haul trucker, driven from Houston to Anchorage, Miami to Seattle, San Diego to St. Albans, everywhere in between, listen to those guys ☝?☝?☝?, they know of what they post.

13. I drive the Cascades fairly regularly.

    Advice?

    SLOW THE FUCK DOWN.

    (And we always pack garbage sacks, a shovel, cat litter, snow clothes and boots, drinking water and a bit of food. That coupled with a click start propane torch plus some 9mm ‘pills’ and dispenser for opportunistic jerk wads.)

    1

Comments are closed.