Comments

1

damn
she took a Tumble
Costco's got some ice cleats
you strap on over your shoes
and snowshoes as well. It IS good
to get out there and Play but don't count
on cars to being able to stop. your feet neither.

Good Luck!
and Enjoy.

oh and thanks for the Tips, Matt!

3

Some good tips here. Of course, I love the line: "Here’s what you should do to drive safely when it snows: Don’t."

Truly dangerous weather is a rare enough thing in Seattle that it shouldn't be such a sacrifice to stay put when it does. Now, these days that means doubling down on the hunkering down so many of us are already doing.

4

@2, Climate change doesn't just mean everything is hotter. It's also a disruption of the weather patterns that can push to the extremes, like polar vortexes descending on North Texas. We might see more big snowstorms and more hot days. Maybe even in the same week.
Overall we'll probably have lower snowpack in the mountains by spring, but that doesn't mean we'll be immune to big storms too.

5

It was such a relief getting out of Boston in part because the snow there isn't something people stop and enjoy, it's just another hassle and it rapidly becomes a mud caked trash filled parking spot altercation causing hassle. Even when it's several feet, people don't take a day or two to just slow down and enjoy it. Boston had a lot to like (more than I expected, frankly) but the snow was a real grind.

But it taught me a few things: park off street if you can (unless it puts your car at the bottom of a hill). Be especially careful on bridges. And even if it didn't snow, if you see frost, slow down and take it easy.

Someday I'll figure out why people buy eggs, of all things, before a storm on the East coast.

6

I've lived in Seattle since 1987. I've been through a number of snow storms here. People from other parts of the country where snow is more common don't realized what a snow storm does to Seattle: it shuts the whole city down. One jack-knifed trolley bus skidding down Pine Street shuts all of Capitol Hill's access to I5, given time. I've had to walk from downtown to the West Seattle Junction during one storm and from Capitol Hill to Ravenna Park neighborhood in another. My advice: keep a pair of boots at work because odds are you'll be walking home in wet slushy snow regardless if you drive to work or ride transit; because neither will be working.

7

@6:

Yeah, I have relatives in the mid-west where snow events like the fairly rare ones we get are pretty much an annual occurrence, and of course they scoff at our collective inability to deal with situations they think of as commonplace. And I in turn have to constantly remind them of the fact that we only get significant accumulation once or twice every few years, which is why we don't have an entire fleet of snow plows and salt/sand trucks sitting idle for months or years at a time, as well as that navigating this city of hills adds an extra level of complexity flatlanders simply never have to consider. The occasional video of a Metro articulated bus careening off parked cars as it slowly taboggans down one of our sloped streets does tend to get the point across, even if it doesn't exactly change their minds.

8

Plenty of firewood - check
2500 gallons of water - check
Freezers-worth of food - check
Extra birdshot ammo - check
Stocked root cellar - check
Reliable internet connection - well...that's a weak link in the chain...

9

Thanks for the tips, Matt!
One added tip from Griz: I buy eggs when the ground is still dry and just before a major snowstorm is forecast to hit. Then I have a supply already at home once the bad weather hits and I am otherwise stuck in hibernation. I would NOT want to be out stuck in the snow, suddenly having to hike uphill to my apartment building with a carton of raw eggs!

What to do about losing technology and communications? I live in a century-old building, and my cordless landline phone and computer are connected on the same line. I may have to face unplugging my iMac / phone during the next power outage(s). My problem is--if one, including my modem---goes out, I am incommunicado until further notice. Many of my neighbors have the same problem, too, if they lose Smartphone / cellphone / mobile phone reception.

@1 kristofarian: Agreed and seconded. YakTrax from REI (for ~$20-30), that strap onto your shoes / boots, can help aid traction, too. The USPS postal workers and delivery drivers use them.

@6 Nothing important and @7 COMTE: Add that we, here in the Puget Sound / North Sound region west of the Cascades get wet snow---not dry snow that more commonly accumulates into 6' snowbanks like on the East Coast and mostly flat Midwest where there are snowplows to ensure that people gets to work and school.
Snow is pretty when it first comes down. But then it turns slushy, quite often re-freezing again at night. Then the next morning, unless you and your immediate neighbors are equipped with rock salt (I'm very lucky where I live that my landlord supplies rock salt and our property managers, and maintenance guys are wonderful about salting the sidewalks, parking lot levels and driveways), you could be dealing with a skating rink. It's infinitely worse on hills. Shiny pavement is dangerous pavement, and an even more treacherous situation when accompanied by dense fog.

Everyone stay healthy and safe.


Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.