Shoveling Snow S##KS!

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Chantry said:

The problem with some SUV/Mini Vans is that they have roof racks making it hard to remove  the snow and the snow/ice in between the roof racks will come flying off in large pieces on the highways.  Just read a news headline where a large piece of ice came off a vehicle and went through the front windshield of an 18 wheeler injuring the driver.

 

56 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

Yeah, getting the snow off our Suburban roof is kind of a hassle and it’s not lifted. It’s just a high roof. I need to use a push broom and good footing. I about fell on my arse the other day. 
Snow on the roof after a “wet” snow can be bad if it comes off and hits someone. Powder is no biggie until the roof heats and causes ice under the snow. Then it becomes a use sheet coming off the roof. 

Think about the truck drivers out there. A standard box truck or trailer, whether a 27 ft pup, a 36, 40, 48, 53 OR 56 foot is as much as 13 feet off the ground. There is NO provision for the driver to climb on top of it to even attempt to clear it off. Yet the driver is liable for any damage caused by snow or ice flying off the trailer. 

[Pat Riot]

13 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 

Think about the truck drivers out there. A standard box truck or trailer, whether a 27 ft pup, a 36, 40, 48, 53 OR 56 foot is as much as 13 feet off the ground. There is NO provision for the driver to climb on top of it to even attempt to clear it off. Yet the driver is liable for any damage caused by snow or ice flying off the trailer. 

I always wondered if electric roof heaters would work on a semi trailer. 

[Texas Jack Black]

20 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Just breaking your tired stones. If it sleeted AFTER the snow,how did it get under the snow?! I feel your pain, I'll likely have to plow our quarter mile drive tomorrow!!

All summer I can't wait for cooler weather, all winter I can't wait for warmer weather. 

When does the Drive in  Open?

[bgavin]

For Alpo...

 

 

[Texas Jack Black]

22 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Just breaking your tired stones. If it sleeted AFTER the snow,how did it get under the snow?! I feel your pain, I'll likely have to plow our quarter mile drive tomorrow!!

All summer I can't wait for cooler weather, all winter I can't wait for warmer weather. 

 Is the Highway 5 Drive-In still there ? Visited it back in 65 or 66.

[Eyesa Horg]

58 minutes ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 Is the Highway 5 Drive-In still there ? Visited it back in 65 or 66.

Yes it is, and still open! They did a big fundraiser some years ago to upgrade the projector to digital or they would've had to shut it down! We haven't been in 15 years or better!

 

The old Diner back towards town is still open as well, although under new management.

Edited January 12 by Eyesa Horg
Added text

[Texas Jack Black]

26 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Yes it is, and still open! They did a big fundraiser some years ago to upgrade the projector to digital or they would've had to shut it down! We haven't been in 15 years or better!

 

The old Diner back towards town is still open as well, although under new management.

 I have fond memories .Long time ago but I remember.

[Rip Snorter]

I can remember going out on snowy mornings, week end or when school was cancelled, grade school and Jr. HS, with a shovel and coming home with what was a lot of money at least to me in those days!  When I lived as an adult in suburbs it was very rare for kids to want to do that work.

[Eyesa Horg]

27 minutes ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 I have fond memories .Long time ago but I remember.

     small world huh!

[Texas Jack Black]

1 minute ago, Eyesa Horg said:

     small world huh!

 Very small. 

Stay Safe

 TJB

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

As a teacher, coach, and administrator for forty-four years, I remembered snow days fondly.  We were more excited about them than the students.  

[Chantry]

6 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 

Think about the truck drivers out there. A standard box truck or trailer, whether a 27 ft pup, a 36, 40, 48, 53 OR 56 foot is as much as 13 feet off the ground. There is NO provision for the driver to climb on top of it to even attempt to clear it off. Yet the driver is liable for any damage caused by snow or ice flying off the trailer. 

 

I've seen some truck washes on I-81 which is a major north/south highway, especially for trucks.  I'm guessing a lot of truckers use the truck wash to get rid some of the that ice and snow.  I don't recall in 30+ years of driving in Connecticut winters see major chunks of snow or ice coming off a 18 wheeler.

[Texas Joker]

Scraper gates are a thing. Trailer is 13 ft 6 in.  I beam gate you drive under with either a rubber wiper or brushes as you leave the yard

[watab kid]

so i moved another 4-5" off my walks and drives today ....my question to you southerners getting this almost never snow - why shovel? wont it melt in a day and you go back to living normal - why hurt yourselves for nothing ? i have the case of what i moved is here to stay and additional accumulations will add to the pile , if i thought it would melt in a day or so id not mess with it , we do that in the spring here as it happens often , 

[Warden Callaway]

8 hours ago, Texas Joker said:

Scraper gates are a thing. Trailer is 13 ft 6 in.  I beam gate you drive under with either a rubber wiper or brushes as you leave the yard

 

[watab kid]

56 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

thats a great system , i cant imagine how much weight and fuel drag that snow causes 

[DeaconKC]

On 1/13/2025 at 1:07 AM, watab kid said:

so i moved another 4-5" off my walks and drives today ....my question to you southerners getting this almost never snow - why shovel? wont it melt in a day and you go back to living normal - why hurt yourselves for nothing ? i have the case of what i moved is here to stay and additional accumulations will add to the pile , if i thought it would melt in a day or so id not mess with it , we do that in the spring here as it happens often , 

Usually, but sometimes it can still be a week or more. Effectively strands folks when that happens, that is why the rush to get groceries in when snow is forecast.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, DeaconKC said:

Usually, but sometimes it can still be a week or more. Effectively strands folks when that happens, that is why the rush to get groceries in when snow is forecast.

ok , i get that , yall dont have the removal equipment we do and i imagine the budget for removal is not very large too , 

[Cactus Jack Calder]

On 1/11/2025 at 5:14 PM, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

Fellow up here had a storm sewer at the end of his driveway, so when he had the drive redone, he had heating cables buried under the asphalt.

City later passed a by-law ag'in it, but TOO LATE! He was in before the bell.

I worked at a Electric Utility in Northern NJ for a few years. We got a complaint of unusually high bills during the summer. The customer alleged the Meter Reader was kiting the reading (just filling in a number while driving by the house). I was assigned to investigate. The first thing to check is the meter. The numbers on the meter were within a reasonable margin of the last official reading. I made an appointment with the owner to meet at the house to investigate his usage. As I walked up the driveway, he opened the garage door. I immediately noticed a large auxiliary electric panel with a large switch handle. I asked what the panel was for and his reply was, “Oh, that’s just the snow  melting system. I just turn it on when it snows and the snow hardly accumulates and any that does disappears quickly.” So I asked, “Why is it on in July?” Boy was he flustered. However, he conceded that the Meter Reader was, “Probably doing his job and not kiting the readings.” That was the easiest complaint of over billing I had to deal with.

 

CJ

Edited January 16 by Cactus Jack Calder
Double Tap

[Cactus Jack Calder]

On 1/14/2025 at 4:32 PM, DeaconKC said:

Usually, but sometimes it can still be a week or more. Effectively strands folks when that happens, that is why the rush to get groceries in when snow is forecast.

Even if the roads are cleared if there is snow piled on the shoulders it can hamper safe driving. Yes during the day the temperature will rise. Often enough to start the melt. Water then runs out onto the road surface. At night if the temperature drops below freezing, black ice forms on the driving surface. Next morning it is dangerous for drivers not educated or equipped for winter driving conditions to be on the road. Most municipalities down here in NC do not have equipment or materials to salt the roads. So a 6” snow can cause school to be canceled for a week, BTST. 
 

I’m originally from Northern NJ/Southern NY. I know to be careful and to watch for ice patches. Many native born Southerners do not. Just the way it is. Better safe than sorry!

 

CJ

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

11 minutes ago, Cactus Jack Calder said:

 Most municipalities down here in NC do not have equipment or materials to salt the roads. So a 6” snow can cause school to be canceled for a week, BTST. 

 

CJ

Back in about 1981, Jacksonville N.C. got hit with about 2 FEET of snow. Camp Lejune was pretty much shut down for a week or so. MPs were shuttled to the Guard Gates by Amtrack.

(Not an actual image from that time).

[Warden Callaway]

Is only 36 degrees but sunny and stiff breeze.  The snow is shrinking away.  Sliding off the roofs of the outbuildings. I went out and used the loader to move a couple of mountains of snow to the lower side of drive so it wouldn't melt and freeze in the driveway.  

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Rat feathers and horse knuckles.

I'm trying to be polite here.

After three decades under the lights-and-siren, most of my exclamations are not fit to repeat in polite company.

Got ambitious right after breakfast, ran the snow blower to remove most of the overnight deposit of Partly Cloudy.

Had the entire driveway cleared.

Nothing but bare concrete, every last bit of it.

Waved at the mail truck, took the mail inside, paid bills, fixed lunch.

Looked out the door and you could not tell I'd touched it.

Grr.

Whattaya expect ... north central Ohio in January ... par for the course!

(My cousin said freezing rain Saturday. Maybe I'll trot out some of that language after all)

[Rip Snorter]

It is almost worse when as you finish, the plow passes and blocks you in.  Happened in suburbia, but doesn't here in the country.

[bgavin]

The Good News:  your house isn't burning down.

Those folks who got burned out, have no place to live, no insurance, nothing left, and still have a big mortgage they own to the bank.
Shoveling snow doesn't look so bad in comparison.

[Rip Snorter]

2 minutes ago, bgavin said:

The Good News:  your house isn't burning down.

Those folks who got burned out, have no place to live, no insurance, nothing left, and still have a big mortgage they own to the bank.
Shoveling snow doesn't look so bad in comparison.

Deep sympathy, but This thread is about snow!

[watab kid]

wish i might have given those in calif the snow if it might have helped , but then id want some of their heat - this weekend actual temps well below zero and wind chills of -42 f , i guess we all get bad things dealt to us , its all about how we plan and prepare for them , some of us do better than others , 

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

[Cactus Jack Calder]

On 1/17/2025 at 11:33 AM, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

I remember as a kid, 6-7 YO, the New York State Thruway was just opened. We lived in north NJ and my Grandparents lived in Rochester, NY. We visited for the weekend and it started snowing in south NY Saturday night into Sunday morning. Left Rochester at the usual time in clear weather. We ran into snow south of Albany, NY. The NYST was officially closed, however, there was no other better route. There were two tire tracks through the snow with no lane markers showing. Dad drove through the failing light following the two red tail lights of the car ahead of us. I’m fairly certain that driver was doing the same. If anyone in, what I presume was a long single file line of vehicles, had gone off the road there would have been quite a pileup. As it was we made it and I’m still here to remember. For a youngster it was a surreal almost ghostly experience. I’m sure my Dad was exhausted after that drive.

 

CJ

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

21 minutes ago, Cactus Jack Calder said:

I remember as a kid, 6-7 YO, the New York State Thruway was just opened. We lived in north NJ and my Grandparents lived in Rochester, NY. We visited for the weekend and it started snowing in south NY Saturday night into Sunday morning. Left Rochester at the usual time in clear weather. We ran into snow south of Albany, NY. The NYST was officially closed, however, there was no other better route. There were two tire tracks through the snow with no lane markers showing. Dad drove through the failing light following the two red tail lights of the car ahead of us. I’m fairly certain that driver was doing the same. If anyone in, what I presume was a long single file line of vehicles, had gone off the road there would have been quite a pileup. As it was we made it and I’m still here to remember. For a youngster it was a surreal almost ghostly experience. I’m sure my Dad was exhausted after that drive.

 

CJ

I think that it was the Winter of '87-'88. I was stationed at NAS South Weymouth Massatoshits. Weymouth is South of Boston, Housing was in Quincy, about halfway between the two.

I woke up to about a foot or so of new snow. They hadn't gotten around to clearing the streets yet, so I shifted my Jeep into 4X4 and headed off to the Base. I took Mass. Route 3 towards the base, as usual. It wasn't cleared either. Mass. 3, while not an Interstate, is a Limited Access Highway, so it's like one. Pretty much no traffic, except one set of tracks, which I followed. Before long, I caught up to the guy making them, a taxi cab. I followed him for a while, but he was going slower and slower. I finally downshifted and went around him, now being the one plowing the way.

I reported for Duty on time, but about half the Squadron didn't make it in.

[watab kid]

the severe cold that descended on us - and you is too cold to snow as well as brought sunshine we had not seen fo0r a while , 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

2 minutes ago, watab kid said:

the severe cold that descended on us - and you is too cold to snow as well as brought sunshine we had not seen fo0r a while , 

Damn global warming.

 

[watab kid]

1 hour ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Damn global warming.

 

aint that the truth ...............

 

last year was unseasonably warm , we had no snow , they blamed it on that , this year we got early cold they blamed it on that , if we get anything they will blame it on that .........course they had to change it to "climate change" a while back because their predictions of doom and gloom kept failing to come true - wish someone would point these things out and call those like algore irrelevant 

[Eyesa Horg]

Like "The boy who cried wolf"

[Rip Snorter]

-2° just now, -11° forecast tonight.  It is called weather, and there ain't a dam thing we can do about it.  Paying Global Warming / Climate Change grifters will only encourage further theft of resources and diminishment of lifestyle - AKA being cold, not eating well, reduced ability to travel.  New Day starting tomorrow.