It's very difficult, they've kept him at home for 35 years but now are to old to take care of him. My little brother made the decision to go into a facility in late October. It has been hard on every one. I'm glad my brother was the one to make the decision as my mother never would have.
What is it that possesses people and makes them hard-wired to go out in bad weather?
- Thread starter OG Goat Holder
- Start date
The issue with snow in the south is not the snow it’s the ice. 1. Snow here is very wet to start with and the ground rarely is ever frozen when it does snow. The snow hits the ground and starts melting due to the ground temperature and then the temperature drops at night causing a thin sheet of ice on the surfaces. I’m not worried about my driving on snow, it’s the other dumba$$ who’s not worried about driving on snow that concerns me.
I have to go find the biggest undisturbed parking lot, do some donuts and then smile at my artwork. Drive to the end of town and back home to report what stores are open. I thought that was normal.
“HAIL! I gots 4 wheel drive and all wether tyres…ain’t no difference than muffin’ out in tha delta alluvial soils….”
Im pretty sure the roads refreezing Friday night and Saturday night will not prevent State fans from making it to the Hump and back home, no matter how far they need to drive.
I used to believe this as well. It was in my head that the south got a lot more ice than colder climates. Because of refreezing. I guess I somehow thought snow in colder climates just magically didn't melt. Here's my back porch last winter before I put heat cables in... You just don't see it on the ground because it gets covered up with snow. Yes, those are 8-9' long icicles that weigh closer to 1000 than 100 pounds probably.
Turns out that everyone deals with ice, just more of it in places where it's cold. Snow melts everywhere and refreezes. It melts at 5° if the sun is shining and then refreezes when a cloud passes by or a shadow from a building hits it.
Here's my parking lot yesterday. It hadn't snowed in a week until last night. Everyday the snow melted when the sun was high and refroze every afternoon when the shadows from the building covered it. It's about 4-5" of solid ice in spots now.
I was out spreading a few hundred pounds of salt when that truck pulled up. He expertly slid to a stop 18" before hitting my porch after a 6' slide. I put the salt out so last night's snow would bond into the ice and turn it back into white ice that you can walk on. Because there is snow (not very slippery on foot), white ice (slippery, but tolerable), clear/black ice (treacherous), and then fresh snow on top of clear ice (deadly.)
Again, it's tires and inexperienced drivers that make it so bad in the south. Lack of salt can be an issue for sidewalks and pedestrians. Don't worry, people freak out where I live too in the opposite way. If it's in the 90's, it's a disaster zone. Even though there is no humidity and it will drop down to 57° at night, they're not used to it and many don't have AC. If it rains 1/4" in a 24 hour period, fools are trying to build an arc and won't drive anywhere because the streets don't have big enough gutters and drains.
Looks like I should open up PooPop's Winter Survival for Southerners next year. We can bust the myths of it feels colder in the south because of humidity, driving in winter conditions is too dangerous, and we must buy bread and milk a week in advance of white death. We can also show you how sneakers with thin wool socks, jeans, a sweatshirt, ball cap, and work gloves are all the bundling up you need unless you plan on sitting still for 3+ hours outside. We'll cover smoking meats in below freezing temps and how coozies are really designed to keep your beer from freezing. I'll let you bean my kids with snowballs and we'll go riding snowmobiles 25 miles past any road and have beer and burgers at a restaurant that stays open year round but is only accessible by snowmobile or cat for half the time. $599 plus airfare and lodging.
Snowshoeing, nordic skiing, and alpine skiing units are in the advanced course. Pro tips on how to prevent shrinkage and chaffed nips will be sent in the welcome packet.
Update:
No problem. Took my time. Roads were more than acceptable. A couple of slushy areas in low-lying, shady spots on a side road. All highways and interstates were fine. Riskiest part was the walk from my car to the venue and then back into my house.
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