Monday, February 4, 2008

Rain we can deal with

It can rain from October through June and Portland doesn't blink an eye. People hike, bike, run and play in the rain. I've even gone swimming in the rain. It just doesn't stop us.


But snow? No. Half an inch of snow on the valley floor will shut the city down.

This is my street, note the swirvey tire tracks and understand why I don't drive when it snows!

Actually, I figured out what the problem is. Our snow is barely snow, it's on the edge between snow & slush. When you step in it, rather than hearing a nice muffled crunch (the sound of the snow I grew up with) it's more of a squish. In comaparison to ice cream, it's like soft-serve. So when you drive on it... you're almost immediately hydroplaning. Even cars with 4 wheel drive end up in the ditch.

BTW, not unlike "Storm Team 12", I'll be milking Saturday's snow-'storm' for all it's worth. More pictures later. ;)


6 comments:

IamSusie said...

Your street looks lovely! Don't you think snow brightens things up?

Actually real snow is equally as slick as the slushy stuff. Ice is obviously the slickest of all. Black ice is the worst because it looks like regular pavement.

People who live where it snows regularly just get the hang of driving in it. You have to go slower, keep a long following distance, brake slowly, and learn how to handle skidding and fish tailing which doesn't happen so much if you have the right tires and drive slower.

We also have a gazillion salt trucks dumping onto our streets to get it melted as quickly as possible.

It's a good excuse to cozy up at home with a good book and some hot chocolate!

IrishGirlieKnits said...

It sure does look pretty though!! Perfect stay warm inside and knit weather!

Bezzie said...

Juneau used to get that crappy excuse for snow too. Used to drive me nuts. That's why I don't ever think of them as Alaskans. They're upper-Seattleites. Ha ha!

gl. said...

i'm envious: on the other side of town it didn't stick at all. :P but yeah, i wouldn't want to drive down that hill, either.

Michael5000 said...

I think she's having it trucked in, gl. I didn't see any stinking snow, and I only live like three miles from her.

Rebel said...

3 miles as the crow flies, but there's a 600ft difference in elevation!

But today it's just rainy. Cold, grey and rainy... at least snow makes everything look pretty while it lasts.