Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

[p6x]

Nothing special, but for Houston, it is...

Last snow was in 2021; news flash, yes, we have power shortages again...

[docc]

Quota weather! 

[gstallons]

I thought you lived in Texas ?

[GuzziMoto]

it is crazy, the Gulf Coast is getting snow. 

That said, it was -3 here this morning when we left for work. While I know other parts of the country see worse then that it is not normal here. And we have already had several snows. So, as John McClane once said, "Welcome to the party, pal!"

[Pressureangle]

El Paso got a half-inch of snow at the New Year, which delayed my departure a few days. I remember first time passing through EP in 1980, a small diner we ate at had a framed poster on the wall of about a half-inch of snow; they said it was 'about ten years ago' and the first time anyone there could remember seeing it.

[p6x]

3 hours ago, docc said:

Quota weather! 

Absolutely! it is turning to sleet already, because the temperature went above 0 degC / 32 degF. 

They put a lot of chemical on the roads to melt the snow.

[p6x]

2 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

when we left for work.

Houston town hall recommended to NOT go to work, and work from home for all those that could. All the schools are closed!

I cannot remember a single time when schools were closed when I was in France and we had snow. We actually walked to school by ourselves. So maybe this is the difference with Houston. Most of the kids are driven or take buses to go to school.

Tomorrow is going to be terrible, because all the snow is already melting, and once the temperatures go back down during the nice, it is going to be iced.

[GuzziMoto]

The more people who stay home when it snows the better for those that actually need to go to work. As I have gotten older I have become more willing to stay home because it snows. But I still usually go to work unless it snows a lot. My work does not lend itself to working from home. But staying home if you can is the smart option. And it keeps the roads less crowded for those that go to work (or go out to have fun, which is always an option when it snows).

I walked to school when I was in Elementary School, but from Jr High on I either rode a bus or drove, those schools were too far away to walk. The trend seems to be fewer schools that are larger. Those schools end up being beyond walking distance for most of the kids that go to them, so mostly kids take buses now it seems. Buses and snow don't mix well. And there is the risk of an accident in the snow, and then they will get blame for negligence having not canceled school when it snows.

[p6x]

2 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

The more people who stay home when it snows the better for those that actually need to go to work. As I have gotten older I have become more willing to stay home because it snows. But I still usually go to work unless it snows a lot. My work does not lend itself to working from home. But staying home if you can is the smart option. And it keeps the roads less crowded for those that go to work (or go out to have fun, which is always an option when it snows).

I walked to school when I was in Elementary School, but from Jr High on I either rode a bus or drove, those schools were too far away to walk. The trend seems to be fewer schools that are larger. Those schools end up being beyond walking distance for most of the kids that go to them, so mostly kids take buses now it seems. Buses and snow don't mix well. And there is the risk of an accident in the snow, and then they will get blame for negligence having not canceled school when it snows.

There is also something that is maybe more common in Europe, especially in mountain regions.

You always keep a set of winter tires for your car. They are usually studded, so you can still use them on non icy or snowed roads, at limited speed. They are actually required by traffic regulations.

Obviously, you need to be living in a zone that gets snow every year. But still.

Edited 9 hours ago by p6x

[audiomick]

As far as I know, the studded tyres are no longer permitted in Germany, but I'm not absolutely sure.

What I am sure about, if you have an accident between about November and about March in icy weather, and you don't have winter tyres on the vehicle (M+S tyres, more or less) the accident is your fault, no matter what happened.

[Bill Hagan]

2 hours ago, p6x said:

Houston town hall recommended to NOT go to work, and work from home for all those that could. All the schools are closed!

I cannot remember a single time when schools were closed when I was in France and we had snow. We actually walked to school by ourselves. So maybe this is the difference with Houston. Most of the kids are driven or take buses to go to school.

Tomorrow is going to be terrible, because all the snow is already melting, and once the temperatures go back down during the nice, it is going to be iced.

Did you walk uphill both ways as I always told my kids that I did?  

Seriously, we have MANY miles of gravel roads in Frederick County here at the top of Virginia that school buses have to travel, thus the school closures on days that would, for most urban schools, be ho-hum business as usual.

I do see -- in great weather -- all the parents sitting in their cars at the end of a street or driveway to take their kids the few hundred feet to their homes!   I think much of that stems from fears of security.  It's none of my business -- which never stops me from judging and pontificating  -- but it still bothers me.

I detest snow, but need to stop whining about the weather and just go down to the Moto Grappa and putz around, pretending that I am doing something useful.  

Bill

[gstallons]

Around this area people are not capable of driving in snowy conditions .  I was on I-24 a couple of years ago near Calvert City and it was snow/slush covered road conditions and tractor/trailers and passenger vehicles were going 65 mph.  I got off and travelled secondary roads  for 45 miles to get home . Keep in mind not everyone on that road lived here but they drove like they wanted to be embalmed here . 

[p6x]

1 hour ago, Bill Hagan said:

Did you walk uphill both ways as I always told my kids that I did?  

As a matter of fact, I am born in Paris, IXth arrondissement, close to the Sacré Cœur Basilica, which is on a hill... so, yes. My school was rue Lepic, about 5 minutes walk, but in Paris, nothing is far away.

That being said, we tend to forget that our parents, born in the 1900, mine in rural area, had no buses, and if they lived in farms, they had to walk quite a bit. In these days, few people had cars, roads were not like today's. My father had to walk one hour to, and from to school, including when it snowed. And back then, you had snow every winter.

I don't know if we had it easy before, or is it easier now? but in Paris, you can always take the Metro if the weather is bad.

Fact is, rural areas are having less and less population, thus, less kids; facilities are closing, so your next school, hospital, post-office, bank, grocery store, are getting futher and further.

So much further, than soon, we will need helicopters to bring our kids to school!

[Bill Hagan]

1 hour ago, p6x said:

As a matter of fact, I am born in Paris, IXth arrondissement, close to the Sacré Cœur Basilica, which is on a hill... so, yes. My school was rue Lepic, about 5 minutes walk, but in Paris, nothing is far away.

That being said, we tend to forget that our parents, born in the 1900, mine in rural area, had no buses, and if they lived in farms, they had to walk quite a bit. In these days, few people had cars, roads were not like today's. My father had to walk one hour to, and from to school, including when it snowed. And back then, you had snow every winter.

I don't know if we had it easy before, or is it easier now? but in Paris, you can always take the Metro if the weather is bad.

Fact is, rural areas are having less and less population, thus, less kids; facilities are closing, so your next school, hospital, post-office, bank, grocery store, are getting futher and further.

So much further, than soon, we will need helicopters to bring our kids to school!

 

I think you missed my teasing point: "Did you walk uphill both ways as I always told my kids that I did?  "

Seriously, I think few young folks in any era really know about, much less appreciate, what their forebears did to make life easier for posterity.

Bill

[p6x]

15 minutes ago, Bill Hagan said:

I think you missed my teasing point: "

Did you walk uphill both ways as I always told my kids that I did?  "

My school was situated on the other side of Montmartre from where I lived. So I did have to walk uphill both ways. I walked uphill up to the tip, and downhill then. But to come back, I had to walk uphill again. You could have walked around if you had wanted to, but it was longer.

I did not catch the underlying meaning for that reason.