Stuck on I20 EB 14 hours, still sitting.

Hiking Hunter wrote:

This event was particularly bad. The forecast was for the snow band to be South of the Birmingham area, the most populas area of the state. No one in this area had made special plans because travel was not supposed to be a problem. The forecasters "blew it" - they admitted it. The weather turned very quickly leaving thousands stranded.

The Nat'l Weather Service was correct in issuing a Winter Weather Warning Tuesday morning. I saw that - we were camped N of Macon, prepared to outrun "Leon" before it hit Atlanta.

But in our case, a rogue band of snow had developed N of Atlanta - and I don't remember which station I was watching, but the weatherman said "the snow isn't hitting the ground". I thought that odd (being from Michigan where the snow ALWAYS hits the ground) - so we left, driving N on I-75. We stopped in Adairsville to fuel and eat a late breakfast, and while there, the waitress said "Oh NO, there's SNOW on the ground!!!" in sort of the same voice that I would used to say "there's nuclear waste on the ground".....

So we decided that despite what the weatherman had said, the snow was indeed hitting the ground - and not wanting to get caught in panicked traffic - we left. Too late - we crawled for 20 miles on glare ice, until we hit the TN line. The difference?? Tennessee apparently knew that snow can hit the ground, and put down a layer of pre-emptive salt. Georgia's DOT, however, reacted about an hour late, after thousand of cars were already gridlocked and dozens were crashed or off the highway. We saw them - we actually waited for the salt trucks to pass so we had some traction - not that they were putting much on the pavement. So THERE'S the culprit - the GA DOT. They should have understood that snow, and air temps well below freezing will result in icy roads. A little "proactive salt" could have saved a lot of people....

Halmfamily wrote:
Finally got home at 11:45 this morning. 25 hours to drive 63 miles. Could have driven to NY and back in that time. Be safe everyone.

Happy to hear you finally made it home safely! Were you sitting in one spot the whole time or was traffic crawling at all? How were the other drivers behaving? Did you see any of the emergency vehicles supposedly bringing people food, water, blankets?

We have a 4x4 car and pickup. Snow tires all around on the car, aggressive all season tires on the pickup. We also have snow, rain, ice, hills, twisty roads, etc, etc. When it gets real nasty we stay home if we can. So far so good.

We are not as snowy ...
Route 80 corridor, zero lake effect
I climb 15% grades on my 8 mile journey up to my house often with 2 to 4 inches of unplowed snow. Many cars get abandoned during the snow. You need to maintain constant speed, never brake, or come to complete stop. Car has boots, gloves, headlamp, orange hat, and scarf if I have to hike it.

PAThwacker wrote:
I live in snowy north east PA. I never switch tires in the winter unless the summer ones are bald. you learn to drive in the worst conditions and expect every other car to be out of control. I had 3 jeep tj ordered without ABS. dont rely on techno to keep you safe! I have 2 v8 suv and leave them at home during storms, and commute 56 miles through snowstorms in fwd cars..

They make snow tires for a reason, and they recommend them on all four corners. I put mine on every winter and take them off every spring. They last 3 to 4 winters. Offer better traction than a 4 x 4! And ABS has greatly improved over what it was 20 years ago. You should try it. When you do, you'll never go back to be without it!

Handbasket wrote:

georgelesley wrote:
.... But even we do not like the "greasy" snow that falls with temps in the 20's. Give me the snow that falls when the temp is 0 or below anytime.
....

Thank you, sir! That is exactly what many folks from up north just don't understand. Here in the southern mountains, we not only have that kind of freezy skid stuff to deal with, we also have hills, blind curves, and heavily shaded spots to complicate matters.

I had a rather prolonged...errr, 'discussion' with a northerner on the B forum a few years ago... he'd 'never been stuck' in the winter in a RWD B van without chains, and thought all my suggested preparations absurd. Of course, he apparently lived in the Canadian flatlands.

Jim, "Manure occureth."

Don't give us too much credit my friend. Summers up here are short, but apparently long enough for many locals to forget how to drive in snow. The first snow of the season always brings a rash of accidents as we relearn how to deal with it.

I live in snowy north east PA. I never switch tires in the winter unless the summer ones are bald. you learn to drive in the worst conditions and expect every other car to be out of control. I had 3 jeep tj ordered without ABS. dont rely on techno to keep you safe! I have 2 v8 suv and leave them at home during storms, and commute 56 miles through snowstorms in fwd cars..

Halmfamily wrote:
Finally got home at 11:45 this morning. 25 hours to drive 63 miles. Could have driven to NY and back in that time. Be safe everyone.

Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound.

A lot of this personal stuck or other issues are the peoples lack of common sense and being prepared for what can happen or is forecasted to happen. People are their own worst enemy!

What does it take in the south etc to either stay home and be ready or if you must go out and drive etc? Throw a blanket or two and/or warm coat etc in the vehicle and some simple snack bars or simple food and a few bottles of water? They are not going to rot in there one day or two if a problem doesn't actually happen! They normally prepare for a hurricane or bad storms anyway so they can't say they don't know about such things! Ignorance is absolutely NO excuse! People up north prepare and they basically never get a hint of hurricanes but they can get snow or a few times each year. Don't see many of them making up excuses! You prepare and deal with the weather because you're NOT going to change it!

I don't feel one bit sorry for adults anywhere who do not prepare as it's very dumb but I do feel sorry for the kids who end up in bad situations who's parents aren't ADULT enough to be prepared themselves and for their kids and like to blame officials and others because of their own stupidity! Very little officials can do before problems occur and they are very few compared to the many who actually should be helping themselves and their family's. "Help save me from myself" is about what is really heard after something forecasted happens!

"TWC, and other forecasters, cry wolf very often - and people tend to get complacent when the disaster doesn't happen."

That is very true. In hurricane season TWC is my last source of information. I don't need all of the drama. The NHC site, with its stats & discussions is always first. From the horses mouth, so to speak.

The rest of the problems seem to come from people leaving it to the last possible moment to hit the road or run an errand. They do it with millions of others with the same thought process then most likely blame everyone else when they get stuck on the road in huge delays.

Can't blame the various state DOTs for not having the equipment. You don't spend millions on equipment that is going to sit outside for years unused. You can't use it anyway when the roads are clogged with cars & trucks.

Oh well, hope the lesson is learned. Don't take weather forcasters at their word. They like to claim that such & such weather will happen at such & such place at such & such time. As good as they may be, it does not work that way all of the time. When you see something coming that MAY hit your area, get off the road in good time otherwise you will become part of the problem.

When preparing for a hurricane my, in water, boat is secured as best as possible at least 48 hours before the winds are expected to BEGIN rising. The house preparations are finished at least 12 hours before. There is no reason, other than a medical emergency, to leave till after the storm or it becomes obvious that it will miss us. There are NO shelters to go to here. We stay in our homes during a storm.