Stuck on I20 EB 14 hours, still sitting.

We were going to be on our way to FL today from Northern Virginia, but when hearing that parts of I-95 were still not plowed in NC, SC & GA, we have delayed until tomorrow. If anyone is out there on I-95, please let us know if they are making any progress.

We don't get mad. Our kids love it...no school. We love it (to an extent)...no work. After 24-48 hours...enough already. We couldn't put up with it every year and feel sorry for the folks that have to.

We gotta complain about something. Might as well be the weather.

Cat Lady

Well, we're getting tired of the -40° to -55° wind chill temps and the propane shortage. Our electric bill is going to double running electric heaters this month since our propane is rationed (can't burn wood due to lung problem).

Steve, I have to agree. -55/60 wind chills bring a new meaning to the word. Monday I planned to clear our 1,000 ft driveway of the drifts that had formed the night before. Thought better of it once I went outside, temp still well below -20 and wind well above 25mph. Finally got to it yesterday, temp finally warmed into the -teens and wind died down. After shoveling some snow, the hat came off and the coat was unzipped.

There are two things that have come in very handy in my travels.

A Class A motor home.. First camping trip we were about 30 minutes from home when some idiot parked his sports car under a semi trailer....at 70 mph. Road closed. and there we sat.. Food, Water, Toilet, TV, Bed, Coffee, what more could we want?

Second, 2012 heading south through KY, Im around MM 77 on I-75 when I hear of a pair of fatal accidents long about MM 73.. on the CB (Chan 19). Well Exit 76 is straight ahead and I took it.. Got to the light at the top just as the nice police officer closed the entrance ramp.. Enjoyed a nice quiet night in a nearby Wal*mart lot and finished my trip in the AM.

That said.. I've seen multi-car crackups due to snow and Ice more than once... Major mess they are.

Outside Chattanooga, my sister was on a back road trying to get home around 2:00 and had to leave her car. Someone with a 4x4 took her home. When she left home for a quick errand an hour before, there was just a little dry snow blowing across the road.

Cat Lady wrote:

georgelesley wrote:
I know people always get mad in the south when it snows and blame the hwy dept and each other for not dealing with it properly.

We don't get mad. Our kids love it...no school. We love it (to an extent)...no work. After 24-48 hours...enough already. We couldn't put up with it every year and feel sorry for the folks that have to.

We gotta complain about something. Might as well be the weather.

Cat Lady

Well, we're getting tired of the -40° to -55° wind chill temps and the propane shortage. Our electric bill is going to double running electric heaters this month since our propane is rationed (can't burn wood due to lung problem).

Cat Lady wrote:

georgelesley wrote:
I know people always get mad in the south when it snows and blame the hwy dept and each other for not dealing with it properly.

We don't get mad. Our kids love it...no school. We love it (to an extent)...no work. After 24-48 hours...enough already. We couldn't put up with it every year and feel sorry for the folks that have to.

We gotta complain about something. Might as well be the weather.

Cat Lady

On edit: I can no longer get TWC so don't know what they were forecasting. Sorry to hear about AL but our good ole boys here in South Louisiana nailed it. Sun's trying to come out now but it still won't start warming up until tomorrow.

georgelesley wrote:
I know people always get mad in the south when it snows and blame the hwy dept and each other for not dealing with it properly.

We don't get mad. Our kids love it...no school. We love it (to an extent)...no work. After 24-48 hours...enough already. We couldn't put up with it every year and feel sorry for the folks that have to.

We gotta complain about something. Might as well be the weather.

Cat Lady

Dutch_12078 wrote:
We're on our way to Florida, but we decided to hold up for two nights in southern VA just off I-81 until the storm passed. It was 2 deg F here this morning, but at least we're not on the road to SC as we would have been. Tomorrow does look much better!

Good thinking.

Halmfamily wrote:
So much for not getting snow in Birmingham,AL. We got 2" of snow and it shut down the roads. Major accidents everywheres. ,Been stuck on I20 since 2:30pm yesterday with no sign of us moving. Someone bring me water and food please. Alabama please get some deicing equipment.

When we had the ice storm around Dallas/Fort Worth - deicing wouldn't work.

They had to wait for warm enough weather to tow the vehicles off the road. Then for many of the overpasses they had to being in heavy road construction equipment to break up the five or eight inches of broken, refrozen several times ice.

Took several days to get the roads completely clear.

georgelesley wrote:
...when it snows in the deep south it is the near freezing temp greasy stuff, especially treacherous for the unprepared and inexperienced.

I agree, the "greasy" snow with a layer of ice underneath is treacherous; and that's usually what we get here.

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. I'm lucky. I'm in a downtown building with about 1000 others. It's warm and safe, and we have a well stocked cafeteria. But for others who left work trying to get kids and get home, they are stuck. Reports are that several hundred were rescued last night from the interstates around here. To make things worse, they had to abandoned their vehicles, now the road crews can't get to the worst areas to clear and condition the roads. What a mess. Fortunately it only happens once every few years around here.

My only regret is that I'm not stuck in my RV on a pretty campsite at the side of a lake with a good excuse not to go anywhere - I'm stuck at work!