January 24, 2013

Fun in the Freezing Rain

Freezing Rain
I grew up in rural Iowa where it was common to have snow on the ground for most of the winter and unless the weather report said the roads were more than 75% snow and ice covered you didn't worry too much.

I'm not trying to be a tough guy or anything....just stating how it was.  You packed your car appropriately and you didn't sweat it.

Since moving to Boise in 1999, I haven't had to deal with snow all that much.  It snows four or five times a winter, I shovel it off the walk and driveway, and a few days later....a week at the most, the piled up snow is off of my lawn.  No big whoop.

This year I've only had to shovel a few times, nothing major, but it hasn't gotten warm enough to melt the snow.  My yard and the neighborhood roads are still covered in snow.  Last night we got some freezing rain with gave everything a nice thin coating.  Places where the snow had been packed down, or where the snow had been cleared, were just a skating rink.  Where the snow had been left undisturbed, the thin coating of ice was just something to crunch through.

I tried taking my dog to the park like I do pretty much everyday and she wanted to go home after two throws.  Trying to navigate the icy packed snow was a bit much for her.  When I through the ball it would just land on and slide around the snow covered ice.  Enough people had been to the park over the last few weeks that a good portion of it was packed.

Driving isn't too bad.  The neighborhood is a bit icy, but the main roads are clear.  The only thing you have to really be careful about are some of the other drivers.  We have way too many people that don't have any substantial icy driving condition experience.  When it is icy it doesn't mean you can speed up and drive through lights to avoid sliding.  Driving slower and slowing down before a stop earlier is a foreign concept.

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