Wisconsin Winter Weather Thread 08-09 Version

[DuWayne Steurer]

From the north side of Janesville to Junction Road just off the beltline took me almost 2 hours this morning. Luckily I planned ahead, and left home an hour and 15 earlier than I normally do. The I-90 was moving at about 35-40 most of the way up. I know the snow is supposed to stop this afternoon, but I'm hoping work will just put us up in a hotel if we live out of town.

[Hammer]

Had a drift in front of my garage this morning. That is not unusual as I live near a lake and the wind really whips the stuff around. What is unusual is how tall the drift was. I am 6' tall. The drift was taller than my waist. Oh how I love a windy, snowy day.

[Beerambassador]

I don't know what's going on, but I live in Lake Mills and it wasn't bad shoveling this morning. At all. The end of the driveway where the plow came through was heavy, but all in all not bad. Parts of Jefferson County are supposed to see 6-10 inches, but I think we dodged it by us. I work in Cottage Grove, which is a bedroom community to begin with....but it's like a ghost town here this morning. Everyone just stayed in.

[burniebrewer]

In the past, we'd all be surprised if Madison closed schools, but with a new Superintendent in place we may be seeing some new views on things. Rainwater was set in his ways about closing things down and Nerad brings a new outlook.

 

A MMSD spokesman said they were concerned about all of the children who walk to school (he said 50% of kids walk to school in Madison). The concern was bad road conditions and icy sidewalks combining to be a dangerous situation for kids.

 

Either way, it's leading to some scrambling to find a place to send my daughter this afternoon.

[RyDogg66]

I just completed my two-hour manual shovel of my driveway and sidewalk. You see, my driveway is at least 120 feet long, maybe longer, I am just guessing here. I started at 845. We got about 8 inches (it is still coming down a good clip), but the drifts were well over two feet in some areas.

 

It was exhausting and my morale was way down, when, and I dont mean to go all Kellen Winslow here but, a neighbor appeared in the distance with a snowblower, kicking butt and taking names. I can only imagine that for a moment I felt a bit like some of the guys in those WWII movies/shows did when they were fighting the Germans and it was cold and they were getting their butts kicked and then a tank shows up to bail them out and morale goes up and everyone gives it a little harder. Yeah, end of Winslow rant, but it saved me a hour or so.

[NeedMoreFans]

The roads suck, but it's not snowing that hard in Madison right now. I have seen the sun peeking through a couple times today, as well. It's hard to say how much we actually have, but I'd put estimates in the 5-6 range. Looking at the radar, it looks like this thing may be over sooner than later.

[Hammer]

Just a side note...the plow guy in my subdivision is terrible at his job. Carry on....

[brewerjamie15]

I'm wondering how Kenny the Houston Astro is doing right about now. I'm thinking I may go out in my yard, pack a snowball real good and tight, and place it in a cooler. I'd then take a flight to Houston, find Kenny, and smash him with it.

 

I'm also thinking I really need to move someplace warm.

[RU Rah Rah]

A MMSD spokesman said they were concerned about all of the children who walk to school (he said 50% of kids walk to school in Madison). The concern was bad road conditions and icy sidewalks combining to be a dangerous situation for kids.

And yet the principal at my daughter's school basically will not allow them inside the school before the morning bell, no matter what the weather conditions are. We could be talking single digits, plus wind chill, and they are stuck outside, shivering. It's unbelievable.

 

We complained last year, and she claims to have some MMSD-issued "chart" which dictates what's tolerable, and what's not, in terms of temp and wind chill. Of course the chart references what's safe for adults, not five- and six-year olds.

 

(Sorry for the rant, but this particular thing really bugs me.)

[bball123h]

Kenny says tomorrow's high is only 48, though it will improve after that. I wish it would just pick a temperature, either hot or cold, and stick with it, because it's not helping my cold.

 

That said, I LOVE not shoveling, scraping, etc. Talk to me again in July though..

[owbc]

In my opinion, the whole canceling school thing is kind of ridiculous. As much as people complain, I like the UW-Madison way of doing it--if the buses can run, they're open. Everyone complains, but when class starts, 95% of people show up.

 

The only argument I can see is extreme cold where children are in danger of getting frostbite while they are waiting for the bus. However, it's gotten to the point where classes will eventually get canceled for extreme heat because someone might get head exhaustion or something.

 

By the way, the high should be 40-45 F on Sunday with rain showers, but temperatures will cool off after that with an active pattern setting up that is similar to last winter. Look for plenty of chances for snow and an almost guaranteed white Christmas.

[trwi7]

Just a side note...the plow guy in my subdivision is terrible at his job. Carry on....

 

They've always been terrible by me. I would say probably 85% of the snow on the roads gets plowed to my side of the street which leaves huge drifts in the front of the driveway which are a pain in the ass to shovel. The worst part is when you're shoveling down there and they come through and plow you up even more. Swearing and throwing snowballs at the truck feels good the first couple of times, but it wears off after a while.

[craigharmann]

I'm wondering how Kenny the Houston Astro is doing right about now. I'm thinking I may go out in my yard, pack a snowball real good and tight, and place it in a cooler. I'd then take a flight to Houston, find Kenny, and smash him with it.

 

I'm also thinking I really need to move someplace warm.

We got snow down here in Texas last night. Not the feet that Wisconsin gets, but in some areas a little light dusting. It's cold and windy this morning. So the warm places aren't always warm. Bright side is by the weekend the highs will be back up in the low 70's.

[Patrick425]

RyDogg66[/b]]It was exhausting and my morale was way down, when, and I dont mean to go all Kellen Winslow here but, a neighbor appeared in the distance with a snowblower, kicking butt and taking names. I can only imagine that for a moment I felt a bit like some of the guys in those WWII movies/shows did when they were fighting the Germans and it was cold and they were getting their butts kicked and then a tank shows up to bail them out and morale goes up and everyone gives it a little harder. Yeah, end of Winslow rant, but it saved me a hour or so.

My parents never had a snow blower. Every snow storm we were out there shoveling the long driveway. There was a massive heavy snowstom the month after my wife and I purchased our first house. Thankfully our neighbor came to the rescue with his snow blower. At that point I bit the bullet, went out to farm and fleet, and somehow managed to get a snow blower in the trunk of my 1988 Toyota Celica (they had to take it out of the box - not fully assembled - and it was a long nervous ride home). To this day, I still tell my wife every winter that it was the best purchase I ever made. Although, it was unable to get through the end of the driveway yesterday (pure slush - I noticed the neighbor across the street had the same issue).

[PlayerHader]

Just a side note...the plow guy in my subdivision is terrible at his job. Carry on....

 

They've always been terrible by me. I would say probably 85% of the snow on the roads gets plowed to my side of the street which leaves huge drifts in the front of the driveway which are a pain in the ass to shovel. The worst part is when you're shoveling down there and they come through and plow you up even more. Swearing and throwing snowballs at the truck feels good the first couple of times, but it wears off after a while.

Should the plow it to the middle of the road?

 

This last snow fall wasn't so bad in Wausau. It was cold enough so it was a light fluffy snow. Plus we didn't even get 5 inches I don't think. Those plows definitely make it seem like more. Takes more time to shovel that 2 feet at the end of the driveway than to do the rest of it.

[trwi7]

Should the plow it to the middle of the road?

No, maybe instead of plowing 90% of the snow on my side of the street, they plow it 50/50 on each side so I'm not stuck shoveling five foot drifts on the front of my driveway while everybody across the street only gets a foot.

[MadScientist]

In my opinion, the whole canceling school thing is kind of ridiculous. As much as people complain, I like the UW-Madison way of doing it--if the buses can run, they're open. Everyone complains, but when class starts, 95% of people show up.

 

The only argument I can see is extreme cold where children are in danger of getting frostbite while they are waiting for the bus. However, it's gotten to the point where classes will eventually get canceled for extreme heat because someone might get head exhaustion or something.

 

By the way, the high should be 40-45 F on Sunday with rain showers, but temperatures will cool off after that with an active pattern setting up that is similar to last winter. Look for plenty of chances for snow and an almost guaranteed white Christmas.

City buses only run on main roads that get plowed early and often, plus most students live within walking distance. This is not the case for schools. Also we are talking little kids here, not adults like in college.

[pitchleague]

for the next 3 1/2 weeks, this thread is actually relevant to me.

[PlayerHader]

May we settle into a brutal cold stretch for you!

[ttsather]

Right on cue?

 

Here in Madison, it's the first truly bitterly cold day of the year. Walking to work was miserable.

[burniebrewer]

Yeah, it was chilly this morning but at least there was no wind.

[TooLiveBrew]

It was exhausting and my morale was way down, when, and I dont mean to go all Kellen Winslow here but, a neighbor appeared in the distance with a snowblower, kicking butt and taking names. I can only imagine that for a moment I felt a bit like some of the guys in those WWII movies/shows did when they were fighting the Germans and it was cold and they were getting their butts kicked and then a tank shows up to bail them out and morale goes up and everyone gives it a little harder. Yeah, end of Winslow rant, but it saved me a hour or so.

 

You're a soldier! Better yet... a snowtrooper!

 

http://alexplorer.net/guitar/text/guitar/snowtrooper.jpg

[hawing]

OK, I've stated before on this site that overall, I like the four seasons (even after last winter). But check out the forecast over the next few days for Madison (per the National Weather Service - Milwaukee/Sullivan website):

 

Friday afternoon: Mostly sunny with a high near 13.

Friday night: Mostly cloudy with temperatures rising to around 18.

Saturday: A slight chance of rain or snow. Areas of fog. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37.

Saturday night: A 50 percent chance of rain. Areas of fog. Otherwise, cloudy with a low around 32.

Sunday: Rain likely, with a high near 42.

(On a separate part of their website, the NWS warns of the possibility of flooding due to rapid snow melt.)

Sunday night: Periods of rain before midnight, then periods of rain, freezing rain, and sleet between midnight and 3 AM, then periods of snow after 3 AM. Low around 15.

Monday: A 40 percent chance of snow before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 17.

Monday night: Partly cloudy, with a low near 1.

 

Single digits/teens to 30s/40s back to single digits/teens within the space of a long weekend.

I think Mother Nature is trying to kill us.

[whizkid]

Winter rain always scares me what with the gutters being frozen, the possibility of ice damming and drainage patterns altered by snow. I've raked the roof which is about all I can do for prevention. I've never had a problem but it still scares me.

[trwi7]

Winter rain always scares me what with the gutters being frozen, the possibility of ice damming and drainage patterns altered by snow. I've raked the roof which is about all I can do for prevention. I've never had a problem but it still scares me.

It should scare you. I had it last year and it's terrible.