Winter weather thread 2009-2010

[adamb100]

Get that salt out, the cold kicks in tonight and that sleet turns into ice.

[hawing]

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/mkx/wx_events/snow/120909/snowfall120909.jpg

Approximate snowfall map as of 7:00 Wednesday morning.

 

Our driveway (not yet drifted) had just under 14 inches at 9:00 when I put a yardstick in to measure. That was the overnight snowfall; we'd removed 3-4 inches last night. I think more than 17.3" would break the 24 hour snowfall record set in 1990.

 

The snowblower is not cooperating with what's there, so the S.O. is shoveling and I feel like I should do my part as well.

 

 

[Invader3K]

Heard over in Oregon they had 18".

 

We probably had about 8". Not too bad, was just really wet and heavy stuff like I mentioned earlier.

[adamb100]

UWM canceled afternoon classes per the email I got:

 

UWM canceling classes and closing campus at 1 p.m.

 

 

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is canceling classes and closing

campus effective 1 p.m. today, Dec. 9.

 

Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago made the decision after consulting with

Innovative Weather, the university's weather service. It is now

forecasting a sharp increase in winds and decrease in temperatures over

the afternoon hours, creating hazardous driving conditions later today.

 

Shuttle buses will continue to transport students, faculty and staff to

satellite parking lots throughout the afternoon.

 

Only essential personnel should remain on campus or report to campus

after 1 p.m.

[1992casey]

I'm in Milwaukee County right now; we have about three soggy, heavy inches. The big question here is whether the driveways will be plowed or not. Plows were last seen before 8 AM.

[Hofbraunhaus]

Awoke this morning, only to see green grass and puddles in downtown Milwaukee. A little disappointing after hearing all the dire projections (8-12 inches of snow, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria).

 

I was pretty disappointed as well. If its gonna snow at all I prefer it to be a big snowfall. Also, I love the Ghostbusters reference.

[Godspeed]

I'm in Milwaukee County right now; we have about three soggy, heavy inches.

That's about what I woke up to in Brown Deer. What a pain to shovel.

[Brewbadger]

17" for me here on the UW-Madison campus. Fun fun. Ugh.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I wish I knew how to post pics here, my back yard is amazing. There's almost no context to the pics because EVERYTHING is covered 100% in snow.

[1992casey]

To upload images:

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[hawing]

Some random observations in the aftermath of our 17+ inches of snow (14+ at the airport, but I measured our un-drifted driveway before we started snow removal):

 

Thank the lord for snowblowers. Our neighbor, who is vacationing in Hawaii this week, left us his snowblower. Of course, we did his sidewalk and driveway apron (we share the apron) too.

 

Our side streets were plowed around 4:00. Given the traffic we get (one of the streets at our intersection is a dead end), this was a reasonable response time. We were just starting on the driveway apron, so we didn't have to redo very much.

One of the curb cuts, however, was filled up to my waist after the plow left. About 10 minutes later, while I was trying to attack the three foot pile of hard snowpack, this woman walked up and was clearly annoyed that the curb cut wasn't open for her yet. God almighty. It tapped my patience a good bit to explain to her that the space was open until 10 minutes ago.

 

Mayor Dave, who lives in our neighborhood, walked by me going from Monroe Street to his house. I said thanks for extending the sidewalk snow removal deadline. Seemed like a nice enough guy.

 

I seriously can't believe how much snow I personally moved today. Even in that crazy 07-08 winter, I don't think I moved as much in one day as I did today.

[adamb100]

Today's cold blast made me realize how much I hate winter.

[PlayerHader]

Yep, today was one of those days where your snot freezes as you inhale. Nice!

[hawing]

We decided to walk home tonight rather than wait for a bus (traffic on campus was at a crawl in all directions anyway).

After 35 minutes on the nicely plowed ped/bike path, I found ice in my water bottle.

[brucrustu]

It was full on cold at the farm today. Our barns are on top of a pretty tall hill. My grandpa said the wind came straight from north dakota up there. Big advantage in the summer when the goal is keeping the girls cool. Lots of extra time in the winter, the girls are comfortable in the cold(grandpa said they are first cousin to the woolly mammoth) but the need to keep all cow occupied areas free of any ice is great. Even though we thought our winter prep was good, our north dakota wind was finding it's way onto my alleys. Tonight everybody walks without slipping and I sleep soundly.

[owbc]

The roads in Madison are still absolutely horrible. Milwaukee does a great job with roads compared to the incompetent people in Madison. Because the city decided not to bother salting the roads, there is now a 3" thick layer of compressed snow/ice on almost all the city roads. It is now certainly not going anywhere until it rains since the vehicles have compressed it. It is like driving on the surface of the moon, since there are holes from spinning car tires. They dumped a thin layer of sand on top of it, but that only makes it barely drivable instead of impassable. I saw a semi stuck on a hill on my way to work today--I rarely made it above 20 mph and I had to wait 5 traffic lights to make a left turn because the spinning tires only allowed about 3 cars to get through each time, despite getting a 20 second signal. I know they avoid salting because of the lakes, but sometimes you have to put common sense and safety ahead of a practice that may or may not make a small impact on a very minor environmental problem. My fiance and I have canceled our dinner and shopping plans for tomorrow night because we do not want to drive anywhere. I already crashed once on slippery, unsalted Madison roads last year so I can't afford another accident. I hope they realize that there is a tangible economic impact to having skating rinks for roads for days after a storm.

[Brewbadger]

I agree wholeheartedly OWBC. The roads in Madison are absolutely terrible right now. I slip and slide crossing the road on my way to class wearing boots with good traction, I can't imagine what it's like driving on them. I have 4 wheel drive on my truck but still would prefer to not be out and about. I am all for saving the lakes by limiting the use of salt, but when the non-use of salt in conditions like this puts people's safety in jeopardy, they need to change their practices.

[NeedMoreFans]

I have heard the streets people say they had to choose between plowing all of the roads or salting the main roads. How come they can't do both? Other towns do both. The county did a fine job getting the interstate and beltline cleared up, so there is no reason why the main roads in Madison can't be clear. Yes, it was cold today...but I walked on a sidewalk that had salt thrown down on it, and it melted! What a concept! It took a coworker of mine an hour and 45 minutes to get to school today (Middleton to the East Side), took me an hour to get home, and took my wife 2 and a half hours to get home on the bus (the driver was running 2 hours behind). I nearly spun out just getting through an intersection. People can't get up hills because they are shear ice. I have never seen such a pathetic attempt to get the streets clear. Yes, this was a big storm, but this is Wisconsin! Big storms happen all the time! So now I have to leave home an hour early tomorrow, just so I can try to be on time. Sure, not a big deal...but I drive on that wonderful ice again.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I've worked in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Janesville, and Madison, and none of these cities are even CLOSE to how terrible it is to drive in Madison after snow. Weather absolutely WRECKS the transportation in this city, and frankly, it's pathetic. Left my office on the west side at 3 today, made it to the beltline at 3:25 (4 blocks, yup), and got all the way out to I-90 about 4 pm. From there to Janesville was 30 minutes, and that's 3 times the distance.

[Patrick425]

RoCoBrewfan[/b]]I've worked in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Janesville, and Madison, and none of these cities are even CLOSE to how terrible it is to drive in Madison after snow. Weather absolutely WRECKS the transportation in this city, and frankly, it's pathetic. Left my office on the west side at 3 today, made it to the beltline at 3:25 (4 blocks, yup), and got all the way out to I-90 about 4 pm. From there to Janesville was 30 minutes, and that's 3 times the distance.

That is pretty ridiculous considering it's more than 24 hours after the storm ended. However, depending on the timing of the storm, things can get pretty hairy in Milwaukee. I don't think anyone working in Milwaukee at the time will ever forget the Monday after Thanksgiving storm in 1995. It was complete gridlock. People were running out of gas and abandoning their cars in the middle of the road downtown.

[burniebrewer]

Don't even get me started about the condition of the roads in Madison. We went Christmas shopping today and while the Beltline was dry, everything else is ice potholes. It's ridiculous that people are still getting stuck on hills 48 hours after the storm. The city of Madison powers that be should be ashamed of themselves for the horrible conditions of their city right now. It's downright absurd. The Mayor needs to pull his head out of his special place and look around. UGH!

[PeaveyFury]

Madison should be completely embarrassed over the state of the roads right now. I was out and about a bit tonight, and yes, some of the roads are packed with snow, but some of them are covered with loose snow and slush due to the sun melting some of the snow the last few days. Why in the world haven't they taken the time to run a plow to get the loose stuff off?

 

And it's not like I'm talking side streets here, I was on major roads tonight like Mineral Point and Gammon. Completely ridiculous.

[DuWayne Steurer]

And it's not like I'm talking side streets here, I was on major roads tonight like Mineral Point and Gammon. Completely ridiculous.

Yeah, Junction Road north of Mineral Point is an utter and complete disaster.

[Invader3K]

I was also in the People's Republic today, and I would be ashamed to be a member of the local government right now. It was one of the more stressful drives I've had in a long time, and I drive all over the place for my job.

[burniebrewer]

Peavey, I was on those same roads between 3-5 PM. Major thoroughfares in that condition are inexcusable.

 

I want to leave this embarrassment of a town soon....why the locals praise Madison is beyond me...

 

Mayor Dave should have his head buried in a snowbank in embarrassment for all of this...