nasty weather

[low_delta]

People like to complain about below zero temperatures around here, but I don't think that's so rare that it should be making news. It's been news here for the last couple of days, and the temps have been above zero in the daytime. We've had colder than that this winter already.

Today was a mess, though. We actually had snow along with this cold. That's rare. It was only about an inch, but it was hell for the morning commute. The problem is that the price of salt doubled this year, so municipalities have been cutting back. On top of that, it was so cold that a lot of the road salt wasn't working, so the roads were icy. Lots of cars in the ditches, and commute times across the region were doubled or tripled.

We'll probably still have that problem tomorrow morning, but the big problem is the wind chill. Tomorrow won't break zero, and the wind will be high. They're predicting morning wind chills of 30 to 40 below.

Comments

[mellary4.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they'll use sand instead of salt with the colder temps. It seems like they should. It's slippery to walk across the street so I can imagine driving must be bad.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

They started using it here in Ozaukee county. I've never seen it here before. I think it's a salt/sand mix. I'm not convinced it will help much on the roads. And if it does, it's going to take a while for people to get used to the change. Sand would definitely make a difference for walking on solid ice.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

There have been some terrible accidents around here, and the cold actually is at a (at least recent) record low at this point. I'm not leaving the house unless I absolutely have to. (But I can do that!) *L*

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

That's just painful. I remember when I left Madison in late February, 1979, the wind chill had been 50 below zero. Definitely time to move to California!

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's nasty. And definitely rare.