Snow!?!

#1

Ok, so some of you know I’m from Florida but currently living in Utah. My husband and I moved here over the summer and what I’ve been dreading is here…snow.

Now, granted, it’s only 37 degrees out right now, so the snow that is falling is not sticking. But it’s expected to get colder tonight and there are predictions of 2-4 inches of snow by morning.

I’m just…flabbergasted. It’s only October! Where I’m from in Florida the temps usually don’t get this low until December, maybe not even until January (if at all!)

I mean, I’ve never had any experience living in snow. I’ve seen snow TWICE in my life and the first time I wouldn’t even really count it. It was in June of '06 (I was 23), when I came to Utah for a visit and my husband (then boyfriend) and I went with his parents to their cabin in the mountains. It was a few miles below the snow level so they decided it would be fun to take the Florida girl up to touch some snow. There wasn’t a lot of it, and it was very obviously melting.

The second time was when I came up to Utah for two weeks in January of '07. It was so gray and cold all the time (except at night, when the moonlight reflected so bright off the snow) that I felt like I wanted to throw myself off a cliff.

Also, I have NO idea how to drive in snow, so the thought scares me to pieces. Now, right now it’s ok, my husband is used to driving in snow and can shuttle me around. But I know eventually I’m going to have to suck it up and learn. :frowning:

The only (slightly) amusing thing about this whole snow issue is that my chihuahua’s reaction is funnier than my own. He keeps alternating between glaring at us and looking totally pathetic. I keep telling him I’m on his side, that we’d go back to Florida if we could, but I don’t think he quite believes me… :teehee:

#2

It’s late this year. I’m in eastern WY and I think it usually snows by the first of Oct, but I’ve only been here two years. Don’t worry, it will melt soon, and there should be some warmer days before winter really settles in. The main thing to know about driving in snow is SLOW DOWN. Allow about 10-20 minutes extra to get anywhere and don’t let the other drivers speeding by you freak you out - just watch out for them as you pass them up the road while they’re in the ditch.

Hey, and maybe you can knit your chiwalidog a sweater; he might like you better after that.

#3

I won’t lie, I am so crazy jealous right now. I’d happily trade you. I’m a cold weather/snow person…

We are having freakish warmth right now, it’s a balmy 71, and we had a beautiful couple weeks of low 50’s too… I was teased.

I can’t imagine never really experiencing snow, this will be an uphill battle for you, but hopefully you will enjoy more than you think.

When you drive, keep it slow and steady. If you can even try driving in some empty, but snowy/slick parking lots, to help get the feel of the car, and how its affected by the snow.

Otherwise, dress warmly and enjoy all the warm woolies you can knit and use now being in a cold climate.

Good luck.

#4

I’m sure that it’s hard to adust to winter weather after living in lovely Florida. Be sure to buy a good pair of long underwear to keep yourself warm!

Just wait until the snow starts sticking and piling up because then you can begin to have fun with it. Think of all the fun things you missed out on by living in Florida: snowmen, sledding, snowball fights, snow forts! Snow can be fun! Not to mention it is very very very funny to watch dogs try to walk in snow (they sink into it and are often very baffled).

Also, think of the wonderful cold weather gear you can now knit yourself! Hats! Scarves! Mittens! What bliss!

Good luck and enjoy your snow!
Rebecca

#5

As a former MN for 45 yrs…now in SoCal…I’m glad to have those snowy/icy days behind me. (Altho I wish we had actual ‘weather’ here.)

You might want to head to an open, EMPTY parking lot after a snowfall and drive around…where you can’t hit anything…and get a feel for the slippery-ness. Learn how to steer out of a slide (while trying to stay calm!), gauge your stopping distance, etc. You’ll also find that snow doesn’t drive the same every time…some are wetter, drier, slushier, icier, etc. So you adjust accordingly. Even those of us with decades of snow/ice driving behind us still needed to acclimate to the changing conditions each fall.

Good luck,
cam

#6

Have you considered AAA Winter Safety Drivers Education?

Try this if you have a few dimes to rub together
and if not just sit next to the fire and knit knit knit
use wool

ecb

#7

Hey Florida, uh, Utah Girl, I’m with you! No snow for me, I don’t want it!

Having lived in Washington State, Pennsylvania, Germany, Albuquerque, NM (elev. 5,600 ft)and now Oregon, I can tell you that the advice about driving in a large parking lot the first couple of times is good advice. Learn to recognize black ice, also.

#8

Yeah what they all said…practice driving,go slow,allow extra time.The great thing about being a knitter is when you allow extra time and you arrive early you get all this knitting time.
I love the start of winter…and that lasts until after christmas when I’m sick of it but we usually don’t get snow until December so I’m with you for snow in October…oh my god!!!

#9

Gee, so far I must be the only one here that actually ‘misses’ snow. After having grown up in So. Cal, living in Vegas for years and then quite a few years in Albuquerque, NM I loved their snowy days. Although, the driving can get crazy for those who are not used to it. So, follow the advice of the others above, practice in an empty lot, and please, watch the black ice, that can be treacherous. Enjoy and send some here to Dallas!! :wink:

#10

Winter driving is not fun, but just give yourself plenty of time and go at your own speed. Don’t worry if you have a long line of traffic behind you and they’re wanting to pass you, let 'em pass! You’re the one that’s going to be safe and sound at your destination while they’re waiting for a tow truck to pull them out of the ditch they’ve slid in. Also, I don’t know if you drive a car or an SUV, just remember that if you’re in an SUV, you’re not invincible and still need to drive slowly.

#11

I live in Canada…snow is a way of life. I can start as early as Oct, last as late as May…

For me here in ON, it usually starts late Nov, and lasts til about Early April…but we do have our weird years…

#12

I’m with you on the snow thing… I’ve never driven in snow either- I moved to Germany this summer and I’m not looking forward to the snow either.

#13

The only other thing I can think to suggest for driving in snow is make sure your tires are good, and, if you have a lightweight vehicle or truck, pile on the sandbags. If you have a truck, the best place to put the sandbags is by the wheel wells and that will help keep you from sliding in the snow. Just be sure to drive slowly and cautiously!

Give it some time, you may end up loving snow. I know I can’t imagine myself ever living anywhere it never snows. One of the things I enjoy most is the quiet calm of snowy days. It seems all sound is muffled and there’s nothing but quiet. We live near a highway and despite being so close to it, on those days with lots of snow on the ground, you can barely hear the traffic. And I love the snowball fights :teehee:

#14

I thought of one winter driving tip that other people haven’t mentioned unless I missed it.

I don’t know if Utah is pretty flat or not, but I am from upstate NY & now live in the mountains in TN. When it snows and you have to get up a hill- get a bit of a “running go” and don’t stop. My driveway is in the middle of a hill that I have to go up- the only way I can do it when it’s snowy & icy is to back down the road and get as far as I can up the next hill- then get it going enough to get up to the top of the hill.

The roads are really twisty windy here and it’s hilly- it takes going slow (unless you’re going up a hill!) and trying to drive like there’s an egg between the pedals and your foot that you’re trying not to break.

Hope this helps!

#15

Oh I LOOOVE the sound of snow falling. —almost perfect, pure, silence. Oh man, I just cannot wait for the snow to start up here. Long term predictions say as early as November. I have my fingers crossed.

#16

Simply… thanks for the tips… where I live it’s full of windy, curving, hilly (some very steep) roads… narrow w/out any shoulders… and it’s a main road. What we’d call a state highway… I don’t understand that part.

#17

Gag. It’s like that here too. The trick for me is to get going enough to get up the hill, then slow down near the top to not go down the other side too fast. I also have 2 roads with a stop sign at the bottom of a hill and on one of the dips there is a sharp curve at the bottom & it goes right back up. (gotta stay slow enough to make it down & not slip around the curve but fast enough to go up the next hill.) Those are fun. I live out in the county where they don’t plow. (luckily the guy down the road from me- I live on a dirt road but it goes to paved on the 1st turn- has a plow on the front of his pickup & he leaves for work earlier than me)

I also always remind myself that I am going slow- if I start to slip the worst thing that’s going to happen is a slide into a ditch. There are a few sections that would head me into a ravine, through a fence, and into some cows. On those sections I look straight and don’t think about it.

You will be fine!

And of course here- somebody will come along with a chain to pull you out if you get stuck.

You’ll learn how to do it- everybody does.

#18

In most snowy places, they’re ready for it and will keep the roads treated. If the roads are snowy, it’s mostly important to remember to just do everything more slowly - accelerate slowly, turn slowly, and take your time stopping. That gets you through about 95% of the snowy situations.

Plus, people who live where it snows generally know how to drive in the snow, and so just about everyone else (except the idiots) will be taking their time, too.

Things to watch out for: unplowed country mountain/hilly roads. The roads up to my parents’ West Virginia ridge-top home can be nasty when it snows. I don’t drive them. I let them come down the hill to me since they have all wheel drive and/or a heavier car. The other thing to watch for is ice. Ice is slippery, and even a four wheel drive is nothing with ice. If you have an ice storm, the best advice is to stay in. Driving on ice has been the only time (knock on wood) I’ve had to test the theory of turning in the direction of a skid. (That is, if the back end of your car is headed left (even if it’s into traffic) turn left (slowly) - otherwise you end up spinning around.)

If you can, enjoy it - it is pretty when it piles up on branches and porch railings, and because it absorbs sound, the world becomes a lot quieter.

#19

Well, most of the snow has melted off now, thank goodness.

My chihuahua absolutely HATED it. :teehee: He started to walk outside like normal and then realized the ground was wet and making his paws cold. He looked at me with a very pathetic face and tried to sit down, but realized it made his butt cold, too. Finally I had to kick aside some of the snow to reveal grass so he’d do his business. Once I brought him back inside I bribed him with treats so he wouldn’t hate me, lol!

Thanks for all the driving tips. I just absolutely hate driving anyway, so the thought of adding snow and ice to the mix makes me want to become a hermit.

#20

You should also remember to be prepared. You should have winter gear in your car that will enable you to walk a mile comfortably. Hat coat gloves socks ect… It should all be within reach of your seat. Oh, yeah, don’t forget your flares either.