Winter Storm Leon
 

When the hell did they start naming cold fronts?

Anyway, I just wanted to check in on our fellow southerners. It's still in the 80's in South Florida, but I've got a lot of friends toward the north end of the state that seem to think they're dying.

Looks like the whole southeast is getting slammed pretty good. How you guys doing out there? Got any pictures for us?

I flew out to Houston on business and it dropped into the high 20's here today. It was also raining so there was sleet on the roads and Houston is not properly equipped for that shit. I am working from the hotel because the same thing happened last Friday and there were apparently over 500 car crashes here. FUCK THAT!

Going to get Chinese food, I'm hungry... Nope. As soon as I put it in reverse to back up the barely sloped driveway, forwards I went. Goddamn it Star Specs! Why you no all season!?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390944579

I walked to the park next door to my house and got a quick picture of a bridge, and one down the street in front of my house. This is a once every 4 or 5 years snow for us.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390944579

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390944579

There is currently maybe 4" on my porch, and it has pretty much stopped. High tomorrow is 36, so it'll be gone by noon probably.

I did eventually decide to go through the back yard to get to the street, and did so. But after 200' or so I decided it was too treacherous and turned back... after a few doughnuts in the parking lot next door at the park. I really wanted Chinese food today too.

Got back out for a few minutes and got a few more shots from around the house for posterity. Wind chill is around 0 right now, and it surely feels like it. That's as cold as I've been in a while. Wind is gusting up to 20-30mph, and it cuts like sharp steel.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390951562

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390951562

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390951562

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390951562

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390951562

Interstates all around are literal parking lots. Abandoned cars everywhere, like out of an apocalypse movie. My mom called me and she left work at 10am and has only made it about 4 miles in almost 7 hours. She still has another 4 or 5 miles to go. She may be sleeping in the cold car tonight. I've been reading Facebook posts all day about people being stuck, spun off the road into the ditch, in 10+ car pile ups, ect. Glad for once that I'm unemployed and had nowhere to be today. This snow caught us all off guard. The weather people were saying it was going to go south of us. Wrong again!

Lol couple inches and it's a mass chaos down there. Up here in NJ they would have had the roads pre treated and cleaned up almost immediately.

Well yeah, of course. You guys get snow more than once every year or two. Plus, like I said, it was expected south of here, so all of our equipment moved south, and now we need it up here.

I lol at the south and winter, quite a different story from PA and mountainous VA. It's not sooo ludicrous considering what is the norm here, just very different from up north where you go to work/school in almost anything. Maybe this storm will be legitimate in NC and we'll get railed, but they closed the office today at 2 pm without a flake on the ground due to the weather warnings :laugh:. NCSU grad school closed today's classes last night when we weren't expecting snow until noon today?

I'm not complaining because it's like being in primary school again, looking and hoping for snow days. I literally have a phone number to call and see if there's a snow day for work when there is possibility of 'conditions'.

Send it this way, its 65° and sunny in coastal California today. We don't want your snow but we do need the water.

Stay safe out there yous gays

This thread is cute. A bit of snow and everyone has their panties in a bunch.


That being said, I have traveled to Georgia when they got a dusting a few years back. They were NOT ready for that shit.

Keep in mind that down here, a "salt truck" is a regular pickup with a couple of guys in the back with shovels.

Tomorrow will be day 4 in a row of school being closed. And i'm in Michigan, which is weird.

Went to spray the NB off after work today. I had to park on the huge ice hunk in the middle of the bay. Straddling it would have resulted in me high centering. The poor car was turning white, i had to do something.
As soon as the water hit the car it was freezing. I drove it home as a solid chunk of ice.
She's thawing out in the garage now though.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390956550

In our defense, we had to listen to you guys crying about SUPER tropical STORM SANDY for months and nobody around here notices anything less than a Cat 3 Hurricane.

Touche' lol

Although I personally wasn't affected... Just a little wind and rain lol

Touche...although I live directly on the coast and my parents ended up with a big ass oak tree on their house (and my boat).

My apartment 30 minutes inland was untouched though.

I'm debating on taking the big tractor out with a chain and snatch strap and help some of these people out of the ditch. 2.5 tons of 4wd diesel power. Be the most helpful fucker in the city tonight.

Well, both parents and several friends are stuck on interstates around the Birmingham metro area, probably through the night and into tomorrow. If I had an ATV and Jerry cans I'd go pick them up. Maybe they won't freeze to death or die of carbon monoxide poisoning in this below zero wind chill. A whole 2"-3" and it all shuts down. I just walked 2 miles to a gas station thinking maybe they would be open. Nope, 24 hour station closed too.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390965059

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390965059

You've got to be kidding me...


While we're on the topic of snowed in.

Nope. There was no preparation like they may have usually performed, which would only consist of a light salting of roads by the few trucks the cities or county has. We weren't supposed to get any accumulation at all according to weather reports early this morning. Now everything is solid ice. This is a pretty hilly area too, so you might can move a little way, but as soon as you reach an incline, you're done. I couldn't even get out of the neighborhood in my little ass car earlier, and it's worse now than it was in daylight, now that the temp has dropped another 20 degrees.

Just watched a video of what looked to be a 30-40 car pile up in I-65, and heard a report earlier of 5 tractor trailers jack knifed blocking both directions of I-20. THEN, about 25 miles east of me up I-20, the state has told people to leave their cars where they are, walk to the nearest exit and buses will shuttle them to a shelter area. That tells you what kind of a fucking mess this is, even if you northern guys are smart asses about it. Congrats, you deal with shitty weather more often than we do. Here's your award.

I live on the coast and most things are shut down except for gas stations and Walgreens. I went for a ride earlier to get some gummy bears and take my elderly neighbor to check on her brother's home.

I'd be lieing if I told you I didn't just look up snowmobiles for sale in South jersey craigslist hahahaha..... If I had no limitations with money I would pick one up to use the 3 days it snows every year here... Cause that looks like a blast lmao!

When the county / city issues a "snow emergency" it's completely fair game for snowmobiles to be out and about in the streets. Highways are a little different story though i think. Not that anyone is going to catch you on a snowmobile.

It's not uncommon to see 5-10 snowmobiles in the grocery store parking lot. It's even more common on the west side of the state as they get more snow.

I saw more ATV's than cars on the road today, tearing it up. I've been quite jealous of these people with fun big boy toys..

Boo-hoo, Houston's a freakin' out! :)

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1390968530

I had on a short sleeve shirt today and was comfy. What did I miss?

I've been watching videos from Atlanta news stations. Ice has kept cars from going up hills in so many places that the interstates and secondary roads are blocked with stuck cars and accidents. Unprepared government is unprepared.

It's the same way here. If you can actually get past the thousands of abandoned cars, you won't get off an exit ramp, since almost all of these around here are sloped. It's going to be a mess the next few days. At least we have a little more excuse, being a small "big" city. A real big metro area like ATL really has no excuse for not being prepared.

I don't think the government has anything to do with it...

I once bought an SUV in Little Rock, which I consider to be "in the South". It had nearly new all-season tires on it when I purchased it, but I would realize that winter that what people and installers consider "all-season tires" in the South are rather lacking in the "Winter" department.

I just drove into work in 5" in the miata.... still on my Konig's w/ Falken tires... That was not fun!

Found this of Atlanta:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391001612

Sounds like the same thing Jesse was describing around Birmingham. I can't imagine being stuck overnight on the roads like that.

I drove to work in the snow in my WRX. I died.

I work for a wholesale distribution company with locations in Birmingham, Atlanta and Charlotte. All three locations closed early yesterday and aren't even opening today. Our Atlanta location had 4 route trucks not return to the warehouse yesterday. Meanwhile, the 3 locations in Ohio with 8-14" of snow and -15 temps are churning right along. Crazy.

RIP Brain

Lol. It's amazing how going a couple hundred miles north makes the difference in "the worst weather on the planet ever" and "this is a really nice day".

After this front passed us, we saw the sun for the first time in 8 days. :dealwithit: It was amazing, sunny enough to warm the black cloth interior, but still -15*.

I've been in the Atlanta area with a few inches of snow on the ground without a real problem. Melting and refreezing into ice is what got 'em. Even snow tires are no bueno when the hilly street you are trying to climb is shiny ice.

Edit: Are studded snow tires still legal anywhere? They were the shizz back when I lived in Colorado.

Studded snow tires and/or chains are still legal in Ohio during 3 or 4 winter months. Not necessary in the urban areas, but if I lived in the rural areas east/northeast of Cleveland, I would own two sets, in case one set broke down.

Meanwhile, at the Barber Motorsports exit in the Ham... miata worthy
I got stuck at work too... lucky it's a 60yd walk to the back door of the house

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1391012893

Yesterday road traffic conditions... exactly as Steve said... turned to ice.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1391013140

Lol at the miata.

"Guys, umm guys, GUYS! Ohhhhh gawd, my ass is slipping out, i'm going over"

It's gonna be a boon for the body and paint business.

Just drove down to the river. It's not even frozen over completely. :)
Not that cold.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391018665
Nevermind dirty lens.

Growing up in Texas, I never understood how people could stand to be outside in temperatures >35°. Now, having lived in Northern Illinois for a few years, I find myself as "that guy" who wears short sleeves in those same temperatures.

And this is your idea of a March autocross event:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391020066

^on a lake. :)
We have an association for racing on the lakes when they're iced over.

Michigan Ice Racing Association - MIRA

http://www.michiganiceracing.com/mod...serialNumber=2

http://www.michiganiceracing.com/mod...serialNumber=1

Not sure when they last did it.

It is fun driving sideways through the neighborhood at >10 mph, and it is nice to have extra incentive for keeping the Miata off the road for necessary repairs. Or in my case, unnecessarily pulling the engine out just to clean it. :party:

I still prefer the south. Wrench bite at -10° sucks ass, no matter how tough you are.

Aaaand it's in the 40s F today. These 40-50 degree F temp swings in 24 (or fewer) hours are why everybody in Central Florida has had some sort of flu, cold, infection, etc for the last 3 months.

:vash:

I'm flying into a central state next week and not excited about the prospect of delayed or cancelled flights.

I live about 1/2 mile from the top of that hill. That's the one thing that kept so many people from getting home. Even if you take the back roads down Rex Lake Road past Barber, you still have to go up hills to get to 119. My dad said he was driving all the way from Cullman, and got to the bottom of the hill at the Chevron and had to stop and spend the night. So close, yet so far.

About to venture out into the treacherous one whole inch of remaining snow to go to the grocery store. Roads are supposed to be even worse tonight, with all of the ice already on them freezing even more slick. No loss. Hardly anyone has anywhere to be, since pretty much everything is shut down, except for a few stores.

So the last time it got this cold my AC relay quit working. Today my headlight relay took a shit...

Maybe it's because i am keeping the car in a 50F garage and the sudden shock from hot to super cold is bad? I have no idea, but i'm getting pissed. I've never had to replace relays like this.

NSFW language:

Dear GA,

Ice is slippery.

love, Brain.

I was actually somewhere where the snow was usefull: Copper Mountain, CO

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1391094649

Of course they're supposed to get 30 more inches now that I'm back home, bastards!

LOL - When in a slow 4-wheel slide downhill across ice towards a stopped car with unoccupied space to the stopped car's left and right, the correct response is not to push the brakes harder...

...the correct response involves taking your foot off the brakes and steering the car towards a safe or less occupied place.

- Also -

When trying to slow or stop, a snow covered surface provides significantly more stopping ability than an ice covered surface.

Yeah, I love the ones in four wheel lockup that never consider releasing. I am not surprised that the average driver doesn't understand the basic principles of how their automobile interfaces with its environment. Sheeple to the slaughter.

LET OFF THE BRAKES!!!

I would happily toss of some remarks about idiots who can't handle anything, but Denver people sit around talking about how hilarious it is that Southerners cant handle weather, then bitch and moan when the temp is any where in the 30s and drive like fools.

Did doughnuts in a few parking lots on the way to work today. Some people looked at me like I was clubbing baby seals with a flaming cross. 'Oh, my, he's sideways! And I think it may even be on purpose! Somebody stop that awful, awful man!'

God I hate Denver. Its now a bunch of Californians, Texans, and failed East coasters talking massive shit about being outdoorsy and fit while they hide from light breezes and hike twice a year. They just must have AWD because Colorado. RWD is simply too dangerous. Because AWD helps people who have not down-shifted since the late 80s stop more safely.

AWD has gotten me into more trouble in bad weather than ever driving in a FWD or RWD car... ;) Plowing into corners and sliding out, such a deadly combo.

True. My DSM was really understeery until it wasn't.

I was told once that AWD was safer because then all 4 wheels are working to stop you too. :facepalm: