Archive for the 'Blizzard' Category
(Chronologically Listed)
The consequences of environmentalism
The city of Seattle (WA) has decided not to use salt or other chemicals in clearing ice and snow from roads, with predictable results:
To hear the city’s spin, Seattle’s road crews are making “great progress” in clearing the ice-caked streets.
But it turns out “plowed streets” in Seattle actually means “snow-packed,” as in there’s snow and ice left on major arterials by design.
“We’re trying to create a hard-packed surface,” said Alex Wiggins, chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation. “It doesn’t look like anything you’d find in Chicago or New York.”
The city’s approach means crews clear the roads enough for all-wheel and four-wheel-drive vehicles, or those with front-wheel drive cars as long as they are using chains, Wiggins said.
The icy streets are the result of Seattle’s refusal to use salt, an effective ice-buster used by the state Department of Transportation and cities accustomed to dealing with heavy winter snows.
“If we were using salt, you’d see patches of bare road because salt is very effective,” Wiggins said. “We decided not to utilize salt because it’s not a healthy addition to Puget Sound.”
By ruling out salt and some of the chemicals routinely used by snowbound cities, Seattle has embraced a less-effective strategy for clearing roads, namely sand sprinkled on top of snowpack along major arterials, and a chemical de-icer that is effective when temperatures are below 32 degrees.
Seattle also equips its plows with rubber blades. That minimizes the damage to roads and manhole covers, but it doesn’t scrape off the ice, Wiggins said.
I predict this policy will last until there’s an accident causing death, injury, or major property damage. The resulting lawsuit will likely force Seattle to actually put public safety ahead of environmental concerns. ..bruce w..
Oh, the weather outside is frightful…
Like Phil at Bad Astronomy, I’ve always been intrigued by Antarctica and have wanted to visit there. But this video clip gives a brief — but sufficient — glimpse into the cold, dark, windy hell that Antarctica can be:
http://view.break.com/487339 - Watch more free videos
Wowza. That looks like “ten steps and die” weather. ..bruce w..
Coping with global warming
It’s May Day, nearly halfway through spring, almost halfway to summer. As I type this, snow is falling outside and has been for an hour or so; it’s actually sticking on the ground (we have at least 1/2″ already). And it’s supposed to fall through the day and into the evening. The current temperature (it’s about 9:15 in the morning) is just under 32 degrees F.
All this, of course, can be passed off as a late-spring fluke; anecdotes do not equal data (something the global warming advocacy media should get through their heads). What is significant is that it has been so cool this spring that none of our trees, bushes, or shrubs have started leafing out or blossoming yet (though we do have some buds starting up on the trees). This is in stark contrast to last year, when we had much greater snowfall (more photos here), yet everything greened up and blossomed on time.
I thought I might be imagining all this, until I read this passage from an article in the Denver Post about the anticipated runoff from the above-average snowfall the Rockies have received this year :
Temperature and precipitation carry the most impact in spring, when the two work to either steadily or suddenly lessen snowpack levels in the Colorado mountains. For the past four months, Colorado’s temperatures have been uncommonly cold, setting 15-year records for chilliness. That makes weather researcher Klaus Wolter think May could be warm and dry, a common trait of this winter’s surprisingly snowy La Niña. (emphasis mine)
Well, it’s May 1st, and I can only see as far as the end of our driveway, due to the snow falling. I’m going to go build a fire (we used up our usual 2 cords of firewood weeks ago, and I’ve been supplementing it by buying bundles at the local supermarket), and then finish reading this interview with Don Easterbrook [PDF] posted over at ICECAP (hat tip to Jerry Pournelle, though ICECAP is on my daily reading list anyway — as is Climate Feedback, btw).
Did I mention that it was 80 degrees yesterday? Must be all those sunspots.
I blame Bush. ..bruce w..
April is the cruelest month
UPDATE: 04/10/08 - 1255 MDT: We’re currently getting winds in the 35-42 MPH range, which has dropped the wind chill down below zero (it was at -2 deg F a minute or so ago). And yes, it’s still snowing.
==============
There was no snow on the ground at all when I went to bed late last night. Here’s what things look like right now:
The wind had been steadily blowing between 10 and 25 mph all day, pushing the wind chill down to single digits (6.7 deg F right now). I would guess that 4-6 inches of snow have fallen so far, and it’s supposed to keep snowing until late this evening.
Personally, I blame Bush. ..bruce w..
P.S. The good news is that it’s supposed to hit 70 by Monday.
Ah, Colorado!
Yesterday (Saturday) was a pretty a spring day as you could ask for: clear blue skies, low humidity, temperature in the mid-70s.
Right now, at 7 am on Sunday morning, it’s 25 degrees out with 30-40 MPH winds (wind chill is down around -6) and snow blowing — we’re expecting anywhere from 3″ to 8″ today.
The good news is that it gives us an excuse to build one more fire in the woodburning stove. :-) ..bruce w..
Thundersnow!
Yes — we are having a full-blown thundersnow storm even as I type this. Mind you, no snow at all was forecast for tonight, at least not here in the front range (the plains east of the Rockies here in the Denver area). But we’ve had a full inch or so of snow fall in the last 30 minutes, accompanied repeatedly by thunder and lightning. I video’d some of it; if I get ambitious, I’ll post it. ..bruce w..
A white Christmas, indeed
Forget that last posting; like almost every other predicted snowfall this winter, the actual accumulation was much less than predicted and didn’t have a lot of impact.
Unlike today.
As late as yesterday morning, the local weatherpeople were calling for “flurries” here in the front range (the plains and foothills east of the Rockies), and even that they were giving only a 50% chance of happening.
As I type this on Christmas afternoon, the wind chill outside is -14 deg F. Snow has been falling and blowing ever since I woke up at 7 am this morning. I’ve had to use the snow blower on the driveway twice; first on just the upper portion this morning to let our daughter, son-in-law, and kids make it up the rest of the driveway; second on the entire driveway this afternoon to let the same daughter and son-in-law leave. This is easily the single largest snowstorm we’ve had this fall/winter to date, though of course still nothing like the blizzard we had just before Christmas last year. My guess is that we’ll have gotten about 6″ of snow by the time this ends late tonight.
A bit more than a flurry, I’d say. But we’re safe, warm, and full of food (in spite of my burning all three of my pies). Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! ..bruce w..
[UPDATED 12/27/07 - 2148 MST] As it turned out, Denver broke the all-time record for snowfall on Christmas Day — 7.8″. And we got another several inches today (in fact, snow is still falling as I type this). It’ll be a busy morning with the snow blower tomorrow. ..bfw..
Here comes the snow again…
A year ago today, I was blogging during the Great Denver Blizzard — which, as it turned out, was just the first of a series of weekly snowstorms that kept the ground covered with snow for two months straight (and missed by just a few days setting an all-time record here in Denver).
Welcome to Snow Storm Redux. After being clear and sunny this morning, clouds started moving in around noon, and snow started falling around 1 pm — several hours earlier than all the local weatherpeople were predicting even this morning. More telling, the wind outside is blowing pretty steadily at 20 to 30 MPH; the wind chill factor is down to around 0 deg F (actual temp is 26 deg F). We shouldn’t get anywhere near the snowfall we got a year ago (knock wood, fingers crossed) — but I think we may end up getting more than the aforementioned weathercasters said we might (2-5″).
We shall see. ..bruce w..
New wallpapers (and new wallpaper page)
A significant portion of the traffic to this website comes from people searching for computer wallpaper (particularly involving winter, sunsets, and winter sunsets). To that end, I’ve created a separate page (see the page bar above) where I’m posting all the wallpaper versions of certain photographs I’ve shot. I’ve also started posting new wallpaper over there as well. Enjoy! ..bruce w..
No trek today, there’s a blizzard outside
You think I’m kidding? Snow is falling, with wind gusts >30 mph. Nothing is sticking so far, but if I can trust the weather forecasters (who don’t have the best track record, frankly), we could see 6″ to 12″ of snow by tomorrow morning.
Personally, I blame Bush. ..bruce..