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Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

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Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#31

Post by literalAardvark »

ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #24
literalAardvark wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's icy there's no difference at all. The only tyres that do anything on ice are the ones with spikes or chains. If it's snowy a good modern all weather tyre can hold its own, but will brake a few feet later than a good winter tyre. In all other conditions a good all weather is a lot better than winter tyres, and pretty close to a good summer tyre.

You must live in Florida or be a terrible driver. The difference between winter and all seasons is very apparent.

It is.

However the difference between winter and a modern all weather (it's a different class) isn't.

And yes, we're probably terrible drivers.

I do not live in Florida. 45N, continental winters.

I'm never using winter tyres again unless society breaks down and no one shovels the roads anymore.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#32

Post by [deleted] »

literalAardvark wrote: post #15
antupis wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Difference is pretty big if it’s icy like breaking 100 meters vs 10 meters. Especially if there’s wildlife like reindeers/moose’s you are going to do emergency breathing semi regularly.

If it's icy there's no difference at all. The only tyres that do anything on ice are the ones with spikes or chains. If it's snowy a good modern all weather tyre can hold its own, but will brake a few feet later than a good winter tyre. In all other conditions a good all weather is a lot better than winter tyres, and pretty close to a good summer tyre.

[deleted]

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#33

Post by colechristensen »

krzyk wrote: post #26

> In the first really heavy winter storm of the year, your power might go off. This is understandable but you do have to think about it beforehand. Power going is last thing I would think happens in such place. I understand wind, but snow? I get that rural places might get power cables in the air, but in cities those should go underground. I live in rural area, close to big city in a semi snowy place (depends on wint…

Ice on power lines. It's the freezing rain mix in just the right conditions that builds up ice on anything and takes down lines.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#34

Post by bob1029 »

ndndndndj wrote: post #20
yxhuvud wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trees fall down due to combination of heavy snow and wind. They probably don't cut sufficiently around power lines. It is extra bad if the ground hasn't frozen properly yet. In some places it may be cheaper to dig down the cable than facing storms.

But why are power lines above ground in the first place?

Makes them a lot easier to get to. Buried infrastructure is fantastic until it breaks. Then it really sucks ass.

A lineman can fix anything on a pole within a few hours. Probably before lunch if they start first thing in the AM. Fixing a buried line can take days or worse depending on what's above it.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#35

Post by colechristensen »

Ekaros wrote: post #21
joecool1029 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re right usually (about not needing blizzaks) but there’s important nuance here. There are warm all season (with usual M+S stamped on, this just means tread pattern, nothing about compound) and winter all-season with a compatible compound for cold conditions. The industry created a logo for the tires some years back it’s like 3 peak mountain snowflake or something. This ensures the compound is soft enough to keep…

There is lot of variation between tires. From summer, to all season, to European winter to Nordic winter(studdles or studded). Only Nordic ones designed specifically for snow and ice are really usable in conditions where there is often snow and ice. They fare worse in wet not freezing conditions and ofc in dry. But not all winter tires are made equivalent.

Following an ambulance a couple years back I was up to 110 mph on my rather aggressive snow tires and was just fine. Not to say it wasn't a little worse, but I was fine. Everything you're saying is an exaggeration. A whole lot of people in snowy areas don't drive with snow tires and are usually fine. Good snow tires are a bit of a superpower up north but we all learn how to drive without them being a requirement outside of times where traveling at all is questionable.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#36

Post by nucleardog »

literalAardvark wrote: post #15
antupis wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Difference is pretty big if it’s icy like breaking 100 meters vs 10 meters. Especially if there’s wildlife like reindeers/moose’s you are going to do emergency breathing semi regularly.

If it's icy there's no difference at all. The only tyres that do anything on ice are the ones with spikes or chains. If it's snowy a good modern all weather tyre can hold its own, but will brake a few feet later than a good winter tyre. In all other conditions a good all weather is a lot better than winter tyres, and pretty close to a good summer tyre.

I... Well, I had started explaining point by point how wrong this is but frankly the answer is just "all of it, very".

I've driven summer tires, all season tires, winter tires, and studded winter tires in every season in Canada. (Yes, I live in Canada and own borderline-usless summer-only tires. Yes, I've tried driving them in snow.)

None of what you're saying lines up with my own experience, various YouTube videos on braking distances, or literally anything else I've ever seen anywhere.

Edit: And, well, to be clear... I've lived on the West coast of Canada where it's a bit more mild but you're in the mountains, in the middle where it hits -50, and in the East where it only hits -30 but snows like hell.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#38

Post by [deleted] »

krzyk wrote: post #26

> In the first really heavy winter storm of the year, your power might go off. This is understandable but you do have to think about it beforehand. Power going is last thing I would think happens in such place. I understand wind, but snow? I get that rural places might get power cables in the air, but in cities those should go underground. I live in rural area, close to big city in a semi snowy place (depends on wint…

[deleted]

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#39

Post by vl »

hysan wrote: post #22

Something about the tone of the article just makes me want to write a retort / criticism instead of praising the advice. Maybe it’s because it feels like an incomplete list or that it’s too generalized but written like the author has learned it all. For example, no mention of learning when and what to do to avoid frozen pipes. Or how to fix things when it happens. Also, shoveling snow isn’t that hard if you have the…

I actually enjoyed the writing. It's clearly reflection on the experience presented as an "advice list" somewhat jokingly. Since author didn't enjoy the experience, tone is somber. After spending childhood in the cold place I can relate.

Re: Lessons you will learn living in a snowy place

#40

Post by [deleted] »

ndndndndj wrote: post #20
yxhuvud wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trees fall down due to combination of heavy snow and wind. They probably don't cut sufficiently around power lines. It is extra bad if the ground hasn't frozen properly yet. In some places it may be cheaper to dig down the cable than facing storms.

But why are power lines above ground in the first place?

[deleted]
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