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Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

isitsnowinginpdx.com

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Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#51

Post by ryantgtg »

rootusrootus wrote: post #36
ryantgtg wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have lived in both cities. This is accurate. In LA, I think the issue is that people drive the exact same in the rain. There are no adjustments made to speed or space for braking.

It makes sense. The first rain after an extended dry spell can be treacherous until the oils are washed off the pavement. Once it starts raining consistently in the winter, the roads go back to normal because modern tires have great traction on wet pavement.

Sure, but visibility is also impacted and is not something that improves with consistent rain. People should always adjust their driving style when it rains.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#52

Post by shanecleveland »

rootusrootus wrote: post #25

I've lived in the midwest, and in Portland. What many people don't get is that Portland has hills bigger than what people in the midwest would call a mountain. Also, snow in late December is relatively rare. We missed a white Christmas by one day. Only have an inch here where I'm at, but hey, take what you can get.

Not to mention the limited resources municipalities have to deal with these events, since they just don't happen that often.

It is more common to see 4WD vehicles abandoned in ditches because they didn't realize 4WD doesn't help with braking or going down a hill.

Wanna learn how to drive in the snow? Tackle an unplowed, 45 degree hill littered with vehicles that didn't make it.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#53

Post by midasuni »

AstroDogCatcher wrote: post #48
qbasic_forever wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having grown up in the midwest and moved to the PNW as an adult, the PNW does not manage snowfall in populated areas. This is not a fault of the people but rather the infrastructure--there just aren't enough plows, de-icing agents, etc. In Ohio for example when winter storm warnings occur there will be armies of plow drivers mobilized and removing snow almost the minute it hits. They realize the sooner you can get it…

Exactly the same situation in the UK - snow is common but rarely persistent enough to justify the infrastructure investment to deal with it. Also, having an excuse to combine moaning about the weather with moaning about our inept government is basically enough to trigger a collective national orgasm.

Plenty of plows and gritters in Scotland (all with names like Lord Coldemort and Buzz Lightyear)

A fair number of plows in northern England too, the A66 across the Pennines is often blocked. Further south it’s typically just gritters spreading salt on the roads, but it’s rare to have the type of snow you need to shift.

We had heavy snow in the south east and northern france back in December 2010, my flight to the US was cancelled on the 22nd, I managed to get one from Paris to Newark for the 23rd, and had to drive from Bedfordshire to Paris. Felt like a massive blizzard driving though it, could barely see the tracks of the vehicle 800 yards ahead coming down through france.

Landed in a clear New York on the 23rd, but then went out for dinner opposite the hotel in Tribecca, possibly that night. The snow came down, and kept coming. First time I’d ever seen a snow plow in person, and the drifts the next morning with covering taxis. It was a different world to the 3-6” of heavy snow we were used to.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#54

Post by noahtallen »

steelstraw wrote: post #24
qbasic_forever wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having grown up in the midwest and moved to the PNW as an adult, the PNW does not manage snowfall in populated areas. This is not a fault of the people but rather the infrastructure--there just aren't enough plows, de-icing agents, etc. In Ohio for example when winter storm warnings occur there will be armies of plow drivers mobilized and removing snow almost the minute it hits. They realize the sooner you can get it…

But is it worth having such infrastructure in the PNW? How often would it be used compared to Ohio?

Exactly. In the 20-21 winter, there was one meaningful snowfall which stuck for two days. The “big” road nearby got plowed maybe once, along with the interstate getting regular plowing. That’s “good enough” for most people.

In the mountains in the PNW, there seems to be plenty of heavy-duty equipment for snow. But in the cities at 0 elevation, it’s just not worth the money, unless it starts snowing more frequently!

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#55

Post by im_down_w_otp »

rootusrootus wrote: post #25

I've lived in the midwest, and in Portland. What many people don't get is that Portland has hills bigger than what people in the midwest would call a mountain. Also, snow in late December is relatively rare. We missed a white Christmas by one day. Only have an inch here where I'm at, but hey, take what you can get.

The snow is also much more wet and slick in the PNW along the Puget Sound and down the Willamette River Valley than it is in many other places that receive regular annual snowfall. Mostly because when it snows in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, etc. the temperature is hovering right at the melting point, so the snow compacts to a slick ice-like form quickly. Even up at the ski resorts on places like Mt. Hood the snow is damp and heavy feeling compared to the crisp and fluffy snow in the Rockies, for example.

That said, having spent most of my life in Portland and also most of my life driving in the mountains in the winter to ski & snowboard, I can confirm that people in Portland can't drive in the snow. It's almost as amusing as people driving in San Diego in the rain. :-)

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#56

Post by noahtallen »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #39

Transplants complaining about how they're better drivers than native PNWers gets pretty old after a very short while. Apparently winter weather driving accidents never happen anywhere else in the country.

Right. And as a transplant, the places you come from have snow infrastructure to handle it. Where it doesn’t typically snow, snow equipment doesn’t matter. So people used to winter driving as transplants still wouldn’t be used to unplowed, unsalted roads.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#57

Post by tzs »

vvanders wrote: post #7
jhatax wrote: post #4

While it might not be super accurate, this simple site captures the way people panic in the PNW when it snows. It’s not uncommon to see cars abandoned on the side of roads (SR-520 in Washington, for example). Thanks for making me smile this morning.

West WA doesn't have the infrastructure to clear the roads(which makes sense given how infrequently it snows) combine that with some steep areas and it's fairly predictable what happens.

I don't know if this is accurate but I recall an article that said another significant difference between western WA snow and snow in the states that get seriously cold for a long time in winter is that the ground in western WA usually doesn't freeze like it does in the colder states.

When snow falls in western WA, the fall at the start gets melted by the ground, and the refreezes as the following fall hits it. This results in an ice layer covered in snow.

The states with frozen ground don't get that bottom layer of snow melting, giving them just ground covered by snow which is not as challenging to drive on as snow on ice.

So what we get in western Washington is that when it snows it gives us a particularly annoying kind of snow for driving. Combine that with us not getting snow frequently enough to get good at snow driving even in regular snow, and driving is a mess when it snows here.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#58

Post by jeffreygoesto »

danans wrote: post #23
Ccecil wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well...certain areas. I myself get excited when it is snowing and I get to drive. Seattle tends to lose it's mind when there is barely any snow...but as soon as you get past Issaquah people start driving like they have been in snow before. I remember one trip coming over the pass maintaining 50-60mph with a ton of snow...but as soon as I got down the hill everyone was driving 25mph on the freeway. Mostly the PNW comm…

> I remember one trip coming over the pass maintaining 50-60mph with a ton of snow...but as soon as I got down the hill everyone was driving 25mph on the freeway Driving at 25mph in a ton of snow seems a lot more sensible than driving 50-60mph, especially if your vehicle isn't equipped with snow tires. Snow related accidents are often caused by people not slowing down.

Unless you are in Sweden and it's so cold that the snow feels more like concrete. It is "milled" in longitudinal direction, if I remember correctly, so that there is no flat surface but many small grooves. And they do have extreme headlamps, especially around the arctic circle. Driving on completely iced roads between trucks going 65mph can be quite an experience...

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#59

Post by ndmdklsls »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #38
rootusrootus wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About fifty years ago, when building out new freeways was a thing, Portland revolted and stopped building new roads. We haven't built anything meaningful since completing I205 in the 80s. But the city continues to grow. Traffic sucks because the local government has bet the future on light rail.

> Traffic sucks because the local government has bet the future on light rail. In a place with consistent high population growth like Portland, induced demand would create congestion on 2, 3, 5, or even 10 lanes of road. Investing in modes of transport where each person requires less space is the only way to have both population growth and not look like Houston or Dallas or Atlanta.

No post body was provided.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#60

Post by dgfitz »

shanecleveland wrote: post #52
rootusrootus wrote: post #25

I've lived in the midwest, and in Portland. What many people don't get is that Portland has hills bigger than what people in the midwest would call a mountain. Also, snow in late December is relatively rare. We missed a white Christmas by one day. Only have an inch here where I'm at, but hey, take what you can get.

Not to mention the limited resources municipalities have to deal with these events, since they just don't happen that often. It is more common to see 4WD vehicles abandoned in ditches because they didn't realize 4WD doesn't help with braking or going down a hill. Wanna learn how to drive in the snow? Tackle an unplowed, 45 degree hill littered with vehicles that didn't make it.

> Wanna learn how to drive in the snow? Tackle an unplowed, 45 degree hill littered with vehicles that didn't make it.

This isn’t great advice unless you want your insurance premiums to go up.

If you want to learn to drive in the snow, drive in the snow. Get a feel for your vehicle. Drive slower than you think you need to. Know your route ahead of time and avoid inclines if possible.

Don’t play pinball with your car down a hill full of other cars.

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