Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

isitsnowinginpdx.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 126 posts

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#71

Post by throwaway2331 »

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.

I think my main issue with the PNW is the absolute cacophony of road markings and layouts (especially around cities).

There's just so much shit going on on the roads, compared to the east coast. They're little things here and there, but I found myself completely unable to drive on "autopilot." Nothing is intuitive; there's gotchas everywhere. Either there's an absolute bombardment of road markings and signs, or there's none at all (so you're either completely overloaded with information, or you don't have enough).

For example: you have bikelanes that merge into the center lane from the outside (without any strong indication, so I always assume the right-hand lane is disappearing -- but no, it's still there, so you always miss the turn). You have the absolute mess of highways that exit off into major stroads (!). Everything is so densely-populated that it's impossible to figure out where exactly you are, because there's so much going on.

It's like too much thought was put into road planning. There's too much shit going on.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#72

Post by taeric »

filmgirlcw wrote: post #62

I grew up in Atlanta Georgia, a place that is notoriously bad at dealing with snow [1], and never thought I would live in a place worse at snow than Atlanta. Then, after nearly a decade in New York City (a place that has snow on lock. In Brooklyn, it’ll snow 18 inches and the sidewalks and roadways will be clear by 5am. And the city is even better!), I moved to Seattle. Seattle is worse at snow than Atlanta, somethin…

To be fair, the advantage of being ready for the few days of snow in either place is pretty low. I remember all the cars stranded in the interstate in Atlanta. Had to walk to pick up my kids from the school about two miles away because the buses were stuck in traffic.

Here in Seattle, I was lucky that I was only a block from a grocery store. Roads may have been bad, but I wouldn't know. Just stuck closer to home.

Of course, now I live out down a non city maintained road. Guessing it will be longer before I get out, this time.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#73

Post by grenoire »

vb6sp6 wrote: post #70
WalterSobchak wrote: post #68

https://isitsnowinginpdx.com/ The site owner doesn't enforce HTTPS for some reason but supports it at the same time.

Why does this site need https?

Rogue nations may want to incite chaos and panic by means of lying about the snowfall in Portland, Oregon.

Duh.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#74

Post by stevenbedrick »

rootusrootus wrote: post #32
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around Thanksgiving, I drove through Portland on my way up to Washington and then back to Cali. Even with the roads dry and snow-free, traffic was a frickin' nightmare. Even so, Portlanders should feel good that traffic there is still better than driving through Seattle.

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.

As context for non-Portlanders, the "revolt" against additional freeways was one part of a larger effort to manage urban growth so as to avoid endless sprawl and preserve the agricultural landscape surrounding the metro area. One of the freeways that the city specifically opted out of building fifty years ago would have taken up the entire west side of the city's waterfront; because we _don't_ have a freeway running there, we instead have a beautiful park that is one of the city's gems and that provides space for music festivals, etc. right in the downtown core. Instead of strip malls and condos running all the way to the ocean in one direction and Mt. Hood in the other, the area surrounding the city is home to a whole series of vibrant agricultural industries (wine, various fruits, etc.).

Like anything else, it's about tradeoffs. This series of planning decisions had a ton of downstream consequences, both positive and negative (and I'm happy to enumerate plenty of examples of either). I certainly don't enjoy the amount of traffic that has come with the city's growth --- I'm a lifelong Portlander, and have watched it happen --- but I firmly believe that more freeways would not solve the problem. Induced demand is a thing, and there is also geography to contend with. For example, one of the biggest traffic choke points is the freeway coming in to downtown from the western part of the metro area; since the 80s, there have been several major (one might even say "meaningful") projects that have widened it about as far as it is possible to go, but at this point there's literally nowhere else to put another lane. Of course, part of why it's a choke point is that after the tunnel it immediately intersects with another ill-sited freeway --- one of the last ones built before our "revolt," and one whose siting and construction caused logistical problems that the city is still dealing with, fifty years later.

Anyway, it's complicated, but the local government "betting the future on light rail" is not the reason traffic has gotten as bad as it has. Population explosion, geography, and seventy-odd years of path-dependent decisions about freeway placement and urban planning are the reasons.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#75

Post by mynameisash »

waynecochran wrote: post #69
filmgirlcw wrote: post #62

I grew up in Atlanta Georgia, a place that is notoriously bad at dealing with snow [1], and never thought I would live in a place worse at snow than Atlanta. Then, after nearly a decade in New York City (a place that has snow on lock. In Brooklyn, it’ll snow 18 inches and the sidewalks and roadways will be clear by 5am. And the city is even better!), I moved to Seattle. Seattle is worse at snow than Atlanta, somethin…

Be careful not to conflate those west of the Cascades (esp. Seattle and Portland) with those on the east side (e.g. Bend, Spokane). Those who who live(d) east of the mountains handle snow just fine.

> Those who who live(d) east of the Mountains handle snow just fine.

I spent most of my life in Minnesota, and even there, people think they can handle snow (which they do better than folks here in the Puget Sound region). But every year, there are huge pileups, gruesome accidents, slowdowns, etc. They, just as people east of the Cascades, have more experience, but I would stop short of saying that they 'handle it just fine.'

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#76

Post by Ccecil »

brewdad wrote: post #64
Ccecil wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was only about .5-1" of snow at the bottom...while on the top of the pass was easily 4-6" on the road. Agreed...drive the speed which you feel safe. The point was that to the people who don't see snow "any snow" is unsafe...meanwhile...those who drive in it regularly don't even notice. Just like the amount of snow which shuts down most of the nation doesn't even seem to make the news when it happens here.

I grew up in Michigan where snow is a regular occurance. Driving on ice at any speed feels safe, right up until the point it isn't. A lesson that is learned by dozens of drivers every winter who line the ditches of I-94 in their 4WD vehicles that lack 4-wheel stop on ice.

Absolutely...very important. Driving too fast on ice is very dangerous.

Although, I would argue it is even more risk to drive significantly higher or lower than the average speed being maintained by the traffic flow. If you do not feel safe at that speed...don't drive. Stay home a few hours or days...let the plows get out there.

The main point of my statement wasn't about "what is a safe speed"...it was about the very clear difference of "speed of traffic flow" as soon as you get off of the pass. In the original case I was discussing...I had drove 300+ miles at 50-60mph (speed of traffic flow)...then the last 10 miles the average traffic speed cut in half (which was also the best weather conditions).

I made a comment about it to my friend when I got to Seattle and his comment was "yeah...people over here lose their minds when any snow falls"...up until that point I had no idea that was a thing.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#77

Post by s1artibartfast »

akiselev wrote: post #49
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.

People don't get climate period. I was rather surprised to find out that my parents get a snow storm every year in late February or early March that dumps 1-3 inches of snow that takes several days to melt. They live not 40 minutes from La Jolla, a city in Southern California known for year round perfect weather. They're barely at 3,000 feet elevation and as far as I know, the snow line in the Sierra Nevada mountains…

You are misunderstanding that paper.Snow I agree that most people don't care about climate mechanics, but it is well understood.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#78

Post by justinator »

gautamdivgi wrote: post #40
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.

Chicago was a balmy 55 on Christmas Eve. It was in the lower to mid 40’s on Christmas Day. No white Christmas here. Just some rain.

That's beatnik poetry right there! [0]

Chicago was a balmy 55 on Christmas Eve

in the lower to mid 40’s on Christmas Day

No white Christmas here

Only RAIN!

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fpH1cnAPIM

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#79

Post by jmspring »

I've dealt with snow in the PNW (including Vancouver, BC) and the region really isn't great about how to deal with it. Hell, WA and OR can barely deal with driving in the rain.

If you want some humorous questions / etc. regarding snow, at the moment, check out the CHP Truckee Instagram account. 70ish miles of Highway 80 from Colfax to the Nevada state line is closed at the moment, and may be until Tuesday. All the people that "relocated" during Covid are experiencing the first real winter up there.

Driving around, slow and steady is the rule. Knowing the capabilities of your vehicle (and your driving skill limits), being prepared in case you get stuck, etc. are important.

Re: Is It Snowing in Portland, Oregon?

#80

Post by selimthegrim »

im_down_w_otp wrote: post #55
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 d…

I did OK in the snow on the hills there with a standard/stick shift (though front wheel drive) Jetta TDI, although it did have traction control
Post reply on HN