RTFM, Winter Edition

By Jake • December 22nd, 2008 • View Comments

My driveway is under there somewhereAs Eddie mentioned, Portland, and most of the Pacific Northwest, is in the grasp of an epic chain of winter storms.

It started a week ago with a storm that dumped about 4 inches here in Portland, pretty heavy snowfall, at least for this area. Snow can be a hoot, especially if it comes: a) on a weekend, b) during the holidays and c) to a place where snow is uncommon.

As a person who grew up in a snowy place, I remember snow and all its glory. It was fun to see Portland under a white blanket and watch people slide around the roads. One unique thing here is that people can put chains on their tires to get around in the snow; this is illegal in most snowy places because chains eat up the roads. Plus they’re not needed since the snow removal is very good.

It’s not so good here. This isn’t a criticism by any means, since spending money on snow removal makes very little sense in a place that averages about 6.5 inches of snow each year. I looked it up, surprising but true.

Anyway, most of last week’s snow melted away over last week, which was good because people had to work and shop for the holidays, etc. Turns out it was good for another reason; another huge storm was about to dump more snow.

So between last Friday and this morning, we’ve probably had about 14 inches of snow fall here in Portland, with drifts as high as two feet. People who’ve lived here longer than I are saying this is the biggest storm they can remember. The city is likely to be paralyzed for at least a few more days.

So, I’ve learned a few valuable lessons from the storm of 2008.

  1. You should raise your windshield wipers if there’s a possibility of freezing rain. Otherwise, they will freeze to your windshield.
  2. Freezing rain on top of snow makes for an interesting experience. Yesterday, there was a quarter inch of ice on top of eight inches of snow. That was fun to walk through, and especially fun to shovel.
  3. Postponing your holiday shopping will eventually bite you, e.g. if there’s a massive snow storm, leaving you home bound. Even if you order online, delivery estimates become highly irregular when your stuff is in transit to-and-from snowy areas.
  4. Read your owners manual before installing chains on your car. I did not, and as a result, I managed to throw off both chains and buy a new set that cannot be returned. All sales on chains are final, natch.
  5. Snow is heavy, and snow and ice are really heavy. So, if you have a canopy in your backyard, you should either bring it in for the Winter (like it says in the manual) or make sure you keep the snow from accumulating. Not doing so results in canopy death (see image).

Dead canopy in my backyard

I’m sure I’ll be learning more lessons, since the snow isn’t likely to melt anytime soon. Later this week, we have people flying in to town to visit, and assuming they can get to PDX, I may be learning more lessons.

Oh, and it’s snowing again.

Anyway, so far, we’ve kept power, which is great, and the snow really is pretty, especially if you don’t have to go out of the house.

It’s that time of year, so Happy Holidays.

Update: Tonight, I made a snow angel.


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  • I personally disagree with raising your wipers during an ice storm, leaving them siting on the windhshield, then running your defroster makes much more sense. A bunch of new cars actually have a heated wiper park area that heats the wipers up. Parking them up or leaving them up totally makes this feature useless.
  • I did not know that about new cars; my guess is that most people don't (or don't have new enough cars). I always got along fine with the defroster too. Then I moved here to Portland, and people do that wiper thing.

    I tried leaving them down with mixed results. I tried putting them up with mixed results. Ice is a bummer.
  • flopflips
    That snow angel looks great! What deep snow. Here in Cheshire, UK, we hardly ever get any snow, much to the annoyance of our children.

    You look like you're dressed for summer! Short sleeves, bare feet :)
  • We're not supposed to get more than an inch and change here vs. a foot and lots of change. It's snowing again today, and they're projecting a couple more inches.

    I've lost track, but I think it's around 20 inches by now. Later today, I'll be venturing out to walk to the grocery store, which should be fun.

    The snow angel was a spur of the moment idea, and I didn't want to get all bundled up and lose my nerve. It was very cold, about 20 degrees, but pain is temporary, sometimes :)
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