I'm going to put a period on last weekend's snow event by talking about what it's like to drive through it in North Carolina. Let's take the driving experience day-by-day:
Friday: We drove through the snow both on our way to, and our way back home from, curling Friday night. On the way to curling, the snow was falling pretty hard, but it wasn't sticking to the roads. Nevertheless, I took it slow: 45 mph on the interstate. That made me probably the slowest car on the road. Everyone whizzed by me, and I thought they were nuts. Turns out that I could have easily gone faster and been okay, but I didn't know that the roads were still in good shape at that point. I was actually more scared of the other drivers than I was of the snow. There was still a full load of traffic on the roads at that point, in part because the snow started sooner than expected, and not everyone had made it home yet.
The drive home, however...now
that was an adventure. By this point, the snow was still falling, and had started collecting on all roads. Based on all the snow driving I did last weekend, I think this is the most dangerous time to be out there. It's dark, visibility is poor on top of that due to the falling snow, the entire road is covered in fresh snow, and there are still plenty of idiots on the road who don't know better. Yes, there were still people going 65+ mph even in these conditions. It took us over an hour to get home from curling (normally takes 35 minutes), but that's okay, because we made it home safe without incident. The key is just taking it slow.
All the while...I had a blast. It was exciting! It had been a while since I had gotten an adrenaline rush like that. I never really felt in danger, but then again, you never do until you hit something. Maybe that's why people drive so fast in it? We don't get many opportunities to drive in the snow here, so people don't have the experience. Granted, I don't, either, but I'd like to think I do things on the safe side of halfway. (That's not to say my snow driving skills are better than average. I'm pretty sure they're not, even in this state.)
Sunday: Needless to say, we didn't go anywhere on Saturday. But what about Sunday? Surely, I don't want to spend
another day cooped up at home, right? You're correct. So, I went on a drive...to Charlotte and back.
View Larger MapLet me get this straight...the day after a major snowstorm, you drove all the way to Charlotte and back? Are you CRAZY? Well, yes. Didn't you know that already? Now, I could say that the purpose of this drive was just to casually check out the road conditions, so that I have a better idea of what to expect the day after the next snowstorm. While that is partially true, I'm afraid I must keep the true purpose of this drive - and any other Charlotte day trips Amber and I may make in the future - out of this blog. I will, however, blog about these "mystery trips to Charlotte" from a road trip and statistical point of view. For example, Sunday's drive meant the prediction that my car
wouldn't hit 40,000 miles until March was completely wrong, not to mention a ridiculous statement to make, given my driving habits. It's only February 2nd, and I'm already sitting on 39,994.
So, anyway...in most places up north, 24 hours after receiving 6" of snow, you can generally expect the main roads to be plowed and ready to go. North Carolina is not one of those places. They only have so many plows and manpower here, so, they don't do a whole lot of plowing. I thought NC-55 from Durham to Apex and US-1 south from there were major enough roads such that they would be in good shape. Nope! Both were completely covered in white. The normally 20-minute drive to Apex down NC-55 took over 40 minutes this time. No wonder this place shuts down every time we get snow. It's not our fault; it's NCDOT's fault. But in the state's defense, given how infrequently we get snow, it isn't cost effective to have a major snow removal operation in place. I'm willing to deal with the occasional crappy road day if it means paying lower taxes.
I decided to take the southern route (US-1/US-74 via Rockingham) first because southern areas didn't get as much snow, and due to melting, all roads would get progressively better as the day went on. I think that worked out pretty well, because once I got about 10 miles south of Sanford, the roads were clear from there on out. Until then, however...yikes. I should repeat that US-1 is a major highway - an expressway, even - and 24 hours after a modest snowstorm, the road was not clear. There were spots of clear, but that was probably more due to dumb luck than anything else. And once it started melting, it actually got
worse, because the tires started digging into the snow (as opposed to just gliding over it). Consistent snow cover is manageable, but when you're constantly going back and forth between cleared to snow covered to slushy to a combination of all three, it's not great. Now I know what to expect in the future: even though US-1 is a major highway, it's not an interstate, and the interstates get first billing. I believe the interstates were all clear, or at least close to it, most of the day Sunday. So, at least NCDOT has that going for it. I-85 was in nearly perfect shape, and the return trip from Charlotte actually took no longer than it normally would have (just under 2½ hours).
So, lesson learned. After a snow event on the order of 6" hits the state of North Carolina, you can expect the interstates to be cleared sometime the next day. All other roads, however...you're pretty much going to have to wait for the snow to melt.
Monday and Tuesday: Public schools were canceled throughout the Triangle both Monday
and Tuesday. Most roads are clear this morning...BUT, there was a chance of freezing rain this morning (although I don't think it ever materialized), and most are still some residential streets covered in snow - for example, our short cul-de-sac. A full 72 hours after the snow stopped falling, it's still covered in ice and snow.

(That picture is from today, and it's actually not all that bad
now.)
Ohio native Amber thinks it's absolutely ridiculous that our street still hasn't been cleared at this point, especially since it's on a hill. Even yesterday, Amber still wasn't able to make it up the street after work. (I was able to make it up the street, even on Sunday, but we think she needs new tires.) But like I said, North Carolina doesn't have the resources or the budget to deal with snow as well as Ohio does. And besides, by the time public works would get around to plowing our street, the snow has usually already melted by then anyway. Last weekend's snowstorm is not an annual occurrence.
Going forward, I'm looking forward to the time when I can start biking again. The next two days are supposed to be nice, so...maybe? Hopefully soon, because we might get snow
again this weekend. Back-to-back snowfalls could set my bike fitness back to pre-October levels. (Note that if I lived in a place that gets more frequent snow, I would either join an indoor gym, invest in a stationary bike, or if I lived close enough to a ski resort, regularly go skiing or snowboarding. I'm not a naturally good athlete, so I need frequent repetition to stay in tip-top shape.)
Finally, in case you're interested,
here's an official snowfall analysis from the weekend for North Carolina. The official analysis puts our house right on the 6" line, which is probably about right. My measurement of 5.25" was hardly official.
UPDATE 2/3/10 11:45a: Public schools in Wake and Durham Counties were closed for
Wednesday as well, which I think is absolutely ridiculous. The make-up day will supposedly be the first day of Spring Break. I have a hard time believing that more kids are going to come to school on the first day of Spring Break than would have been able to make it to school today.