Weather or Not

[Pocket Dave]

Every Sunday morning, about 5:30 AM, I get in the car and drive to the gig (at church - usually a half hour drive, longer with snow) - in the winter, that's in the dark. Weather? Our cars (and power grid) are well maintained, they work in cold weather, and we know how to drive on snow, ice, sleet, whatever.

Midwesterners are just plain tougher than Texans.

Yeah, I don't know about that - Midwesterners get more snow than the ice we get.

Or maybe your just more immune to stupid driving due to less exposure to it. The DFW metromess where we live is the 4th largest metro area in the US, probably with the 2nd highest percentage of terrible drivers - Houston wins at #1.

Though even here at 5:30 in the morning, I'm not likely to be exposed to near the propensity for fast, erratic idiot driving as going to or from a bar gig at night.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

That time of year again in N. Texas - usually happens toward the end of January/beginning of February - ICY ROADS, CANCELLED GIGS.

We're watching out for a possible Winter storm coming in late night Friday - about the time we'll be loading out. Current forecast has temps by then in the 20's (F) so the 14 overpasses I have to traverse to get home from Dallas to Fort Worth will probably be at risk.

Saturday evening's gig looks like a complete washout if the forecast sticks. So much so that I accepted a Sunday gig to make up for some lost revenue, which is also in jeopardy of cancellation if the roads don't thaw or if they re-freeze with lighter Sunday evening traffic (also a Dallas gig).

Don't you just love this time of year?

What do you folks do in the midwest and northeast US to cope?

Learn to drive through it. And more importantly allowing enough time to not have to enter into a battle with the laws of physics, if you get my drift (pun intended).

 

[Pilgrim]

I've been through those ice storms. A few of them were bad enough that I'd have canceled. Keep in mind that if you can't get to the gig, neither can most of the patrons.

Otherwise, you need great tires, and if ice is frequent, perhaps chains or a more modern substitute.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Learn to drive through it. And more importantly allowing enough time to not have to enter into a battle with the laws of physics, if you get my drift (pun intended).

Just curious - how to "learn" other drivers I'm sharing the road with to drive through it?

 

[ardgedee]

Every Sunday morning, about 5:30 AM, I get in the car and drive to the gig (at church - usually a half hour drive, longer with snow) - in the winter, that's in the dark. Weather? Our cars (and power grid) are well maintained, they work in cold weather, and we know how to drive on snow, ice, sleet, whatever.

Midwesterners are just plain tougher than Texans.

I learned to drive in an area where we had winds like Chicago's, snow like central Michigan's, and terrain of the Appalachian foothills. Since then I've spent most of my adult life driving in the northeastern US year-round.

Now that I live in North Carolina, if there's any snow I stay home. I'm confident in my ability to navigate our unplowed, unsalted, icy streets and I also have no confidence that anyone sharing the road with me can.

Invalid Link Removed Taken when less than 3 inches of snow had fallen.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, we're near St. Louis MO and I'm retired except for 30-40 gigs every year.
Most of them are outside of our winter, so we don't have to travel with ice/snow.
But coming up, we played plenty of gigs when we shouldn't have been out late at night or even on the road.

But we will cancel in the summer if it's an afternoon outdoor gig and it's going to be too hot. A few venues are indecisive at making this kind of a call. They want to wait until we're scheduled to start, thinking that they're doing us a favor. That's when we'll make the call to cancel before we load up and travel.
We'd rather cancel and reschedule than have no one show up. Bad business for us and the venue.

 

[fdeck]

Don't you just love this time of year?

Yup.

What do you folks do in the midwest and northeast US to cope?

In the words of my crusty old mechanic: "Get snow tires and learn to drive."

This was in the context of a conversation about how much salt we put on our roads up here. The streets are usually cleared pretty quickly. Then again there are some real disasters -- pile-ups involving 100+ vehicles on the freeways happen once every year or two somewhere in the northern states. And the first snow day of every year still produces more than its share of crashes.

It's amazing how effective snow tires are. And studded tires on my bike.

But I lived in Fort Worth for a few years, and the ice storms were sure something else. The best thing to do was in fact to stay home.

 

[Ostie]

except for when this happens, note it's almost always truckers who have to be out More than 100 vehicles involved in Michigan crash as snowstorm moves across US I wonder if it happened during the aurora? that would be epic movie footage
Yes I get my US news from The UK Guardian.

Nope it actually happened in broad daylight. High winds caused White-out conditions combined with black ice. Thankfully only a few injured and I think none serious.

Here in MI we can get rain, sleet, hail, ice, and several inches of snow, all in the same day. Usually we just go about our business, but we’re in a cold snap right now with temps predicted going down to minus ten degrees F by the weekend.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Yup.

In the words of my crusty old mechanic: "Get snow tires and learn to drive."

This was in the context of a conversation about how much salt we put on our roads up here. The streets are usually cleared pretty quickly. Then again there are some real disasters -- pile-ups involving 100+ vehicles on the freeways happen once every year or two somewhere in the northern states. And the first snow day of every year still produces more than its share of crashes.

It's amazing how effective snow tires are. And studded tires on my bike.

But I lived in Fort Worth for a few years, and the ice storms were sure something else. The best thing to do was in fact to stay home.

That's where it looks like it's going, at least for Friday and Saturday - we'll see if the forecast changes. Even the best winter drivers spin out when dealing with black ice on even modest inclines.

I'll be watching closely.

 

[fdeck]

Yeah, you guys get that solid sheet ice that gets a little wet on the surface. A dirty secret is that when it gets cold enough, snow and ice actually become less slippery. And nobody knows what their machine does on ice until they find out.

In the early 1900s, world land speed records were set on the ice of Lake St. Clair in the winter.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

It's not looking good for my Saturday gig here in the DMV. I'm not angling for a "Trooper Of The Year" award for making it to a gig come hell or high water (or snow). I informed my bandmates that I will decide, unilaterally, whether I'm willing to risk trying to do the gig. Worth noting that audience attendance will likely be impacted as well.

I will check with the Provisions Officer (aka my lovely wife) whether we need to set in stores of hot cocoa and brownies. Chili sounds like a great idea, too!

BBB

 

[winston]

Yeah, you guys get that solid sheet ice that gets a little wet on the surface. A dirty secret is that when it gets cold enough, snow and ice actually become less slippery. And nobody knows what their machine does on ice until they find out.

In the early 1900s, world land speed records were set on the ice of Lake St. Clair in the winter.

Did someone say "High Speed on Ice"?!
Be safe out there everyone, my wife just got back from DFW and is real glad she didn't postpone her trip.

 

[TomB]

That time of year again in N. Texas - usually happens toward the end of January/beginning of February - ICY ROADS, CANCELLED GIGS.

We're watching out for a possible Winter storm coming in late night Friday - about the time we'll be loading out. Current forecast has temps by then in the 20's (F) so the 14 overpasses I have to traverse to get home from Dallas to Fort Worth will probably be at risk.

Saturday evening's gig looks like a complete washout if the forecast sticks. So much so that I accepted a Sunday gig to make up for some lost revenue, which is also in jeopardy of cancellation if the roads don't thaw or if they re-freeze with lighter Sunday evening traffic (also a Dallas gig).

Don't you just love this time of year?

What do you folks do in the midwest and northeast US to cope?

Up here by the Canadian border we dress warm and hope our pipes dont freeze - wind chills down to 30 below F are expected this weekend. …and we’re not as cold as some spots!
Gigs are only cancelled by actual ice, as so many this time of year are up ski area access roads. But when temps are too low to ski, guess where skiers go? So the bar owners welcome us!

 

[beaglesandbass]

What do you folks do in the midwest and northeast US to cope?

Accept that any gig is at risk of being cancelled from November to March

I have a gig Friday which is great because we’re supposed to get over a foot of snow between Saturday night and Monday morning.

 

[pepj]

Good to read that its not just temps that affect people... and they all add up to cancellations.

I love our outside summer gigs but always know they can get pulled.
We don't take a fee if that happens because hospitality is suffering enough and you dont want to frighten them off for putting on events.

This also means these gigs are coming in later..instead of getting the diary up in Sep for next year..they get going from around now for summer

 

[ardgedee]

Accept that any gig is at risk of being cancelled from November to March

If you live in hurricane country, extend that from May through October.

 

[beaglesandbass]

If you live in hurricane country, extend that from May through October.

Seems like gigs in April are safe!

 

[ardgedee]

Seems like gigs in April are safe!

As long as the pollen's not too bad.

 

[beaglesandbass]

As long as the pollen's not too bad.
View attachment 7414300

Ugh. You ain't wrong. I get allergy shots though, they keep me alive in those brutal allergy months.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Just curious - how to "learn" other drivers I'm sharing the road with to drive through it?

My advice it to avoid driver of 4 wheel drive vehicles because when they brake traction, there is no cure other than something hard and immovable stops it.

But to your question. I managed get through 19 years of driving in the lake effect snow belts of southern county Erie County driving to Erie for work 6 days a week 26 miles each way. Two of those years in addition I also played in a band that a contract for the ski season 6-7 mights a week at a resort in southern New York. Zero accidents with one close call due to black ice.

I had a couple of 4x4s, a big bronco, Isuzu Trouper, and a jeep CJ but unless there was snow more than 14” inches deep, I’d rather drive a front wheel drive vehicle

So in answer to your inquiry, Guardian Angels?