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Weather or Not

#101
Pocket Dave said:
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?
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Those areas are better prepared for snow and people mind driving in it less. For just snow covered roads, nobody's gonna cancel. Having said that we did cancel a gig about a month ago because of really icy conditions. Nobody was gonna show up anyway. Venue would have lost money and we don't wanna play for an empty room and end up in the ditch.
 
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#102
Pocket Dave said:
Ever play on Dixon St in Fayetteville?

Late '70s driving through the Ozarks & Boston Mountains during the pre-I-49 era in the night snow.

Pulling an equipment trailer.

Good times.
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The “playing” I did on Dixon had nothing to do with music!
And driving back to the River Valley on Hwy 71 or the Pig Trail afterwards was a challenge, with or without snow.
 
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#103
This weekend up in northcentral Wisconsin...-16 below zero (F) Thursday and -26 below zero (F) Friday night. Those temps do not include the wind chill factor. I'm older and wiser now. I don't need to brave the elements. Besides, any gig in these weather conditions almost guarantees nobody's going out to see a band.

I don't typically gig in the winter. This is the only venue I play during the bitter cold winter months here...

Music-Studio-complete.jpg
 
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#107
pepj said:
Re Snow tyres. I've seen them transform snow performance in the most unlikely cars...and my friend runs them all year getting 25k out of them.
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Indeed. I have fellow 'car people' who keep rims with dedicated snow tires on them for this time of year in places where they get measurable, persistent, predictable snow. Swap them out at the start of the season or before the first snow. I'd do the same if I lived in those places. They can work miracles on snow... but not ice. I would never leave them on a car in the spring and summer.... that's just a waste of tires and a noisy ride. I do think a lot of people confuse studded tires with 'snow tires'. Definitely not the same thing.

Around here, a quality all-season will do fine in regular snow. I swear by Michelin Pilot Sport All-Seasons. Best I've ever owned, and perfect for our potpourri of weather.... even the occasional snow.
 
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#109
dbsfgyd1 said:
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?
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Thanks, but it was a rhetorical question. Answer is there's no controlling others' idiotic driving.
 
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#114
Also.. Auto. Do not let the car change up automatically in fresh snow ..i.e no tarmac grip.....we did a 360 on a mountain road.
Could have gone over the side and nothing was stopping the car rolling downhill bar trees someway down.
 
#115
Where I live snow is a fact of life that you must deal with. Although the past decade has seen less, we often see about 2 feet on the ground consistently during the winter with 3-4 major storms delivering 6-18" or more at a time. Gigs are almost never canceled although many other things are. The problem isn't that the roads aren't plowed or treated and that people don't know how to drive in it; the average vehicle has 4WD here and everyone seems to have lots of experience driving in snow.

This isn't like a resort area though - the problem here is that there are too many people, and the traffic is near capacity most of the time. A single accident by one careless driver can make a road impassable just long enough that the plows can't keep it clean, and then the mess justs propagates. So many people wisely stay off the roads during storms. During gig times, people will often go out in the city, but in the suburbs one can't always be guaranteed a quick drive home, so few decide to venture out. I've played to many empty houses followed by a harrowing, 3-4 hour drive in a storm.

Is it worth it? I dunno, but less and less I think.
 
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#116
Our weather forecast just changed from "probably" to "probably not". I still went out and tested the generators just in case. All of the fuel tanks are full and I believe we are ready.
If it gets bad, like the original forecast called for (ice, loss of power, very cold temps) we would just move out to our toy hauler. Much easier to heat with a generator.
Good luck everyone!
 
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#117
dmrogers said:
Our weather forecast just changed from "probably" to "probably not". I still went out and tested the generators just in case. All of the fuel tanks are full and I believe we are ready.
If it gets bad, like the original forecast called for (ice, loss of power, very cold temps) we would just move out to our toy hauler. Much easier to heat with a generator.
Good luck everyone!
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Our forecast just changed from 'probably a little ice' to 'probably a lot of ice'.... which is way worse for us. I expect a lot of power outages and cold days/nights if we get up to an inch (or more) of ice in addition to snow up here in Western NC.
 
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#119
The plowing where i live is good, but,,, they always leave a berm of snow directly in front of my driveway. Depending on the amount of snow we get is how high itll be. Usually also pushed in front of the mailbox too. If we get ice after, forget it, your not getting out.
 
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#120
I have an AWD SUV with selectable modes for mud, snow, and ice. That said: the forecast is for 5-9 inches of snow starting Saturday evening, then snow/sleet/freezing rain on Sunday. Even with AWD I'm hoping my Saturday gig is canceled, and I'll be hesitant to drive to my brother's house to watch football on Sunday even though he's only 5 miles away.


CryingBass said:
For inexperienced 4WD drivers, four wheel drive = four wheel spin on ice. And they always manage to figure out how to do that...
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The phrase around my parts: four wheel drive is not four wheel stop. Regardless, you're correct: the fact is that most drivers grossly overestimate the power of AWD/4WD, getting into more accidents than their 2WD counterparts. The main reason is that poor traction is masked by 4WD capability, causing those drivers to take greater risks out of false confidence.
 
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