Batten Down The Hatches 2010/11

[sonnetpete]

@ Pete, thought you were lower down than that.

Chartres 48.44°N

My House 48.49°N (nearest village Heussé)

So, I'm actually a little further north than I thought but due east wasn't a bad guess!!

 

[2cvbloke]

Got a light dusting here this morning, going against the BBC and Netweather's predictions, and now the BBC forecast says it snowed this morning, talk about barn doors after bolted horses....

 

[Lazarus]

More heavy overnight snowfall here in the North Yorkshire Moors.

I'm thinking of offering "Alternative View" Residential Weekend Packages for committed Global Warming believers.

 

[satelliteman]

A good scattering here this morning.

 

[Analoguesat]

Just over 3 inches of snow lying on the lawn this morning and its still snowing hard

 

[sonnetpete]

Overcast with a cold Easterly breeze but still no snow. Latest forecast, (i.e. someone has looked at the seaweed, thrown the dice and made a guess) is for significant snow midweek.

 

[rolfw]

The very lightest of dustings here, although the sky looks like it has more to offer, think I'll put the snow chains in the van, just in case.

 

[Channel Hopper]

The very lightest of dustings here, although the sky looks like it has more to offer, think I'll put the snow chains in the van, just in case.

Good thinking, I bought a set ten years ago and they've been under the porch ever since.

 

[andyxxxx]

We had an absolutely insane amount of snow last night, about 4" fell in 20 minutes, then it continued steadily for a good few hours..

The motorways came to a standstill, cars abandoned at the roadside everywhere, trucks and coaches facing the wrong direction on the motorway, absolute carnage... My little Skoda Octavia taxi sailed past them all (and pulled a few out - I was feeling generous)

 

[Lazarus]

It's "white-out" again here.

Not expecting to be able to go out for a day or three.

 

[Analoguesat]

Kudos to the delivery guys who have managed to deliver our new fridge battling the snow all the way from the depot in Barnsley!

 

[Lazarus]

You need a fridge .................. in this weather?

 

[Analoguesat]

Of course - it stops the milk freezing

Dealing with the fridge swap is tomorrows job - I want to let it stand for a while after its been shook up to let the coolant settle - I burned a motor out a few years ago by plugging it in too soon after a move...

 

[sonnetpete]

Kudos to the delivery guys who have managed to deliver our new fridge battling the snow all the way from the depot in Barnsley!

Barnsley?? Just how far from civilization are you?? Oh, I trust they didn't have too much hassle at the customs post.

 

[andy g]

I was walking home this morning and I saw a Bowler Hat lying on top of the snow so I booted it and there was a blokes head under it. I apologized and said I will go and get a shovel he said get a long shovel I am on a horse and cart.:-smile3

 

[Analoguesat]

Investigating pixellation and discovered all the lnbs had iced up. So for the first time ever Ive sprayed them with windscreen deicer!

The road is solid ice with snow cover on it and is absolutely lethal. Wont be going very far in the next couple of days.

According to the tape measure theres almost 6" of lying snow now.

 

[hexah]

I think I will be getting All Season M+S tyres soon. My 'new' (ie 'pre-loved' for years by someone else) car has townie summer tyres which fill me with dread. I have been driving on dodgy country roads since I started driving and have always got tyres to suit. Over the last 10 years or so, the people in the tyre places have been telling me I didn't need new tyres when the treads were below 3mm, except the fitters who lived in the country themselves!

The tyres I got in the olden days were much better in liquid mud, horse and cow shit, and black ice than these summer tyres. I think the old tyres were more sticky as well as knobbly, they did wear down more quickly but that was not a problem - I'd rather live to see another day and get down the bendy roads and hills in one piece. A gritter is as rare as hens teeth here, and is useless against black ice anyway.

Heavy frost started in September, black ice in October (and will go on till early April with the low sun and long nights), so now is the time for the car sized holes in hedges to start appearing...

The motorways came to a standstill, cars abandoned at the roadside everywhere, trucks and coaches facing the wrong direction on the motorway, absolute carnage... My little Skoda Octavia taxi sailed past them all (and pulled a few out - I was feeling generous)

The Skodas are well designed for the cold! Some people might still mock them but they are very reliable.

I wonder if the modern tyres are part of the reason so many vehicles were stuck, or maybe no idea of winterizing?

 

[Analoguesat]

I wonder if the modern tyres are part of the reason so many vehicles were stuck, or maybe no idea of winterizing?

I think a lot of it is the current fad for low profile tyres. Our Fiesta has them on and its absolutely horrible to drive on ice - its bad enough on wet roads when it want to "tramline" along the road irregularities. Last year I was just a few hundred yards from home on a slight slope downhil. I was only going slowly - as usual on our lane in the winter Just touched the brakes when I saw another car and the wheels locked and we slid gently down the hill, Fortunately there was enough room to run along the verge as there was absolutely no way I was going to get stopped.

25 years ago my first car was a beat up old 850 mini. The narrowish tyres used to bite into the snow and give some traction and even in the worst winters the Midlands could throw at us I never had any really scary moments in it.

 

[2cvbloke]

I don't get how some people can be so dim-witted to try and drive with those practically bald tyres in the snow, they're going to get nowhere fast, and end up causing traffic problems when they slide backwards into someone else's car...

I saw such a twit trying to drive in the 1cm of snow we have here, on a flat car park, wheels spinning all over the place, of course, the car was a partly-modded POS, so was bound to have silly tyres on it, and it showed, in 1cm of snow...

 

[hexah]

25 years ago my first car was a beat up old 850 mini. The narrowish tyres used to bite into the snow and give some traction and even in the worst winters the Midlands could throw at us I never had any really scary moments in it.

A friend had a similar old mini and it was the same, quite good fun in the hills in the snow. It was like a go kart. Again with the knobbly tyres, the choice of hill and country dwellers in those days.

It sounds like I have the same kind of tyres as you have on the Fiesta. I first started worrying about them months ago when I fishtailed a bit going over wet slurry - at 30mph! The treads are not even low.

Another worry is that people who are not used to driving in the countryside seem to have no idea of the hazards. People seem to think that if the road has no speed restrictions, that means you can drive down bendy hilly roads at the limit. I dont think I have ever driven anywhere near the limit along these roads, I have seen the accidents far too often...

I saw such a twit trying to drive in the 1cm of snow we have here, on a flat car park, wheels spinning all over the place, of course, the car was a partly-modded POS, so was bound to have silly tyres on it, and it showed, in 1cm of snow...

...most often involving that kind of dipstick. 'O'-red