Austin Ice Storm - Come watch the fun!

This should be fun, we are expecting freezing rain tonight with 1 to 2
inches of ice, the worst winter weather prediction for this area in at
least 5 years, maybe over 10 years.

All they had to do was mention ice yesterday when it was raining and
people started smashing their cars into each other, the auto body shops
should be very busy for a while.

The miata is inside and is going nowhere. I am not about to play bumper
cars with the other drivers on the road.

Pat

pws wrote:
> This should be fun, we are expecting freezing rain tonight with 1 to 2
> inches of ice, the worst winter weather prediction for this area in at
> least 5 years, maybe over 10 years.
>
> All they had to do was mention ice yesterday when it was raining and
> people started smashing their cars into each other, the auto body shops
> should be very busy for a while.
>
> The miata is inside and is going nowhere. I am not about to play bumper
> cars with the other drivers on the road.
>
> Pat
>
>

That is the reason that every Miata owner should have an old heavy
beater pickup truck also.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

John McGaw wrote:

> That is the reason that every Miata owner should have an old heavy
> beater pickup truck also.

I actually need one for other reasons.
This weather is extremely rare here. Also, if the roadways in my area
ice over, no truck without studded tires or at least good snow chains,
practically unheard of in this area, would even make it out of my
driveway, and that is something like twenty to 25 yards of concrete to
salt before reaching the icy street.

We are truly unprepared here, but it wouldn't make much sense to invest
the same kind of money in things like ice crews and snow tires when we
have years go by at a time without any significant freezing precipitation.
Another scary thing is the thousands of new drivers over the past five
years who have never even felt frost under their tires.

The reports are predicting anywhere from 1/4" to 2 inches of ice. Any
amount will cause havoc, but 1 to 2 inches will bring down a lot of
trees and power lines as well. Oh, the joy. :-)

Pat

with our '91 garaged until the streets are bare (could be weeks), those
of us in snow country can only sympathize. even when folks here should know
better, and with all the bad-weather equipment at their disposal, altogether
too many still slam into each other like drunks when the roads ice or
snow-up. fortunately it's mostly hard on fenders. you wisely don't want your
miata out in that pinball game. we were thinking of escaping the snow in
spokane for some austin t-shirt weather but now having second thoughts.
cheers...

we were thinking of escaping the snow in
> spokane for some austin t-shirt weather but now having second thoughts.
> cheers...
>

>
>
>Don't give up on the Austin trip, the ice won't last long ;-)

Chris
99BBB

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:

>>Don't give up on the Austin trip, the ice won't last long ;-)
>
>
> Chris
> 99BBB

This may be one of the longest cold spells we've had in a while, a whole
8 days or so, but it should be in the upper '60s within a week.

I plan to visit Washington state this year, what is generally the best
month coming up as far as weather? It doesn't look too good right now.

Pat

Pat we have 3 seasons in Western Washington : Aug, Sept. and Winter. :-)
Eastern Washington, is more like the rest of the world with cold winters
( -1 F on Sat. ) hot summers (100 F ) and normal spring and fall. SO, if
you want to visit Western WA, Aug. or Sept. and camping is fantastic.
Parks, trees and water. Eastern WA., late spring or early fall will work
well. ( alot like Texas with farm land and rolling hills. )

Bruce Bing '03 LS (West sider, Seattle)

BRUCE HASKIN wrote:
> Pat we have 3 seasons in Western Washington : Aug, Sept. and Winter. :-)
> Eastern Washington, is more like the rest of the world with cold winters
> ( -1 F on Sat. ) hot summers (100 F ) and normal spring and fall. SO, if
> you want to visit Western WA, Aug. or Sept. and camping is fantastic.
> Parks, trees and water. Eastern WA., late spring or early fall will work
> well. ( alot like Texas with farm land and rolling hills. )
>
> Bruce Bing '03 LS (West sider, Seattle)

It looks like August to me, just when it has gotten so miserably hot
here in Texas that I can barely stand it.
I plan to see the ocean, but I will be starting in California, driving
all the way up the coast.

I also want to check out Vancouver, Canada. That sounds like my kind of
city except for the cold winters. ;-)

Pat

I'll agree - Lived in Western Washington (Columbia River Gorge) for 40+
years, Moved to eastern Washington (Moses Lake) for about four years -
dramatic difference. Now I live on the South Plains of Texas and it is
more like the Moses Lake, WA area than you can imagine - Winters are
generally more mild here. Course in Moses Lake you could see mountains,
here when the sun sets it falls off the edge of the earth : )

BRUCE HASKIN wrote:
> Pat we have 3 seasons in Western Washington : Aug, Sept. and Winter. :-)
> Eastern Washington, is more like the rest of the world with cold winters
> ( -1 F on Sat. ) hot summers (100 F ) and normal spring and fall. SO, if
> you want to visit Western WA, Aug. or Sept. and camping is fantastic.
> Parks, trees and water. Eastern WA., late spring or early fall will work
> well. ( alot like Texas with farm land and rolling hills. )
>
> Bruce Bing '03 LS (West sider, Seattle)

Be careful about California, Pat. If you can get past the high cost of
living, you may not leave. Drive route 1 as much as you can. It is
stunningly beautiful. And, of course, the Miata will love it.

Ken


pws wrote:
> BRUCE HASKIN wrote:
>> Pat we have 3 seasons in Western Washington : Aug, Sept. and Winter. :-)
>> Eastern Washington, is more like the rest of the world with cold winters
>> ( -1 F on Sat. ) hot summers (100 F ) and normal spring and fall. SO, if
>> you want to visit Western WA, Aug. or Sept. and camping is fantastic.
>> Parks, trees and water. Eastern WA., late spring or early fall will work
>> well. ( alot like Texas with farm land and rolling hills. )
>>
>> Bruce Bing '03 LS (West sider, Seattle)
>
> It looks like August to me, just when it has gotten so miserably hot
> here in Texas that I can barely stand it.
> I plan to see the ocean, but I will be starting in California, driving
> all the way up the coast.
>
> I also want to check out Vancouver, Canada. That sounds like my kind of
> city except for the cold winters. ;-)
>
> Pat