If you never lived where it snows and were moving North to where it does snow, what would you have liked to have known? What would you do to prepare?
Find an empty parking lot before it snows. Verify there are no obstacles in it or find a large area with no obstacles. Wait until it snows. Hit that bitch up and learn about how your car handles and how to recover when you fuck up.
Make sure to bring a shovel and maybe some boards or whatever others suggest in case you get yourself stuck.
My wife and I were once at a day long event a few hours north and it snowed pretty heavy. Didn’t even think about the car until we walked up to see the tires almost completely covered. It was late and the whole town pretty much shut down, so all I had to use was a window scraper.
Definitely keep a shovel in the car.
From the top of my head:
Everyone forgets how to drive when it first snows. Try to avoid driving as much as possible during the first few days of winter.
Stick to busy roads if it recently snowed as they get plow priority, and the heavy traffic will help pack down the snow which will make it less slippery.
Fresh snow is a heck of a lot more slippery than snow that fell a few days ago.
4 wheel / all wheel drive is great, but you don’t actually need it. If your car has traction control and a good set of tires, then you’ve got everything you need to drive in the snow with confidence.
Snow tires are a worthy investment. People think that you don’t need snow tires if you have all seasons, but there’s no comparison to tires that are specifically made to be driven in the snow.
The posted speed limit is for ideal weather conditions. If there’s snow on the ground, then that’s not ideal, and you need to drive slower than the speed limit if you want to be safe and not fly off the road. One time a car passed me and about 2 miles later I saw that exact same car in the ditch. You don’t want to be that person. If you are that person, then everyone that passes you will be silently judging you while you sit there and wait hours for a tow truck because 30 other people all did the exact same thing at the exact same time.
Not really snow related, but cars with old batteries have a really hard time starting when the weather is at or below zero. If your battery is more than a few years old, it might be time to get a new one.
Bridges will freeze before anything else when the temperature gets below freezing. Just because the roads aren’t slippery doesn’t mean that any bridges you go over will be the same.
Not necessarily about fresh snow. Old snow packs down into hard, slick ice and sometimes fresh snow gives you way more traction. Depends on the temperature.
Also I moved into an area where there is less snow, but when we get it it almost always starts as rain… Then snow… Which melts on the pavement… And eventually the pavement hits zero and all that water turns to ice.
Now you have snow on ice, which is awful.
Where I grew up is exactly how you described it though. Generally fresh snow is fine if the road was previously plowed / treated with gravel or deicer / salt.
Ask a local to show you some of their winter clothes or to take you winter clothes shopping. Your warmest clothes right now are not warm enough. Capacitive touch gloves will let you use your phone.
If you have a car, get a snow brush and ice scraper (for windshield and windows). There is winter windshield fluid, get and use it when it’s snowing. Get winter tires, it makes a difference. Insurance companies give a discount for having them. If there’s snow on the road, go slower than you think you should, and start braking at least twice as early as when it’s dry. Accelerate and brake slowly. If your car is sliding on ice, resist the temptation to keep pressing your brakes, try your best to steer the slide instead.
If your car gets stuck in snow and you need to run it to keep it warm, make sure the tail pipe is well clear of snow (carbon monoxide). Keep an emergency blanket, hat, gloves in the car in case of breakdown. If the wheels are stuck in a snowbank (just spinning in place), some sand or non-clumping cat litter can give you traction. You can sacrifice your floor mats for this, too.
If you walk instead of drive, consider crampons for your boots for if it gets icy out.
There’s different textures and density to snow. Wet snow is dense and heavy, dry snow is light and fluffy. Shoveling can be very different depending on the snow. Lift/push with your legs, now with your arms or back. Take breaks if needed.
If you wear glasses, they will fog up when you go from outside to inside. Sorry. You could get anti-fog stuff used for snow and ski goggles, but most normal people just wait for them to warm up.
A scarf makes a big difference.
Wool can keep you warm even when wet.
Be prepared for power outages especially if the area does not bury power lines. Heavy snow, or worse, ice, can make tree branches heavy and fall and snap power lines. If this happens, be mindful of carbon monoxide. People, families have died trying to keep warm by running generators, stoves, etc indoors without proper ventilation.
Snow reflects sunlight; wear sunglasses if the sun is out and there’s snow on the ground.
Go outside and listen when the snow is falling. It makes everything quieter and it’s really ice to hear.
Snow that’s warmed slightly then frozen again is crunchy and fun to walk on.
If you’re north enough, the sunlight will not be sufficient for creating vitamin D. (Plus you’ll probably be indoors more, less daylight in general.) Consider a supplement.
Consider a SAD light if lack of daylight affects your moods.
Go outside and listen when the snow is falling. It makes everything quieter and it’s really ice to hear.
Somehow that typo works in this context. Ice.
Snow that’s warmed slightly then frozen again is crunchy and fun to walk on.
It’s “ice” to walk on.
Jokes aside, thank you so much for the information. I don’t live where it snows but I learned a lit about how to survive if I ever need to. Thanks again.
Aside from all the practical tips… It’s very pretty at night – snowglow. Also sledding is super fun and can be done for cheap/free.
Watch out for freezing rain as the sidewalks become scary.
Don’t dive in head first, it will break your neck.
If you get an office job find out what the work policy is on snow days. Plenty of employers will let you work from home without question even if it’s a job where you would normally go in. For me any place that doesn’t would get a hard no. It means they DGAF about you.
Layers are the key. Lots of small layers especially something sweat wicking on the bottom layers. It’s good to have lots of layers to add and subtract
Keep in your trunk the following: a portable snow shovel, an ice scraper, a window snow brush, a spare set of gloves, one of those emergency mylar blankets, a little spray-bottle of deicer, an extra jug of wiper fluid.
My mom would also suggest a heavy blanket, and maybe a candle / matches / lighter. But the candle could cause a fire if you aren’t careful.
So you spent the day outside shoveling snow, maybe you had to walk 20 minutes to get to a friend’s house, maybe the cold itself just took it out of you because your body was burning calories just to stay warm. You finally get home and you are out of breath and just wanting to dry off and get warm again- and that’s when you thank your past self for what you did on meal prep Sunday:
French onion soup.
You can look online for recipes, but here’s what I improvised last Sunday (probably not definition french onion soup, but at least a variation on a theme). Mine takes about 1 hour to make (10 min prep, 50ish minutes to cook)
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon fat (I use leftover bacon grease)
- Onions (I used 4 but you could do more)
- garlic (I used 1 bulb, but you could always do more)
- Apple (I used 1, but you could always do more)
- veggies (I like zucchini and carrots)
- mushrooms if you like em
- protein (stew beef, ground meat, chicken, turkey, hell even sandwich meat will do)
- cardamom
- Curry powder
- vinegar (I use white balsamic, but apple cider vinegar or anything flavorful will do)
- chicken broth
- Cut up the onions into thick chunks, no need to get precise, just hack 'em quick so you have less time being in a tearful agony
- Peel the bulb of garlic, but leave the cloves whole- don’t crush them.
- Heat up your butter and fat, then add in the onions and garlic. Let it sautee for like… 30 minutes? If you have time to do a proper caramelizing then do that, but it’s still good if you want to make it faster.
- While the onions and garlic do their thing, prepare your meat in another pan. Of course if you use ham or something pre cooked you can skip this step.
- Slice your apple(s) however you want, I like thin slices but cubes are good too.
- Add in veg and apples, let them cook for 15 minutes or so
- Add meat
- A couple dashes of cardamom and curry and also pour in your broth to desired consistency
- Give a taste then add a dash of vinegar to see how it really cuts through the fattiness
Dish and serve! If you want to really clog those arteries, go ahead and add some cheese on top, I like smoked Gouda. I also use a pipe sweater to torch the cheese and give it a little melty/ crispy texture. This soup should be thick and hearty to restore your energy and give you the gumption to brave the elements again. If you were link in legend of Zelda, you’re getting at least 10 yellow hearts from this.
That and a hot tody will give you the coziness that will lift your spirits in the dark cold months.
Good luck!
Telltale sign that a French onion soup recipe is really Belgian: if it’s written in Belch.
This is certainly one of the best ideas here. I second this, wholeheartedly!
It also will make your house smell great! I’d also suggest making enough for friends and visitors.
I’m in Chicago and it can get lonely if you decide to stay couped up in your house for too long. Make sure to be intentional on inviting friends over and becoming close with your neighbors. I noticed comments here are focused on the physical aspect of winter, but it’s also important to take care of your mental health.
My theory is the Midwestern kindness is just a regional Stockholm syndrome. We’re all in this together.
Im addition to the other tools to dig your car out, fill a large sealable bag or jug with a mix of sand and road-salt and leave it in your trunk/boot. If you end up haveing trouble getting traction when you start the car on a hill or have to get up a small lip around your tires, throw the mix under the drive train tires to help get you out of the hole.
Stack up on basic meds for when you catch cold. You’re likely to have it a lot, it’s kinda normal.
Also, if you’re gonna live in an area with central heating, make sure heaters in your home are fully operational and don’t need to have air removed. They should be hot all throughout their surface.
Have good boots for winter, because ice or packed snow is slippery and often unavoidable. And when you’re picking the boots, make sure they have enough space for thick socks.
If you are walking down a very snowy hill or something, I’ve found out that stepping with your heel first, so that your foot creates a stair-like step helps. Useful if it happens to be a path you use often.
Think about warm clothing and plan ahead. Especially in fall or spring, having extra warm clothing with you is super useful even if you don’t need it at the moment, because you can never know when it gets suddenly colder.
Dress in layers. For example, the upper body could have the following layers:
-
shirt you wear indoors
-
thicker shirt/sweater
-
possibly another sweater
-
jacket/coat
You forgot one of the most important and best layers thermals both upper and lower part. It dose SO much.
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When there’s snow on the ground, drive like you have an open cup of coffee in your lap. Turn, brake, or accelerate too hard and you spill steaming hot coffee on your bits. Winter tires will help a lot, but drive like you don’t have them.
I’ve never heard that coffee metaphor but it’s perfect. I’m going to start borrowing that one
Most importantly always break well before a turn in snow. Never break in a turn.
It’s worth noting you should extend this mindset to those around you. An out of control car can slide a LONG way. Make sure you have the space and capability to get out of danger zones, or wait for them to be completely clear.
You might have proper winter tires, and be in control. This doesn’t stop an idiot on summer ties gliding into you like an elephant on iceskates.
Also extend this to others. Give the cars ahead of /around you PLENTY of room to escape.
There is no such thing as good winter drivers and bad winter drivers. There is only those with snow tires and those without.
Best: 4 snows on awd and 2-4 water softener bags of salt in trunk for weight and getting unstuck.
2nd best: 4 snow on awd
3rd best: 2 snow on front wheel drive with 4 salt bags in trunk/bed.
4th best: awd no snows but good tread
Worst: fuckin everything else.
Household tips: insulate your pipes if in unfinished basement or have a heater running for really cold days or if the pipes will not have water FLOWING/RUNNING/MOVING thru pipes i.e. you go on vacation.
Plastic wrap your windows every fall. It sucks but helps a ton keeping heat in and costs down.
Spend the most money on gloves, hats and boots. Things that can’t be layered and get rhe coldest.
Hot hands/heat pouches are life savers for winter sports/sporting events/hunting/camping. They make them in foot shaped stick on versions for boots, put one in each of your pants pockets and one each in your coat pockets.
Keep spare salt, shovel, gloves, hat, blanket, granola bars and water in your car for when you WILL go off the road and need to wait for AAA.
Don’t fuck around with ice. Don’t try and walk across it without losing balance. Dont try and walk across it because you think it’s thick enough to hold you. If you are going on ice over water DONOT until you have drilled to check thickness or it is a large bodybif water that publishes the ice thickness.
Yes, snowmobiles can hydroplane across bodies of water.
Yes, skiis and snowboards can skate across bodies of water.
DO FUCKING NOT FUCKING TRY AND FUCKING HYDRO-FUCKING-PLANE OR SKI/SNOWBOARD ACCROSS ANY BODIES OF WATER.
There is no such thing as good winter drivers and bad winter drivers. There is only those with snow tires and those without.
I don’t agree with that. Good tools are useless in the hands of the ignorant. Somebody can have the best winter tires ever engineered, but if they stop and turn on ice like they would do on perfect pavement on the dryest summer days, then they’re fucked and they’re a cocky jackass. A good driver will know the limits of their tires, whatever they are.
True, it follows that having this knowledge will generally convince good drivers to get better tires, but it’s not like buying fancy new rubber will turn you into Ken Block (rip).
TL;DR: Get the winter tires, they’re great and worth it. But PLEASE for the love of god take the time to learn how to fucking drive on snow and ice or you’ll be stuck in the medium with the rest of them, because even with the best winter tires it’s NOT the same physics
You don’t need snow tires in Chicago. The streets are very well plowed and salted. Just take it slow.
Actually the best tires of all: stay the fuck home where it’s nice and warm and work online in your socks and bathrobe.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard. The part about there not being good or bad winter drivers.
Honestly. Most of your tips sounds what someone says that was a tourist somewhere cold once in their life and now pretends to know what they’re talking about.
Sincerely. Someone born and raised in the north.
Right. Vancouver drivers are terrible in the snow (if the snow sticks that year, and bad all year round anyway). Drivers from Saskatchewan or North Ontario scoff at whatever we get over here!
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Thank you very much!
