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November Banter Thread


H2O

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1 minute ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Having lived in the south...yup.

Well, some people burst into flames after the temps reach 71, I on the other hand think heat is pretty much 88+ with "big heat" starting at 95 around here. I like a 101/75 day but I'm weird like that.

Yeah you're weird. I deal with that on a regular basis and think it sucks.

 

Let stay away with that.

 

I'm kind of bummed I missed your "fall" though.

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9 hours ago, Bob Chill said:

No doubt. A well timed .5 - 1" snowfall with below freezing temps can bring this area instantly to its knees. It's part of the fun of living here. Well, as long as you aren't on the roads at the time. Forum members are really good at avoiding it. The other 5 million people become our entertainment.  

Just as bad, though in some ways even worse, is the snow squalls in >32 temps that don't even coat the road, yet people drive like there's a foot of snow.

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Rockville's great if you don't mind the population density and relative pricey-ness, but you really have to go north of Gaithersburg and maybe even Germantown to get an appreciable population+price decrease. I love the convenience and variety of Rockville, but I'm looking forward to getting a house further north in the Germantown/Clarksburg area in another year or so. And no, I'm not motivated by more snow at all... I got a lifetime's worth up in central NY growing up.

 

Just now, supernovasky said:

I have to learn how to drive in snow.

 

What the hell do I do?

Find an open parking lot after a snow event and let loose :D

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Moving to DC on December 12th from Louisiana with the wife and kid. I have experienced snow maybe 5 times in my entire life. I am huge into meteorology and moderate the /r/weather subreddit on Reddit, which is a fairly popular sub, and run /r/tropicalweather which has had tens of thousands watching during Hurricane Matthew. Now, I will have a completely new type of storm to track, winter storms! I am extremely excited and just curious from those of you from the area: What is the snow situation generally like in Rockville/Olney/Gaithersburg?



Welcome to the area! You're in a better snow spot the further N & W you get from DC so Gaithersburg tends to do a tad better than Rockville on average. Hopefully your first winter here is memorable!
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7 minutes ago, Ellinwood said:

Rockville's great if you don't mind the population density and relative pricey-ness, but you really have to go north of Gaithersburg and maybe even Germantown to get an appreciable population+price decrease. I love the convenience and variety of Rockville, but I'm looking forward to getting a house further north in the Germantown/Clarksburg area in another year or so. And no, I'm not motivated by more snow at all... I got a lifetime's worth up in central NY growing up.

 

Find an open parking lot after a snow event and let loose :D

I was wondering that. I'm OK anywhere 20 minutes from Olney.

 

I can say this, dang your daycare prices are expensive up there... Like, absurdly so.

 

I'm going to take the car and have some fun in a parking lot after a snow event though. But I am not sure I'll learn anything other than "Hey, if I turn this way I can do some cool skids"...

 

Probably not a good skill for me to learn.

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8 minutes ago, WxWatcher007 said:

You came to the wrong place for that my friend. Then again, when I moved down here from New England, they were in a horrible snow drought and suddenly it started snowing for real around here. Subforum rules state that if a newcomer doesn't bring a good season they get banished. No pressure :P 

Fall and Spring are incredible here. I enjoy both much more than New England, with the exception of the foliage up north. There's just a few weeks where we're at peak nice weather climo. Weeks and weeks where sunny and 65-75 seems to be the norm. It is amazing. 

Oh, don't worry, I'm going to bring these amazing Louisiana snows with me...

 

-_- :( Never seen more than 2" in my life.

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9 minutes ago, supernovasky said:

I'm going to take the car and have some fun in a parking lot after a snow event though. But I am not sure I'll learn anything other than "Hey, if I turn this way I can do some cool skids"...

 

Probably not a good skill for me to learn.

Heh... it's how I learned :P It's mostly just trying different speeds, then trying to turn. How hard to break so you don't break too hard and the back end comes around. How not to go too fast so that when you need to turn, you don't lose traction and end up going straight instead. Also, purposely fishtailing so you can work on maintaining a straight path even with the back end moving around (assuming front/all wheel drive). It's also to just get a general feel for what limitations your vehicle has in the snow, since it can vary a lot from vehicle to vehicle.

Also just know that, no matter how skilled you are at driving in the snow, the bigger danger is the unpredictable behavior of those around you. Even in normal driving, I find myself getting into "almost accidents" about once a month not because of my driving habits, but because of other people doing really stupid and/or unexpected things that no one else would ever think to do.

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1 minute ago, Ellinwood said:

Heh... it's how I learned :P It's mostly just trying different speeds, then trying to turn. How hard to break so you don't break too hard and the back end comes around. How not to go too fast so that when you need to turn, you don't lose traction and end up going straight instead. Also, purposely fishtailing so you can work on maintaining a straight path even with the back end moving around (assuming front/all wheel drive). It's also to just get a general feel for what limitations your vehicle has in the snow, since it can vary a lot from vehicle to vehicle.

Also just know that, no matter how skilled you are at driving in the snow, the bigger danger is the unpredictable behavior of those around you. Even in normal driving, I find myself getting into "almost accidents" about once a month not because of my driving habits, but of other people doing really stupid and/or unexpected things that no one else would ever think to do.

That's something I learned from the few times things have gotten snowy "snowy" in Louisiana. I think I'll just skip out on driving in the snow ;)

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2 minutes ago, supernovasky said:

That's something I learned from the few times things have gotten snowy "snowy" in Louisiana. I think I'll just skip out on driving in the snow ;)

Lame. Driving Germantown to Rockville right after the 27-30" of snow finished falling in last season's big storm was pretty fun.

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4 minutes ago, supernovasky said:

Do people snowshoe in the DC snows?

 

Do I need to buy snow shoes?

 

What is a snow shoe?

Some people go around the National Mall in snowshoes or ski-cross. It's weird.

One moooooore thing. Buy a big, heavy-duty shovel (at like Sears or something for around $25-30). If you end up with a good-sized driveway, get a snowblower. You may only actually need them 1 or 2 times per year (or some years not at all), but it's quite worth it, IMO.

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Just now, Ellinwood said:

Some people go around the National Mall in snowshoes or cross-ski. It's weird.

One moooooore thing. Buy a big, heavy-duty shovel (at like Sears or something for around $25-30). If you end up with a good-sized driveway, get a snowblower. You may only actually need them 1 or 2 times per year (or some years not at all), but it's quite worth it, IMO.

Yeah, I've been watching pictures and videos posted in previous snow events on this forum. From the pictures I've also learned that I need to put my windshield wipers up.

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1 minute ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Who the hell is walking in the city with snowshoes? That's ridiculous lol

Agreed on the shovel/snowblower. In the off chance that climo+ is the new norm around here, it'll be a valuable investment. 

Dang, you're making my fired up for winter. 

Climo+ is more snow, right?

 

I would like to avoid killing myself using a shovel, and probably will be renting for my first year, so I think I'll be able to avoid that. If I like the place though, we plan to buy after a year, in which case I will evaluate my need for a snowblower.

 

And now I am fired up for winter myself! Please... do your snow dances, this Louisiana native needs some snow in his life.

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Just now, supernovasky said:

Yeah, I've been watching pictures and videos posted in previous snow events on this forum. From the pictures I've also learned that I need to put my windshield wipers up.

Nah that's BS. It prevents blades from getting stuck to the windshield, but honestly if that ever occurred, it would be in an event where you just warm up the car and the blades will get unstuck while you're cleaning the car off. Most people where I grew up in New York never put their blades up. I never even heard about the practice until I moved here :P I would be more worried about them snapping back down in a strong gust.

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Just now, Ellinwood said:

Nah that's BS. It prevents blades from getting stuck to the windshield, but honestly if that ever occurred, it would be in an event where you just warm up the car and the blades will get unstuck while you're cleaning the car off. Most people where I grew up in New York never put their blades up. I never even heard about the practice until I moved here :P I would be more worried about them snapping back down in a strong gust.

Weird. See, I'd do that just by example because I've been seeing everyone else do it in videos. I have a lot to learn.

 

Another question, how long does snow cover usually hang around?

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1 minute ago, WxWatcher007 said:

You're hitting on all the good questions/topics tonight! Snow cover is more of a thing the further away from the cities you are. I've been here a few years, and aside from a very cold February 2015 and the winter of 2013-14, snow doesn't last long in the cities IMO. Just depends on what kind of persistent cold we can get. 

Last year someone stole my snowboard lol. 

How long on average though? Should I be shocked if it stays, for instance, for a week?

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For the most part, regardless of how big a storm we get the major impacts are usually over within 24-48 hours after the last flake falls. We recover quick even when 2 feet falls. Studded tires or 4WD is major overkill for winter wx in the MA no matter what. Front wheel drive with all season tires will always get you everywhere on main roads except during the height of a good storm. 

The vast majority of time during the winter the landscape is brown grass here.

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7 hours ago, nj2va said:

We're scheduled to close on a vacation house in McHenry at the end of next week. 2,800' elevation and they got a few inches of snow over the weekend. Looking forward to installing a PWS our first weekend there!
 

Congratulations! I don't remember hearing that you were looking for anything. Give us some details. How'd you all settle on McHenry? Condo? House? On the lake? Is there a guest room? :)

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9 hours ago, Bob Chill said:

For the most part, regardless of how big a storm we get the major impacts are usually over within 24-48 hours after the last flake falls. We recover quick even when 2 feet falls. Studded tires or 4WD is major overkill for winter wx in the MA no matter what. Front wheel drive with all season tires will always get you everywhere on main roads except during the height of a good storm. 

The vast majority of time during the winter the landscape is brown grass here.

You got it, Bob. Sh*t brown season.

It's like dog crap that sits around for a while. If the conditions are right, it'll turn white before it eventually gets cleaned up.

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