Uncluttering snow

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Started 1 year ago by ninakk
Latest reply from SunshineR
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snow

ninakk
Member

This is how it's done :D Heathrow and other major airports went bananas over just a little bit of snow, and here in Denmark there's complete chaos in the streets from the same amount of snow - to an extent that people might choose to stay at home. LOL, yeah right, that would mean Finland wouldn't run during all winter months at all. I'm still shaking my head in amazement and simply say send your authorities to us to learn the right moves, just like a friend of mine suggested (she's a Finn living in England). Check this out: http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/07/helsinkis-battle-with-the-snow/

P.S. I wouldn't want to be the guy in the tug boat though...

Posted 1 year ago #
toberead
Member

This shows the importance of being prepared. However, how much time and space should you spend being prepared for every possibility? Would it make sense for Atlanta to stockpile snowplows and salt and shovels, when it only gets one brief snowstorm a year? It would be convenient during that snowstorm, but the rest of the time it would just be "clutter".

I've wondered about this with my own snow preparations. When I lived in NY, I had a full arsenal of snow gear. Then I moved to GA and got rid of it all. Now I'm living in MD, which is somewhere in between. Is it worth collecting a bunch of snow gear and supplies when we really don't get that much snow? (Especially since I live in a small place and don't have a garage or storage area to store shovels and boots and supplies.) On the other hand, when we get a huge snowstorm, I wish I had that stuff. I've compromised by buying a collapsible shovel that doesn't take up a lot of space, although it's not as effective as a larger one. And I'm still debating about whether I should replace my snow boots, which I wear maybe twice a year - but are really invaluable when I need them.

Posted 1 year ago #
Astreja
Member

We got a lot of snow in Winnipeg this year. Our tools of choice are two small plastic snow shovels, easy to lift and easy to dump or throw. When I shovel I toss each load as far as it can go onto an untravelled part of the front or back yards, but never scoop more than can be easily carried. We've tried the bigger shovels, but they aren't any faster and cause more backache.

For hard, icy snow we first chop it into small chunks with a crescent-shaped sod cutter.

We also use plain sandbox sand for traction on the walkways, never salt or other chemical de-icers.

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

We have a medium sized shovel and like Astreja, we fling it as far as possible, and start the season shoveling a wide path, as it gets narrower with each storm. We use sand as well, but only if it's icy. The stuff tracks in very easily.

toberead - do you have snowboots in need of replacing? It's a tossup as to whether to buy any. Are you outside in the snow other than walking to/from your car/house/work? I have really waterproof/very warm ankle high boots, that I only wear occasionally, and some insulated shoe type boots from Merrell which have rubber soles with hiking boot type tread. I wear these as my going out and about boots - they're warm, but would not be good in snow above my ankles. I used to have a pair of mid-calf leather boots with fleec inside and rubber soles that I wore where I might encounter deeper snow, like when I worked where I had to walk 2 blocks from parking to my office, but I didn't replace them when they died.

Posted 1 year ago #
Netleigh
Member

However you have to compare Helsinki's 5 months of snow and spare runway capacity against Heathrow's possibly 5 days of snow and complete lack of spare runway capacity. How much investmentment is proportionate?
I must admit that some areas of Scotland should have been better prepared this winter as they do get snow every year. I live in the south of England and 2010 was the first year I couldn't get to work in 30 years. Even the public transport stopped! I really did enjoy my snow days.
We carry a folding shovel in the car for those trips to Wales and Scotland where snow is a possible hazard, however it's only been used once to clear a hill to a car park, tha'ts 1 time in 20 years of carrying it.

Posted 1 year ago #
ninakk
Member

I assume Heathrow still owns some snow machinery though? Like the lady from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport said, it's mostly about logistics, which is my original intention really. And I didn't mean it as a comment on the average household's level of preparation either. Climate changes though, there are floods, heavy storms, rainfalls and snow storms outside of the 'normal' areas nowadays and if one believes in climate change I guess it'll become even more unpredictable. (A non-weather example is malaria, which we might see in the Southern parts of Europe eventually.) I don't think we're about to prepare for earthquakes in Finland, but prolonged heatwaves and other new phenomena? Absolutely.

Posted 1 year ago #
Netleigh
Member

ninakk, I'd like Helsinki's snow! But probably not the short winter days. Just came back from my winter skiing week in sunny Italy.
I understand about the logistics aspect but Helsinki does have a 'spare' runway to close and clear while the others are still working. There's also the famous British quote about the wrong kind of snow! Fresh dry frozen snow versus just frozen wet snow turning straight to ice.
It does seem that we are all having some unusual climate events recently, I believe in climate change being a contributory factor.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rosa
Member

My city is generally prepared for snow, but we got hammered this year, and we got nothing like the storm Chicago and Milwaukee just got (that missed us).

Instead of the usual snow removal equipment, they've broken out the big yellow diggers, because the little bobcats that usually move the snow from piles to trucks aren't tall enough to reach the tops of the piles, and the trucks have no place to take the snow. The city has spent $2 million dollars on snow removal since January 1.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Someone told me about places (not my small city, though) which have airport-size snow-throwers which actually throw the snow so high that it goes off the streets and roads, then up and over and behind the buildings. Just so no people or animals would be harmed...that would be a tragedy, indeed.

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

Yikes! Our city has several vacant lots - owned and leased - where they dump the snow. Amazingly, we have less snow this year than normal, as compared to the mid-west and east.

Posted 1 year ago #
recycler
Member

This reminds me of a newspaper article I read about the ground workers at Oslo Airport Gardermoen who claimed they would need only 30 minutes to clear the Heathrow runway if given the chance.

Apparently, Oslo Airport Gardermoen has only been closed twice because of snow since they opened in 1998 (the area has 1-3 meters snow each season on average), but then they also own the world's largest snow blower...

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

We got all our snow here in Michigan decluttered this week the easy way - a record mid winter heat wave - 50 plus degrees! Quite a shock after the massive storm 2 weeks ago.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Hang on, jbeany. Summer is coming...eventually. :)

Edit: I just looked outside. The rain changed to snow. Boo.

Posted 1 year ago #

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