It's 5:30 in the evening Tuesday, the snow stopped this morning, but judging from the police scanner traffic I'm hearing, the roads are still glare ice. So why are the roads so awful so long after the storm? It was a worst-case scenario for those trying to get the snow and ice off the highways, that's why.
Yesterday's snow was slushy and wet, which compacts into ice when packed down by hundreds or thousands of car and truck tires. Then it got colder, so the compacted slush froze more solidly. Then it snowed again this morning, And the temperatures really crashed, down into the single digits. The ice was too stuck to the roads for the plows to scrape it off, and it is too cold for salt to melt the ice.... Formerly wet snow [which] stuck to the trees, [is] now frozen fast onto the branches in Hinesburg. So we have to wait for warmer temperatures, which will come tomorrow [Wednesday] afternoon. Warm enough, at least, for salt to work. The snowfall was more impressive than expected. Some places got a little under a foot of snow, according to a list of totals by the National Weather Service in South Burlington.
On Sunday evening, we were in Stowe (less than an hour from home in good weather with clear roads). We were looking at needing to make two trips home between then and Tuesday morning to get all our stuff back (it's amazing how much room groceries, skis and sleds take up and who wants to spend vacation time with nothing to eat and nothing to play with outside?). It had rained all day, then snowed, and the roads were wet and starting to freeze. Black ice was a real concern, especially given the winds and the particular roads between there and home, so Sunday evening would have been pure foolishness. So we opted to NOT make a trip on black ice. Smart move, no?
Looking ahead to Monday, there was snow in the forecast, starting before dawn, potentially 3-6 inches (or more) during the day (non-stop) and into the evening, and then another several inches into Tuesday... plus winds and dropping temperatures. Monday was great weather for being in Stowe, but not for driving. Still, the job had to be done, so Papa Bear took Dante down the mountain so to speak in the morning, and the roads were great; bare pavement, just snow showers, no issues, pleasant temperatures and they enjoyed the time together. The rest of us baked cookies, played games, and sledded in the fresh powder that was just thick enough on the ground to enjoy. The boys were back just after lunch, safe and sound, before the real snow came. And did it come. Probably it fell an inch an hour all afternoon while we were swimming and otherwise amusing ourselves. Beautiful but I'm glad we didn't have to drive in it.
Tuesday morning was something else. Easily 8+ inches had fallen, and the winds were howling. The drifting was well above my knees at the bottom of the stairs where we were staying, and the roofs and cars had been blown clean. The ice on the car was thick (from the day before, the melted and wet snow was blown into every possible crack and froze solid. It was still flurrying and there was snow everywhere thanks to the wind. The high of the day was the ten degrees at sunrise and it dropped quickly to near zero by the time we drove away mid morning. Papa Bear chipped away the ice, pried open the doors (most of them - he decided against a couple in case they wouldn't close again!) and packed the car. What a man. To say we drove away is a bit misleading. We crawled, slipping and sliding, away. We could tell the tires were having trouble gripping the road the whole way home. We didn't even try to take the highway because it was in no better shape than the side roads and we could drive more slowly and therefore more safely on the side roads. Problem is, given the snow cover on said roads, more slowly is in and of itself problematic because speed helps with traction up hills (and there are many of these), but the sliding in the tires doesn't help with braking.... I think I prayed the whole way home. It took Papa Bear the whole afternoon to recuperate both from the physical side of the packing in the wild cold, and the strenuous drive, and the emotional/adrenaline wear and tear of it all.
Bottom line, it was one of those memorable drives you're glad you don't have to make very often. The roads were at least as bad as the weather blog says, maybe worse. We are thankful to be home safe and sound.
