The Pacific NorthWest, contradictory to is name and reputation, is neither cold or especially rainy. But, this past week has actually been cold here. Pretty constantly below freezing which is really rare. Add on top of that a little bit of precipitation and there's a recipie for disaster.
Being from a Nordic country, we are used to snow and slush/ice, but not to drivers trying to move forward, even when the road ahead is clogged with cars stuck, quite literally, not being able to move anywhere. That "need to get there at any price" is more of the problem than the ice. and, there's not much we can do about the ice than to wait. to wait for it to melt, or for "counter measures" (studded tires, road salt, chains).
Last week the snow (or hail) started on Wednesday. Conditions in Kirkland were more like mayhem during the rush hour and into the late evening. We were out walking the dogs when it started snowing/hailing just around 4 PM. About an hour later we came upon Market Street (major north-south arterial) and chaos was the only would that would describe the situation. A neighbor of ours and myself ended up staying for about an hour and helping to push cars out of the way (some were left in the middle of the road), and a couple o days later, I could still see 6 of them still "parked" on the road. After that "heavy lifting" we went up to the local bar and sat inside with a brew (ESB) watching cars sliding down the hill. Live entertainment at its best!
Most of the area was shut down over the next days. We even got a little bit of ice on both the sea as well as Lake Washington - unheard of - but oh so beautiful! The mass of sliding cars was no problem, compared to the cancelled meeting for Steinklinkers. Our monthly brewery discovery/sampling group. Oh well, we would not have been able to get there in any case. Issaquah was just out of reach. Catch-up race is on for tomorrow.
Saturday afternoon dropped a tiny amount of snow. Perfect for making the already ice covered streets nicely "lubricated". It did not take long before a car went down in the drink (swamp/wetland) next to our house. Streets were again impassable for Sunday. It was all pretty fun!
But that does not in any way, shape, or form, match what did take place in Portland, OR, this morning. Take a look at this little clip. I've watched this clip so many times and I cannot do anything else than laugh! Yes, it is sort of said but on the other hand, the drivers could probably not do anything than laugh either. It was that slick. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Be nice and on topic, or your comment will be deleted