Another trip on 81, another whiteout (8 pics)

[nystate]

Well, we were planning on driving down to PA yesterday but things didn't go as planned. The forecast called for a little LES in the typical LES favored areas, and we figured that it wouldn't be much of a problem. Turns out, we were wrong.

Before you ask, I was a passenger in the car. No way I would drive and take pictures in this weather!

About 15 minutes down 81, a few flurries appeared, nothing significant-


16 miles from Pulaski, and 50 miles from Syracuse the snow was still falling lightly and road conditions were still generally good-


Soon, it started to get nasty. At least the car in front of us was visible-


We eventually lost our visual reference-


The car was sliding all over the place, so we decided to pull over at Pulaski for a little while to see if it would pass. These two cars had just had a collision-


The road conditions in Pulaski-


This bridge was completely ice-covered. The car in front of us made a left turn onto it; you can clearly see it sliding in this picture. It almost hit the guardrail but was able to stop in time-


After about an hour of waiting, and half an hour of sliding across the road, we decided to hit 81 again and get out of the LES band. Only 10 miles down the road, this was the scene. Look at the sky-


Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

[AnthonyC]

Wow, awesome pics!!! It's amazing to see how localized LES is. It's similar to something we have in Western Washington...the Puget Sound Covergence Zone. When the PSCZ occurs, one area may experience 2-3 inches of snow, while an area 15 miles away has nothing...or just plain rain. Very interesting, incredible stuff.

Anthony

[JenyEliza]

In Atlanta, we have something called "always the bridesmaid, never the bride syndrome"....or in otherwords, we're always just a smidge too far south of the freeze line and we get rain, while just 30-50 miles north/northeast is sleet, snow or ice. <sigh>

I'm getting a really, really bad case of "I want snow syndrome" tonight. While these pics are truly awesome, they're not doing much for my malady.

BTW...NY...glad you got to and fro your destination in one piece. What an incredible ride that must have been!

Enjoy your snow!

Jeny

[donsutherland1]

Great photos, Nystate. Thanks for sharing them.

[Noreaster_Jer_04]

Just got word that my friend died today on 81 in NY... I think I will not wish for such conditions ever again

[yoda]

Just got word that my friend died today on 81 in NY... I think I will not wish for such conditions ever again

So Sorry to hear that. Prayers to you and your friend's family.

[nystate]

Just got word that my friend died today on 81 in NY... I think I will not wish for such conditions ever again

Very sorry to hear that...

[Portastorm]

NY State, thanks for posting the series of photos. You reminded me of the many squalls I drive through growing up in northeastern Ohio. I showed your pix to my wife, who is from Texas, and she had a hard time believing you could have a near blizzard in one place and 10 miles down the road have blue skies and sunshine!!

Noreaster_Jer_04, sorry about your friend. Condolences.

[CaptinCrunch]

REALLY COOL PICS!

[roebear]

Sorry to hear of the friends death on 81, I know the road well and it can be very treacherous in places.

Great pictures, NY State. What kind of tires do you (or your driver) run?
I've been using Blizzaks the last few years, they are excellent on ice and almost as good in snow. One day I drove the wife's car which had Blizzaks, came home and then went back over the same route in my truck which had MTR's. Almost lost the truck on a corner, when driving the wife's Solara just a few minutes before, I was on black ice on same road and didn't know it!

MTR's might be a hair better in very deep snow (I was driving around in the 96 blizzard with them in a FWD Bronco, until the drifts got over 3 feet).

One has to remember not to overdrive the brakes with Blizzaks, as they do stop a bit quicker but not by as wide a margin as they give traction under power.

Haven't had a chance to try out the new set and as bad as the weekend storm is likely to be, I'm not sure I'll look forward to trying them out (have to work the weekend) as this will NOT be a storm to get stranded in!
But I sure haven't had much chance to try out the Blizzaks or the Sequoia yet in snow down in PA.

Best,
Roebear

[donsutherland1]

Noreaster_Jer_04,

I'm very sorry to learn of this tragedy and you have my fullest condolences. Please don't blame your wishes in any way for what happened. Accidents do happen but they are independent of one's wishes. In other words, your wishes had nothing to do with the terrible accident and you should not hold yourself responsible in any way.

[W13]

Great photos, Nystate. Thanks for sharing them.

I second that!

[nystate]

Thanks for all of the comments! They really mean a lot...

I guess I'll try and answer some of the questions now....

NY State, thanks for posting the series of photos. You reminded me of the many squalls I drive through growing up in northeastern Ohio. I showed your pix to my wife, who is from Texas, and she had a hard time believing you could have a near blizzard in one place and 10 miles down the road have blue skies and sunshine!!

Trust me, I know how your wife feels. I myself moved here from a warmer climate, and I had never heard of LES before I came here. However, the "Bald Eagle" storm changed that for me.

Great pictures, NY State. What kind of tires do you (or your driver) run?

I use Pirelli snow tires, although right now I'm not sure as to the exact type (and its too cold to go outside and check!). They worked great until a few days ago, so I am thinking of replacing them with Blizzaks or another good snow tire.

Do you have any recommendations?

Once again, thanks to all of you for your comments!