Manchester = So where was all the snow then? Here... Plus you've got purple Aki.... So if that's the terminology you wish to use, on your head be it!!
Amazing to think that somewhere like London is on the same/higher latitude as Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver. Or where I live, York, is a higher latitude than Moscow. Gawd bless the gulf stream!
Speaking of Snowmaggeddon.... and in my area of the US, to be honest, Snowmaggeddon will likely be in January and February with the 24inch snow totals (approximately 60cm) from one storm...but tonight we are supposed to get 4 to 6 inches (approximately 10 to 15 cm)
Snow storm today..... depending on which news station you want to believe..... 3 to 5 inches...or... 6 to 12 inches
We might get into the -20s in February, we have had a week or more of that. However it rarely gets to -30 or below..without factoring in Windchill
Oh wind chill makes it -50 and below Fun fact I was 30 seconds away from losing my ears to frostbite last year
Just noticed this thread so you avoided the north easterner laughing at all the southern wusses Folding shovel, hand brush (for sweeping ALL the snow off the car, not just a patch of the windscreen), old car mats for traction, old store cards as ice scrapers (deicer takes too long). Be prepared to walk if needs be (so jumper or big coat, boots). Use common sense - avoid back roads, stick with roads that will be gritted, don't get too close to other cars so their mistakes don't kill you. Technology is wonderful too - follow the bus companies on Facebook or Twitter as they tend to know first the road conditions. Councils have their gritting routes on their websites. Google Maps shows traffic conditions - if it looks bad, you can plan a better route before you leave.
I wondered about that. Makes sense. In like way, one of the talk stations here gives traffic reports every 6 minutes, so if an intersection or stretch of road is closed, you'll know about it soon enough. I would hope and expect that radio stations in snowy places do the same, so you know where to drive and where not to drive. Oh, it was 36F or 2C on my car thermometer when I left home this morning shortly after sunrise. The expected high today at the official reporting station is 59F / 15C. Brrrr!!!
i like to keep a shovel in my car just in case. but both the cars that my family has are awd, so it's not really an issue for us regardless. this thread is actually hilarious. hannibal has it way worse than i do, but some of the responses. lol. really, one just gets used to it. one of my kids was born in a 20" blizzard. my wife and i had a scheduled c-section appointment in the morning. i woke up, had to dig about 20 yards to get my car out into the street. but it was just "oh well, looks like i'm digging" and we got on with it. she made her appointment.
1 subaru outback, 1 honda pilot even though there are really only a few days we really need it--because street snow is typically removed very quickly where i live--i like the piece of mind because these are the automobiles that my wife and children are in.
Though I haven't taken it in snow, I have been in mud and rocks with my Forester, and I'm very pleased with how it drives. Which do you like better overall, your Outback or Pilot?
the outback is amazing. i've driven through more than 1 blizzard with it and felt safe as can be. overall, i'm very impressed with subarus--i've had a couple now. also, like you say, off-road it's amazing. there's pretty much nothing that can stop that car, unless you try driving through a river. the pilot is also very good, but not as good in the awd department as the subaru. for us, the pilot is necessary to haul around our massive american family and their gear, like jujitsu gear, hockey bags, baseball bats, basketballs, etc. i've never gotten stuck with the pilot, but it just doesn't seem as stable as the subaru, if that makes sense. aside from that, it's a honda and i've owned a few over the years. so i know that there's a lot of quality built in. if you ever come up north, or to mountain skiing in utah, and there's snow/ice/sleet, you'll be very happy with the forester performance i think.
regarding my blizzard comment..."relatively" safe as can be. i've been living in challenging winter conditions my whole life, i know that one still needs to be cautious with speed and turning. also, it's a standard transmission, which also helps immensely. yes, it may be the last standard transmission subaru in the usa.