Drifting along with tumbling tumbleweeds

[captpackrat]

Yesterday, I paid a guy $50 to plow the driveway.  It was still nice and clear this morning, so I headed out to do some errands that I've been needing to do for quite a while.  The weather forecast was for light to moderate winds, temperatures in the low to mid 30's, and a 30% chance of rain/snow/sleet after 3:00 pm.

I get home, and haven't seen anything more than a few flakes, but I did notice some minor snow drifts that were starting to build on the road leading to my place.  When I got to the driveway, I noticed it seemed flatter than this morning, like there was a thin coating of snow over it.  No problem, I'll just go slow and be careful not to spin the tires.

Riiiiiight....  It turned out to be very deceptive....

In the few hours I was gone, the snow had managed to drift over a foot deep, and my car is once again, hopelessly stuck.  Except this time, it's right smack in the middle of the driveway, nearly 1/4 mile away.

So I just left my car sitting out there.  The walk back shouldn't have been too bad, except I had a bunch of groceries and mail which I had to lug back.   And naturally, I got about half way when I realized I was still wearing my sunglasses and my regular glasses were still in the car, so I had to trudge back through the ankle-deep snow to swap them.

I don't know if my car can be rescued now, it's in pretty deep already, and the blowing snow will probably bury the car completely.   Fortunately, the forecast has the temps climbing into the 40's by Monday, so even if I can't get out, it'll melt its way out eventually..

Comments

[altivo.livejournal.com]

This is what snow fences were invented for. You evidently live in an open flat area where snow drifts readily. Snow fences used to be made from thin strips of wood, like venetian blinds, strung on long wires or cords. Light and portable. You roll them up when they aren't needed, unroll and set them up when they are.

Now they can be had made of plastic mesh, even cheaper and lighter. At the beginning of the snow season, judicious erection of some of these should help keep that driveway clear. There's a trick to it. You have to know the prevailing wind direction, and realize that a drift will form BEHIND the fence and extend out from the fence by about six feet or so. Beyond that, depending on the height of the fence, you get an area where snow does not accumulate as quickly, perhaps 8 or 10 feet wide.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

Apparently the property owner tried using a snow fence in the past, but it didn't do much good. The driveway is the narrowest part of the property, maybe 15-20 feet wide.

The funny thing is that this drift formed in an area that is usually fairly clear, and the area that usually drifts up bad is clear. The wind is blowing from the opposite of the normal direction, so that's probably the culprit.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

I think I figured out why it drifted up so bad.

The wind normally comes from the north, and along the south side of the driveway there is a 3-4 foot drop off. I noticed the other day that the snow was piled up level out into the field to the south, so there must have been an enormous amount of snow there.

When the wind shifted to the south, all that accumulated snow was blown back across the driveway. No wonder it was so bad in that one area and nowhere else.