I took the winter gear out of our car two months ago, and swapped the location of the snowblower and the lawnmower in the garage. We've sometimes had snow flurries in April our way, but nothing major.
In 1977, there were a few inches of snow in Massachusetts in mid-May. Within two weeks, the temperature had gone up over 90. So you're probably right to be overly cautious.
Well, was the coal shovel in the way of anything else you needed to do? And isn't it easier to just leave it in the trunk until you're also sure you won't be caught in the snow during a trip to Minneapolis?
Given the amount of space ice scrapers take up, and the number of people I see having trouble finding them when needed in the winter, having extras makes sense. (It's not like trying to fit multiple spare tires; you aren't going to be unable to find the spare tire if it's in the trunk.)
Yes, the coal shovel takes up a significant amount of space in my small car. I even enjoy having the space the snow brush takes up, though it's much smaller than the shovel.
One of my ice scrapers is tucked into the well with the spare tire. It's extraordinarily inconvenient to get to when the hatch area is loaded, but I know that scraper isn't playing hide'n'seek under the seats as the others seem to have a habit of doing.
Actually, the way I ended up with three good scrapers is that I kept buying them when I couldn't find one, then eventually did a thorough vacuuming of the car and found the motherlode lurking under the seats and in the spare tire compartment.....
It is entirely possible that those 25 years in Minnesota are still in my bloodstream.
How differs Massachusetts snow from Minnesota snow? Knowing little of either - my experience living with Ohio snow predates having to drive in it - I am curious.
Minnesota's winter tends to start and end 2-3 weeks later than Massachusetts winter, maybe even a month. Both states tend to be visited by big snowstorms in March. That leaves one distrustful of the first signs of spring in both states, but the last time there was enough snow to plow here at Toad Woods this year was on March 2nd.
Minnesota's lowest temperatures are 20-25 degrees colder than those in Massachusetts. That means when snow falls in Minnesota, it tends to stay for the rest of the season. Massachusetts has the kind of freeze-thaw cycle you probably noticed in Ohio. We certainly had it in southern Michigan. Weather patterns have been changing enough that even Minnesota is getting more freeze-thaw than it did during the first decade I lived there.
In Minnesota, the year 29 inches of snow fell in a freak Halloween blizzard, the snow was there to stay, even though we often celebrated Thanksgiving having received nothing more than light flurries to that date. It was a horrible winter. Long. Long. Long
( ... )
It is entirely possible that those 25 years in Minnesota are still in my bloodstream.
Yes, but do you still carry a blanket and/or sleeping bag in the car all winter?
(Now that we have a van again, the sleeping bag is a permanent resident. We didn't move out the shovel until it was time to go down to Nashua and pick up Twin A from college for the summer.)
Yeah, a heavy cloth bag contining air-mattress, sleeping-bag, blanket, pillow, small nylon tent, and some dried food & a gallon of water is permanently resident in my car's trunk. Handy for a camping-out weekend (which I like at least twice a year) and as an Earthquake kit because (this being California) I'm hardly ever very far from the car.
I still remember meeting the Mpls/StPl fan who had moved to there from Winnipeg because the fall started 1-2 weeks later and the spring 1-2 weeks earlier. Getting as much as a full month extra summer every year would seem pretty special.
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In 1977, there were a few inches of snow in Massachusetts in mid-May. Within two weeks, the temperature had gone up over 90. So you're probably right to be overly cautious.
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Given the amount of space ice scrapers take up, and the number of people I see having trouble finding them when needed in the winter, having extras makes sense. (It's not like trying to fit multiple spare tires; you aren't going to be unable to find the spare tire if it's in the trunk.)
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One of my ice scrapers is tucked into the well with the spare tire. It's extraordinarily inconvenient to get to when the hatch area is loaded, but I know that scraper isn't playing hide'n'seek under the seats as the others seem to have a habit of doing.
Actually, the way I ended up with three good scrapers is that I kept buying them when I couldn't find one, then eventually did a thorough vacuuming of the car and found the motherlode lurking under the seats and in the spare tire compartment.....
Reply
How differs Massachusetts snow from Minnesota snow? Knowing little of either - my experience living with Ohio snow predates having to drive in it - I am curious.
Reply
Minnesota's lowest temperatures are 20-25 degrees colder than those in Massachusetts. That means when snow falls in Minnesota, it tends to stay for the rest of the season. Massachusetts has the kind of freeze-thaw cycle you probably noticed in Ohio. We certainly had it in southern Michigan. Weather patterns have been changing enough that even Minnesota is getting more freeze-thaw than it did during the first decade I lived there.
In Minnesota, the year 29 inches of snow fell in a freak Halloween blizzard, the snow was there to stay, even though we often celebrated Thanksgiving having received nothing more than light flurries to that date. It was a horrible winter. Long. Long. Long ( ... )
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Yes, but do you still carry a blanket and/or sleeping bag in the car all winter?
(Now that we have a van again, the sleeping bag is a permanent resident. We didn't move out the shovel until it was time to go down to Nashua and pick up Twin A from college for the summer.)
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