OT: Car Pinball
01-08-2010, 04:45 PM
#1
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
01-08-2010, 09:10 PM
#4
Super Member
That would be my great city of Portland in the early 2007... at the time I lived less than 10 min away from where that happened.
Because of the Columbia River Gorge and Portland winter weather, a lot of times it will snow, melt, then freeze and snow on top, freeze again and snow on top. The snow is wet and the streets turn to solid ice. Oh yeah, and Portland doesn't use salt and only owns 50 plows (think plow attached to pickup truck, not actual snow plow).
Because of the Columbia River Gorge and Portland winter weather, a lot of times it will snow, melt, then freeze and snow on top, freeze again and snow on top. The snow is wet and the streets turn to solid ice. Oh yeah, and Portland doesn't use salt and only owns 50 plows (think plow attached to pickup truck, not actual snow plow).
Last edited by Esh; 01-08-2010 at 09:12 PM.
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01-09-2010, 06:45 AM
#8
Super Member
Things like that don't happen too often, but when they do, they are an absolute nightmare. The snow is so wet that it freezes into ice. There aren't very many flat spots in the city, it's all on an incline or decline, especially as you leave the city out to the burbs. This is compounded with the way the city of Portland responds to it, commonly late (and with sand). People commonly abandon their cars alongside the highways and streets.
Surprising as it may seem, that storm in 2007 wasn't half as bad as the one we had in the winter of 08. We had 3 separate layers of ice on the roads with nearly 18" of snow on the ground. The snow came in on the 12th of December and didn't leave until the 29th. People were commonly seen skiing and snowboarding in downtown. They closed I-84 (main highway heading east towards Idaho) because of snow drifts. The city actually had the ***** to close I-5 during rush hour because the ruts from the truckers were so deep that cars were bottoming out. Normally I drive south to visit my parents in southern Oregon for Christmas, I had to ride the Amtrak train because I couldn't even get out of my own driveway (lived on a hill).
As bad as that all is, it really doesn't happen often. Yesterday it was 45 degrees and pouring down rain. We've had one snowfall this year, the Tuesday after Christmas. Despite gridlocked traffic due to no weatherman predicting snow and ice that day, it was clear the next day.
Surprising as it may seem, that storm in 2007 wasn't half as bad as the one we had in the winter of 08. We had 3 separate layers of ice on the roads with nearly 18" of snow on the ground. The snow came in on the 12th of December and didn't leave until the 29th. People were commonly seen skiing and snowboarding in downtown. They closed I-84 (main highway heading east towards Idaho) because of snow drifts. The city actually had the ***** to close I-5 during rush hour because the ruts from the truckers were so deep that cars were bottoming out. Normally I drive south to visit my parents in southern Oregon for Christmas, I had to ride the Amtrak train because I couldn't even get out of my own driveway (lived on a hill).
As bad as that all is, it really doesn't happen often. Yesterday it was 45 degrees and pouring down rain. We've had one snowfall this year, the Tuesday after Christmas. Despite gridlocked traffic due to no weatherman predicting snow and ice that day, it was clear the next day.
01-09-2010, 08:31 AM
#9
MBWorld Fanatic!
Things like that don't happen too often, but when they do, they are an absolute nightmare. The snow is so wet that it freezes into ice. There aren't very many flat spots in the city, it's all on an incline or decline, especially as you leave the city out to the burbs. This is compounded with the way the city of Portland responds to it, commonly late (and with sand). People commonly abandon their cars alongside the highways and streets.
Surprising as it may seem, that storm in 2007 wasn't half as bad as the one we had in the winter of 08. We had 3 separate layers of ice on the roads with nearly 18" of snow on the ground. The snow came in on the 12th of December and didn't leave until the 29th. People were commonly seen skiing and snowboarding in downtown. They closed I-84 (main highway heading east towards Idaho) because of snow drifts. The city actually had the ***** to close I-5 during rush hour because the ruts from the truckers were so deep that cars were bottoming out. Normally I drive south to visit my parents in southern Oregon for Christmas, I had to ride the Amtrak train because I couldn't even get out of my own driveway (lived on a hill).
As bad as that all is, it really doesn't happen often. Yesterday it was 45 degrees and pouring down rain. We've had one snowfall this year, the Tuesday after Christmas. Despite gridlocked traffic due to no weatherman predicting snow and ice that day, it was clear the next day.
Surprising as it may seem, that storm in 2007 wasn't half as bad as the one we had in the winter of 08. We had 3 separate layers of ice on the roads with nearly 18" of snow on the ground. The snow came in on the 12th of December and didn't leave until the 29th. People were commonly seen skiing and snowboarding in downtown. They closed I-84 (main highway heading east towards Idaho) because of snow drifts. The city actually had the ***** to close I-5 during rush hour because the ruts from the truckers were so deep that cars were bottoming out. Normally I drive south to visit my parents in southern Oregon for Christmas, I had to ride the Amtrak train because I couldn't even get out of my own driveway (lived on a hill).
As bad as that all is, it really doesn't happen often. Yesterday it was 45 degrees and pouring down rain. We've had one snowfall this year, the Tuesday after Christmas. Despite gridlocked traffic due to no weatherman predicting snow and ice that day, it was clear the next day.
01-09-2010, 08:41 AM
#10
MBWorld Fanatic!
That would be my great city of Portland in the early 2007... at the time I lived less than 10 min away from where that happened.
Because of the Columbia River Gorge and Portland winter weather, a lot of times it will snow, melt, then freeze and snow on top, freeze again and snow on top. The snow is wet and the streets turn to solid ice. Oh yeah, and Portland doesn't use salt and only owns 50 plows (think plow attached to pickup truck, not actual snow plow).
Because of the Columbia River Gorge and Portland winter weather, a lot of times it will snow, melt, then freeze and snow on top, freeze again and snow on top. The snow is wet and the streets turn to solid ice. Oh yeah, and Portland doesn't use salt and only owns 50 plows (think plow attached to pickup truck, not actual snow plow).
01-09-2010, 07:20 PM
#12
Super Member
I realize this, however, the video on YouTube is the King5 report of the Portland ice storm. The King5 report is the one everyone views because it was tagged better on YouTube.
Here is the original report on KGW Channel 8 in Portland on January 16, 2007. It is longer and goes into more detail about the incident and the guy who shot the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ratn...eature=related
If you need further proof, refer to Google Maps and type in "SW Salmon St & SW 20th Ave, Portland OR" then click on street view. Pan camera angle so you're looking North and click on arrow to move one shot South on 20th. You will see exactly where this video took place and can see the wall the guy hit, the power lines above, and if you maneuver the camera looking south and up, you can even see the balcony this video was shot from.
Here is the original report on KGW Channel 8 in Portland on January 16, 2007. It is longer and goes into more detail about the incident and the guy who shot the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ratn...eature=related
If you need further proof, refer to Google Maps and type in "SW Salmon St & SW 20th Ave, Portland OR" then click on street view. Pan camera angle so you're looking North and click on arrow to move one shot South on 20th. You will see exactly where this video took place and can see the wall the guy hit, the power lines above, and if you maneuver the camera looking south and up, you can even see the balcony this video was shot from.
Last edited by Esh; 01-09-2010 at 07:30 PM.
