(no subject)

[rivka]

I'm supposed to go visit my parents this weekend in upstate New York, with Alex. I took Friday off from work. Because of family drama which I won't go into here, we won't be seeing my family at Christmas - this was going to be my opportunity to spend time with them.

They got hit with seven inches of snow today. We went out and bought Alex a pair of snow boots so she could frolic in the snow at Grandma's house. I worried a little bit about the drive, but figured if I took the long way around and stuck to the Interstates I would probably be fine.

My mother just e-mailed me this: ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... [...] THIS NOR'EASTER IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE REGION ON SATURDAY NIGHT, AND THE SNOW COULD BECOME HEAVY ON SUNDAY. [...] SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 FOOT OR GREATER WILL BE POSSIBLE [...] A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT BECAUSE HEAVY SNOW IS A POSSIBILITY, BUT NOT A CERTAINTY. AT THIS TIME, THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 7 INCHES OR MORE.

Sunday, the day we were expecting to drive back. Shit. And yet it's just a watch, not a winter storm warning. It could turn into anything, or nothing.

Do I go, and just figure that we might get snowed in and have to stay an extra day? If I don't go, the trip can't be switched to another weekend (due to the aforementioned drama issues). The visit would have to be postponed until God knows when.

I don't want to cancel, but a five-hour drive through potentially bad winter weather is nothing to just shrug off. Shit.

Comments

[eeyorerin]

We are under the same watch with the same degree of uncertainty, and as far as I know it's supposed to all have blown over by Monday, so at the worst you would just have to stay until then? I mean, if that wouldn't be a cause of unnecessary drama, it doesn't sound terrible for Alex to have an extra day with Grandma.

Still, a five hour drive in bad weather with a small child is nothing to shrug off, so I don't really know what to tell you. It would be a shame if you had to cancel.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

And if drama would ensue if you stayed until Mon, you could get on the road and then stay in a motel.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Seconded.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I just looked at the Weather Underground forecast for Sunday. It looks like the snow probability isn't too bad around your folks' place, but then things get really bad as you come south into Pennsylvania with freezing rain and ice.

I don't know how well the PA highway department takes care of US 15. If you think it's going to be well treated then the trip might be worth chancing, but with the significant risk of getting stuck there.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

There's no way I'd come through on U.S. 15 unless the roads were supposed to be dry as a bone. I'd take Rte. 17 to Binghamton and then come down on I-81.

[tendyl.livejournal.com]

Having driven up to Rochester several times, I so second that plan! US15 SUCKS in bad weather!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

That does seem the wiser choice. Be extra careful on those hills around Wilkes-Berre.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

WCG, does a sudden change from purple (ice) and turquoise ("mix") to the gray they call "smoke" mean they don't know what the weather will be? Or they expect it will stop sleeting and literal smoke will blow through the area? (I'm not familiar with that forecast map, and I'm so anxious about my own Monday morning I can hardly think.)

Rivka, have you considered what it would mean if you had to stay an extra day to avoid driving during the storm? Is it problematic to miss work Monday? Are you planning to take roads that get plowed well and promptly, or are they still "bad weather" when it's cold and sunny 12-hours after the snow stops?

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I think that gray section just means the conditions are indeterminate.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

I'd go.

-J

[redbird]

Watch the forecast, and see what it looks like tomorrow morning. (I know, that's not useful; I am hoping not to cancel my own travel plans, but mine don't involve a toddler.) It sounds as though being snowed in would not be the worst thing in the world.

[bosssio.livejournal.com]

me and lucie are meant to go to NYC this weekend. The first weekend since the kids were born that was just me and my friends. No Andy.

damn.

Well, I think 95 north should be okay on Saturday, but not sure about Sunday. If Sunday is bad, we can just stay in NY (I can stay with my friend, get a hotel, or go to my stepmoms, or crash on the floor of another friend's). Hell, I can always take the train back.

[melebeth]

Right now the NY Thruway is still pretty ugly by me. Just for reference. (I'm only slightly north of the city)

[aloha-moira.livejournal.com]

Definitely go, if you have the option of staying an extra day if the weather is bad. It sounds like getting there should not be too much of an issue (I'm sure the roads will be clear of a mere 7 inches by tomorrow), and you can postpone getting back if necessary. So no worries!

[ailbhe]

I'd go, with a well-packed emergency kit in the car, including thermoses of hot drinks, rugs (hiking grade sleeping bags if you have them), self-heating handwarmers like hikers use, etc. Because the *worst* thing that could happen is getting stuck on the road, so that's what I'd prepare for. I pretty much always do.

It doesn't sound as though the car could get *buried* on the road or be unreachable for days, and it does sound like you'd have enough warning to just stay the extra day and avoid the risk of getting stuck, so it's a risk I'd be willing to take.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

I'd like to wholeheartedly second this. Be prepared, but go.

[tendyl.livejournal.com]

We're headed to CT this weekend - assuming the weather cooperates. What we decided was to wait until noon to decide because then we could keep an active eye on the weather. We accept that we might get snowed in an extra day, but this is our holiday with my boyfriend and his wife. It might make a difference that Miles and I are very comfortable driving in the snow. I guess I value family enough that I'd try going unless it was currently snowing madly. The weather forecasters are often wrong. *sad smile* And to think I once wanted to be a meteorologist...

[kate_nepveu]

If coming back on Monday wouldn't be a problem, I'd tentatively say go for it--tentatively because yesterday this storm was supposed to be hitting on _Saturday_, so watching the forecast for further changes is definitely recommended.

[minnaleigh.livejournal.com]

I think in your position, assuming a day's delay in return would be manageable, I'd go.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

*I* would go because I am highly skilled at winter driving, even in heavy snow and wind. I would even go with a toddler. (I would also pack standard winter survival stuff: blankets, food, water, jumper cables, candles, fix-a-flat, extra hats, mittens, the often forgotten but incredibly useful scarf to wrap around your face, etc. etc.) Our Subaru has anti-lock brakes and all-wheel drive, and heated mirrors and wind-shield wipers and seats. It's optimized for driving in winter weather.

If your car has thin thread on the tires, if slippery roads panic you, if doing the prep to be safe and comfortable even if you slide off the road and have to wait 4 hours for a tow, if any of that sounds like A Bit Too Much, go visit another time.

K.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Emergency kit = good idea. Look at Jim McDonald's entries in "Making Light" for tips there.

Weather, I dunno. We got somewhere between eight inches and a foot of stuff piled on us yesterday, and Cathy said it's going to happen again on Sunday. Then again, we're in Western Massachusetts. I-81 misses us by a large chunk, and I don't know how far this thing will go.

Staying in a motel if need be sounds like a good idea. If that's possible, then add me to the people who think you should try.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Jim Macdonald's Dashing Through the Snow (http://www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009434.html) instructions.