Texas Fall/Winter thread!

[dave1949]

Got more robo-calls last night from Alvord School District. School is closed today, too. This is the longest string of closures I can ever remember. They don't want to run buses because the daytime melt/nighttime refreeze makes the county roads very treacherous at 6:00 AM when the buses run. With 4" of sleet-pack on some roads, this event has really had a slow healing process. We don't get this weather normally in the dead of winter, much less in the late fall. It had me actually looking at and pricing a hydraulic angled snowplow yesterday. I'm just not sure I want to spend $3700+ on a nice plow that may sit most of the time.

Sand is your friend. Sand or stone dust. Without seeing your driveway of course, my guess is a plow will either not work, or it will work while tearing up whatever is stuck to the bottom side of that ice and frozen sleet. That would be a mess to be cleaned up in spring.

 

[jinman]

Sand is your friend. Sand or stone dust. Without seeing your driveway of course, my guess is a plow will either not work, or it will work while tearing up whatever is stuck to the bottom side of that ice and frozen sleet. That would be a mess to be cleaned up in spring.

Well, I don't think it could be any worse than the mess I make with my loader bucket and boxblade. When the ice melts, I always have these little gravel piles to grade and pull back onto my driveway, but the boxblade makes short work of that. I still have a 2-3" thick coating of sleet-pack on my parking pad in front of my garage. It was stuck to tightly to the concrete that I could not pull it off with my loader bucket without really scratching the pad's surface. Later today, I'm gonna hit it with hot water using a hose and spray nozzle. If I can get some water under that ice slab, it will just slide right off the pad since it has a 18" drop over it's 24' length.

Sometimes I think I should just hook up my KK tiller and mix/chop the ice with the top layer of gravel on my driveway. It would have the traction I need and with melt the gravel would go back exactly where it came from. There's no worry of washout of the loose gravel since the ice melt is slow. As long as the gravel got repacked before the next heavy rainstorm, it would work well. It's amazing the jobs you can do with a tiller if you use your imagination.

 

[Western]

Jim buying that would be like using a band-aid on a healed cut Probably wont need it again like this until your grandson has grand kids. BUT would be cool to walk out and look at it once in a while:laughing:

 

[Bird]

Denton schools stayed closed again today, but the Lake Dallas schools are open.

 

[txdon]

From the Snow and Ice Management Assoc. to FG19 (check out tip#1)

Tips For Safe Winter Walking

TIP #1: Wear proper footwear. Proper footwear should place the entire foot on the surface of the ground and have visible treads. Avoid a smooth sole and opt for a heavy treaded shoe with a flat bottom.
TIP #2: Accessorize to see and be seen. Wear sunglasses so that you can see in the reflective light of the snow. Also, wear a bright coat or scarf so that drivers can easily see you.
TIP #3: Plan ahead. While walking on snow or ice on sidewalks or in parking lots, walk consciously. Instead of looking down, look up and see where your feet will move next to anticipate ice or an uneven surface. Occasionally scan from left to right to ensure you are not in the way of vehicles or other hazards.
TIP #4: Make sure you can hear. While seeing the environment is important, you also want to be sure you can hear approaching traffic and other noises. Avoid listening to music or engaging in conversation that may prevent you from hearing oncoming traffic or snow removal equipment.
TIP #5: Anticipate ice. Be weary of thin sheets of ice that may appear as wet pavement (black ice). Often ice will appear in the morning, in shady spots or where the sun shines during the day and melted snow refreezes at night.
TIP #6: Walk steps slowly. When walking down steps, be sure to grip handrails firmly and plant your feet securely on each step.
TIP #7: Enter a building carefully. When you get to your destination such as school, work, shopping center, etc., be sure to look at the floor as you enter the building. The floor may be wet with melted snow and ice.
TIP #8: Be careful when you shift your weight. When stepping off a curb or getting into a car, be careful since shifting your weight may cause an imbalance and result in a fall.
TIP #9: Avoid taking shortcuts. Shortcuts are a good idea if you are in a hurry, but may be a bad idea if there is snow and ice on the ground. A shortcut path may be treacherous because it is likely to be located where snow and ice removal is not possible.
TIP #10: Look up. Be careful about what you walk under. Injuries also can result from falling snow/ice as it blows, melts, or breaks away from awnings, buildings, etc.

 

[Western]

Denton schools stayed closed again today, but the Lake Dallas schools are open.

Bird, all the schools here are closed, most since since Friday. No doubt we got much more than Dallas county. Saw the news last night and Dallas streets and yards looked like normal:confused3: Storm must have "trained" over FG, myself and Jim.

 

[jinman]

Bird, all the schools here are closed, most since since Friday. No doubt we got much more than Dallas county. Saw the news last night and Dallas streets and yards looked like normal:confused3: Storm must have "trained" over FG, myself and Jim.

Yep! Don't let FG fool you. She gets all the rain and I get all the ice.:laughing: I just came in from using hot water to make walking paths through the ice on my parking pad. There's no way that I could have got all the ice off the pad since it is 21' x 24'. We just cleared 2' walking paths and put down salt to melt any refreeze overnight. We are parking our vehicles on the gravel I cleared with the tractor, but that 24' gauntlet was very slick and dangerous. I think a big carport is moving up my list rapidly, much faster than my snow plow.

 

[Bird]

Dennis, the main streets and roads are clear around here, but there's still a thick coating of ice on the lawns and roofs of the houses, and streets that have shade also have dangerous spots. It's not quite like Dallas.

 

[Bird]

A good carport would sure be on my priority list, if I were you, Jim. We're one of the few houses in our neighborhood that parks both vehicles inside the garage. Of course I have to careful getting in and out with the ice on the driveway. Yesterday, and again right now, we have some water running out of the rain gutter downspouts on the south side of the house, but the ones on the north side just have a big ice cycle showing; no water moving at all; i.e., no visible thawing on that side of the house.

I went to the University Drive Walmart and Sam's Club before noon today. The driving lanes in the parking lot are mostly OK, but it's hard to find a parking spot in which you would not be stepping out of your vehicle onto ice. And at my age, I'm not sure I could slip, fall, and bounce back up like I used to be able to do.:laughing:

 

[blueriver]

I loaded those hogs to go to the butcher in my trailer that was behind the JD 5520 and backed up to the guy that's hauls them and ran them onto his trailer ... Didn't even attempt to use the 4x4 truck to move around the ice tundra here ... As I parked the trailer I noticed a slight side pass in his truck as he was leaving my drive !!!

Jim .. I vote for the snow plow .. Some thing about owning a piece of equipment that no one close to you has ... Then in several yrs when it's for sale the ad can start with "LIKE NEW NEVER USED"