Snow on the way are you ready for it

VfM4meplse

It's actually very mild this evening. I went for a long walk and finished up at the supermarket with lots of bread and milk which went straight in the freezer. If things get bad then at least I can have comforting tea and toast!

melanzana wrote: »

Where I live, around Christmas 2010 it was a whiteout

Is it really as long as 6 years ago now?

I have vivid memories of (nightmares about) that Saturday because I made a detour to drop a gift off to a friend at around noon before embarking on my 30 mile trip home. Big mistake, who knew the snow could come down so thick and fast? It took 90 minutes to drive the 2 miles to the ungritted A road, and them another 3 hours to complete the journey. I am not usually an unconfident driver but snow really scares me, it didn't help that the route was studded with motorist collisions into trees. I drove with my heart in my mouth, barely daring to touch either the accelerator or the brake. God must have been watching me that day! :A

sillyvixen

My mum was born a few days before Christmas 1946. They lived in the middle of nowhere there were 2 cottages, the vet lived in the cottage next door and they were surrounded by farmland. The snow on the lane was as high as the hedges and the Dr could not get in from the nearest village. My mother was delivered by the vet's wife, who was experienced in helping her husband deliver lambs - but never a baby before.

catznine

I was six years old during the winter of 62/63 and can remember walking to school through the huge snow drifts and the icy snow coming in over the top of my wellies 😳 Once at school we all had to drape our socks over the radiators to dry and wear our plimsoles. Nearby our frozen bottles of milk were placed to thaw out which I loathed and to this day my husband (only one year older) cannot abide milk that has been frozen🙄

I can also remember staying at my grandads house and making patterns on the ice on the inside of the windows. I have never seen a worse winter since not even 2010 ⛄️❄️🌨

We keep a good store of food stuff in mainly because I remember my Mum worrying about keeping us fed but alternative heating would be an issue if the gas went off.

Caterina

I suppose that living in (nearly) inner London has its advantages, snow does not stick quite so much as in rural parts of the country and we are surrounded by shops and supermarkets. In any case, I have a fair stock of food and a woodstove, so a few days of snow would not be a major problem (I hope).

My friend from Poland always looked bemused at the disruption that an inch or two of snow bring to London, schools close, transport is paralysed, she always said how come that in Krakow everything still functions even under a metre of snow? I suppose it is because they are equipped for it, I remember when I lived in Sweden in my late teens, life went on no matter how much snow fell on the ground. It is a matter of prepping, really!

[Deleted User]

I actually have a psychological fear of snow. 1971/72 near kendal, I had to get some emergency medicine for a baby, narrow lane had been snowploughed but a lorry on a bend squashed my cortina, neither of us could stop. It took ages before it left my mind, I can still remember the car crumpling. My guardian angel must have been looking after me because I never had a scratch and the car was a write off

Several times since there have been incidents eg cars sliding backwards down a hill in the dark and to avoid, I had to reverse my trusty beetle backwards on an unlit road, with nothing between the road and a fast river. Cars of all sorts spinning and that sensation of losing traction. Too scary to drive in snow and I don`t need to to these days, so I don`t

Bumblebear

I've lived in a few rural locations (now live on the edge of town, but I work rurally); the first year I moved to "the sticks" my new neighbours asked if I had a 4x4. I said no. They said get one. Lo and behold, it was 2010 and the snow came. My kitchen was giving Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards a run for their money the day it hit, so I got to the nearest town driving across fields and drives because the roads were not passable (having been squished to sheet ice by a "helpful" tractor driver). Before leaving I asked neighbours if they wanted anything, oh no, they always kept a month of meals in a chest freezer! I learnt a lot that year...

Incidentally, once in town, there were few provisions left in the convenience shops - however the greengrocer was devoid of customers and plentifully stocked. I didn't complain!

These days I can do a weighted run or walk far enough to reach a few neighbouring towns so I'm not too worried, more concerned about getting stuck going to and from work!

Serendipitious

GreyQueen wrote: »

Quick Q; for relatively short time intervals, would people recommend wellies over hiking boots for walking in heavy snow, or vice versa?

How short is relatively short?

In winter 2010 I was snowed-in up in the hills in mid Wales from the second week of November. It was 4 miles down steep hills to the nearest shop, no chance of getting out, so a local farmer took orders by phone and went on his tractor getting everyone's essentials. The 'local' shop kept a book of who owed what as the weeks went by and the cash ran low.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve I managed to get a lift by landrover to the nearest town to buy the makings for Xmas dinner. I was only out for 2 hours but contracted chilblains from wearing wellies in the very cold temperatures. This was despite wearing several pairs of socks. I was told afterwards that the wellies were the worst thing to wear in such conditions.

I managed to get my car out at New Year to visit family for a couple of days, but it didn't thaw properly till around mid January.

Worst winter experience ever.

ripplyuk

Bumblebear, it was much the same where I live. Roads were totally impassable and going over the fields was the only way. As the nearest shop was miles away, and with me not owning a 4x4, the only option was on horseback. My trusty, surefooted, 23 year old mare managed it admirably, despite not having any studs in. .

Of course, once I arrived, the shop owner informed me that they hadn't been able to get any deliveries for weeks. The shelves were almost bare. All the bottled water had sold out too. I bought what they had left and ended up eating some very strange meal combinations for a while :rotfl:

GreyQueen

I'd literally be walking for 5 mins up to my workplace on city pavements with my work shoes in a bag to keep them dry. I think hikers vs wellies would indicate wellies if the snow was deep. If I needed to, I could use gaiters over the hikers but tooling up in these would take considerably longer than my walking commute.

I am also within 5 minutes' walk of several small supermarkets and convenience stores, but I know fine well that their delivery lorries come in every morning (see them offloading as I go into work) so any severe disruption would see their JIT stocks run out very quickly.

I have vivid memories of Dec 2010, we had heating engineers running around the city reviving tenants' conked out combi boilers. The condensate pipes had frozen solid, which had caused the boilers to shut down. There wasn't time to un-thaw them and, anyway, they would have re-frozen again shortly, so the engineers were cutting them off with hacksaws and re-starting the boilers.

I recall a fraught convo with a woman in the heating department about there whereabouts of a part required to fix a particular boiler; she told me grimly that they'd have it as soon a lorry could slither down from Scotland (several hundred miles away).:eek:

If you have an ailing boiler, very cold weather will see it working harder and therefore it is likely to fail under the stress.

greenbee

insulating condensate pipes on condensing boilers (not just combis) can help, but if they're position that exposes them to cold weather it won't solve the problem in a really cold snap. Ordinary pipe insulation will do - the thickest stuff you can get to fit. If the gap is small, buy pipe wrap (I have a supply if anyone needs it...;)

Don't forget that if you have an outside tap, ideally it should have an isolation valve and be cut off and drained (and left open). If it isn't, use pipe insulation and bubble wrap to keep it as warm as possible.

If waste pipes freeze, defrost them using salt rather than heat to avoid leaks. Bear in mind that waste pipes are open at both ends, and rarely freeze when full of water (it's usually dripping taps that cause a problem) so shouldn't result in leaks if they are defrosted slowly.

I have neoprene lined wellies as I spend a lot of time wearing them - but even so I really wouldn't want to walk far in them in snow. Walking boots with good socks, thermals under trousers (not jeans, ideally cords) and gaiters would be my choice. Or staying in... I can work from home

I haven't got round to putting winter tyres on yet this year and am due to visit my mother this weekend. I'm not sure that the journey from Hampshire to Norfolk will be a sensible one to make given the forecast, which is a concern as my dad died recently and it's my mother's wedding anniversary this weekend so I really do think she needs the company.