Free State Wyoming Forum
Wyoming Research and Information => General Wyoming Living Information => Topic started by: FDNYLiberty on December 27, 2010, 05:26:40 PM
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Just being hit with over 2 feet of snow here in New York, one question that many folks (like myself) ask when they discuss Wyoming as a possible relocation / retirement area is, "Its to damn cold! And what about all that snow?"
It is my guess that most folks in the more rural arreas that have long driveways that lead to main roads have snow plows on 4X4 pickup trucks. Am I correct? If so, does anyone have any idea what a pickup truck snowplow hitch and snowplow cost? I figure that I would need one for my PU truck, since I am not about to use a shovel or snow blower on a mile long driveway.
If you are in a town center, I presume that roads are maintained/plowed by county workers?
Statewide / countywide, how well are the main roads maintained after a big snowfall?
Any "tips" on how or what you do to manage your snow removal (other than replying "I use a big shovel") would be appreciated.
This is a major consideration for many folks out there considering WY as a home.
Thanks.
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What snow? We've got lots of icy ruts all around town (Rock Springs) that make intersections very entertaining. Eastern snow makes for different driving than Western snow. Snow combined with the wind makes road surfaces almost always lumpy and icy, but since it's typically a dry snow, it's not usually as difficult/slippery to drive on as out East.
As far as road maintenance goes, I saw two snow plows on I-80 last week, but other than that I haven't seen much road maintenance going on around here. I-80 is pretty miserable right now... all the way up to the Utah line, then the roads are perfectly clean. It's like magic! So, the roads aren't great but all I have is a minivan with all-season tires. I've got chains in the back, but I haven't used them yet.
I have to shovel our porch, because it's on the side of the house where the snow drifts pile up, but other than that, there's been no need to shovel and our street (outside town, in the county) hasn't seen a plow yet. I hear that we're still in for the worst in the next few months, though.
One thing I would recommend is a block heater. Even here in SW Wyo, my car has been pretty sluggish getting started recently.
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The snow is not a problem. It doesent really matter what type of car you have as long as you are careful Front wheel drive is better than rear wheel drive but not necessary. Dont use cruise control.
Ive never owned a 4x4 in Wyoming.
Jeff. I was in Rock springs the other day and it was miserable... From the freeway to Wallmart there was 3 seperate wrecks.
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People here crash their cars a lot! I can't believe how many wrecks I've witnessed just driving the few miles from home to work recently. The owner of Ammo Shack told me it's all the people from sunnier states who don't know how to handle the snow, but I'm not sure... seems most people can't handle it when it's slippery.
Wait, you were in town??? :'(
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My snow plow for my 4x4 cost $5K installed. It's got a 7' blade.
It's my lifeline out here in the boondocks. I have 2 miles of winding steep gravel road to plow.
I also keep all 4 tires chained up with 500lbs of sandbags at the tailgate.
The truck has a 5.9L engine. When the snow gets heavy or deep I have to keep it in 4 low range
A 2WD vehicle might be fine if you live in a place where the roads are maintained for you, but not here. I put my front wheel drive van away for the whole winter season. Just last week even the AWD SUV wouldn't go up the big hill out of here and neighbor had to give me a tug with his tractor.
Depends on where you live and what you do. If you live in a place where the roads are plowed you won't notice much difference between any other place and here.
Mac
Ps. I also have a smaller twin stage snow blower for around the house/garage.
The highways are maintained very well. They do a great job of plowing and sanding the roads. They even put sand on our county gravel road last week after warm spell had caused it to melt and refreeze.
We get much more snow here in the Black Hills than places like Newcastle or Gillette get. Microclimate means everything here.
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A lot of folks who live >1/2 mile from a maintained county road, blade out a parking area @ the county road and snowmobile in & out after mid-December...no shoveling or plowing and lots of fun commuting....FWIW we have always had neighbors who loved plowing and keeping our drives & roads open.
MANUMIT
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First winter I was here the county plowed the road frequently, most times when I saw no need... but what did I know? The last two winters we seldom ever see a plow, but more important, we seldom see them spreading sand either. When they do plow, they never get down past the ice, and in some places that layer of ice lasts all winter. We have to be VERY careful and watch for those places, believe me!
I'm doing pretty good driving in the snow now, but when the roads are seriously icy Mama simply has to stay home. Never did go in much for skating. :)
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Thanks MML and MFN! That is objective and helpul information. Seems that road plowing is spotty out there. Thats MFN fro the info on the snowplow costs.
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I should add that the roads and streets are still fairly well plowed and sanded in town and on the highways, minus the trouble spots, but it doesn't happen much out here in the hills. You either have to deal with it or stay home. I'm fortunate to be able to stay home when necessary.
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I lost count several years ago how many times I nearly got Tboned by some moron on a cell phone or texting and hitting their brakes at the last minute in an intersection! Leave early, pay close attention, drive slower than you normally do and don't do anything suddenly, that includes turns. One of my favorite stunts is to wait at the Fly Store engine running, hot coffee and follow a snowplow up to the ski area. Embrace the cold, wind and snow. Make fun out of it and you'll be real happy here.
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Expecting a major snowstorm though here the next two days. When the weather forecast says 100% precipitation, you got to figure they mean business. :) Will go to the store this morning and will be all set.
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No snow currently in Casper. And if there were, the 65 MPH gusts we're having right now would likely blow it elsewhere!
;D ~W~
MWD
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Expecting a major snowstorm though here the next two days. When the weather forecast says 100% precipitation, you got to figure they mean business. :) Will go to the store this morning and will be all set.
that same storm is supposed to bring snow to some areas of Phoenix. Should be exciting to watch the car wrecks since no one here knows how to drive in the rain I can only imagine how they'll deal with snow.
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I was on the East Coast for that storm...not fun, but hey, it's the Northeast in December! What do people expect!?!
Best footage was this scene from Brooklyn...where a city worker is trying to free a stuck loader and they just blatantly destroy an SUV in the process.
I'd turn off the sound...the guy filming is a tad annoying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_r-jO3lKE
Needless to say, I'm glad to be back in WY!
EDIT: In order to stay on topic, let me add that having studded snow tires here is a big help. ;-)
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I stay off the roads until the ice evaporates... Believeing discretion is the better part of valor. I let the expert drivers have the road.
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FDNYLiberty - I grew up near Buffalo, New York. I survived the blizzard of '76. I feel for ya, watching your weather this week on the news.
No snow yet in Casper, but we did have a 90 MPH gust today that blew over a tractor trailer on Outer Drive (the road at the base of Casper Mountain.)
MWD
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FDNYLiberty - I grew up near Buffalo, New York. I survived the blizzard of '76. I feel for ya, watching your weather this week on the news.
No snow yet in Casper, but we did have a 90 MPH gust today that blew over a tractor trailer on Outer Drive (the road at the base of Casper Mountain.)
MWD
BUFFALO??? Geez, it's cold and snowy up there! Our latest blast of snow in NY City is like a "dusting" compared to what I know about Buffalo snowstorms.
It was always my intention when I retired to take a snow shovel and place it on the hood of my car and start driving. The first place that someone would stop me and ask, "What's that for?" would indicate to me that this would be the place I should live. Now that I've decided on WY, (a god decision) I better just bring a few more shovels with me! :D
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Now that I've decided on WY, (a god decision) I better just bring a few more shovels with me! :D
Buy a place up on a hill like mine. 90% of the snow blows away! Of course, where it blows TO can be a problem if it drifts in the low place in the road toward town. LOL But the county plow eventually takes care of that anyway. Of course, I have about all I can do to keep my little deck shoveled sometimes. It's all relative. :)
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Washakie, Fremont, Hot Springs and Natrona county are due to enjoy howling winds and snow today. God bless 'em... They are a tough and resiliant bunch who revel in battling the elements. Go forth I say! Go forth and conquer.
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At my place this morning, temperature is zero, no wind and only a light dusting of powder snow. Location, location, location. Cody frequently gets hammered by high winds, but once I'm a few miles south of that fair city, the wind subsides. Location, location, location.
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It's been snowing since I got up at 4AM, at least. About an inch so far, and it's supposed to snow all day today and tonight, with more now and again until at least Saturday AM. Supposed to have wind too, but none so far. Temp to drop to 5 by late afternoon, and a projected low of -5 tonight. Once it clears off, we might get some real cold.
Got my woolly socks on and hot coffee handy... plenty of firewood inside and lots to read. I'll be fine as long as the lights stay on, and not too bad off if they don't.
Just glad I don't have to drive anywhere to work. Not that it would be happening right now anyway. :) But I say a prayer for those who must.
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Been out in the 10 degrees with driving snow and 25 mph wind since midnight....other than occasional coffee/warm-up breaks...not bad if you dress for it and TAKE YOUR TIME. Supposed to get worse (possibly another 20-30 degrees colder) between now & Sunday morning....should be interesting.
Does a great job separating wheat from chaff.... ;)
MANUMIT
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Wind coming up now, and snowing harder than ever. This looks like it's going to be a big one.
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I am most definitely snowed-in and it's still coming down. Hmmm... maybe I'll get out of going to work tomorrow 8)
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We hardly ever get any weather in Lingle... :'(
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We hardly ever get any weather in Lingle
Lingle? I hear it's small enough to fit between the snowflakes. Someone said that with a direct hit it would only take 2 1/2 snowflakes to cover the whole town...
(We lived just OUTSIDE of a town half as big as Lingle for over 20 years. LOL, they claimed our yard was too big to fit in the city limits.)
I love being out in the sticks.
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All the Latinos in Wyoming moved to Torrington. They heard it was by Lingle. ;D ::)
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All the Latinos in Wyoming moved to Torrington. They heard it was by Lingle. ;D ::)
Oh Shawn, that's terrible. Ask Brandy to smack you right now! LOL
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Actually I think the Ghost of Moses hangs out here. There can be the worst weather (rain/show/hail/plagues of locusts) coming toward Lingle and it will part right around us, missing us and Torrington almost completely.... before recombining right over the top of Scottsbluff...(there be Egyptians I think... ;) )
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Mama is most definitely snowbound this morning. I have no idea how much snow we've gotten because most of it blows away, but the road and all the fields below me look like they've got quite a good cover. Nothing moving on the roads at all so far that I can see and I'm hearing no trains either! As quiet as it usually is here, this is eerie.
Still snowing lightly, but only light wind. Never did get the wind predicted, for which I'm grateful. -1 degrees outside this morning at daybreak, now up to about +1, looking for a high of 4 per the forecast. 100% precipitation called for today.
They had a 100 vehicle pileup in North Dakota, I read. They've got half the roads shut down and are telling folks just to stay home. Guess we are doing pretty well.
I'm staying home regardless. LOL
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20, 40 mile an hour winds, -16 ambient air temperature, snowing sideways. Laramie is pretty much shut down. I 80 closed as most other roads are. This is a nice one. >:D
I realize most of think I'm nuts but I absolutly love this! There's just something really beautiful about winter and snow. I get to resume skiing next week too >:D
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At least the temp is decent this AM. 2 degrees and lightly windy. Good snowshoveling weather. Not much real snow though. A little drifting to 6" in spots but otherwise BOOOORRRIINGGG...
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Shortly after I wrote that there was no wind... I walked out to the kitchen and watched a mini-blizzard out the back windows! Not really bad, of course, but the gusts pick up a lot of fine snow and I sure wouldn't want to be out in it.
Up to almost 4 degrees outside now, but a comfortable 60 in here. Turned a heater off. LOL
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Mama is most definitely snowbound this morning.
Mama!
A perfect day for hot soup, hot chocolate and whipcream by the fire (or maybe a single malt). If I were close I'd throw on the snowshoes and head over with the cocoa :-* (what is this symbol? is it a face blowing a kiss? That'll do.)
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Mama!
A perfect day for hot soup, hot chocolate and whipcream by the fire (or maybe a single malt). If I were close I'd throw on the snowshoes and head over with the cocoa :-* (what is this symbol? is it a face blowing a kiss? That'll do.)
Sure wish you could come!! We'd have a ball. LOL Just sitting here working at my new book, going out into the main room occasionally to stoke the fire. It seems to eat up the firewood faster when the wind blows, for some reason. I baked half a chicken, red potatoes and yams for lunch and shared a bit with the old hound. The soup will be ready for supper tonight. Thick tomato, with a nice grilled cheese sandwich of my home made wheat bread. Almost makes me hungry already!
I'm all ready to indulge myself with a wee dram of Glenlivet just before bedtime, in honor of the new year. But I don't stay up for midnight. Might wake up about then, but might not. It will come one way or another. :)
And I like this smiley too! :-*
Come by any time!
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It is my guess that most folks in the more rural arreas that have long driveways that lead to main roads have snow plows on 4X4 pickup trucks. Am I correct?
Not necessarily.
(http://www.ito-germany.com/gallery/Baumaschinenbilder-Raupentransporter-Takeuchi-TCR-50-dumper/Takeuchi_TCR_50.jpg)
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I had a VW bug with a snowplow on it. :D worked great.
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We don't have a lot of snow even now, but it isn't melting between storms as it always has since I've been here. Most of the folks I've talked to here say they've never seen it like this, or the older ones say it's not been like this for a very long time. The county road by my place has been plowed exactly once so far this season, and they don't even try to get down below the ice. They don't spread sand on this road either, so I can't drive on it. Thank God for my good neighbors. :)
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Warning: Necro-post
Sounds like y'alls winters are something else. I haven't experienced anything like that since I was 9yrs old and living in Grand Forks, ND.
Also:
but a comfortable 60 in here. Turned a heater off. LOL
I'm bundling up at 72... lol