FRC Blogged - Two Feet of Snow?

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by Undertones

That kind of snow is not unusual here in Alberta. I find geographic cultural differences amusing.

Well, maybe it's not unusual in Banff or even Canmore... but in Calgary? C'mon... you guys actually have to build to a lower snow load than we do in Vancouver. (Speaking of which, the flowers are coming up nicely, thank you for asking. )

Look down this page for Calgary's record snowfalls... 48cm fell in one day, once... back in 1981.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/sta...31093/caab0049

Those teams back east get walloped every couple of years. But at least they have FRC regionals within 1,000km of their home school without having to start their own!

Jason

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by fb39ca4

Our team in the Northwest lost a week last year from snow as well.

While our team in the NorthWEsT got extra build time due to the snow last year They did not close the High School even though there were no classesl. So people came in and worked and worked and worked. Many of us were w/o power at home so going to school with power and heat was preferred to staying at home in the dark and cold. That was the reason that we were able to have more build time since some of the schools in the district were w/o power the district chose to not have classes at any school until the roads to all the schools were open and all had power.

[Donut]

Originally Posted by Undertones

That kind of snow is not unusual here in Alberta. I find geographic cultural differences amusing.

As do I. I distinctly remember a time in college in Tucson, AZ where it snowed for about 20 minutes in January; the school district called an emergency meeting and was going to cancel classes if any of the snow didn't melt (it did, to the dismay of all the desert kids who have never seen a snow day). Of course I had never heard of classes being canceled for heat until I moved out of state either, and I've seen it happen multiple times here in Iowa. Something about buildings not having air conditioning or passive cooling systems, I didn't know they made buildings like that

I hope all the teams snowed in stay safe and can finish build season without problems. Losing close to a week is a killer to some I'm sure.

[Racer26]

Still no access to school? We got hammered here on Friday like most of the northeastern US, but our roads are clear and its business as usual here now. Heck, by saturday afternoon it wasn't too bad... my driveway does have a ~4ft wall of snow at the edges though...

[Taylor]

When we get a big snowstorm up here in New Hampshire, we buckle down for the blizzard and wait it out. We make sure our friends and families are safe, and offer support to those who aren’t. And when the snow stops, we take out our shovels and get to work. Whether it’s two inches or two feet of snow, it’s amazing how quickly a few friends working together can clear a big path.

This was my favorite part of the blog. Applicable to build season, competition season, offseason, life.

[Hallry]

North-easterners: We're might be getting more snow this weekend... http://www.accuweather.com/en/weathe...ential/5997763

[dag0620]

Originally Posted by Hallry

North-easterners: We're might be getting more snow this weekend... http://www.accuweather.com/en/weathe...ential/5997763

This is a huge worry right now, for both build time as well as Week 0 events.

Fingers Crossed it doesn't put us back any further.

[Hallry]

Originally Posted by dag0620

This is a huge worry right now, for both build time as well as Week 0 events.

Fingers Crossed it doesn't put us back any further.

And it looks like this won't be the end of it. Quoting the article,

A storm has a chance to take a sharp enough left turn up the East Coast this weekend, perhaps affecting the U.S. and neighboring Canada. The storm would be part of a series of potentially major weather events through the end of February.

Emphasis mine.

Here are the two paths it may take. Everyone better cross their fingers for the better scenario...

[dsalvucci]

Team 23 hasn't been able to work on our robot since Thursday night. Plymouth happened to be one of the hardest hit areas (just our luck this year) and our schools didn't even have power until I believe yesterday. It looks like we will finally be allowed back in tomorrow though!

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Undertones

That kind of snow is not unusual here in Alberta. I find geographic cultural differences amusing.

It wasn't the quantity of the snow that is still causing problems, but the rate at which it accumulated. Most places in the northeast US can easily handle 2ft blizzards and have all roads passable within a day, so long as the snowfall rate stays under 1-2" per hour (normally in the northeast 2" per hour is considered exceptionally heavy snowfall rate). The problem this storm caused is that at the peak, it was snowing more than 6" per hour.

So instead of the plow trucks being able to continuously plow a few inches of snow off the roads throughout the storm, they were overwhelmed quickly to the point where the snow is literally too deep to plow. At that point you need rotary plows (basically massive snow blowers) or construction equipment (such as backhoes) to clear roads, both of which are significantly slower than plowing.

I too once laughed at how the southern US handles snow, until I witnessed it firsthand in Texas. With no snowplows, when it actually does snow a few inches, it will soon melt into slush, then refreezes into ice the next night. Then all roads for the next few days will have smooth tire ruts with several inches of jagged, solid ice in between. Changing lanes on the highway wasn't fun.