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I spent over a quarter century in the northeast and the first place I ever saw anyone pick up their windshield wipers in the snow was when down to Virginia. My fellow transplanted northerners and I laugh when we see it. What's the deal?

FireGryphon wrote:

I spent over a quarter century in the northeast and the first place I ever saw anyone pick up their windshield wipers in the snow was when down to Virginia. My fellow transplanted northerners and I laugh when we see it. What's the deal?

Having your wipers freeze onto your windshield isn't especially awesome. I could see it being helpful for ice storms more than big snowfalls like this.

mmmdonuts21: to be honest it stayed pretty warm yesterday so the gusts weren't a big deal (I was out downhill skiing, and was not at all uncomfortable nor abnormally bundled up), and at least where I'm at (wooded, so plenty of windbreak) the wind isn't really hitting too hard today either. Where the wind *was* a significant factor was in the massive amounts of drifting snow. Areas would be plowed clear, but fill right back up with snow.

It was mostly a bunch of snow and a bunch of blowing snow. I'd call the cold pretty much a non-issue. It gets plenty colder here.

I'd expect that both monday night games could end up nationally televised. The league has done that before (Katrina). Watching any game involving the vikings this season isn't really that great, anyway.

mmmmmdonuts21 wrote:

SpotTheCat:

Are you located in Minnesota where they are getting pummeled with snow? I don't even want to know how cold it feels with those wind gusts. That is crazy.

I am sad the game is being postponed between the Giants and Vikings and I probably won't get to see it tomorrow (if its played tommorow) because of the TV restrictions most likely put on the game because of MNF.

I am, about 10 minutes from downtown Minneapolis. We got 19 inches or so.

Also, the high today is 3 degrees F, at least the wind has died down substantially.

FireGryphon wrote:

I spent over a quarter century in the northeast and the first place I ever saw anyone pick up their windshield wipers in the snow was when down to Virginia. My fellow transplanted northerners and I laugh when we see it. What's the deal?

It makes scraping the windshield a lot easier. It's more useful when the blades would get frozen to the glass, but it still helps to get the snow out of the space below the wiper rest. I'm going to go dig these two cars out now The mazda looks particularly difficult.

They've moved the Vikings game to Ford field in Detroit, 7:20 PM Monday kickoff.

If you didn't see the video of the collapse on Fox, I just saw it on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoDOpGqcEPQ

SpotTheCat wrote:

It makes scraping the windshield a lot easier. It's more useful when the blades would get frozen to the glass, but it still helps to get the snow out of the space below the wiper rest. I'm going to go dig these two cars out now The mazda looks particularly difficult.

Yeah, I understand why it's done. It's just odd that I never saw it before; I lived in heavily snowed areas, and only started seeing people do it down south where winter is nowhere near as severe.

This week is supposed to be a bit colder. NoVa probably won't get substantial snow, but it might be pretty.

FireGryphon wrote:

SpotTheCat wrote:

It makes scraping the windshield a lot easier. It's more useful when the blades would get frozen to the glass, but it still helps to get the snow out of the space below the wiper rest. I'm going to go dig these two cars out now The mazda looks particularly difficult.

Yeah, I understand why it's done. It's just odd that I never saw it before; I lived in heavily snowed areas, and only started seeing people do it down south where winter is nowhere near as severe.

This week is supposed to be a bit colder. NoVa probably won't get substantial snow, but it might be pretty.

People do it here, too.

I don't, because all that has to happen is for the wind to pick up, or someone to walk past your car carrying an awkward package, and snap your wiper to the windshield backwards. Now you have yourself a much worse problem than a replacement wiper blade.

OK since this thread has kinda turned into a winter cars thread anyway, something that worries me when this weather starts to happen and I'm not sure if it's a concern or not....

I have an '03 S10 with a 4.6 and 4x4, along with all the factory off road stuff (meatier tires, higher suspension, etc). And when weather gets snowy I tend to just throw it into 4WD and leave it until the roads are mostly dry, or the truck starts 'walking' when I try and turn it sharply. Now I know that driving around on dry pavement with the front axle engaged is an excellent way to wear out the transfer case, my question is how careful should I be if I'm worried about long-term wear? Should I instead try to keep the front wheels unlocked unless I *really* need it, or is it not really even that big of a deal?

It sure comes in handy when there is even a small amount of snow or slush on the ground, as the truck is pretty light on the rear axle, so it has pretty terrible handling with only 2 wheel drive.

What does the owner's manual say about the duty cycle of the transfer case?

Captain Ned wrote:

What does the owner's manual say about the duty cycle of the transfer case?

That's one reason I'm in the dark, the truck never came with an owners manual.

ludi wrote:

FireGryphon wrote:

SpotTheCat wrote:

It makes scraping the windshield a lot easier. It's more useful when the blades would get frozen to the glass, but it still helps to get the snow out of the space below the wiper rest. I'm going to go dig these two cars out now The mazda looks particularly difficult.

Yeah, I understand why it's done. It's just odd that I never saw it before; I lived in heavily snowed areas, and only started seeing people do it down south where winter is nowhere near as severe.

This week is supposed to be a bit colder. NoVa probably won't get substantial snow, but it might be pretty.

People do it here, too.

I don't, because all that has to happen is for the wind to pick up, or someone to walk past your car carrying an awkward package, and snap your wiper to the windshield backwards. Now you have yourself a much worse problem than a replacement wiper blade.

Another thing that tends to happen when you leave them up like that is that ice will build up in the joint so that when you try putting them back down to drive, you end up bending the joint, and when that happens, your wipers become much less effective because there isn't enough contact with the windshield. You'll end up with a lot more streaking and missed areas.

You are much better off buying a good pair of winter blades and leaving them down. Sure, they might freeze to the window once in a while, but that's a minute or two of extra scraping versus replacing the entire arm.

SuperSpy wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

What does the owner's manual say about the duty cycle of the transfer case?

That's one reason I'm in the dark, the truck never came with an owners manual.

I found one online and it doesn't say anything about distance or speed limits in 4WD.

Captain Ned wrote:

I found one online and it doesn't say anything about distance or speed limits in 4WD.

Yeah the one I found just said something to the extent of "Don't drive with 4WD on dry pavement"

PerfectCr wrote:

Supposed to be 28 degrees in ORLANDO, FL tonight!!

I would love 28 degrees for an overnight low.

oh, what 1,200 miles will do for your perspective.

SuperSpy wrote:

Yeah the one I found just said something to the extent of "Don't drive with 4WD on dry pavement"

Given my experiences with a 1960 Willys Jeep CJ-5 and a 1978 AMC Jeep CJ-5, I'd honor that with modern transfer cases.

The 1960 Willys confused the hell out of anyone who ever sat in the passenger seat. Instead of the modern-era single-lever control for 2H, 4H, N, and 4L, the Willys had a 3-lever design. There was a floor-mounted 3-speed tranny, an intermediate-sized lever that solely controlled 2WD/4WD, and a third stubby lever that controlled hi/low range. In the Willys it was possible to engage low range without engaging 4WD. Given the extreme lack of grunt available from the Go-Devil I4 (the oil cloud that always followed me might have had something to do with the lack of grunt), shifting into low range was common on steep hills. The best part of the Willys was that its 10-gallon gas tank sat directly under the driver's seat. I could pull up to the pump and refuel without ever leaving my seat. Of course, the need to throw another couple quarts of oil in the motor meant I had to get off my duff. No matter how far I drove that beastie in 4WD on pavement, I could always just flick the 2/4 lever back into 2WD with no issues.

The '78 AMC, OTOH, was an absolute piece de merde. The engine was OK (AMC/GM 258ci I6, modern UPS truck motor) but the single-lever transfer case was an abomination. 4WD was simply impossible on dry pavement because you could hear the drivetrain binding up. Even in muddy slop I would have to drive in reverse for at least a quarter-mile to take out enough of the binding to slide the lever back into 2WD. My dad had the transfer case rebuilt several times but the issue never went away. The '78 took me many places but I know in my heart that the '60, despite its asthmatic engine and deep body/frame rust (there was a stack of wood between the driver's floor pan and frame wedging the body up so the clutch pedal didn't bind in its hole) would take me further.

I am glad for the improvements in automobiles in the last 40 years.

SpotTheCat wrote:

I am glad for the improvements in automobiles in the last 40 years.

As am I. You haven't lived until you find yourself way out in the woods in the '60 Willys when you hit a bump just right and the wood shoring between the frame & body spills out and the clutch is hard bound in the floor pan hole. Thankfully, I had a co-pilot that day. I crawled under the driver's side floor pan on my hands & knees and raised my back up against the floor pan. Once the co-pilot had all the shims reassembled into a coherent stack, I lifted the body pan with a back lift until he could shove the shims back between the frame & body. We then went about our merry way with no issues.

If it happened today, I'd have used the cordless Sawzall to make a much bigger hole for the clutch pedal.

My 1994 mazda protege was the pinnacle of reliability. It didn't have anything to break! It was a simple motor, transmission, and interior (and got 30mpg). It was great until I hit a dog and damaged a wheel bearing at 140,000 miles.

Also, at 125hp and 2,100 pounds, it was a lot quicker than my 2005 civic at 127hp and 2,800 pounds.

Captain Ned wrote:

The 1960 Willys confused the hell out of anyone who ever sat in the passenger seat. Instead of the modern-era single-lever control for 2H, 4H, N, and 4L, the Willys had a 3-lever design. There was a floor-mounted 3-speed tranny, an intermediate-sized lever that solely controlled 2WD/4WD, and a third stubby lever that controlled hi/low range. In the Willys it was possible to engage low range without engaging 4WD.

Sounds like the old Land Rovers with their black, red and yellow gear levers. I was on a scuba trip and we brought an old Landy with a trailer down a steep ramp on to the beach with all the tanks and weight belts. At the end of the day, the Landy's owner is busy fixing something else so he tells one of the girls to just drive it off. She managed to get it in to 1st gear low ratio and only 2 wheel drive. The Landy starts off up the steep ramp and gets about 1/4 of the way up when there was a sickening noise and then it started rolling back down - it had put out so much torque that it actually twisted off the end of the driveshaft. We drove it around for a few days in 4 wheel drive until we could get hold of a replacement driveshaft.

Ahhh yes, designing cars with low budgets and no CAD.

This winter is going to go down as the mildest in years if it keeps going at this rate. Better than half of my lawn has no snow on it and when I left for work yesterday morning it was 45 degrees I got the gas bill today and the total was 100 bucks for the exact same billing period a year ago the bill was 150.

It was ridiculously cold today and yesterday, in the low 20's max, just after the sun went down. It was a bitter cold that felt colder than last year during the blizzard months. I think for the first time since I moved to Virginia I had to wear three layers under my jacket. I'm not complaining, though. I like the cold weather, but I'd like a few feet snow to come along with it.

FireGryphon wrote:

I think for the first time since I moved to Virginia I had to wear three layers under my jacket. I'm not complaining, though. I like the cold weather, but I'd like a few feet snow to come along with it.

Not to mention that the wind has been pushing 30 mph for the past two days. Wind chill has us down into the single digits. My wood stove is working overtime and I didn't get nearly as much wood stocked this fall as I had hoped.

I'm waiting for a break in the weather. All I need is one weekend in the 40s and I'll rent a truck to pick up enough firewood to keep me the rest of the winter.

46 degrees with thunderstorms here outside Chicago. Totally bizarre weather for New Years Eve. And this comes on top of one of the snowiest Decembers on record...

Currently a few miles outside of Portland, Oregon. Mixed rain and frost, depending on the day. Snow in the Mt. Hood recreation area was excellent, and we had a rare clear day for cross country skiing.

just brew it! wrote:

46 degrees with thunderstorms here outside Chicago. Totally bizarre weather for New Years Eve. And this comes on top of one of the snowiest Decembers on record...

It got up to 68 in Cincinnati yesterday afternoon. With snow still on the ground, after a near-record December
Anyone already not drowning in anecdotal evidence that our climate is destabilized will be hard put to ignore this.

13 degrees below zero this morning in Midvale, Idaho. Miraculously my diesel truck started this morning without any problems.

Snow on Christmas and now my birthday too. Some winter so far here in NE Georgia!

We have ~7 inches of snow on the ground with sleet coming down on top. It's likely to turn to freezing rain the later we get in the day. Not good.

I haven't seen this much snow in these parts in my parts for a long time, hardly a break in temps too. It's probably been averaging 0-10 degrees the past few months.

It's starting to drive me a little insane, cabin fever is setting in. I spend half my time shoveling and the other half stuck inside the house and it's driving me mad.

dustyjamessutton wrote:

13 degrees below zero this morning in Midvale, Idaho. Miraculously my diesel truck started this morning without any problems.

Use your block heater!