I’m shocked there’s any stretch of interstate closed in Iowa at this point if they’ve been able to open around Mason City. I-80 looks clear from the dot cameras.
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- Thread starter nfrine
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I’m just gonna say it. They don’t make blizzards like they used to. It’s like meteorology has turned into tabloid journalism.
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Blizzard has more to do with wind and visibility than anything else. And both were pretty bad across a lot of the state.
I’m not saying now, it does seem silly for it to still be closed, but last night it was definitely bad.
-5 degree wind chill in central Iowa right now and the forecast is calling for almost 80 degrees on Friday. Wearing my parka today and busting out the Hawaiian shirts by the end of the week.
Gotta love Iowa weather.
Gotta love Iowa weather.
Which is why sand or whatever may not work.
I was thinking the sun would help sooner but that temp wind and strength will take longer.
I don't think I've ever seen them close I80 from Coralville to basically Council Bluffs before? And for what? Reports are that the Des Moines area got about 2 inches snow? I get it that the visibility had to be bad... but are we now going to close I80 every time we get a couple inches of snow and some wind?
Got up this morning about 5 am, I live just outside of CR a bit, started looking at various snow plow cameras and had decided it didn't look too bad and would get ready to go into work... and then shortly after that got a text that work was closed for the day. We never hardly ever close. I think the overreaction caused work to close... if the CEO wakes up and turns on the news and sees I80 is closed across basically the whole state and they are advising against any travel at all.... you probably feel like you have to close.
Just weird... I'm glad work was closed... but are we getting SUPER soft these days or what?
Got up this morning about 5 am, I live just outside of CR a bit, started looking at various snow plow cameras and had decided it didn't look too bad and would get ready to go into work... and then shortly after that got a text that work was closed for the day. We never hardly ever close. I think the overreaction caused work to close... if the CEO wakes up and turns on the news and sees I80 is closed across basically the whole state and they are advising against any travel at all.... you probably feel like you have to close.
Just weird... I'm glad work was closed... but are we getting SUPER soft these days or what?
My guess is the interstate was still closed because of cars in the ditch...trying to get things cleared out before a ton of traffic hits.
There is ice in patches on the ground since it rained before the snow and freezing temps. and it's really cold and windy which is bad for open roads like interstates.
It's harder to drive on roads when there's ice and it's really cold and windy.
My personal opinion is that it is a multitude of factors. I have said on here numerous times that my take on the DOT is that they are quick to downgrade roads and slow to improve in an effort to keep people off of them for safety and ease of cleaning. They also don't want their crews out in extreme conditions.
Also, call it soft or whatever you want. There are a lot of times where there is no need to push it just because you can. We as a society seem to take it as a badge of honor doing/working more than is needed and saying "eh I made it why couldn't they?"
Iowa State Patrol releases crash numbers from this weekend's winter storm
Iowa State Patrol has shared the number of service calls it responded to amid this weekend's winter storm.
www.kaaltv.com
"According to ISP, from 9 a.m. on Sunday to 9 a.m. on Monday, deputies responded to 398 calls for service. These calls included 298 motorist assists and 99 total crashes.
86 of those crashes were property damage crashes while 12 involved injuries, and there was one fatal crash.
The fatal crash happened Sunday night on Hwy 2 near West Grove."
I agree actually... I don't mind if we become "soft" and prioritize safety over risking it just to get to work... I have no issue with that at all. I just think it is in fact a reality, right? Or in my old age am I just resorting to the old... "we used to always go to school and work back in my day... we never closed anything... even when we got 10 inches of snow and blizzard winds!".
Ha! That's the big question.
I will say that I think the wind last night was about as crazy as I've heard for sustained periods of time.
Iowa State Patrol releases crash numbers from this weekend's winter storm
Iowa State Patrol has shared the number of service calls it responded to amid this weekend's winter storm.
"According to ISP, from 9 a.m. on Sunday to 9 a.m. on Monday, deputies responded to 398 calls for service. These calls included 298 motorist assists and 99 total crashes.
86 of those crashes were property damage crashes while 12 involved injuries, and there was one fatal crash.
The fatal crash happened Sunday night on Hwy 2 near West Grove."
I think that’s actually high for a storm.
