Snow in Scotland

[Tony]

Last real snow I remember having in Glasgow (moved in 1980) was on New Year's Eve/Day around 1977 give or take a year.

Most Americans I talk to tend to think of Scotland as a very cold place with tons of snow every winter and are always shocked that it's not the case - at least for the Central belt. We get worse winter weather here in Philly and we almost get used to it. The City more or less shuts down at more than 6 inches.
People to the North or West of here would laugh at our attempts to cope. People to the South would marvel. All depends on what you're used to.

Good luck over there.

[Creeker]

I was in Ireland last year during, what I were told, was the first blizzard and ice storm in twenty-five years. And with very few plows and salt/gravel trucks it's treacherous. Just walking on the street was an ordeal. Good luck.

[skauwt]

My thoughts are with you. The weather you're experiencing are quite common here in Norway. But we vikings are used to it and we have the equipment to deal with weather like this. Without the equipment and warm clothing we would have the same problems you have now.
Hang in there, skål!

your right about equipment ,
the ploughs and gritters are not any good at any weather below -5 `c here and with the condition's being so cold the ploughs are just smoothing the road making the ice worse

i personally think the government should be looking to the nordic countries for advice as to what to do with the roads and use that as a example ..but at the moment its more a trial and error phase with local councils doing different things

thankfully folk are slowly adjusting here to the conditions but its not going away anytime in the next week or so from what the reports say

[wildrover]

Well, all I can say about an "at all costs" attitude is that you guys better have the wallet to back it up, so to speak. I feel for you guys...I grew up in worse winters than that, and I drive a very well-built vehicle with snow-appropriate tires, so it's always expected that I'll be at work regardless the weather--I'd be the one guy in all of Scotland at the office.

Snow isn't a big deal, unless it's in an area unused to it. A simple lack of snow tires means modern society comes to a standstill...38 miles is nothing in a car, but may as well be on the moon if you're going by foot in the snow, and even in cultures where snow is common, some (like Denver) can't ever seem to get it right, and 38 miles in falling snow on a work day may as well be a thousand due to the inexplicable lack of proper equipment on personal vehicles in wintertime in an area that expects snow.

Ice, now that's a mess. An ice storm will shut down a city until it melts off.

Good luck, everyone, and stay safe...indoors is the best place to be, if you're not prepared for it.

You have got to do something about that "at all costs" attitude before somebody gets handed the bill!

[EagleJCS]

Sounds like it's time to break out the Zamboni's. If the plows are turning the roads into skating rinks, may as well have smooth ice to skate on.

[Pleater]

One thing which causes real trouble, even when there was only 6 inches of snow if it were all laid evenly, is that the wind blows it into drifts, so you might have half a mile of almost clear road, then a snowdrift several feet deep and many yards long.It takes a lot of effort to clear, and takes only a few hours to reform even if it doesn't snow again, though often it does.I used to own a house on a corner and the only time there was any significant amount of snow I could not see out of the window or get out of the front door as the wind piled up the snow to within a foot of the tops of them. The back was completely clear, which was a good thing as it was the only way in or out for almost a week.Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Lallans]

You Brits having trouble with ploughing and gritting should pay attention to a recent Canadian news story: the City of Montreal is currently experimenting with the waste byproduct from the processing of sugar beets to melt snow and ice. Apparently they've noticed that the stuff doesn't freeze right down to -30 degrees and the hope is it'll be a better alternative to our current practice of salting with calcium chloride.

I remember seeing fields and fields of the things in the UK; it may be time to get mashing....