OMG SNO KAOS - pics or stories?

[beko1987]

Its already melting away! 

[loserone]

We had a little bit more overnight

Mrs L1 was in this car yesterday, it was snow-free.

[yes oui si]

This was snow free as well... 

Ten miles later:

[Out Run]

Going to work shortly. ERMAGHERD.

[task]

@yes oui si Powburn?

Naff all snow in Derbyshire currently

[yes oui si]

16 minutes ago, task said:

@yes oui si Powburn?

Naff all snow in Derbyshire currently

Aye, first civilisation on my commute. Not as weird as Wooler so it gets a lot of love 😂

[task]

I grew up round there so used to go and play that way in the snow when I was younger, although I favored the roads around Rothbury.

I think Wooler is only tied with Amble for weirdness 😆

[yes oui si]

46 minutes ago, task said:

I grew up round there so used to go and play that way in the snow when I was younger, although I favored the roads around Rothbury.

I think Wooler is only tied with Amble for weirdness 😆

I'm South-West of Whittingham. Good places. 

[worldofceri]

In 2018 I was still working for DHL delivering into Network Rail sites.  I had a regular run down to the West Country, via Bristol, Newton Abbot, Plymouth and sometimes as far down as Truro.  I would have a night out somewhere in Cornwall or Devon and then go into Exeter and Taunton on the way back up to Coventry.  I would do this twice a week, ie Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday.  On a Wednesday I would do a one-day run to another part of the country.

Late in February there were reports that snow was going to be affecting the south west much more than usual, as I believe they usually escape the worst of the OMGSNOKAOS.  Although it can be a pain, I've never really been too concerned about heading out in a truck in bad weather; it makes it a bit more of an adventure and - contrary to the moans and protestations of a lot of drivers - you're never under any obligation to take undue risks.  I just take a shovel and pack plenty of food and water.  With a sleeper cab it's even better as you have a night heater and a bed, so getting delayed isn't the end of the world.

The snow started to hit the north of England on a Wednesday and these pictures are from the A6068 between Colne and Keighley.  I was travelling between Stockport and Keighley.

My steed was a DAF26 tonner which, although unladen at this point, wasn't having any bother with traction, although others were and I was held up quite a bit along this section.  In fact, although I would usually get in and out of my collection point in Keighley before needing a tacho break, I had to pull into a bus stop  a few miles short for a '45'.

Here comes MR PLOW!

IMG_0521.MOV

I was a bit concerned that I'd struggle on the way back over the hills as I'd be loaded but, luckily, although there was a bit more snow, there was less traffic, and momentum could be conserved through the steeper sections.  I don't recall any particular issues on the way back to Coventry via Stockport, although the M6 from J15-19 was a flippin' nightmare on the best of days at that time due to the roadworks.

The following day I was brimful of excitement and trepidation at the prospect of heading down to Cornwall in the snow.  And to increase the jeopardy, I found that my load was going to burst the lorry that day due to the volume of orders.  (This was a quirk of the system they were using - Each delivery point would be allocated to a particular run on a particular day or days.  Usually if there was a big order for one site it would balance with smaller-than-average orders for other sites but sometimes there would be big orders for several places and you couldn't physically fit it all on the truck.  Although occasionally it would work the other way and there would be not much going out at all.  I think my record for smallest load was just four pallets - on a 26 tonner - for a two-day run!)

So, I had to have a discussion with my supervisor about what to leave off.  As anyone who has worked in transport knows, these sort of discussions never fall in the driver's favour.  I suggested we leave off the pallets for the furthest-away drops (St Austell and Truro) as, what with the weather forecast, there was a good chance I wouldn't reach them anyway.  This was rejected as not in line with policy (or some bollox), so I left off 4 or 5 pallets for Plymouth, chucked the rest on and headed off.

First handful of stops were in Bristol but, despite the snow further north, they were yet to have any there and it was business as usual.  It wasn't until I reached the bottom end of the M5 that the white stuff started coming down.  It very quickly started coming thick and fast and was settling straight away.  I made it onto the A380 and up Telegraph Hill (which, for those who don't know, is dual carriageway but very steep, particularly southbound) just in time.  I reckon twenty minutes later and I wouldn't have got up.  Still on time at this point, the traffic ground to a crawl as I descended towards Newton Abbot.

Thing is, when we get snow during the day, what happens is, everyone puts their coat on and heads home 'before they get stuck at work' and the schools kick the kids out early, so the pm commute, which is usually spread over a few hours, is compressed into about ten minutes.  And all while the roads are getting slippier by the minute.  Crackers.  After a lengthy delay, I finally turned into the industrial estate, beyond which the Network Rail site is located, to find it practically deserted.  At about 2pm in the afternoon. 

I quickly made the delivery, filled up my water bottles and flask (benefit of working for Network Rail is that tea and coffee are provided foc at all sites - although provision of milk varies) and headed off again, the snow still falling

I had a choice at this point.  I could have rung the office and said I was coming back to base as it wasn't safe to continue.  But the truck wasn't struggling with the conditions thus far, so I decided to press on to Plymouth.  Navigating through the centre of Newton Abbot was a mixed bag.  I would get held up by cars sliding around for a bit, then the road would clear and I'd press on.  By the time I made it up to the A38 I'd climbed several hills without drama.  Not obvious in the pics but I was carrying a Moffet forklift on the back which helps with traction over the drive axle.

Sadly, the A38 was a disaster.  At every slight incline there was a significant delay where 2wd cars failed to proceed and had to be towed up by others in 4wds, or else slithered up at 1mph (3500rpm in first).  There was one BMW 3 series being towed backwards by a helpful chap in a series Land Rover;  Presumably they couldn't find the front towing eye for the BMW!  My DAF simply proceeded forth when asked.  I was loving it!

The above shot was taken at more or less the foot of an incline that gets steadily steeper towards the top.  The queue was inching forwards with every fwd car wheel spinning like mad (does no one think to try second gear?).  Where the central reservation was wide enough a '4x4 lane' was created.

Towards the top of the hill, Highways Agency wombles were aiding and abetting the mayhem by instructing all 2wd cars to line up in lane one whereby they towed them to the top one by one, with the help of a couple of tractors.  This did at least mean the way cleared for those of us that had traction to proceed over the top.

I eventually arrived at the depot in Plymouth around 5:30pm, I think.  About two or three hours later than usual.  I dismounted the Moffet and unloaded perhaps 7 or 8 pallets, all the while with driving sleet in my face!  No pictures as it was dark by this time.  I recall trying to take one but I haven't saved it so must not have come out. 

Usually I would have continued down to Par (near St Austell) and Truro and get at least half way back to Exeter before running out or hours around 7:30pm.  But I called the office and said I wouldn't be attempting it as I was too far behind. At this point I was thinking how stupid it was that I'd left part of the Plymouth delivery at base and brought the Par and Truro orders which I would be taking back again.  I parked up for the night close to the gate so as to not have trouble getting out of the yard in the morning.  

There is a big Sainsbury's nearby and around 8pm I decided to take a wander across to get more provisions (in case I couldn't get back to base the following day).  It was bizarre.  Although the store was open and seemingly fully staffed there was literally about five customers in the place.  Even in the lockdown conditions of this year and last, I've never been in a superstore in such odd circumstances.  I had the place virtually to myself.  It was like a scene from 28 Days Later.

The following morning was equally as eerie, perhaps more so.  I took the minimum amount of 'daily rest' (9 hours) and set off again around 4am on the Friday.  I wouldn't be bothering to attempt the Cornish deliveries because, even with normal weather I might not have enough driving hours left to do them and get back.  I set off into the dark back towards Exeter.  It had long since stopped snowing and there was a 'dry line' through the snow along the A38.  I had the road to myself and progress was good.  After a few miles incongruous, shadowy shapes began to appear in the distance.  I backed off and was ready to stop before I realised they were lorries that had obviously been caught in the mayhem the previous afternoon.  They'd obviously not even been able to get off the road into a layby and had stayed where they were in the main carriageway overnight.  I passed at least a couple of dozen like this and in some places had to sort of slalom around them.  Naturally all the stuck trucks were on the uphill sections so it wasn't dangerous, just very peculiar.

I didn't have any issues getting into the Exeter depot apart from the keypad on the electric gate wasn't working.  Well, it wasn't until I realised I wasn't actually pressing the buttons as it was covered in a glassy layer of frozen sleet.  I had to chip it off before I could enter the access code.

Joining the M5 north of Exeter there was a bit more traffic, but slow going due to there just being a single lane passable at speed.  I reached my next call just outside of Taunton to find I was the first to disturb the snow on the access road.  Although I could go onto the site on my own it has a long drive down the side of the railway and the turning at the end was extremely awkward at the best of times.  Reversing out was possible but would take bloody ages due to the distance.  I failed the delivery and hopped out to take a photo of the wagon in the fresh powder.

 

I drove up to my last call behind the station in Taunton and to my mild surprise the storeman had here turned up for work.  By mid morning I was heading back towards the M5 and home.  The roads around Taunton were very quiet with few people out and about.  I passed a guy stood almost in the middle of the road, whom I thought was taking photographs.  Didn't think much of it at the time but, the following week when I headed back to all the same sites again (the snow having melted) I found out that I'd appeared on the local TV news!  I tried to find the clip online but to no avail.

[Steviemillar]

Fantastic read WoC, thank you for sharing!

[worldofceri]

15 minutes ago, Steviemillar said:

Fantastic read WoC, thank you for sharing!

Thanks man. I found the pics while sorting through photos the other day and thought ‘they’d go well in the SNOKAOS thread’, then somehow turned it into a novel!

[beko1987]

I cba to put the pc on to post the pic but my old Puma became part of the rolling credits for the OMGSNOKHAOS on the itv local news for a day in 2011 or so! 

I was with Amy, pre kids. Bad snow. She had to get down to chinnor from Stokenchurch for work, so we decided to dig the puma out and go have a look at the hills. 

Not a car about (much like Mr ceri's story above) and no cars had gone through so we abandoned the puma at the side of the road, chucked the hazards on and went for a wander. 

Walking back, we see a navara in full on winter spec trundling around. The guy said he was a freelance photographer having some fun and asked if we were OK as he'd seen a car abandoned with the hazards on further up. We told him our story and we laughed and went our ways, we spent most of it sideways, that puma was ace in the snow! 

Then about an hour later my phone lit up and it seems that prior to us meeting he'd taken some B roll of the car shoved front end first into the snowy verge looking abandoned, and sent it off to itv to be used! People recognised the numberplate! Rolled on all day during the local news intro, a 4 second clip of my car

[Sunny Jim]

Llyn Padarn this morning. (The peak on the right is Snowdon).

This is the view from my work. I was glad to be in the company 4x4 this morning, don't think my rwd BMW would have made it!

[loserone]

Went sledging.  Was over my waste in the drifts, up to the top of my wellies otherwise.

[loserone]

On top of the garden gatepost

[Macscrooge]

Today’s snow. All in the last hour and still shitting down. 

[cort1977]

Just drizzle here in Aberdeenshire.  Not too sad because it will be snow in the hills at least.  Might go an have a play in the snow at Glenshee on the weekend.

[SRi05]

Ermagerrrrrd 

[loserone]

On 09/01/2021 at 19:15, loserone said:

Well, all of that melted and it was raining hard at 3am.

 

Now it looks like this:

[iainrcz]

Yeah, it's just raining here.
I want to change a headlight bulb too.
My dad sent us a picture of Sheffield, they've got some snow.

[busmansholiday]

Just sat watching the fun

 

 

[Split_Pin]

A severe frost formed during the DAY  on Tuesday.

Followed by a rise in temperature this morning.

 

[busmansholiday]

Just after I posted the above pics they turned the tranny around. Then the XC attached a 29 foot rope and towed it backwards up the hill. It was OK until he turned right and the rope snagged on the wall. Then it was chaos !!

Have some more pics during some "exercise".

[SteersWithThrottle]

Absolute fecking gridlock in Halifax this morning, due to several reasons:

1. Useless councillors not giving the go ahead to send out the gritters in time

2. Useless drivers who think flooring it is the best way to deal with wheelspin

3. Selfish drivers who block junctions and roundabouts because they are "too special" to wait like everyone else

I was heading to work in Bradford, but by 10:30 (2 1/2 hours in) I'd barely got to Burdock Way roundabout in Halifax and aborted, as my work colleague told me Bradford was just as bad, and everyone else was going home anyway.

Got home at just turned midday, wishing I'd kept the Vectra and not "upgraded" to the Insignia; it's nowhere near as good in the snow!

[busmansholiday]

19 minutes ago, SteersWithThrottle said:

Got home at just turned midday, wishing I'd kept the Vectra and not "upgraded" to the Insignia; it's nowhere near as good in the snow!

Yep, another one now stuck outside my house

[Cento16v]

Its very Snowy here, main roads are closed as its not gritted round here and we live up a private road, up off a dirt track so we've got no chance of going anywhere 😂

Glad I've got a house full of food and beer right now!

[clayts450]

M621 outta Leeds around noon. Sneaky snatched blurry photo as stop-start kicked in. Officer.

To the right is lane 4 - unusable. Lane 1 - also pretty much unusable for most of the M1 north of Sheffield.

Michelin Cross Climate + FTW - once I got past the bimbling cockwombles holding everyone up (trucks an all - vans/trucks were keeping things moving, proper co-operation) , I was steady at 60mph (maximum velocity allowed). I approve.

 

[Macscrooge]

Just been speaking to the butcher in my village (that's his actual job  - he's not a hitman for the mob) who said that the gritter has been past his shop early every morning this week.......except today.  

[1duck]

25 minutes ago, clayts450 said:

M621 outta Leeds around noon. Sneaky snatched blurry photo as stop-start kicked in. Officer.

To the right is lane 4 - unusable. Lane 1 - also pretty much unusable for most of the M1 north of Sheffield.

Michelin Cross Climate + FTW - once I got past the bimbling cockwombles holding everyone up (trucks an all - vans/trucks were keeping things moving, proper co-operation) , I was steady at 60mph (maximum velocity allowed). I approve.

 

I was on that same stretch with similar results, the only difference was 4 mismatched ditch finders of various pedigree FTW. No issues steady at 60 either, think it has more to do with the yaris having such skinny wheels.

We probably passed each other.

[clayts450]

There truly was some shoddy driving on there today, present company excepted.