OMG SNO KAOS - pics or stories?

[Out Run]

Mare snar in DH Fowa.

Looking forward to the drive to work.

 

[Rustybullethole]

Schools shut round here. Means I can nick the focus and save on ulez charge today so that’s a result. No buses running up my hill and only a few cars though have driven in worse. Still doubt the van would make it up the drive though no need to find out. 

[CaptainBoom]

I got a phone call from the governor at work last night. ‘Go and clear the car park ready for work in the morning, should only take you an hour’. Trudged down there and made a statement:

[Spurious]

Fabulous cloud inversion at Standedge this morning. 

 

[New POD]

It rained on Saturday night. Then temp dropped to minus something or other. I could not open the doors of my Astra. I had to get in via the boot. Took me 10 mins to clear the front window with scrapper as the ice was 10 mm thick in places.  My screen wash is a mix of neat -20 from Costco and ready to use good to - 5 gingerbread smelling Tesco shite. 

Obviously it was frozen. The blades were solid to the screen. I made sure I released them before starting the car. 

Last night I parked on the shared driveway next to the house where 2 boilers pump out warm air, so I'm hoping for a better start. I'm on lates in Aston so will be heading to the motorway for a 110 mile drive about 10:30. 

Note the car is already turning black and the rear number plate is unreadable.  I'm buggered if I'm cleaning it until the new year.  

I should go an de-ice the wife's car  before i go. 

[New POD]

Went to the beach. That's a view of North Wales in the distance. Honest. 

[Spurious]

Obligatory "SuMMer TyREs are fINE m9"

[rainagain]

-6 here this morning in Fife, not much actual snow just a lot of thick ice. 

[Fat_Pirate]

[grogee]

27 minutes ago, Spurious said:

Obligatory "SuMMer TyREs are fINE m9"

The Crunch of Body Shop Expense

[Rust Collector]

30 minutes ago, Spurious said:

Obligatory "SuMMer TyREs are fINE m9"

See also: 'It doesn't get cold enough to need winter tyres in this country'

[jamescarruthers]

Kind of conflicted. This was never supposed to be out in salt but needs must and it gave me a great big grin to be digging the 480 out at 6:30 and being one of the first out of our winter wonderland village.

 

(C6 broke down at family-in-law’s place so had to go in the 480 and get it ready for transport to the suspension doctors via a car transporter this morning). 

[w00dy]

BMW loses control and spears off the road, yesterday.

 

[andyberg]

3 hours ago, jamescarruthers said:

Kind of conflicted. This was never supposed to be out in salt but needs must and it gave me a great big grin to be digging the 480 out at 6:30 and being one of the first out of our winter wonderland village.

 

(C6 broke down at family-in-law’s place so had to go in the 480 and get it ready for transport to the suspension doctors via a car transporter this morning). 

Beautiful car. I had one years ago, wish I could have another.

[HMC]

Ex wife’s posh shiny  land rover FTP’d (could be the fuel pump) today so I have let her use the written off crashed dog chewed yaris which eagerly started first turn of the key in -7.  I like it’s gritty determination,  which is a bit daft to say but true! 

[Blunderguts]

I live in the bottom of a dip and without fail cars get stuck here. Snow isn't that much of a problem to our weapon of choice.... a Volvo 740 which from a standing start plods up the hill with no problem.

Oh the hilarity of watching an 4wd Audi, in the same conditions, unable to move on the flat! But I mustn't overlook all the other modern cars that cannot climb a slightly slippery hill....

[Rust Collector]

11 minutes ago, Blunderguts said:

Oh the hilarity of watching an 4wd Audi, in the same conditions, unable to move on the flat! But I mustn't overlook all the other modern cars that cannot climb a slightly slippery hill...

I remember driving up Firle Beacon a few years back in my Civic VTi during some snow, near the top on a steeper section I met a modern Volvo AWD estate thing with hazards on, sliding backwards diagonally, with all four wheels doing the traction control dance. All I could do was stop in place and hope he didn’t hit me… he slowly slid past the side of me before gently bumping into the verge and stopping. He Austin Powers’d it around and went back down the hill. I managed to just about get the Civic moving forwards again and drove up to the top.

Behold, atop the beacon we find a selection of the most capable winter vehicles known to man:

[EyesWeldedShut]

Bang on 1,000 feet up here, house is about 3/4 a mile  up from the village which is at 500 feet, single track road, high banks both sides.
Probably Thursday before you'll get anything up here other than a quad (some 4WD may do it but once the road gets packed/iced it's dodgy on the steepest bits).
Keeps out the riff raff

[DavidB]

What is the ice made from this year? I could not scrape it off.

 

[Spurious]

1 minute ago, DavidB said:

What is the ice made from this year? I could not scrape it off.

 

It's just that cold, it's fucking tough stuff. 

[gm]

no windscreen to scrape here ! 

(photo taken last year but I like it - was a bit wheelspinney on the semi slicks  )

[MikeR]

5 hours ago, New POD said:

It rained on Saturday night. Then temp dropped to minus something or other. I could not open the doors of my Astra. I had to get in via the boot. Took me 10 mins to clear the front window with scrapper as the ice was 10 mm thick in places.  My screen wash is a mix of neat -20 from Costco and ready to use good to - 5 gingerbread smelling Tesco shite. 

Obviously it was frozen. The blades were solid to the screen. I made sure I released them before starting the car. 

Last night I parked on the shared driveway next to the house where 2 boilers pump out warm air, so I'm hoping for a better start. I'm on lates in Aston so will be heading to the motorway for a 110 mile drive about 10:30. 

Note the car is already turning black and the rear number plate is unreadable.  I'm buggered if I'm cleaning it until the new year.  

I should go an de-ice the wife's car  before i go. 

Use my old trick of leaving a fan heater in the car , come morning just flick the switch , have breakfast and drive off ...

[Rustybullethole]

25 minutes ago, DavidB said:

What is the ice made from this year? I could not scrape it off.

 

Had that problem then clocked it was on the inside.

[Pieman]

I once tried using a supermarket discount card to scrape the ice off my windscreen but I only got 20% off.

[louiepj]

Last night in the worst snow storm this year!!!
Halfords fitting new front tyres to a neighbours car.

[Saabnut]

Left the house at 3am this morning. Minus 12c. Two buckets of warm water had enough windscreen clear to see up my drive. At the neighbours (half a mile away and up hill) it was a balmy -9c so fired up his Toyota Landcruiser with a trailer of just over 2 tonnes of bacon on it (14 pigs) and headed to Dumfries 190 miles away. Saw many, many bent cars, mostly run into the back of the one in front and a 940 (I think) Volvo abandoned in a layby about 12 miles south of Perth which from the ice/snow on it has been there several days. Laughed a lot at the traffic reports on the radio of the chaos caused by a heavy frost laughingly referred to as "heavy snow". We had more here on Friday and nobody has noticed, even had 2 deliveries!

Dropped off Pinky, Perky and mates and I went wee wee wee all the way home. Took my time, no problems. My hyundai had frozen up inside and out, and being impatient drove it back home with the door open and my head outside. Was chilly. They are forecasting a possible -20c so have turned the heating up  

[jamescarruthers]

3 hours ago, andyberg said:

Beautiful car. I had one years ago, wish I could have another.

If you really fancy one again, there is a little rescue group over on Volvo 480 Club Europe forum. Cars get a bit of love, back in MOT and look for new loving owners. Prices seems to have gone nuts but I don’t think any of the shit overpriced ones sell, they are just in the hands of chancres rather than good owners. 

[Andyrew]

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 hour ago, Saabnut said:

Left the house at 3am this morning. Minus 12c. Two buckets of warm water had enough windscreen clear to see up my drive. At the neighbours (half a mile away and up hill) it was a balmy -9c so fired up his Toyota Landcruiser with a trailer of just over 2 tonnes of bacon on it (14 pigs) and headed to Dumfries 190 miles away. Saw many, many bent cars, mostly run into the back of the one in front and a 940 (I think) Volvo abandoned in a layby about 12 miles south of Perth which from the ice/snow on it has been there several days. Laughed a lot at the traffic reports on the radio of the chaos caused by a heavy frost laughingly referred to as "heavy snow". We had more here on Friday and nobody has noticed, even had 2 deliveries!

Dropped off Pinky, Perky and mates and I went wee wee wee all the way home. Took my time, no problems. My hyundai had frozen up inside and out, and being impatient drove it back home with the door open and my head outside. Was chilly. They are forecasting a possible -20c so have turned the heating up  

I think Braemar won the 'UK coldest' award last night @ -17 or so? Down here in W. Wales we got down to about -10 (ish) but can never really beat the cold sink that is up home - maybe it's the granite?

[EyesWeldedShut]