It's snowing, it's snowing!

So, I see pheon's post that he has snow, and I envy him a little. It never occurs to me to look out my window because we're a good 500 feet lower and a goodly distance away.

Then I come down the stairs for breakfast and I see what I swear looks like snow slanting down, in the window above the door. So I open the door.

Sure enough, there is snow on the driveway, the road, the lawn, the trees, everything. It looks like it has been at it a while, in truth. Scott says it wasn't snowing when he got home (which I think was around 11:30 but I'm not sure), but it clearly has been for at least some time and still is.

I took a couple quick pictures, and then set about getting the inch or two of snow off my car so I could drive. I'd checked the traffic cams, so I knew very well that if I could get to the freeway, it was not snowy, icy, or a complete mess. (The radio finished the traffic report up, with a highway nowhere near my route, just as I turned it on, hence my use of the cameras, which I otherwise don't bother with.)

I figured the Wilsonville Road to the south exit onto I-5 was my safest bet as it's pretty well-travelled and not as hilly as my other options.... Which worked fine, except for the part where I had to turn onto it. I'd come to a halt on a slick patch, apparently, and it took me three tries to creep slowly enough to get off it. Luckily, there wasn't enough traffic for my then-slow speed to be a worry.

The freeway was clear. The roads were decent. It's snowy here, too, the trees have it all on their branches and it's still coming down. It's supposed to warm up, then drop back into the 20's tonight.... I really hope we don't end up with sheet ice.

I really hope that if we do, it's after Scott and I have made it home. Yep, I'm selfish.

I was going to run some errands tonight, but I'm thinking probably not, now. I'll check what things are like at the end of the day, but....

Wheeeee?

Snow is pretty. I was watching the weather all day in case it took a turn for the worse but it did not. I was hoping to run some errands tonight and was ready to cut them out if things got bad, but I figured since I was going to leave around 4 or 4:15 that would help.

At around 3:45 I heard there was an accident (not weather-related, or if so they didn't indicate) on 217 NB at 72nd - which pretty much means 'forget getting on 217 without agony from where you are'. I needed to go up 217 to the mall if I wanted to make one stop, but that stop wasn't very important, so I just figured it would depend on whether the accident was cleared when I left work. I was pretty busy, trying to get a CD set up.

I finished the CD over an hour later. Nothing went wrong, just one of those things where nothing goes right either, if that makes sense. It all just plodded along. But, it all looked good when I was done, and that's fine.

In the meanwhile, the list of weather-related issues had started to rise on the traffic reports. There were icy conditions in areas that weren't particularly high in elevation. So I cut the mall off my list anyway and made to stop just at Fred Meyer's. (I wanted to deposit a check, and I needed to buy a few key supplies such as cold medicine and the like.)

Having done my shopping there, I continued on my way home. I'll often go over 65th from there to get home but, thank you, not in weather like this. I got back on I-5 south. Figured it was safe enough to get off at North Wilsonville and take that road over, though, as it was still pretty warm out and the road was wet-and-dry but not icy or snowy.

Riiiight. So, I take the exit, and in a patch of looks-fine road, that didn't even look wet to my eyes, as I brake, I skid, with that noise you get when ice or slush or snow is being dragged along a bit by your car. Um. Thrilling. I didn't go more than a couple feet and I was never totally out of control but I was definitely skidding. Not my happiest moment.

Plans revised. I'll drive through town (relatively level) and take the Wilsonville Road, which is a much less 'interesting' route. Hit some slippery slush on one turn but it was not as bad as the ice, because I could see it coming. Drove like an old granny as I was suspicious of the road all the way, and once or twice I could tell by changes in handling I was on something slippery - sometimes when I expected it, but not always. I wasn't trying to stop or turn, though, which helped immensely.

Snow in our neighborhood melted somewhat but most lawns are still more covered than not, depending on how much sun they got during the latter part of the day, I think. Slipperies here and there but not bad. Scott has gone to Dale's to game - after calling Dale to confirm things are clear up there (the intervening space is major roads and I-5, and I told him to get on at south Wilsonville as the way is much clearer).

It was worse in north Wilsonville than it was north or south of it, based on my experience. And Scott, who is from Wisconsin, is much better able to handle these conditions than I am. If I could handle north Wilsonville not expecting it, then he'll be fine.

He might get stuck there if his luck is bad. That street is on a slope and if it ices up, he won't be getting out easily if at all. But if so it will not be the first time.

Now to see if any of my pictures of this came out. Working on some other things also, so I don't think the vacation pics will go up tonight, alas.