Posted on 02/11/2008 7:31:52 AM PST by Born Conservative
We had a very sudden squall here in eastern upstate NY yesterday afternoon. It was snowing horizontally. Total whiteout and very scary.
Prayers up for all involved in this accident.
We were in Bethlehem when that squall hit, and it was like an instant blizzard with the wind blowing the snow all over. It didn’t last that long, and when it was over, the sun came out.
I've had truckers tell me that I-81 from central Pennsylvania up to the Canadian border in upstate New York is one of the worst highways they've ever driven on -- mainly because of weather-related issues like this one.
What State?
Pennsylvania, not far from the junction of I-80 and I-81.
This occurred in Pennsylvania. Hazleton is right at the junction of I-80 and I-81 — on the eastern side of the Allegheny Mountains
Hazelton? Colorado? Mississippi? California?
I know that stretch well. There has been many incidents there on the way back and forth from my sons college (Bloomsburg). Last time there was a big rig that slid off the road and flipped. That was an all day event. I think it is because it is a rather open area inside many hilly mountainous regions. The wind really seems to whip through there.
The Hazleton area is at a high elevation, and has weather conditions unique unto itself. I live 20 miles west of Hazleton, and there are times that they will get snow and we won’t have any. It also gets very foggy there.
It seems as though I-81 was plopped on mountains, to avoid going through the valleys. That’s why it’s probably so bad....
I know the area. I am very sorry.
Have to agree, we drive from WV to MA 2-3 times a year and that stretch from Harrisburg to Scranton is miserable far more often than not.
The ice build-up on the roads in Pa. was in inches and everything was closed, even the shopping malls. They had rolling blackouts in Pa. because of the extremely cold weather. The closest place to get a bite was across the street from the Super 8 motel I was staying in. It's now a WaWa Gas station. And because of the power blackouts, you couldn't get any hot food, so I had to settle for a sandwich.
My old VW Jetta wouldn't start because of the cold, and when I called AAA about getting a jump, they asked me where I thought I'd be going since Route 81 was closed due to the ice storm and jack-knifed tractor trailers. At the time I had a cast on my left wrist, having broken it after slipping and falling on black ice back home in central NY State. I had an appointment to get the cast off that Friday. Fortunately, the roads eventually opened, and I was able to get out in time to get back home and get the cast off.
It wasn't one of my better trips. For a woman with money in her pocket, to be stuck in a city where the shopping malls are closed is a nightmare. I actually ended up having to replace the tires on my car because they were worn down from having to drive for so many miles over the rutted and rippled ice through Pa.
I sat in the resulting traffic for nearly 2 hours yesterday afternoon / evening. Sorry that any fatalities occurred, but thank God it was only one given the magnitude of the pile up.
“It’s one of the worst roads to drive on since they don’t use salt to keep the roads clear.”
That statement is not accurate. Sitting in traffic near a Penn Dot station, I watched as trucks came and loaded with salt for some time yesterday.
PennDOT used to use salt; they now use a liquid (magnesium?) and I think they also continue to use salt as well. Last year, they had a situation similar to yours, and a lot of people raised a lot of hell after being stranded during a storm. Fast Eddy Rendell lit a fire under PennDOT, and there are now a multitude of plows on the interstates whenever there is a HINT of snow or ice....
Well, then they’ve changed their practice since the last time I drove through Pa. in a storm (it’s been years). Used to be they didn’t use any of that stuff on their roads.
ping
ping
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