Posted on 02/05/2018 3:45:59 PM PST by markomalley
Officials said a fatal pileup involving dozens of vehicles led to the closure of Interstate 35 near Ames, Iowa, Monday afternoon.
The crash, which was described by authorities as "major," involved as many as 70 vehicles, the Associated Press reported. One person was killed and at least five were critically injured, officials told KCCI.com.
Story County Sheriff’s Department officials told KCCI.com that it was one of the worst pileups they've seen in the area.
Several roads across the state were closed because icy conditions led to crashes, the Des Moines Register said. All roads in central Iowa were snow-covered, and officials urged drivers to be extra cautious while driving on Monday, according to WHO-TV.
"It's a mess. They're trying to get everyone to slow down," Ludwig told the Register.
Ames is located about 35 miles north of Des Moines.
Been through there a ton of times.
Last time on the way up north, I got to watch the bumper cars first hand. Slippery as hell and they would drive like it was mid summer.
People with 4WD think they can drive 70 mph on ice and snow.
People with 4WD think they can drive 70 mph on ice and snow.
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Why limit your statement to people with 4WD?
<Because where I live, those are the ones that go flying by when others are being cautious.
yup - 4WD seems to unleash a stupid gene
My FIL used to say, "Four-wheel drive will get you fifty yards further into the snow that you shoudn't have tried going through." In my own experience, 4WD is a false panacea for people who think that driving through snow is the same as driving on ice, and both can be safely done at 65 mph if you spend enough on an SUV.
*Clear Lake, home of the Surf Ballroom...
It’s bad out here (I’m about 2 hours away). I stayed home because I knew people were going to be leaving work early and before the plows had come out.
I’m sorry someone had to lose their life because they felt they ‘had’ to go somewhere in the storm.
Why not people who use cruise control on icy roads then wonder why the noise they heard was the car’s tranny dropping to the pavement.
clear lake iowa. where the music died . feb 3 1959
People with 4WD think they can drive 70 mph on ice and snow.
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Why limit your statement to people with 4WD?
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The first sentence is correct. People with 4WD have a false sense of conditions because they can get moving easier. Nothing like spinning you wheels as you try to start out to let you know it is slippery out there.
Same in Nebraska. I forget that FWD/AWD allows vehicles to defy the laws of physics. /s
They're just not doing it right!
Back to reality, glad the deaths were kept below what we might have thought would be the case.
What a pain, so many people with a negative outcome to their vehicles and family.
February in Iowa can be very unforgiving.
Having become a chickensh*t since reaching the age where I don't heal up good, I left work early rather than wait until things got really ugly. Unlike the those in the band across the center of the state, I ended up with a lot less snow to move this evening than I had expected.
daughter is in her junior year as a meteorology major at Iowa State, problem with that section of I 35 in the winter is the wind just blows everything across the fields and onto the roads...sun melts it fine during the day but as soon as it freezes watch out!
Very true. What they tend to forget is that when you apply the brakes a 4WD or AWD is the same as a 2WD. All cars have 4W braking and it doesn't do much good when all four wheels break traction.
I am also a chickensh*t, having taken a few falls in the past couple of years. I hope to retire in the fall and don’t want to kill myself before then.
No kidding, thats not my experience.
ex Iowan. Iowa winters are tough. Minnesota tough. Lived in DSM 20 years and raised in Ottumwa
Semi-retired in Kansas. Not much farther south but winters seem much milder. One big snow in 9 years. Typically snows and melts in a couple days.
Two sons in DSM. One is desperate to flee south. Says five years in Iowa winters is cruel and more than a man should have to endure. Probably so.
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