There’s a line I’ve been saying on TV for a generation. When it comes to snow, “All the slippery is in the first quarter inch.” Was that ever true tonight!
Our connecting flight from Baltimore got to Bradley a few minutes before midnight. We were 58 minutes late!
The pilot mentioned the Windsor Locks METAR as we taxied toward takeoff: one mile visibility, light snow. By the time we landed the visibility had dropped to a half mile and the precipitation intensified to moderate snow.
Bumpy descent? A little.
For the last fifteen minutes we flew through snow. It was horizontal snow. I assume all that snow hitting the windshield meant the pilots were solely depending on instruments until we were nearly on-the-ground.
This is the kind of things 737′s do–especially when 9,500 feet of runway is available. It still makes me nervous, especially when braking isn’t optimum.
As we broke free of the clouds, just before landing, the snow’s impact was obvious. Every road we flew over or near was white, as was the runway we landed on.
The drive home was slow.
The roads remained covered as we drove away. The snow wasn’t deep. The stripes marking the lanes were still dimly visible through the accumulation.
It didn’t make any difference. Traction was in short supply. We saw a few cars off the road or on the shoulder after an accident.
I did 40-45 mph most of the way in Helaine’s 4WD SUV. I drove gingerly. That’s the secret to snow. Make no fast moves!
Road crews were out, but there was little they could do. It was falling too fast for plowing to make a difference.
We followed a shoulder-to-shoulder convoy of plows and spreaders who blocked all passing attempts from Middletown to Hamden! Other than their blinding strobes and our significantly reduced speed their labor had no impact I could see.
Roads in Hamden seemed pure and virginal. The snow was untouched.
I climbed the little hill to our neighborhood in 4WD Low. If you have a 4WD vehicle and have never used a low gear, you’re missing an incredible safety feature. We took the hill as if we were wearing spikes.
We’re home now. Enough traveling.
