I was at West Des Moines Walmart yesterday...Could have been me....seeing hawkbirch in her Yoga pants.
Let me tell yah it sucks. I've had cars stuck in the middle of the street for days where I live and plows can't get thru cars. I've had road graders have to clear my street. I once walk to Fareway and when I got there they were closed cuz no one could get to work. Everything was closed. Mcdonald's, Qwik Star, malls.
Because the shit was hitting the fan
It Atlanta its because many roads, especially hilly ones in/near subdivisions, become impassable when the snow turns to ice.
I was at the Windsor Heights one so I was totally slumming it. My yoga pants fit so I shouldn't be hard to find.
That's for sure. Iowa winters have been pretty mild the last 50 years or so. We had some big ones in the '50s.
Feels like some here dont realize there's plenty of people in the country that need to flock to stores in the city because they actually do risk getting snowed in if the wind picks up at all.
One of the worst weekends of my life was when I foolishly decided to drive to north Iowa the Friday night before the Iowa Minnesota 1991 "Snow Angel" game. I bowled and drank some beers with some friends until about midnight in CR, then headed north on I-380 as I didn't think the snow was coming down too bad. Once I was out of town I realized how hard the snow was falling and that it wasn't a great decision to be driving. I had a lone semi as my only companion and it took all of my concentration to stay close enough to him to follow his taillights and stay on the road surface as it was impossible to discern any lane markings, signage, or where the shoulders were. We continued north on I-380 at about 30 mph and then in Waterloo/CF the semi exited and I followed him off. Made it to my brother's mobile home just north of the UNI-Dome and spent the night there.
Next morning we were completely snowed in and the only food my brother had was ketchup, mustard and mayo (idiot!). Eventually "starvation" set in and we dug and pushed my vehicle out of the trailer park, driving through people's yards to avoid the bigger drifts on the roadways, hit a grocery store and a Pizza Hut and settled in for another night. Once I heard the roads were passable back to Iowa City on Sunday I was out of there. I never visited my brother again at that location nor set out into another blizzard after midnight. I'll never forget that hypnotic feeling you get when everything is just swirling white and the darkness beyond it and you have no idea where anything is, it can get you into trouble awfully fast.
Next morning we were completely snowed in and the only food my brother had was ketchup, mustard and mayo (idiot!). Eventually "starvation" set in and we dug and pushed my vehicle out of the trailer park, driving through people's yards to avoid the bigger drifts on the roadways, hit a grocery store and a Pizza Hut and settled in for another night. Once I heard the roads were passable back to Iowa City on Sunday I was out of there. I never visited my brother again at that location nor set out into another blizzard after midnight. I'll never forget that hypnotic feeling you get when everything is just swirling white and the darkness beyond it and you have no idea where anything is, it can get you into trouble awfully fast.
Fwiw. I processed 40 pounds of deer breakfast sausage and 15 pounds of Goose chorizo this weekend, I still have 1 deer hanging. I am getting a little low on canned Dilly beans though if we had a proper Bowl season I would be planting a couple extra rows this spring.
The supply chain can lick my nuts.
The supply chain can lick my nuts.
Some people here might not have gone through the April 1973 blizzard in Iowa. The entire state was a mess for a full week.
April 1973 Iowa Blizzard - NWS
"In 1973, possibly the worst April blizzard on record in Iowa pounded the state from April 8-10. Snowfall totals of 20.3 inches at Belle Plaine and 19.2 inches at Dubuque set all-time storm total records at those locations. Total amounts of 16.0 inches were reported at Lansing and New Hampton, while Cedar Rapids received 14.5 inches, Iowa City 14.3 inches, and Des Moines 14.0 inches. At Des Moines 10.3 inches of their total fell just on the 9th, making it the snowiest April day on record at that location. Winds gusting to 65 mph or higher resulted in near zero visibility and blew the snow into drifts as deep as 16 feet closing most roads in the state."
April 1973 Iowa Blizzard - NWS
"In 1973, possibly the worst April blizzard on record in Iowa pounded the state from April 8-10. Snowfall totals of 20.3 inches at Belle Plaine and 19.2 inches at Dubuque set all-time storm total records at those locations. Total amounts of 16.0 inches were reported at Lansing and New Hampton, while Cedar Rapids received 14.5 inches, Iowa City 14.3 inches, and Des Moines 14.0 inches. At Des Moines 10.3 inches of their total fell just on the 9th, making it the snowiest April day on record at that location. Winds gusting to 65 mph or higher resulted in near zero visibility and blew the snow into drifts as deep as 16 feet closing most roads in the state."
Betcha those guys with their vehicles stuck in the snow were wishing they had 4wd.Some people here might not have gone through the April 1973 blizzard in Iowa. The entire state was a mess for a full week.
April 1973 Iowa Blizzard - NWS
"In 1973, possibly the worst April blizzard on record in Iowa pounded the state from April 8-10. Snowfall totals of 20.3 inches at Belle Plaine and 19.2 inches at Dubuque set all-time storm total records at those locations. Total amounts of 16.0 inches were reported at Lansing and New Hampton, while Cedar Rapids received 14.5 inches, Iowa City 14.3 inches, and Des Moines 14.0 inches. At Des Moines 10.3 inches of their total fell just on the 9th, making it the snowiest April day on record at that location. Winds gusting to 65 mph or higher resulted in near zero visibility and blew the snow into drifts as deep as 16 feet closing most roads in the state."
There was a huge one just before Christmas in early 60s Wish I could remember the exact year cause I remember so many other things about it.
Betcha those guys with their vehicles stuck in the snow were wishing they had 4wd.
Well, true. But 4wd's were very rare back then. The occasional Bronco, K5 Blazer, Jeep Wagoneers/CJ's/J-10's. And of course some farmers may have had International's.
We had a 4wd Wagoneer, 1970 - think we bought it used in 1971. Nice truck...it lasted 3 months, caught on fire - Jeeps were a hodgepodge of parts back then and were notorious for catching fire. We then bought a 1969 3 door 2wd Suburban. That vehicle was fantastic, lasted until 1989.
You really didn't begin to see 4wd's regularly as I recall until the Jeep Cherokee came out. Then CJ-7's and Bronco's etc took off too. By the early 80's then the S-10 Blazer came out, and the rest was history.
I just want you to know that I really do appreciate the banter. I love talking trucks, and you are very knowledgeable along with being able to take the banter, good man. That being said if I were alive back then this would have been my truck and damn near might lead me.to buying bowtie later in life if I'm looking for a restoration. These things were stump pullers.
1970 K-10
I just want you to know that I really do appreciate the banter. I love talking trucks, and you are very knowledgeable along with being able to take the banter, good man. That being said if I were alive back then this would have been my truck and damn near might lead me.to buying bowtie later in life if I'm looking for a restoration. These things were stump pullers.
1970 K-10
Oh yeah. Very rare and hard to find these days. Maybe in the southwest they're easier to find - but here in Iowa they simply did not last all that long given rust.
