Washington
Related: About this forumCritics of Seattle in snow: Shut the hell up
http://sportspressnw.com/2012/01/critics-of-seattle-in-snow-shut-the-hell-up/No downtown that receives snow is as as hilly as Seattle. Period. The Priniciple of Verticality. Theres just too much up here to get down safely.
Obviously, some of the aforementioned cities have hills, but not nearly as many in such tight proximity with so much high-rise business and housing on the slopes. I know. Ive seen the other cities. Ive spun a 360 on ice in Dallas, gone off a snowbound highway near Green Bay and become trapped by a multi-car collision in Spokane. In all instances, there was no damage to me, my rental car or anyone elses, because flat terrain allowed me and other drivers to drive slowly out of the problem.
Besides the topography, theres the brand of snow wet, gloppy flakes known locally as Seattle cement. Rarely is the snow dry enough to drift, as is often often the case in the Midwest, Plains and parts of the Northeast and even Eastern Washington. I remember driving in a semi-blizzard in Salt Lake City where the highway road surface and its edges were plainly visible throughout the white-knuckle, 45-minute drive, thanks to the wind that cleared the dry flakes. Not fun, but manageable.
Response to eridani (Original post)
Tesha This message was self-deleted by its author.
eridani
(51,907 posts)It's a small town in a state that has half the population of the King County metro area. Thiel also makes the point that snow is much easier to drive on than ice sheets.
Response to eridani (Reply #2)
Tesha This message was self-deleted by its author.
eridani
(51,907 posts)I was immobilized for 4 days last week because even chains slide on ice. With temperatures shifting above and below freezing, all snow automatically becomes a thick ice sheet.
countryjake
(8,554 posts)That same sort of joking and mocking occurs whenever the seven hills of Cincinnati receive a similar blast of winter (and the city is effectively rendered immobile). Those howls and cackles that always have come from the rest of Ohio (flat Ohio) are stinging unwarranted criticism of a place that is ill-prepared for the occasional ice or snow storm, since the city's population normally enjoys a milder clime whilst the northern areas experience the harsh realities of the winter months. Those critics engage in what I used to call "climate envy", a wicked enjoyment in seeing hundreds of thousands of folks suffering thru unusual conditions.
However, what the LA Times has engaged in was just plain mean.
Thanks for posting this article, eridani!