Twice in a calendar year people have underestimated hyped up storms and seen them drop the city to it's knees. It's like a jinx now.
The city has flooding issues and this area of the country is ill-equipped for ice/snow. Harvey was maybe a 500-Year Flood, but it's not the only recent flood. Harvey should've been Memorial Day if drainage was sufficient. Ice/Snow..... It's called a PLOW. I haven't seen one in Texas (from Tyler to Navasota to Houston). Northern Areas don't allow a measly 3" (or less) of EXPECTED precipitation to shutdown travel 24 hours after said precipitation is over.
Re: Harvey drainage issues aside, you are out of your mind,. Harvey was termed a 1000-year flood and dumped 3-5x more rain than the Memorial Day flood. Re: Ice -- serious question, can you plow ice?
I wasn't clear enough... With sufficient drainage, Harvey should've been like Memorial Day, and Memorial Day should NOT have ever happened. A pile of garbage can be plowed. It's just a blade scraping the ground.
I feel like Houston has enough pot holes, we don't need someone out there scraping up more. To get ready for an ice event and buy enough equipment so that all roads can be safe would be a large investment for something that happens once every 8 or so years.
While the drainage part is correct and Harvey would have definitely had less impacts if we had our drainage issues fixed years ago, Harvey was a definite 1 in 1000 year storm. Hell, 30 years ago it would have been a 1 in 500,000 year storm. Harvey set all kinds of records for rainfall in Houston. No drainage would have stopped houses, businesses and cars flooding in that type of storm. Regarding the ice, Houston doesn't have the budget to prepare for a winter storm here and nor should they. It happens once every 5-10 years. There is no need for it. I for one, do not mind missing a day or two of work because we had some sleet and slick bridges. I have lived up north and they have the same problems up there with ice. They are well equipped for snow storms. Ice on the other hand, is very difficult to handle and no, a plow will not remove a lot of ice from the roads. They use excessive salts and chemicals that we do not have in abundance down here. Another thing to keep in mind, driving your cars on the highway will actually remove some of the ice if all of the cars follow the same tire paths. That is one way they deal with it up there.
I don't think plowing affects/creates pot holes. Denver has mostly smooth roads and they're plowed often enough. Exactly. People's homes and cars were flooded Memorial Day too. I'm saying.. with good drainage, Harvey would've been much similar to that. I wasn't saying Houston *should* have an ice/snow budget. However, this situation was anticipated 48 in advance. The Panhandle is prepared for these conditions, and is only 10 hours away. As for plowing ice.. bigger plows have weight which helps break ice before the blade is mentioned. I've never been in a situation where ice existed and plows didn't.
Houston needs to worry about flooding first. Not a day of some sleet that prevents people from driving. Whoopdie doo we missed a day or two of work. We have idiotic drivers who can barely drive in rain..wait barely drive on a sunny 70 degree day.. This is just like at work with software design that people focus on a tiny problem that happens every million years instead of the obvious one in front of them. 1. Fix/alleviate flooding issues 2. Fix pothole ridden 3rd world type roads 105. Plow ice.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/texa...n-etx-road-demolishes-traffic-light/508710538 if you were following this one, things wouldnt end well
All those Yankees that come down here and say this isn't cold, now I understand them. The 40's feels downright mild compared to that sub 30 BS. I've had an ice rink in the back of my truck for 3 days that's finally melting.
I’ve lived in Minnesota for 26 years and the plows never go out to clear ice. They may accidentally clear a bit while clearing snow, but that’s it. They will go out to clear an abundance of slush if it has gathered. They rely on chemicals to keep ice from accumulating. Unfortunately, the chemicals fail to work when it’s brutally cold.
