Good intentions don’t always lead to good results. Can snow removal INCREASE risk? I follow Chey Cab on X. She owns a car service (Chey Car) and her team shuttles people around the state. After Sunday’s wind-whipped snow she posted that driving was actually better on Sunday than it was Monday. “With the snow plowed off the ice there’s no snow for traction,” she wrote. Snow-covered roads equals some traction. Ice-covered roads equals no traction.
When temperatures are colder than 15 degrees, the Minnesota Department of Transportation uses a cocktail of chemicals: calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, as well as putting down sand to help with traction. But chemicals aren’t as effective when it’s very cold. At 5 degrees black ice can be very stubborn. All you can do is slow down.
No fast-forward blizzards, just a coating of fluff from a clipper Tuesday, maybe 1 to 2 inches of ill-timed powder New Year’s Eve.
A stubborn “Greenland Block” of high pressure keeps us cold into mid-January with only a few days near 32 degrees. All that new snow in your yard won’t be melting anytime soon.
