It was predicted that it would snow last Monday and Tuesday. I was hoping that meant I wouldn’t have to deal with it, since those are my nights off. Heh. How wrong I was. It started snowing before I left home Sunday night. There was a very light dusting on my car as I walked out of the house. I wasn’t happy, but knew the roads were still decent enough for me to get to work without too much trouble.
I noticed something odd about other drivers in the snow. Maybe it’s just me, though? When it rains, many drivers tend to slow down, even if it isn’t raining that hard. But when it snows? It’s like a flip got switched and everyone is telling themselves, “Oh no! It’s snowing! I’ve got to get off the road as soon as possible!” They’re driving so much faster in snow than in rain. It’s weird. I’ll be going along at a speed a bit under what I typically do and drivers all around me are flying past me and spraying slush and whatever else at my windshields. It makes for an interesting drive.
Anyway, the snow really started coming down early Monday morning. All was quiet at work. Mostly. The people we do see out in this weather tend to be more out there than normal, though, so it can be interesting interacting with them. As we watched the snow accumulate on the roads, my partner and I waited for the phone to ring. Sure enough, it did a bit after 0500. My partner’s relief called out, and then mine did, too. Fortunately, our manager was able to get a couple of the swing shift people to come in early or on their time off. We were very grateful. Then our colleague on graveyard called out, which resulted in me going in on my night off for a few hours. I wasn’t happy.
The snow had mostly stopped by then, but the roads around my home were very slick, which made for a white-knuckle drive that night.
Wednesday brought the pouring rain. Due to the rain and melting snow, there was a great deal of water on the road. Even the interstate wasn’t immune. I think I hydroplaned no fewer than three times while I drove to work that night. At one point, the car next to me and I both hit standing water while going down I-5. The other driver struggled to keep control of their car while spraying my windshield with a horrendous amount of water, which made it almost impossible for me to see what I was doing as I struggled to keep my car from swerving into the lanes on either side. Fortunately, we prevailed and I made it to work safely.
Still, I am looking forward to a couple of days off with little to no driving involved.
