New England Road Trip 2/14 - 2/18 - Blizzard??

[Americas High Five]

My wife's grandfather recently passed away and the funeral will be held in Houlton, ME. We are contemplating driving up but many family members have warned us of the potential storm about to hit New England this weekend. We were planning on making it to Boston Saturday to stay with friends and then complete the trip to Houlton Sunday morning.

Anyone in the Boston/Coastal Maine area that can shed some light on the current conditions and whats truly expected? The national media tends to dramatize these types of events so I am unsure whether to believe the forecast of 12-18" of snow with blizzard conditions and impassable roads.

I have a stock '10 Ltd with all season tires with <10,000 miles. We plan to pack water, food, blankets, flashlights, etc. in the event we get stranded roadside.

Any advice on what to pack or any local forecasts that may differ from what the national media is broadcasting is much appreciated.

 

[mace.]

Boston has seen some significant snowfall this season. I think the issue this year has been the inconsistencies between the models for the northeast. That said obviously the media is going to give you worst case scenario. If they didn't and downplayed everything, when people get hammered with snow they would be *****ing about the lack of notice. It looks like Sunday will be the worst of it with Boston between 1-2ft of snow and areas in ME getting up to 28". Winds are forecasted to be over 40mph

 

[bythehour]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I did the drive going the other way (south) many years ago around this time of year and with a snowstorm in the northeast. Most of your route will be on major highways so road conditions shouldn't be too bad unless it's a catastrophic dump. The bigger question is whether you're comfortable driving in soup. I'm Canadian and I grew up driving in snow. There were a few white knuckle moments but all in all it was fine.

 

[mace.]

Also keep in mind that if the wind keeps blowing snow over the road and they can't keep it cleared they may issue a travel ban for the highways. Their resources are pretty stretched this season. In CT I believe the ticket is $92 for ignoring the ban.

 

[Americas High Five]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I did the drive going the other way (south) many years ago around this time of year and with a snowstorm in the northeast. Most of your route will be on major highways so road conditions shouldn't be too bad unless it's a catastrophic dump. The bigger question is whether you're comfortable driving in soup. I'm Canadian and I grew up driving in snow. There were a few white knuckle moments but all in all it was fine.

Also keep in mind that if the wind keeps blowing snow over the road and they can't keep it cleared they may issue a travel ban for the highways. Their resources are pretty stretched this season. In CT I believe the ticket is $92 for ignoring the ban.

Thanks Guys. I lived most of my adult life in Michigan so driving in the snow doesnt worry me a bit. It's whether the road crews can keep up with it and like [MENTION=46322]Mace[/MENTION] said whether or not they close the highways. Its only a 5hr drive from Salem, MA to Houlton so i was thinking even if its bad early Sunday, once I head North-West a few hours I should get behind the storm.

 

[sandcrawler]

it's as bad up here as i can ever remember. the problem is that the big storm a couple weeks ago (~31" in my area) has been compounded since then by subsequent storm after storm. there's nowhere to put it all, and we haven't had enough of a break between snowfalls to get truly cleaned up. plus, temps have been well below freezing daily and very little sun so we're getting essentially zero help from the weather. weird thing is that northern Maine hasn't been hit as hard as the coast this year, so you have that much going for you destination-wise, anyway.

all this said, keep looking at NOAA and NWS resources, which aren't given to the same drama as the local news geeks. you sound ably prepared and level-headed so you should be fine.

very sorry about your loss.

 

[hangman]

This is just a quick reply--I'll write more tomorrow--but I would get up to Maine Saturday if possible. Just drive straight through.... We're tapped out on overtime and salt, so the storm hitting on a holiday weekend (and potentially being another 18") could spell major delays. Truly sorry for your loss. Good luck!

 

[Orc]

Its not the snow but the ice underneath. And the semi trucks that don't care and go 70 when they shouldn't even be on the road.

 

[MATTYDIRT]

This is just a quick reply--I'll write more tomorrow--but I would get up to Maine Saturday if possible. Just drive straight through.... We're tapped out on overtime and salt, so the storm hitting on a holiday weekend (and potentially being another 18") could spell major delays. Truly sorry for your loss. Good luck!

X2 - My wife works in Boston and it has not been a pretty commuting/parking scene these last couple weeks.

I would honestly be more worried about finding a place to park in Boston on Saturday and then digging yourself out on Sunday AM - Skip north away from the Boston area. I'd recommend staying over in Portsmouth and enjoy the town, but this won't keep you from dealing with the storm/snow as we have our fair share of issues and are running out of places to put all the white stuff.

Good luck and drive safe. (PM me if your looking for eat/stay recommendations in Portsmouth.)

 

[eddie333]

I commute 400 miles a week around New England in a stock RAV4 all winter, you should be okay just slow down when the roads are covered. Try to go around Boston area for traffic reasons but otherwise you should be fine.

 

[JayceeP]

That whole corridor is very busy right up past Portland. I can only imagine what kind of shit show traffic would be in a snow storm. On top of that, once you get up north of Portland and head more inland, your start getting more remote, accumulations can be heavier, and the world, as far as I95 sprawl is concerned, basically ends after Bangor. Drive safe and allow lots of time.

 

[mace.]

Also, don't forget that Monday is President's Day as well as it's a common week for schools to have winter break so that may add to the traffic with people traveling.

 

[Titanpat57]

I can certainly respect your need to get back...but in the face of current projected forcasts, and the last prior problems, I would stay clear of the area.

 

[tobyson21]

My 2 cents

My condolences to you and your wife.

If your staying in Boston be prepared to fight skinny street and dumb amounts of traffic. Also you will most likely have to pay for parking.

Once you are north of the city you should be ok as long as nobody badly crashes. I was driving to Montreal once in a blizzard and they closed 89 due to a crash. That messes up things. Otherwise Nh and ME will keep the highways open.

Make sure your washer fluid is filled with something rated to -20 or lower. Bring extra. My years of being dumb and driving through many New England blizzards has taught me the importance of quality windshield washer that won't freeze up. Bring a good ice scraper too.

Also bring a metal edge shovel. In case you do go off, if there's ice, plastic edges will be not as useful.

Lastly throw a bag of kitty litter or some carpet strips in the trunk for traction in emergency.

I apologize if any of this is obvious. Best of luck, drive safe. Forecast right now is 12+ worse closer to the seaboard. Major snow starts after midnight and tapers late Sunday afternoon.

Again my condolences. P.s. A flare in huge trunk could save your life.

Hope that's helpful,
Todd

 

[mace.]

 

[Dexter Morgan]

That said obviously the media is going to give you worst case scenario. If they didn't and downplayed everything, when people get hammered with snow they would be *****ing about the lack of notice. h

Not to mention people wouldn't tune in as much > less visibility for advertisers > less money.

 

[hangman]

What the media like to speculate about is snow totals, and with very cold temperatures on the way, they'll likely get the big jackpot numbers they like to drool over.

What is more concerning is heavy snow + wind. If you're concerned about media bias, turn to the National Weather Service, which is reinforcing that this storm is no joke: National Weather Service Text Product Display. Visibility will suck, winds will be high, and plows aren't going to have anywhere to put it. The worst of the storm will be after midnight (when you would likely not be driving), but it's going to cause major parking headaches and affect travel Sunday.

Not knowing where your friends are in Boston, it's tough to advise you. But, if they're right in the city and don't have off-street parking, I would skip it. Snow Emergencies will be declared, which means that folks can't park on major roads... putting metered spaces at a premium. Although it was mentioned above that you would have to pay for parking, that's only half of the story--I know of exceedingly few garages that allow you to park overnight.

If it were up to me, I would skip the Boston visit and drive straight through to Maine Saturday afternoon so that you get up there safe and sound before the storm. Keep in mind that we may be getting another storm on Wednesday, in case you're planning on swinging by Boston on the way back.

 

[Americas High Five]

Thanks again everyone for the advice and well wishes!

I talked my wife into leaving today after work - driving through the night to Salem, MA (where we will be staying with friends) - so we wont have to deal with downtown Boston. With plans of getting to Northern Maine by early evening on Saturday - hopefully missing the blunt of the storm that is supposed to hit late Saturday into Sunday. We wont be heading back South until Tuesday/Wednesday - I assume the interstate should be clear by then...

 

[mace.]

 

[mace.]

Your decision to go earlier sounds like the best bet.