Longest.Drive.Ever.
I was out of town for work this past week. Down south in Monroe, LA. Working in Crossett, AR. As most of you know it snowed down there. More on my experience later. Back home, here at OSNW3, a Winter Storm Warning was in effect early in the week. In my absence my wife and daughter took over the observing responsibilities. They did an awesome job during the storm... being in the elements twice a day taking observations documenting a fluffy snowfall the first round and a wind driven snowfall the second round. I was available via phone support but none was needed. Over the years the OSNW3 precipitation observing crew has become a devoted and reliable bunch!
(OSNW3 February Observations)
(OSNW3 February 2010 Summary)
(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)
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Weekly Snowfall
Oshkosh was under a Winter Storm Warning early this week. As the storm moved closer to the area, two separate bands of Lake Effect snow developed off of Lake Michigan and dropped nearly an inch at OSNW3. Once the storm moved in the snow and wind picked up. LES totaled 0.7" and the storm totaled 4.1". More on the storm can be found here, via the NWS GRB.
(Feb 8, 2010 - 0.7")
(Feb 9-10, 2010 - 4.1")
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My Longest Drive Ever
As stated before, I spent last week in Monroe, LA and drove to Crossett, AR each day for work. On my drive, to catch my flight home on Feb 12, from Monroe, LA to Jackson, MS I got to drive through the snow storm that crippled the region. My flight was canceled to say the least and to make a long story short, I decided to keep my rental and drive to Oshkosh that day. The drive started at 630am and lasted until 11:30pm. I stopped three times for fuel. I felt like a trucker. Driving 1050+ miles in 17 hours is the longest drive I've endured thus far in my short life.
WxWatcher requested a few photos of the landscape while I was there. I did the best I could in the time that I had. If I would've had more opportunities during the day light hours I would have taken many more meaningful photos. Please click the map for the photos.
(My Longest Drive Ever - Feb 12, 2010)
The first hand full of photos are of driving back/forth from Monroe to Crossett during the week. After that the photos mostly show the snow from Thursday pm through Friday am and the remainder of my drive home to Oshkosh. I still can't believe I drove 1050+ miles in one day, willingly.
A radar loop of the southern snow storm can be found here.
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Front Of House
It's the middle of February, and it looks like it too.
(FOH - Feb 14, 2010)
(OSNW3 February Observations)
(OSNW3 February 2010 Summary)
(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)
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Weekly Snowfall
Oshkosh was under a Winter Storm Warning early this week. As the storm moved closer to the area, two separate bands of Lake Effect snow developed off of Lake Michigan and dropped nearly an inch at OSNW3. Once the storm moved in the snow and wind picked up. LES totaled 0.7" and the storm totaled 4.1". More on the storm can be found here, via the NWS GRB.
(Feb 8, 2010 - 0.7")
(Feb 9-10, 2010 - 4.1")
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My Longest Drive Ever
As stated before, I spent last week in Monroe, LA and drove to Crossett, AR each day for work. On my drive, to catch my flight home on Feb 12, from Monroe, LA to Jackson, MS I got to drive through the snow storm that crippled the region. My flight was canceled to say the least and to make a long story short, I decided to keep my rental and drive to Oshkosh that day. The drive started at 630am and lasted until 11:30pm. I stopped three times for fuel. I felt like a trucker. Driving 1050+ miles in 17 hours is the longest drive I've endured thus far in my short life.
WxWatcher requested a few photos of the landscape while I was there. I did the best I could in the time that I had. If I would've had more opportunities during the day light hours I would have taken many more meaningful photos. Please click the map for the photos.
(My Longest Drive Ever - Feb 12, 2010)
The first hand full of photos are of driving back/forth from Monroe to Crossett during the week. After that the photos mostly show the snow from Thursday pm through Friday am and the remainder of my drive home to Oshkosh. I still can't believe I drove 1050+ miles in one day, willingly.
A radar loop of the southern snow storm can be found here.
----
Front Of House
It's the middle of February, and it looks like it too.
(FOH - Feb 14, 2010)
You realize that I work on Mondays... and Tuesdays, so a 3 hour (6 hour drive round trip) is probably not a likelihood. Could you reschedule your trip for a weekend...? Or perhaps swing through Valdosta on your way in or out...?
ReplyDeleteMy father told me a story of when he drove from south Florida to Wisconsin non-stop. He started at 9:00 PM and reached his destination 24 hours later. He took 3 short naps in the car. I don't know how he did it. He slapped himself to stay awake.
ReplyDeleteAnd darn, you missed the snow storm? I wasn't able to get any measurements here, but I'd guess we got at least 8-12" of snow.
Chris
My goodness...that is a log time to be in a car. But looking through your pictures, it was beautiful in MS! That heavy wet snow stuck to everything! I like the shots of the tall trees lining the road. Saw some familiar road signs, too!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you've got a nice little helper! :o)
I'm sure you're glad to be home. Thanks for the road trip summary!
Dewdrop, hahaha. Realized.
ReplyDeleteChris, I didn't get all that tired. I was on a mission. I didn't miss the snowstorm... I was virtually there for it all via my wife and webcam. I was in my own snowstorm down south... which ended up being larger than the one that rolled through Oshkosh.
WxWatcher, I learned a lot about the south this past week. I've been on vacation, but never been there for "real life". It's a riot. The small town locals are fairly closed minded and when a church group argues the opposing side leaves and creates their own church. hehe. Also, I learned the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee. A Yankee visits, while a Damn Yankee stays. haha, oh what else... um... Ouachita is pronounced WAH-shi-tah. I pronounced it Ow-ah-chee-tah and they LOL'd. The snow was amazing! It stuck to everything like you noticed. Beautiful. Every person I talked to that day I'd say "The snow sure is beautiful isn't it?" I got grumbles and fake smiles. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouachita_River
ReplyDeleteOSNW3, Welcome to the south. Nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteSuzieE, I had a blast down there. Great people to work with. Great food mostly... when it was the Southern comfort kind! One day for lunch we went to a place called Country Vittles... it had an amazing assortment of the good stuff. I was pleasantly pleased with my drive through the snow storm. Occasionally a semi would pass, but for the most part everyone stayed in a single file line going about 50 mph.
ReplyDeleteWow J, What a long road trip! I love seeing pictures from long trips such as that! Watching the landscape change, and the snow depth change is really cool, I think is anyway! and you did a great job captureing that! I thought it was nice to see some pictures without snow on the ground LOL
ReplyDeleteThat storm you mentioned in your post only brought me 1.50" of snow! it missed me!
great job as always!
D, I agree. I enjoy the changing landscape as well. From Jackson, MS to Memphis, TN the landscape changed from fresh snow to small remaining snow piles in the woods. I was amazed at the hilly topography of MS though. Between Memphis, TN and the southern portion of IL on hwy 57 it was flat farmland. However, to my surprise, southern IL has some large hills and/or small mountains with lakes among them. Pretty sweet actually. There is a photo of a gigantic hill in my photo set near the end. North of that though, it's the same old same old IL. Worst state to drive in, in my opinion. :)
ReplyDelete"Worst state to drive in"...agreed. When my Dad and I drove up to Oshkosh last summer, we happened to drive through the section from Bloomington to Rockford on I-39 during dinner. NOTHING to eat! Everything was the same. Corn field, pond, overpass...corn field, pond, overpass. I'm sure to the locals, it's lovely. :o)
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at the pronunciation. You should see the scowls one receives if you mispronounce town names such as Monett, Versailles, Bois d'Arc, Laquey, and even Auxvasse! Good stuff.
WxWatcher, are you coming up for the EAA again this Summer? How does one properly pronounce "Auxvasse"???
ReplyDeleteOne would think that Monett, Versailles, Bois d'Arc, Laquey, Auxvasse would have a French pronunciation but I had a roommate in college that got mad at me for
ReplyDeleteusing the French on the town of Versailles, KY. Auxvasse would be O-vas.
Yeah, you don't want to use the French pronunciation for Versailles here, either! :o)
ReplyDeleteUh-vahs is how they say it here.
Oh! Didn't answer your first question. Haven't really talked to Dad about it. I can say that if the money's there, we'll be there for sure. We'll try to get there earlier in the week, too. We missed out on some cool stuff last summer.
ReplyDeleteIf we end up going, I'll let him know about using your house. Money has been tight, so camping may be our best bet, though.
Uh-vahs makes no sense. :)
ReplyDeleteWxWatcher, we're not going out of town that week anymore. We'll be around and this time you and your family should come over for a cookout or something...
If we end up going, you can count on us being there, thanks!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend