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Moved to Western Michigan a few years back. I got the tractor for the quarter mile drive in case things get real bad but I'll tell you my strategy of "don't buy

Moved to Western Michigan a few years back. I got the tractor for the quarter mile drive in case things get real bad but I'll tell you my strategy of "don't buy a complicated snow blower, wait for it to melt" has so far worked out well. If you're close to any body that averages out temperatures (Lake Michigan, swamps), it melts. People have no idea how fast global warming is happening.

pragma_x 2y ago
It never even occurred to me that the "lake effect" would work in the opposite direction. Water's ability to retain heat is really amazing. > People have no idea how fast global warming is happening. For people that live near the Great Lakes, you may have stumbled onto a very compelling bit of evidence. For many, "rising ocean temperatures" is a whole world away. Whereas this kind of phenomenon is much easier to grasp.
- bitsinthesky 2y ago
  Lake Michigan is famously terribly cold to swim in. However this year I’ve found it mostly comfortable, almost as comfortable as a swimming pool. Looking online, it’s above 70 degrees! https://apps.glerl.noaa.gov/marobs/php/data.php?sta=0 https://apps.glerl.noaa.gov/marobs/php/data.php?sta=0 Up in Door County the lake would freeze enough to ski on, but nowadays, well good luck with that.
- itsanaccount 2y ago
  The water table is at ground level September to April here. The ground only froze the first year we moved in, the waters keeping the heat. I noticed that same effect with season extenders. They average out the temperatures using the raised soil as the heatsink. We harvested fresh greens from the garden on Christmas Day in Chicago, that was 5 years ago. I just talked to a guy at a bar who's been here since the 70s, he's harvesting grapes a month early. People who grow things know. Its everyone else I think we have to convince.
apercu 2y ago
SW Wisconsin. 7% grade, 300 foot driveway that is exposed to North winds. We had a (walking) snowblower and I used that for the first winter. It sucked. With the hill, waiting for a melt isn't possible - there's no way to keep control of a car going down that hill, and at the base of the drive across the narrow road is a line of mature pines. We got very little snow last winter, but what snow we did mostly came in a two week window and it was multiple feet of heavy snow. Subcompact diesel tractor with a snowpusher (not a plow). Driveway takes no time, and I use the bucket and forklift forks all the time. I have a mower deck but I use a little cub cadet instead as the tractor (especially with liquid in the back tires) is kinda heavy for a "lawn". (I have very little lawn, converted the front 3/4 acre to mostly prairie), but I still have to mow some. Every situation is different.
LeifCarrotson 2y ago
Welcome! I've been here my entire life. That strategy has worked for the past several years, but it wouldn't have worked when I was a kid. The average number of days with snow on the ground has been decreasing by about 5 days per decade since I was a kid: https://glisa.umich.edu/resources-tools/climate-impacts/precipitation/ https://glisa.umich.edu/resources-tools/climate-impacts/prec... In the 70s, we had about 75 days each winter with more than an inch of snow left on the ground. Last winter, we had barely 20 (El Nino made it extremely warm) but the average over the past decade is currently about 45. It snowed a few times, but always melted shortly thereafter. That's a new trend. I recently got a 36" HDPE blade shovel and will just walk my 400ft driveway for 4 or 5 passes in each direction, holding the shovel at an angle so the snow rolls off to the right like a snowplow - it's really slick (pun intended) and way easier than the old scoop-and-throw technique when there's less than an inch on the ground. Once a month, I have to start up the snowblower and clear a heavy storm and cut back the banks left by the shovel, but those are rare. If you just expose a bit of pavement, the whole thing is likely to melt in a couple days.
- itsanaccount 2y ago
  I don't have pavement. These edge tamers on teh bucket have been doing good for me on gravel. Lets me keep the crown on the drive. I'd love to have an actual blade but I haven't found anything cheap enough with runners. https://r2manufacturing.com/products/edge-tamer https://r2manufacturing.com/products/edge-tamer The heat effect you mention is there though. The drive is 4 feet up out of the swamp. I'm pretty sure its why the deer bed up against the southern side. They're using the mass of stone to stay warm.
sys_64738 2y ago
> People have no idea how fast global warming is happening. You're not wrong. The transition in New England in recent years has been unbelievable. I only used the snow blower twice per winter for the past few years. People who live in the southern states don't realize what's going on. The cold, snowy north is becoming a thing of the past and the best weather is moving up here.

pragma_x 2y ago

It never even occurred to me that the "lake effect" would work in the opposite direction. Water's ability to retain heat is really amazing. > People have no idea how fast global warming is happening. For people that live near the Great Lakes, you may have stumbled onto a very compelling bit of evidence. For many, "rising ocean temperatures" is a whole world away. Whereas this kind of phenomenon is much easier to grasp.

bitsinthesky 2y ago
Lake Michigan is famously terribly cold to swim in. However this year I’ve found it mostly comfortable, almost as comfortable as a swimming pool. Looking online, it’s above 70 degrees! https://apps.glerl.noaa.gov/marobs/php/data.php?sta=0 https://apps.glerl.noaa.gov/marobs/php/data.php?sta=0 Up in Door County the lake would freeze enough to ski on, but nowadays, well good luck with that.
itsanaccount 2y ago
The water table is at ground level September to April here. The ground only froze the first year we moved in, the waters keeping the heat. I noticed that same effect with season extenders. They average out the temperatures using the raised soil as the heatsink. We harvested fresh greens from the garden on Christmas Day in Chicago, that was 5 years ago. I just talked to a guy at a bar who's been here since the 70s, he's harvesting grapes a month early. People who grow things know. Its everyone else I think we have to convince.

apercu 2y ago

SW Wisconsin. 7% grade, 300 foot driveway that is exposed to North winds. We had a (walking) snowblower and I used that for the first winter. It sucked. With the hill, waiting for a melt isn't possible - there's no way to keep control of a car going down that hill, and at the base of the drive across the narrow road is a line of mature pines. We got very little snow last winter, but what snow we did mostly came in a two week window and it was multiple feet of heavy snow. Subcompact diesel tractor with a snowpusher (not a plow). Driveway takes no time, and I use the bucket and forklift forks all the time. I have a mower deck but I use a little cub cadet instead as the tractor (especially with liquid in the back tires) is kinda heavy for a "lawn". (I have very little lawn, converted the front 3/4 acre to mostly prairie), but I still have to mow some. Every situation is different.

LeifCarrotson 2y ago

Welcome! I've been here my entire life. That strategy has worked for the past several years, but it wouldn't have worked when I was a kid. The average number of days with snow on the ground has been decreasing by about 5 days per decade since I was a kid: https://glisa.umich.edu/resources-tools/climate-impacts/precipitation/ https://glisa.umich.edu/resources-tools/climate-impacts/prec... In the 70s, we had about 75 days each winter with more than an inch of snow left on the ground. Last winter, we had barely 20 (El Nino made it extremely warm) but the average over the past decade is currently about 45. It snowed a few times, but always melted shortly thereafter. That's a new trend. I recently got a 36" HDPE blade shovel and will just walk my 400ft driveway for 4 or 5 passes in each direction, holding the shovel at an angle so the snow rolls off to the right like a snowplow - it's really slick (pun intended) and way easier than the old scoop-and-throw technique when there's less than an inch on the ground. Once a month, I have to start up the snowblower and clear a heavy storm and cut back the banks left by the shovel, but those are rare. If you just expose a bit of pavement, the whole thing is likely to melt in a couple days.

itsanaccount 2y ago
I don't have pavement. These edge tamers on teh bucket have been doing good for me on gravel. Lets me keep the crown on the drive. I'd love to have an actual blade but I haven't found anything cheap enough with runners. https://r2manufacturing.com/products/edge-tamer https://r2manufacturing.com/products/edge-tamer The heat effect you mention is there though. The drive is 4 feet up out of the swamp. I'm pretty sure its why the deer bed up against the southern side. They're using the mass of stone to stay warm.

sys_64738 2y ago

> People have no idea how fast global warming is happening. You're not wrong. The transition in New England in recent years has been unbelievable. I only used the snow blower twice per winter for the past few years. People who live in the southern states don't realize what's going on. The cold, snowy north is becoming a thing of the past and the best weather is moving up here.