I’m driving from Buffalo to Pittsburgh today, and there are some pretty scary news reports about a wind storm that’s supposed to last from about 7:00 a.m. Sunday (now) to 7:00 a.m. Monday. Already “empty trailers” are banned on highways. Everyone here is trying to convince me to leave tomorrow. I have a busy day at work (in Pittsburgh) tomorrow, and really should get back, but also I don’t want to get blown into another car, or off the road, etc.
How dangerous is it really, to drive in a storm like this?
All I can tell you is that the outlook for this part of southwestern Ontario contains the following statement from an official in the weather office: “There certainly is potential for impacts to high vehicles like trucks, especially if they are not heavily loaded. If they are going perpendicular to the wind, they risk being knocked over. Even small cars will feel the buffeting from the wind …”.
The predicted maximum gusts (not sustained winds) will be just slightly below wind speeds that, if they were sustained, would be a Category 1 hurricane. Plus, around here anyway, significant snowfall is predicted. Not a lot of snow accumulation, but enough of the white crap flying around to potentially create whiteout conditions in that wind.
FFS! Be sensible and stay put. Do you really want to be on the wrong side of a blown-over lorry? Stuck under a fallen tree? Your job is not worth your life. Your manager can task a colleague with your work.
Stay put and leave at a sensible hour tomorrow and get to work at lunchtime and work late to make up the hours.
It makes a difference what kind of vehicle you’re driving. A slab sided beast of a van will be challenged much more than a typical family sedan. The aerodynamics of the vehicle do matter.
I don’t know that I would be that concerned if I were in your place but you need to do what’s best for you. You know your vehicle, the route and the weather better than I. If you can square it with your employer, all’s well.
I have to agree with Quartz. I regularly drive a 20 or so mile stretch that is notorious for wind/blowing snow. Ground blizzards. Bad enough being pushed around and worrying about other vehicles, but blowing snow can make it nearly impossible to see what lane your in. Those 20 miles can seem like a 100.
I don’t know your work situation, but I would hope your employer would understand or even appreciate your caution.
It’s not just about you. Think of everyone else on the road who shouldn’t be driving as well. They will compound the problem.
And don’t forget winds bring down branches, whole trees, power lines, etc. Right now the storm is widespread and causing power outages all over: https://poweroutage.us/
I regularly drive in high wind and agree it very much depends on the profile of your vehicle and your direction of travel. If you decide to make the trip stay away from the semis and anything with large flat profiles the best you can. Just because empty trailers are banned doesn’t mean no one will try to run one. Even loaded trailers will topple if the driver reacts to gusts improperly.
Side winds will have you constantly adjusting to stay on your line, drive a little slower and be vigilant.
Leave plenty of room on all sides of you. Watch out for 18 wheelers, vans and SUV’s.
Don’t go if there is even patchy glare ice. Do not use cruise control.
If you’re driving a sedan, wind alone needn’t stop you, as long as you take the precautions others have advised. However, I read the linked article, and the blowing snow is the real hazard. A low-profile vehicle is safest in a windstorm, but the visibility during a ground blizzard tends to be poor.
Discretion is the better part of valor, all right.
Thanks, all! How rude of me - I posted this, decided to leave, and hopped in the car in the space of about 15 minutes.
My boss absolutely would have understood - my schedule here is pretty flexible, anyway - but I have several meetings on the calendar today, and it would have been quite a lot of hassle to try to move everything around with essentially no notice to (or agreement from) the other people in the meetings, who technically wouldn’t have been notified until this morning.
Anyway, there was no snow at all; as a matter of fact temps were close to 60 F here yesterday. The winds while I was driving were more annoying than scary - I did have to concentrate more than usual, keep both hands on the wheel, etc.
I was glad I left early (hours earlier than planned). Once I got home, things picked up and we did lose electricity several times. A giant pine across the street came down.
Thanks again for the advice, concern, and caution.
I drove further east in upstate NY yesterday. Like you said, the winds were noticeable but not particularly dangerous. We have a roof box on top of the Subaru and you could feel the wind hit it, but never enough to really move the car.
A little late to this party but as a cyclist I can tell you that tailwinds are great. Headwinds mean extra energy but are okay. Sidewinds are scary but manageable; gusty sidewinds are scary as shit. You’re riding along, & before you know it, you’re half a lane, or more, from where you were a few seconds ago.
Driving, high-profile vehicles, box trucks & TTs, especially empty become sails. As stated, in a sedan it isn’t that bad; just pay extra attention. (& why do we turn down the radio when doing something technical, like trying to parallel park?)
The gusts right where Route 90 turns onto Route 79 (closest to Lake Erie) were pretty brutal, but that only lasted for 45 minutes or so. It would have been really scary on a bike! It just required extra attention (with the radio off, of course!) in a car.
Winds were 30-40mph with gusts up to 60mph. I was wondering what the highest wind speed you could fairly safely drive in was and if it was agreed upon.
For me, other than a short stretch it wasn’t bad. I have a mid-size sedan. On a motorcycle or van I’m sure it would’ve been worse.