Whiteout Winter Conditions Are Dangerous
As I write this today, it is January 19. The heart of the winter in Western New York. It is also winter in the Northern Hemisphere. We are experiencing first hand, whiteout winter conditions.
Well if you live in southern states of the United States, or maybe the southwestern area of the United States, you may not even know what a whiteout winter weather is.
A whiteout is actually an extremely, quite harmful climate condition. Whiteouts take place in the cool, snowy regions of the world, consisting of the northern place of the lower 48 states of the United States as well as in Alaska.
Like I said maybe the areas I mentioned plus the state of Hawaii, may not know of whiteouts.
Conditions Where Whiteout Winter Weather May Exist
Whiteouts may take place in these various kinds of weather conditions. Please read carefully as these could help you out someday.
- When there is actually a hefty snowstorm or a snowstorm accompanied with very strong winds, the snowfall comes down fast and furious. Sometimes it is snowing so hard that you can not see the road surface in front of you. I have had this literally happen to me many times.
- A whiteout can occur when you have a condition where the snow is or at least it appears to be blowing directly straight at you. It will look to you like a thousand arrows have been shot directly at you at the same moment. You will have an extremely difficult time looking forward at that point when driving.
- A TIP To Help You: I have always found great success in these occasions looking at the edge of the road on the outside. Which is to say the right-hand edge of the highway.
- You end up slowing down very, very much in order to continue on your way to your destination. Otherwise you would probably hit something, or go off the road. It can be an extremely tough driving situation.
- There are times, that you can with virtual certainty, cannot find your hand in front of your face.
- Whiteouts may additionally develop when there is actually no snow falling from the sky. The cloud cover can diffuse the illumination of the sunshine. Within this circumstance, a person can’t decipher or situate the area of the snowy property as well as distinguish the ground from the cloud cover. In other words, you will not be able to tell where the snow starts and where the snow ends literally. You are totally fooled by what you are not seeing in your mind’s eye.
Don’t ever take whiteout conditions too lightly, they are very serious
3 Quick Tips For Driving In a Winter Whiteout
Here are 3 quick tips for handling the whiteout better, if you are out driving in one. Please remember these come up very suddenly and are not very pleasant to drive into.
Always be prepared. You should seriously consider these 3 tips when you are dealing with the winter weather.
Tip #1
Never even be caught in a whiteout. You can try to plan out your life so you don’t need to even be out in the whiteout. Observe your weather.
Be aware of your weather conditions daily. know what you are dealing with today. You could look into buying yourself a more inexpensive, good weather station that you may observe before you do anything. You may check out these two recommended readings from earlier posts I have written.
You can read La Crosse Technology 308-1412S Color LCD Wireless Weather Station Review and Using Weather Alerts for more information. Another good one would, if I may suggest Checking Your Local Weather-Some Suggestions From Us.
Tip #2
LED Pods Power Plus 2Pcs 7” 144W LED Light Bar
You can look into having some fog lights installed on your vehicle. This isn’t essential but it most likely would help you out much with your visibility seeing in the shooting arrows of snowing and/or snow blowing as well.
This is a very good looking and highly rated set of power LED fog lights, they are rated highly by satisfied customers.
These lights help prevent visual fatigue which will happen very quickly when driving in these conditions.
They deliver over 14,000 lumens and 144 watts of light to your visibility. it’s time to at least take a serious look.
Now this tip isn’t for everyone, but I am sure drivers in Colorado, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Wyoming, Montana, and need I go on where you do experience whiteout very often during the winter season, this should be thought about and considered.
There are things not to hit, in certain states. You know things like Elk, Moose, and Deer, to name a few. So you will need to to be able to see all obstacles.
Tip #3
LED Road Flares Emergency Lights – Roadside Warning Car Safety Flare Kit
So if you do have an accident, or you decide you can’t keep attempting to drive, you will need to STAND OUT, or be seen in the whiteout conditions.
Your answer is to have a set of road flares with you, that can be seen. These flares will cut through the whiteout and help other drivers to see you and your vehicle pulled off the road.
Very important that you are seen and not hit. If you need to pull off the road, from visual fatigue, or your nerves are shot, then you need to consider a few things.
So you can consider how much your safety is worth to you? How much is your family’s safety worth to you?
- These flares are extra special in the value they bring to you. They are super bright, crushproof, and rainproof (snow proof) as well.
- A few extra bells and whistles would, 9 different flashing modes, 15 super bright LEDs. 12 Amber and 3 white.
- CRUSHPROOF & MAGNETIC: super strong rare earth magnets will keep them secured to the side of your truck or RV
- Also they have a special tool (a key chain screwdriver) included to help you with changing the batteries quick and EASY.
- It comes with pre-installed “AAA” batteries. PLUS they are also included with a special bonus tool-a combo glass breaker and a seat belt cutter in case these are needed at the time of an accident.
You can rest with peace of mind, knowing you and your family are protected sitting on the side of a highway.
Take winter weather conditions seriously. Use your weather knowledge and your weather information provided to you by your weather station as a tool to help you figure out how to best live your live, and make the best winter weather decisions.
Some Miscellaneous Truths About Whiteout Weather
There are instances wherein the more northern polar locations it can be that massive mountain ranges that are actually covered with powder snow could be concealed under white cloud cover.
In these situations an individual can’t distinguish the perspective from the slants of a mountain range in the entire snowy landscape. The only method to make the ground visible is to put a dark item on it.
During a whiteout, vehicle drivers cannot identify the road surface area against the snow-covered fields along the public highway. Thus it is quite typical that auto collisions are frequently happening during whiteouts.
Airplanes have actually crashed into the sides of hills during whiteouts. So you can see air travelers and motorist alike can find these conditions hazardous to their health.
Whiteouts threaten to alpinist, skiers, and snowboarders as well. So these people show give respect to the possibility that whiteout may occur at any time.
