Grinding to a halt
posted 2007/02/06 at 21:18

Ever since I got my new computer desk in here, whenever I work at my computer I've been treated to a view of my backyard, which just so happens to border on the main Toledo highway loop, I-475, near where it hooks up with US-23 (the main route from Toledo to Ann Arbor and central Michigan).

For most of the night tonight there's been one lane of I-475 -- the westbound lane that leads to US-23 South -- that has barely been moving if at all. We only had about half an inch of snow today, but given that we've barely broken double digit highs the past couple of days, that was enough to make the roads treacherous. We're under a snow emergency right now, and I-75 (which is on the other side of town from the house) is being described on the news as completely iced over.

The thing is, although I wouldn't swear to it, I'm almost positive I can remember Toledo having worse problems than this. There's only three to four inches of snow on the ground right now, and I can remember having close to a foot of snow within the past two to three years. While the temperatures are certainly bad -- bad enough that schools around here are closing (they never closed for low temperatures when I was a student grumble grumble grumble), and bad enough that I've been curtailing my own plans for going out -- I swear I can remember temperatures getting a lot worse than this.

Perhaps it's just the long line of barely-moving traffic outside my window that's driving it all home to me right now. Like Mom just pointed out, though, you worry that someone's car could stop out there. Someone with a baby that needs to stay warm. I'm on the opposite side of the highway from the stalled lane, so if people there need to go for help they'll probably go to the housing complex to the north of us, but it's hard not to want to do something to help the people who are waiting to get onto US-23 right now.

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