We get snow occasionally in Eugene, but usually it’s a couple of inches that are soon gone. But when I opened the front door this morning, this is what I was greeted with: some 14-16″ of snow, and it was still coming down.
After I attended to some urgent plants that were doubled over and/or broken, and some cable and phone lines at my rentals that had come down or were threatening to, the dog and I went for a neighborhood walk and I shot a few cars for your viewing and identifying pleasure.
This was the only way to get around, as even Subarus were having a hard time to lack of ground clearance.
This was another alternative.
This is a new one for me. Welcome to the neighborhood.
I helped push this Subaru. it was really struggling, but after he got it pointed downhill, he made it out.
I also helped a couple of other guys push a Tacoma TRD pickup which was not going anywhere. I assumed for sure it was 4WD, with its tall stance and TRD badging. Not so…
An Impreza lover lives here.
The dog couldn’t get enough of it. I finally made him come home, because I want to go put on my cross country skis.
My truck’s not going anywhere for a while. Nor is my xB. Stephanie texted me from California at 8PM last night giving me a heads up on the snow. I had no idea; earlier in the day there was no snow forecast. I quickly got dressed and put on the snow tires on the xB in the driveway, but its not going anywhere as long as it’s this deep.
That is a good chunk of snow! Looks soft and fluffy at least. We are having the coldest February in forty years. I woke up to -34C (-30F) with lots of humidity this morning.
14-16 inches….a spring day here in Buffalo. A few weeks ago woke up to 18″ of snow, 40mph winds and wind chill about -15 degrees. By 10 AM the City plows had my street curb to curb
Here in Tualatin not much snow and none in East Portland though still glad I have snow tires. That weather in Eugene last month when driving home from Cresent City would have severally hampered my schedule.
Thank you for sharing these photographs and does Eugene plan on plowing as well as treating the roads? Looks like someone got their Fit stuck. Two wheel drive trucks and SUVs especially lifted ones sure are odd to me.
That stuff looks wet and heavy. Dude with the black Silverado really needs to clean the roof off.
Over in England, 20 deg C, workshop roller doors open, watching a chap machine strakes for a limited edition Aston Martin…no skies required.
Something must be happening, for sure.
My nose agitatedly tells me spring is coming very close here in western Germany… haaaa…. CHEEEEE *sniffle*.
Looks like tough snow to get through, lots of water. Perfect for building some snowmen.
That’s what happens when you post about the dreary rainy weather, mother nature sends a nice snow storm to cheer things up. Now its my turn to be depressed. T boned last Friday, on the way back from the animal shelter.
Suspension bent badly, limped home on the spare, wheel bearing howling, only 5 blocks from home luckily.
Still trying to find out if at fault driver that shoved me into the curb has insurance. Glad I went for the uninsured motorist coverage. Looks like the Jetta is done.
So sorry to hear this. Is this your high mileage 86 Jetta?
Bear is settling in nicely, despite the bumpy start.
Thanks, jerseyfred. Happily it wasn’t the ’86, this is a ’87 I bought in 2015 for a niece as a first car. Fixed it up, she decided she wanted automatic and never took the car. I have been alternating month to month on the insurance, if this happened last month it would have been the one I bought back in ’91. The ’86 (301k miles) is safe. This is the somewhat lower milage one, (266k miles). The ’86 has 27 years of memories tied to it, so I’m glad it is safe, its much more valuable to me. Was planning on selling the ’87 anyways, so now that I think about it, actually it saved my ’86!
I’m so glad it wasn’t the 86…I know how much that car means to you.
Wow I’m so sorry that happened to you and your beautiful Jetta. I’ve always loved these ever since my parents purchased a red one brand new back in 1990. My first car was a 91 Golf in the same color. I hope that it works out for you.
Wow, I always hate to see a nice old car taken off the road like that.
Wow! Haven’t seen that much in Portland for awhile. In NE PDX we got just enough to be pretty but nothing sticking on the streets (so far). Got several inches a couple of weeks ago. It was a dry and mild winter with no hard freezes until Feb came along. This month it’s been cold and precipitating to make up for lost time. It is good for the snowpack we all need.
Like your neighbors, Lily got her Subaru up to Mt. Hood just fine one snowy day and then got high-centered in the parking lot.
I’m guessing Eugene has few if any plows, since a snow like this is quite rare.
Enjoy!
Seeing the numerous old Volvos reminded me of how Click and Clack of NPR’s Car Talk used to often make fun of Volvo for being a Swedish car that you couldn’t drive in the snow, because they stuck with rear wheel drive for so long. So I suspect those Volvos aren’t going anywhere for a while, either.
That’s a pretty snowfall.
Enjoy it while lasts! Hopefully it can soak in, and help out your local water tables some, given how dry your summers have been.
Where Eastern Canada used to consistently get snowfall for much of the Winter, we now get many episodes of freezing rain and ice added to the mix.
I bet nobody there have snow tires or studs. How many have chains? All those computers and driven wheels won’t help you with proper tires.
I have a feeling that I am one of the few people with snow tires around here.
A fair number do. Folks that go skiing or know they’re going to be going in the mountains typically do.
I do! But I never did when I had the 4WD Subaru.
Yow! My daughter lives down there and just got her electricity back after 5 hours. The town is just hammered. Looking at the VW Beetle in the third photo, is there anything more forlorn and out of place than a convertible with a foot of snow on the roof?
It really grinds my gears to see that Chevy pickup moving without any of the snow removed from its roof. Such an easy thing to do but so many people are just lazy and don’t think of the consequences.
I imagine Eugene is gonna be shut down for a bit right? Does the city have any snow plows or salt?
A few snow plows. Way too few.
Salt?!? Did you speak that evil word? This is Curbsidelandia; salt is our mortal enemy.
Seriously, no salt. On the highways too. They spread sand/crushed lava “cinders”.
My Crosstrek has Blizzaks and 8.7” of ground clearance and went well in the Friendly neighborhood today.
“I assumed for sure it was 4WD, with its tall stance and TRD badging. Not so…”
Toyota calls this the “Tacoma PreRunner,” and claim the design is based on the support vehicles they use for Desert Racing. The buyer gets the “tough” look of a 4×4 (along with taller door sills and pickup box), without the complicated driveline.
The attached website says they’ve been around since 1998, but they are hard to pick out in a crowd.
https://www.tacomahq.com/163/what-is-tacoma-prerunner/
The PreRunner is really a 2wd version of the 4wd Tacoma. It has the same rear axle with locking differential and 6 lug hubs front and rear, while standard 2wd Tacos of that vintage have 5 lug hubs. Kind of an odd spec, but it is more than just a lifted 2wd Tacoma. The locker may or may not help in the snow.
Thank you for the information.
Beautiful photos. What’s that in the 4th photo?
I was thinking GM H-body, but I looked up a ’90 LeSabre coupe, and the door handles and wheel details are different…
80’s BMW 635CSI, no?
Yes. With a Volvo 780 coupe in front of it.
My neighbor calls that wet heavy stuff “heart attack snow”. I have other words for it, none of them printable.
Wow, that’s a lot of snow. I don’t remember the last time we got that much in one dump here (which is good). As I get older the snow gets less attractive, well, at least the shoveling. Arizona starts to look better and better (not Flagstaff though, they apparently got SEVERAL feet last week.)
Having just spent the afternoon releasing the bamboo from being totally flattened and shoveling the driveway, I tend to agree.
But skiing around the neighborhood and watching the kids sledding on the steeper hills is fun. Everybody stays home; no place to go. That’s the good part. I met neighbors I hadn’t seen in years.
That is some snow pileup. However, you are forecast for 4-5 degrees C daily for the rest of the week, then up to 7-8 range next week, so the next problem you will have is the melting and accumulation of water. Hope the drainage system can handle the quick runoff and avert any flooding.
Hah, nice snowfall. Don’t go blaming the Alberta Clipper for that one. I saw a satellite image which had showed where you got that mess.
Eugene got an identical snowfall in the winter of ’68 when I lived there. No plows anywhere and everyone marooned as you are today. But in a day or two it was gone.
The worst temperature for traction is just around the freezing point, which looks to be the temperature in these photos. The tires spin on the film of water. At lower temps, little if any water forms and the tires get a grip.
Close. January, 1969. 47 inches. I was only 11, but I remember the snow coming up to my chest.
Yikes!!!! So glad I live in the South where it rarely snows or gets below freezing temperatures, and when it does, its barely enough to stick and is usually melted within a few hours. And on the rare occasion that a snowflake or two falls and sticks, the whole city shuts down because we are just not prepared for winter weather and driving conditions. We do get a lot of black ice on our roads though which is really treacherous to drive in.
I’m still feeling the effects of the Seattle area snow storms. I’m out in the foothills with just enough elevation that we ended up with a foot that was quickly followed up by another two. It was a serious fight to make it out of the driveway and then neighborhood in my F250 4×4 with real chain chains. Then they finally plowed our neighborhood and I had a 4′ wall in front of my driveway when I got home.
Amazing to see the amount of snow. We never get that here (Netherlands). In contrast, today we will see record high temperatures – 19 degrees C. Normal temp would be around 8-10.
Love to see the first gen Subaru Legacy are still around. I owned a stationwagon, loved it. Pprepared it to keep it for a very long time as it had all the bells and whistles I wanted (pretty rare). However it got written off by someone I loaned the car. Could not find a good similar replacement here.
News said Eugene got 18 inches, a hundred year storm. In 2008 PDX area got a similar storm at Christmas time. Only got a super light dusting up here this time. Studded tires came in handy back then. That’s wild weather for Eugene big time!
Fun times, so long as they don’t last too long.
We’ve had the winteriest winter here in a long time. Last weekend we went to visit DerekD at the camp he is working at for the year. Very fun to cross country ski and snow shoe with my son. 🙂
Then freezing rain and 100km/hr winds the last couple of days, a birch tree fell on my neighbor’s BMW 🙁
There is jealousy here in central Indiana. I look forward to at least one snow like this each winter, and get one maybe one year in 6.
You have to love the optimism of the guy who tried to take the Honda Fit out into that stuff.
Is a person who tries to take a Honda Fit out in that snow an optimist or delusional?
I’m ‘next door’ in Springfield, OR, about 7 miles east of Paul. Got 13″ the first night, then another 2 more last night. Still lots of businesses closed. You bet that Wal-Mart’s open, though…..
Found out that our AWD Ford Edge is quite capable. Motored through 8″ tall stacks of snow just fine. (It does help that I just put new Continentals on it last week……)
Paul, your pictures and descriptions look and sound quite wonderful and enjoyable……from the distance of my sofa here in the relative warmth of New Orleans, LA.
Old Subarus in their natural habitat!