<p>That’s true, Ema lol. I know they were fine in Detroit, Farmington (actually, is that even Wayne County?), and in the P-C area. </p>
<p>I did find out I have a battery charger. I’m going to head out now, try to find it, and have my friend skype me through it.
He is laughing at my complete idiocy when it comes to cars :(</p>
<p>Good news- car is working now AND I learned how to charge a car battery. (Better late than never). Drove around a local sub and roads didn’t seem too bad. Didn’t venture out on main roads just in case my car stalled. </p>
<p>Warming up tomorrow though so good news everyone, we’ve survived the polar vortex!</p>
<p>Well, I’m back. Most of the main arteries (Ford Road) were fine; some of the side streets were still pretty monstrous. Watch out for the ramps!</p>
<p>H drove into Detroit this morning - his normal 45-minute commute took 2 hours. He has some choice words about those Detroit side streets</p>
<p>Hope everyone is driving well and making it to their destination safely. </p>
<p>Black ice is no joke. I know a couple winters we weren’t able to go out because of the ice (and living on a hill didn’t make it any easier…)</p>
<p>All the roads I drove on this morning were still mostly covered with snow-- it was packed down pretty good (slippery) but driveable. I will still avoid driving as much as I can for a few days. </p>
<p>All in all this wasn’t as bad as I expected it to me, at least for me. I did notice my RV antifreeze filled drain pipe was SLUSHY this morning so we added more antifreeze. I guess maybe I should have found a way to get the water out of the pipe instead of just adding the antifreeze… I expected it would be diluted but not enough to still start freezing! I imagine it would have stayed slushy at worst and not gotten worse but that is not a chance I care to take. I miss my hall shower. Tired of being woken up by fiance in the master bath in the morning. 
I just hope that was the only problem pipe and not just the only one we found.</p>
<p>scout, that’s good to hear. Did you make it on the freeways at all? I’m wondering if I’m safer taking Plymouth Rd to Ann Arbor tomorrow rather than 14 (I said 23 earlier- I’m not sure why- major brain fart). </p>
<p>That’s weird about Detroit. My friends that work at Quicken Loans down there (I think it’s on Michigan Ave?) said the roads were good as of yesterday.
I definitely imagine the side streets there being a nightmare though.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s going to be in the 40s this weekend for the Ice Festival. Figures!</p>
<p>There are certainly varying definitions of “good,” too. My fiance and I never agree over whether the roads are good. Ever. lol. After the new years storm he promised to pick me up from work if the roads were still bad when he came home, and he said they were fine, and I almost killed him when I eventually made it home. His definition of good is, “well I didn’t die.”</p>
<p>Romani, my AA friends who took 94 and 23 this morning said it was brutal, but conditions seemed to have improved this afternoon. My H drives to Wayne State and he said the roads near campus were bad - I’m not surprised that things would be better near Quicken Loans. (After all, isn’t Dan Gilbert the REAL mayor of Detroit).</p>
<p>yeah, the ice festival - they always get the extremes of temperature. It’s either bone-chilling or balmy…</p>
<p>Good point, scout, didn’t think that one through… </p>
<p>Guess I’ll just give myself plenty of time in the morning and hope for the best! (Call for a cab if all else fails haha)</p>
<p>You’re right about the ice fest. It can just never hit that sweet spot :/</p>
<p>
:eek:</p>
<p>The same thing happens to me when we get really bad storms. One afternoon, I was at a restaurant with my cousins. One of them looked outside and said the storm was safe to drive in and that I could follow him in my car back to his place. I had NEVER had so much anxiety driving in my entire life. The rain was so bad I couldn’t see the lines on the highway let alone see more than a 100 ft in front of me. Good thing his car was a bright color and we made it safely.</p>
<p>Romani do you read AA.com? I get their updates on facebook and they are saying the ann arbor road commission or something is saying to stay off the free way if at all possible due to extreme ice conditions. I didn’t open the article to see which freeway they were talking about but that’s the resource I’d check if I were headed to A2.</p>
<p>No, I don’t but I will definitely check that out. </p>
<p>I’ve been so focused on making sure my car isn’t dead that I haven’t even given much thought to the roads :(.</p>
<p>AA, Ypsi, P-C, and the rest districts are planning on opening tomorrow so I’m hoping that means it’ll be good enough for the rest of us to get from A to B without ending up in C (the ditch).</p>
<p>Our school district has been on a 2 hour delay for 2 straight days due to the cold. It got down to 15 last night.</p>
<p>Amazing…it’s been near zero two mornings in a row, and NO schools canceled! Of course, we don’t really have much snow, and that helps. One more morning of cold, and then it warms up to the balmy 30’s!</p>
<p>It’s toasty in Madison: 7 degrees!!</p>
<p>Romani. </p>
<p>Info about roads into Ann Arbor:</p>
<p>[Too</a> cold for salt: Icy roads cause ‘nerve-wracking’ commute in Ann Arbor area | MLive.com](<a href=“Too cold for salt: Icy roads cause 'nerve-wracking' commute in Ann Arbor area - mlive.com”>Too cold for salt: Icy roads cause 'nerve-wracking' commute in Ann Arbor area - mlive.com)</p>
<p>A 2 hour delay would be heaven for most moms around here. As is, they haven’t been in school since Dec. 20th and aren’t going tomorrow. We were pleasantly surprised at how easily our trucks (have been in garage) started this morning. H plowed drive and lane for 6 hours. Would have been quicker if he didn’t get the tractor stuck and have to shovel it out. He hasn’t made it to work yet this week.</p>
<p>DIL went to work this morning via two major state highways and said they were awful. Had 3 slide-offs in front of her, traffic going about 35 mph.</p>
<p>People around here are getting major cabin-fever. I haven’t been out since Saturday, but it doesn’t bother me that much. The travel ban was just lifted this morning. They shouldn’t have been out. It makes it so much more difficult for plows, law enforcement, health workers, etc. Our highway dept. actually sent an email to the radio station to read that said, “We can’t plow if we have to stop and keep pulling people out of ditches. You may freeze to death.”</p>
<p>I think every one of my fb friends now has a sparking house. Not me!</p>
<p>My friends and I were antsy, so we decided to drive a little bit to see how the road conditions are now. </p>
<p>In Auburn Hills, they’re a lot better than they were this morning. I think the heat wave (lol) helped a lot. Before, the main roads to get to the University were completely covered in snow and ice, but as of this afternoon, they were a bit better. I didn’t feel like I was gonna die, so that’s a plus. </p>
<p>My mom says that the northern suburbs still have really icy and dangerous roads, though. Her district is open tomorrow, but everyone is going to be leaving early and driving carefully.</p>
<p>Most schools in NW Ohio closing for tomorrow, 4th day in a row - cant believe it! It only affects my youngest and she is fine, but moms on Facebook are saying its like one cruel joke! Everyone loved that day off Monday and Tuesday…by Thursday, not so much!!!</p>
<p>I worked from home because I had a dentist appointment at lunch time. The roads were absolutely horrendous on my way to the dentist. It took me 50 minutes to go about 10 miles. Every stop and start was iffy- sheet ice at least an inch thick (downriver-Detroit area). Several cars tried to stop, turn or start too fast and ended up in a snow bank.</p>
<p>But, the salt trucks were out and it was about 16 degrees then. One hour at the dentist and the ride home was significantly better. At least one lane of every road was just wet- the salt was working and you could get traction. It only took 25 minutes to get home (usually a 20 minute drive, so not bad at all). I suspect some of that will re-freeze tonight. The combination of sun, salt, warmer temp and traffic was working at that point today though. </p>
<p>I think they’ll have school tomorrow.</p>