Riding the Line Between Snow And Rain

This past weekend we were trying to time a flexible yet sizable drive based on the weather. It would have us going westward through the mountains of Western Maryland while a weather system was traveling eastbound. 

Mountains and higher elevations tend to complicated life when it comes to potential snow storms, inclines, ice, and road preparedness for all of the above. Add to that the two day window of a weekend, and trying to figure out when it's best to leave and when we definitely want to make sure to be back. Additionally, we knew to expect more rain here, but there was a lot of uncertainty as to to what was between here and our western destination in the middle of all of the above. 

It makes for an interesting juggle, to say the least. Not to mention, it's a lot like Vegas gambling. Try to get there before it all hits? Wait until it all passes? Hope the timetable and the storm doesn't shift in a way that does not serve us! And heaven forbid: no freezing rain or sleet!

There's a lot of unpredictability that exists when riding the line between snow and rain. A few degrees of temperature difference can make all the difference indeed. I think the impact of it all has hit harder as this is really the first winter storm system that was heading our way this year, when the ground at our house has yet to see its first flake in probably 2 years.

All of this lead me to pondering and the land of investigation...and the following videos. Might as well learn a little bit while we were waiting for our travel window to fall in our lap!

Graphic created at canva.com; Videos from https://youtu.be/Ymq1gb4U2Xc?si=Nei8v4Y39Gt8cRXY; https://youtu.be/Cf6El0mI1fM?si=F3OAw7r8EtEKW2ok