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Author Topic: leagues and winter storms  (Read 8600 times)

BrianCRX90

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leagues and winter storms
« on: December 07, 2013, 01:35:18 PM »
Hello, I live in Texas and if there is a little snow or ice the leagues will not bowl and even if the roads are still drive able. It really sucks. The bowling alleys usually remain open unless there is a thick layer of ice on the parking lots along with the roads.

I'm curious what do people do likein Ohio, Colorado, New York..Wisconsin do? If the weather has some ice or snow of the roads is your league cancelled? Or to people just deal with it and have the will and the measures to ensure the roads and parking lots are safer and leagues continue and the bowling alleys are open?

I'm sure obviously if it's a hardcore blizzard then leagues may be cancelled but I am wondering on a average winter storm where you live. Otherwise many people would not be bowling on a weekly basis during fall/winter leagues.

 

lifted rillo

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #16 on: December 09, 2013, 01:25:28 PM »
Y'all must be talking about the southern parts of Texas. I live in Amarillo (the Panhandle) and we see snow and ice every year. Most years we have at least one day where the whole area is a solid sheet of ice. About every other year, we get hit with a blizzard. And I've only seen leagues cancel three times in the 12 years I've bowled.

scrub49

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #17 on: December 09, 2013, 02:13:09 PM »
North Central Texas I was speaking of ice.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2013, 02:15:45 PM by scrub49 »

bacon22

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #18 on: December 09, 2013, 02:19:47 PM »
Here is Nebraska it usually takes about 4-6 inches of snow to cancel league,  if it snows the night before the roads will be cleared in time for league.  so they don't get cancelled often because it has to be a lot of snow at the right time

lifted rillo

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #19 on: December 09, 2013, 02:50:10 PM »
@scrub: As far north as we are here, EVERYTHING is southern Texas to us haha.

Gene J Kanak

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #20 on: December 09, 2013, 03:07:13 PM »
I have lived in Illinois the majority of my life, and I can only remember a couple of times here and there where league was cancelled due to bad weather. Obviously, since we get snow and ice every year, we are fairly used to it. Also, we have the advantage of having plow trucks, salt, chemical ice melter, etc. That is not the case in North Texas. When I lived down there a few years back while working for USBC, I was amazed at how ill equipped that area is to handle snow and ice. Then again, they don't get that type of weather on a consistent basis, so they probably figure it's not worth the money to buy the materials to deal with it. Basically, they just wait for the temps to go up so that the snow/ice can melt. Until that happens, don't count on seeing many people out and about!

Zanatos1914

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #21 on: December 09, 2013, 04:34:54 PM »
I live in Dallas TX...

What does snow look like...  :-)

I wanted to bowl outside because the ice giving your more slide than the lanes....  Can somebody please find me some oil....   :'(   

bradl

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #22 on: December 09, 2013, 04:37:46 PM »
Here in Omaha,Ne I can only think of a couple of times when league was cancelled in the last eight seasons.

When I lived in Omaha, we stayed home, or in my case, stayed home and watched Saturday morning cartoons! :)

Seriously, I can probably count at least 15 times in the 18 years of bowling I did in Omaha (ages 3 - 21) in which leagues were cancelled. Those were during the 80s and 90s, including the times where the Elkhorn and Platte Rivers were iced over to the point where they had to blow up the ice to clear the jam across the bridge on I-80 and out past Elkhorn.

But I distinctly remember a time when leagues were cancelled because there was a long night of freezing rain, then froze hard over that, to where the weight of the ice brought down not just the power lines, but the poles and trees as well.

Ticked me off too, because I had just picked up my first high performance ball ever (urethane Blue Hammer) and wanted to try it out in my youth league. Had to wait a week!


I live in Dallas TX...

What does snow look like...  :-)

I wanted to bowl outside because the ice giving your more slide than the lanes....  Can somebody please find me some oil....   :'(   

Oil isn't what you need! If anything, for that amount of slick, 100 grit Abralon, or stay at home!   ;D

Sorry.. all my relatives live in either Oklahoma or Texas. That, by law, allows me to pick on anyone there!  :P

BL.

scrub49

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #23 on: December 09, 2013, 04:56:30 PM »
lifted rillo you are right it is at least an 6 hours drive from Dallas to Amarillo and I live 15 miles south-east  from Dallas.                     

michelle

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #24 on: December 11, 2013, 09:34:08 AM »
There is a difference between that level of inclement weather being projected in areas that are accustomed to dealing with it as opposed to those areas (like Texas) where it MIGHT happen once every couple of years and where people have next to no experience dealing with the roads...hell, peeps in Texas can barely drive in rain when it is warm, and you want them barreling down the road on ice?

I went through a similar discussion on a different board with some people, but many of those business decisions are based upon liability situations.  When you have government agencies closing and a business stays open, it places their employees AND customers at risk, especially when some of the area they serve IS buried in frozen precipitation.  I know when I left the office last Friday, there were vehicles that were clearly coming from a few hours north that were STILL throwing snow and ice.  That says there WERE areas that had significant accumulations.  And airlines don't cancel/postpone just for grins either...but the boards were full of changed schedules for flights to/from DAL and DFW. 

lifted rillo

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #25 on: December 11, 2013, 12:22:42 PM »
The difference between our town of 200,000 people and DFW, is the highway system. We have two interstates, and one interchange. No bridges more than two-high. With everything so flat here, it's easy for the sand trucks to make icy roads safe. DFW has a lot of traffic, major highways, and 7-high interchanges. F that noise haha

BrianCRX90

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #26 on: December 12, 2013, 01:38:05 PM »
I'm in Fort Worth (D/FW). I always wondered why there is always freezing rain then turns to a thick layer of ice vs nice, fluffy snow. Ice really sucks to drive on.

With that said, the secretary on my league has cancelled league for snow also. Sometimes it is understandable but sometimes I don't think they secretary should have the authority to cancel anything! If the bowling alley remains open, then of course the league should bowl also!

If it wasn't for my mom finding out for herself because it had just started to have some freezing rain, I would have showed up. The alley was still open and I would have wasted my time since the league canceled. One time the secretary did this I showed up and many other people did during a mild snowstorm that had just happened 2 hours before and the other league next to us bowled like normal while we found out our secretary took it upon herself to cancel the league.

On Saturday I have a league across town and and is along a freeway. At this point, the roads were several inches of solid ice and was obviously dangerous to drive on. Also, the bowling alley was actually shut down found out later.

It's been one week since the storm started. I better call the bowling alley to make sure I'm bowling. It's 45 and sunny but you never know...there could be one patch of ice out there somewhere.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 01:40:12 PM by BrianCRX90 »

BrunsMike

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #27 on: December 12, 2013, 11:14:31 PM »
In the last 5 years on Wednesday night the league has cancelled bowling at least once every year due to a snow storm with winter storm warnings. It will normally take 10+" of snow within 6-12 hours before league night to cancel the night. 3 years ago I was coming home from work, left at 2:30pm and took me until 5:45 to make it home. I didn't even make it fully into my driveway to officially call it making it home 100% lol.

Hope we don't have any cancellations this year!
Mike Zadler

michelle

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #28 on: December 13, 2013, 09:52:50 AM »
I'm in Fort Worth (D/FW). I always wondered why there is always freezing rain then turns to a thick layer of ice vs nice, fluffy snow. Ice really sucks to drive on.

With that said, the secretary on my league has cancelled league for snow also. Sometimes it is understandable but sometimes I don't think they secretary should have the authority to cancel anything! If the bowling alley remains open, then of course the league should bowl also!

No the league should not necessarily be bowling simply because the center had some staff that were able to make it in to work.  League officials have every right to be concerned about not just the safety of league bowlers but also the liability situation that exists when you basically tell a bowler to ignore inclement weather conditions where personal safety could be at risk and that they have to do so or pay up for the week regardless...

One would think that a person living in the metroplex could think in terms of a big picture...obviously that is not the case and it is too much for people to pay heed to requests from government officials to keep off the road except for absolutely essential travel.  Bowling is not absolutely essential. 

BrunsMike

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Re: leagues and winter storms
« Reply #29 on: December 13, 2013, 10:14:44 AM »
Just walking out the door in the best weather stills puts you at risk for injury just because people these days don't pay attention while driving thanks to cell phones!

In the last 5 years I've been in a few accidents thankfully none were very serious. I didn't make it to bowling on those nights.

Just being technical lol but when conditions are winter storm warning bad that's when leagues should be cancelled and extended 1 week later.
Mike Zadler