Brooklynfilter: Dig my car out of the snow before or after it rains?

December 31, 2010 2:07 PM

I returned from vacation today (Brooklyn) to find my car under a few feet of snow and piled high on the side after the plows came by. It's supposed to rain on Sunday. Should I dig it out before or after the expected rains? Will the rain further turn the snow to ice or melt it? The temp on Sunday is supposed to be a high/low of 47/32. Thanks!
posted by sub-culture to Science & Nature (8 answers total)

It's probably best to dig it out *before* the rain. The rain will not melt the snow covering and surrounding your car. As an added bonus, the snow will simply absorb the rainwater, making clearing it off all the more time consuming.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:10 PM on December 31, 2010

Yeah you don't want any chance of any of that turning to ice.. I'd suck it up and shovel it out now rather than risking it. Unless it's a beater, of course ;)
posted by Glendale at 2:27 PM on December 31, 2010

I'd dig it out now, before the rain. Once it rains, it's going to be a wet, slushy, heavy mess that you will not want to deal with in order to dig your car out of. Even if the rain did melt some of it away, it's probably not going to go very far because i'm also guessing any drainage for all that water is also blocked by snow. It'll be a slushy mess surrounding your car. It'll be a much less miserable task to attempt to do it before the rains hit.
posted by cgg at 2:29 PM on December 31, 2010

I don't think the rain will melt it all, but it will melt a lot of it. It also was warm today. Wait. The warm weather has already made the snow as heavy as it will get. Rain won't make it worse. Just dig it out before the temperature drops below freezing during the day.

If cgg is correct about the clogged drainage, shoveling it today will be no different. There will still be a mess around your car tomorrow.
posted by AugustWest at 2:35 PM on December 31, 2010

Here in the midwest we got 4 to 7 inches just before Christmas. Last two days have been warm and a bit wet and it's almost all gone. Take that for what it's worth.
posted by sbutler at 4:01 PM on December 31, 2010

It's already starting to ice up at about six inches from the ground; shovel it (or pay some kids to) before it gets worse. I've been in areas (AHEM Kew Gardens AHEM) where they didn't bother shoveling a few walks -- I guess they assumed it would melt -- and it all ends up freezing eventually.
posted by griphus at 4:58 PM on December 31, 2010

If you don't shovel it, that car might not be going anywhere until spring.
posted by mhoye at 5:26 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

So here in Boston I just dug most of my car out today (not as much snow as in NYC but still plenty). I noticed that the snow really liked to nestle snugly against all external surfaces of the car. I would be very worried that if the snow doesn't get wiped out by the rain, it would melt and re-freeze around your tires and the rest of the undercarriage, making it very hard to get the car moving again. And a high temperature of 47 seems too low to be assured that the rain will take out most of the snow.

My advice would be to go dig it out at about 3pm tomorrow, so that the snow is good and soft when you have to hack at it. Good luck!
posted by A dead Quaker at 5:51 PM on December 31, 2010