Surviving a Blizzard: My Nerve-Racking Journey Driving a Semi-Truck Through a Bad Wyoming Storm
If you are wondering what it is like to drive a semi-truck and trailer through a blizzard you have come to the right place. Recently, I faced a blizzard in the Northwest part of the country right in the face. The ironic thing about it however was the day before was picture perfect from a weather and traffic perspective. I should have known that trouble was coming, and it sure did.
It all started in Wyoming cruising west on I-80. The snow started falling, the winds were howling, and the roads barely had any visible pavement left. To make matters worse the temperature was below 20 degrees. Another sign that driving conditions were deteriorating was the sight of numerous tractor-trailers that had run off the road. At this point I decided to pull over at a rest area because these were some of the worst conditions, I have ever driven in. Keep in mind I was a Southeast Regional Driver for several years so experiencing a massive blizzard in Wyoming was seriously testing my nerves.
Here are a couple of takeaways from driving a semi-truck in a blizzard. You have to slow down. Especially when meeting any type of curve or you will quickly find yourself in a ditch or the side of the road. Your truck is going to slide around. There simply is no getting around it if the roads have not been recently bulldozed. The only way to counter this is to go slow. The visibility will be poor. If the wind and snow are kicking up and the road is covered also it is extremely hard to be able to see well enough to drive safely.
On this particular day I had to stop twice. Wyoming sits at a high elevation, so the winds were kicking up and so was the snow. I noticed most truckers had pulled over for safety reasons but not all. There were some still moving along the interstate although slowly. And well the others that decided to keep going slid off the road and got stuck or worse turned over their rig.
To my dismay my load was already late because my company assigned me one of those next to impossible runs. So now I was wasting time sitting out a blizzard and when moving crawling at a snail’s pace. I picked my load up in Savanah, Georgia and it was destined for Tacoma, Washington. This was the longest trip I had ever made, and I was initially excited to take it. Little did I know a massive blizzard was waiting for me starting in the Wyoming leg of the trip.
Well, I eventually did make it to the receiver in Tacoma in one piece after a very nerve-racking trip through this storm and did not receive one ounce of gratitude from either my company or the warehouse for getting the truck and trailer there in one piece. As a matter of fact they could care less and were disappointed the shipment was late. Can you believe that? This is the life of a trucker.