In the last few days I've started the move from Chicago to Houston. Last night an unusually strong storm blew through Northern Illinois and Chicago with hurricane-force winds (shutting down a Cubs-Astros game). Good thing I removed myself to Houston, where a French-named strong tropical storm is now bearing down on me. Understandably, I'm not driving right now. But anyone in the Houston area watching the news is getting minute-by-minute updates on people spinning out and wrecking their rides. And this is a weak storm.
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The San Francisco area got a pounding this morning from a strong Pacific storm system that developed wind gusts as high as 107 mph. The Golden Gate Transit district was forced to suspend bus services and truck traffic across the historic span due to flooding. Fortunately for Friday commuters, as of 1:35 PST the restrictions have been lifted, but we'd wager the damage has been done and traffic jams will be monumental. The hurricane force winds forced the closing of the Richmond-San Rafael bridge because a tractor trailer was flipped on its side. We never thought we'd be happy to put up with Detroit temps in 20's but it sounds like the end of the world over on that side of the country lately. [SFGate.com] [Goldengatebridge.org]
A lot of our readers will be hitting the highways in an effort to ignore their family for football and clog their arteries with gravy (I can't wait for gravy), so as a continuation of our earlier attempt at public service we've created this easy-to-read travel map based on the latest weather conditions forecast by the National Weather Service. This is what you can expect between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm EST on Thurdsay, though we're not meteorologists so please check with your local weather service before traveling. Safe trip everybody! [NWS]
79-year-old Broughton Bishop of Portland, Oregon, is the man responsible for the fabulous unintentional hoonage caught on camera by a man on his roof with a video camera and too much time on his hands. Bishop's the guy in the XC90 who manages to do a convincing impression of a pinball on Portland's Southwest Salmon Street and then careening down 20th Ave. Bishop's wife, Mary, said that he would prefer not to be interviewed. After getting a gash to the head stapled up, Bishop went back to work. Goodonya, Broughton, we're glad you're not hurt and well, you entertained millions. – Davey G. JohnsonMore »
The inimitable ThnderBlt sent us a link to this clip the other day, but the damn thing crashed our browser. But the resourceful types at Autoblog — whose budget is larger than ours while their ADD isn't nearly as acute — dug up this version of the vid on YouTube. And oh, crappin' crap, the thing inspires involuntary peals of gigglage. We know what it's like to be helplessly sliding toward another vehicle at low speed on ice. It sucks in ways that few things that don't involve permanent injury, loss of house, home or girlfriend do. However, it's still damn funny to watch. – Davey G. JohnsonMore »
While we're enjoying nice, mild post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas weather here in Southern California, the good folks of Illinois aren't so lucky, and neither are their speed bumps. Sheared from the road like a morning-fresh zit by an errant swipe of the Schick, this thump-causing traffic-regulator was shot by commenter JC Whitless in Ottawa, IL. We wonder how well it would work as an add-on spoiler for a bulldozer? – Davey G. JohnsonMore »
A Mini Cooper S is not Sean Casey's Tornado Chaser vehicle by a long shot. But that didn't keep Matt Carroll from the UK's 4Car from a clever angle for his video piece. Carroll tagged along with a band of avocational weather-obsessed lunatics storm chasers — he in the Mini, they in their central-casting-brown Econoline. What ensues is fine, but as the folks from Hemmings point out, pay close attention to the Hasselhoff-rich Pipex commercial. It may have totally upstaged the storm bit.
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ber-breezes up to 100mph snarled traffic on I-70 in Kansas today after blowing a number of vehicles off the road and knocking over a semi carrying hazardous materials. The driver of the semi was apparently the only injury. Kansas authorities wouldn't disclose what the truck was carrying, and although the substance apparently hadn't leaked called in hazmat crews and set up a 100-foot perimiter around the vehicle. A mighty wind was blowin', indeed.
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"We gotta head for higher ground, we can't come back till the water comes down. Five feet high and risin'."
Yeah, we just mixed a De La Soul reference with a Johnny Cash reference, but hey — at least we didn't throw in They Might Be Giants. The Northeast part of our grand nation is still under water and it's wreaking havoc on the road system, to say nothing of the thousands of families forced to evacuate. This section of I-88 in New York was knocked out yesterday, and scattered rain is predicted for today. Where's a Gibbs Aquada when you really need one?
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Latest by Davey G.: The mad gaffes in this post have been repaired. Meanwhile, I totally wanna kayak around the flooded Northwest in hundred-degree more »
The new S-Class has more technology in it than the Space Shuttle*. So for the introduction of their new flagship, zee Germans decided to show off an impressive demonstration of the radar system, which can actually bring the car to a full stop. It's a great idea, especially in low-visibility conditions like fog. The only problem is, the demonstration went horribly wrong. Like Hindenburg wrong, but without the fiery death. Later, it turns out that Mercedes knew the system didn't work and decided to fake it, but the driver failed to hit the brakes in time. Sounds fishy, but it's a good watch. Here's the video, presented by our favorite Ford GT-owning Brit**, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson.
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