Forecast is Rain

[lpmnorth]

Now I know a lot of you are sitting in snow up to your ears but, here in So Cal I have a bigger problem. I have the day off and the forcast is rain.Do I take the Lotus out or not?

The car stays very clean and I know a rain day can get the car pretty messy but, I have not driven the poor Lotus for a few weeks because of travel and holiday stuff.

To drive or not to drive--That is the question?

LPM

2005 Ardent Red Elise with Black Softop

[babak]

Do what I do when it rains, reach behind the seat and pull out a baseball cap. Enjoy life.

[Toad]

Did a track day back in December...37 degrees F. and rain on A048s...fun fun fun!

[SKYVUE]

DON'T DO IT!

I drive my Lotus every clear day, but I will not subject it to RAIN, SNOW, TERRIBLE TRAFFIC, PLETHORA OF RED LIGHTS, TERRORIST ATTACKS, ASTEROID STRIKES, WRITERS GUILD STRIKES.... ETC. I use the "rain car" (Mazda6 Sedan) for that stuff. I treat the Elise with twisties, beautiful sunny weekends, starry nights, and HPDE.

The light Elise with high performance tires (A048's) is not a winner in the rain. Other Elise owners will say the car is FINE in the rain, snow etc. but I don't take chances. Besides, it does get dirty.

Buy a battery tender, plug in your battery and wait til next weekend. Join us on our Lotus Drive Sunday, January 13th!

IMHO, of course.

--Hal

[mikelr]

Be very careful or you will desolve the cars sugar coating!

[Randy Chase]

Stay off SoCal freeways.

[pianomaniac]

Not our run-of-the-mill rainstorm in the forecast. They are calling for 8 to 10 inches of rain on the South side of the San Gabriel mountains by Monday.

If we do get what's predicted, the Elise is the last car you want to be in.....not enough ground clearance for one thing.

Wait it out! Better safe than sorry!

[25psi_Elise_Killer]

Stay away from Mammoth or Lake Tahoe, even if you own a tank...
Today: Periods of snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 33. Very windy, with a south wind between 45 and 50 mph, with gusts as high as 80 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 38 to 44 inches possible.

Tonight: Periods of snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 25. Very windy, with a southwest wind 40 to 45 mph decreasing to between 30 and 35 mph. Winds could gust as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 35 to 41 inches possible.

Saturday: Occasional snow showers. High near 27. Very windy, with a southwest wind 35 to 40 mph decreasing to between 25 and 30 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.


URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
410 AM PST FRI JAN 4 2008

...A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL AFFECT THE REGION TODAY THROUGH
SATURDAY MORNING WITH STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY SNOW CAUSING
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN THE SIERRA..

.EXTREMELY HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL BRING DANGEROUS
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN THE SIERRA AND LAKE TAHOE BASIN TODAY
THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE SIERRA PASSES. ATTEMPTING TO
TRAVEL IN THE SIERRA WILL PUT YOUR LIFE AT RISK! EXTREMELY HIGH
SNOWFALL RATES WILL MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ROAD CREWS AND
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL TO KEEP ROADS PASSABLE AND TO ASSIST STRANDED
VEHICLES. IF YOU DO ATTEMPT TRAVEL IN THE SIERRA YOUR CHANCES OF
BEING STRANDED FOR MORE THAN A FEW HOURS IS VERY HIGH. REMAIN
INDOORS DURING THIS BLIZZARD...EVEN A SHORT WALK OUTDOORS COULD BE
DEADLY AS YOU WILL BECOME DISORIENTED IN THE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS
WITH ZERO VISIBILITY.

PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS WILL PRODUCE HAZARDOUS
CONDITIONS IN LOWER ELEVATIONS OF EASTERN CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN
NEVADA FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. THE
SNOW IS EXPECTED TO TAPER TO SHOWERS ON SATURDAY BEFORE ANOTHER
ROUND OF SNOW MOVES INTO THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.

STATE AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING FOR EMERGENCY
RESPONSE...SHOULD IT BECOME NECESSARY. CITIZENS CAN ASSIST IN
THIS EFFORT BY STAYING INFORMED ON THE LATEST FORECASTS FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

CAZ072-073-NVZ002-042015-
/O.CON.KREV.BZ.W.0001.000000T0000Z-080105T1800Z/
GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA-MONO-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SOUTH LAKE TAHOE...TAHOE CITY..
TRUCKEE...MARKLEEVILLE...BRIDGEPORT...COLEVILLE... LEE VINING..
MAMMOTH LAKES...GLENBROOK...INCLINE VILLAGE
410 AM PST FRI JAN 4 2008

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SATURDAY..

A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SATURDAY.

SNOW WILL BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES LATER THIS MORNING ACROSS THE
EASTERN SIERRA FROM LAKE TAHOE SOUTH TO MONO COUNTY. THE SNOW
COULD BRIEFLY CHANGE TO RAIN BELOW 7000 FEET AROUND MIDDAY...BEFORE
SNOW LEVELS FALL TO BELOW 6000 FEET LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
EXTREMELY HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING WITH
SNOWFALL RATES UP TO 6 INCHES PER HOUR.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING WILL BE 3 TO
5 FEET ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG THE SIERRA
CREST...AND 2 TO 3 FEET BELOW 7000 FEET...INCLUDING THE LAKE TAHOE
BASIN. IN ADDITION...STRONG WINDS WILL PRODUCE LARGE AND EVEN
DEEPER SNOW DRIFTS.

STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT...WITH THE MOST
DANGEROUS WINDS FROM EARLY THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH WILL BE COMMON WITH GUSTS OVER 150 MPH
OVER THE SIERRA RIDGES. THESE STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH THE
HEAVY SNOW TO BRING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT ALL SIERRA PASSES..
WITH A PERIOD OF BLIZZARD CONDITIONS REACHING LOWER ELEVATIONS
THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY SATURDAY.

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS
WILL PRODUCE ZERO VISIBILITY. DO NOT TRAVEL IN THESE CONDITIONS.
IF YOU GET STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

$$

JHW

HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/RENO

[fast+forward]

the last time they forcasted a storm in socal..it only rained for an afternoon. Hopefully this trend continues...stormwatch 2008!

[clopi2000]

C'mon guys. Stop waxing your cars and drive

[kestrel74]

Umm.... it rains in the UK..........those blokes are reading this and getting a good laugh !!!!

[Toad]

Originally Posted by mikelr

Be very careful or you will desolve the cars sugar coating!

Well these are S2's so um...

[uclacyc]

The wind gusts will also blow the super-light Elise around, though it is lower so I don't know how it would affect it. Also I'm thinking it's not how the weather affects your car as it is affecting everyone else's driving. Rhetorical question: Aren't there more accidents when it rains?

Don't do it.

[LARRY]

Originally Posted by SKYVUE

DON'T DO IT!

I drive my Lotus every clear day, but I will not subject it to RAIN, SNOW, TERRIBLE TRAFFIC, PLETHORA OF RED LIGHTS, TERRORIST ATTACKS, ASTEROID STRIKES, WRITERS GUILD STRIKES.... ETC. I use the "rain car" (Mazda6 Sedan) for that stuff. I treat the Elise with twisties, beautiful sunny weekends, starry nights, and HPDE.

The light Elise with high performance tires (A048's) is not a winner in the rain. Other Elise owners will say the car is FINE in the rain, snow etc. but I don't take chances. Besides, it does get dirty.

Buy a battery tender, plug in your battery and wait til next weekend. Join us on our Lotus Drive Sunday, January 13th!

IMHO, of course.

--Hal

Just drive your car.

[25psi_Elise_Killer]

Prolly not a good idea to use a battery tender during a lightning storm...

[Gizmo3000]

..not many lightning strikes here in S. Cali, but it does occur.
tho hypothetically, since the car sits on rubber tires, not sure how likely a car would get zapped even if lighthing did strike the garage. (also, I think the transformer would fry out, rather than allow a super-jolt to travel to the car?)

but back on the subject. I coulda worn nicer shoes to work today, but wore my more water resistant sneakers instead, because I knew it would rain.
same applies to cars.
if you've got another more practical car, use it.

[BRTHTAKR]

Originally Posted by clopi2000

C'mon guys. Stop waxing your cars and drive

Absolutely! The beauty is fully appreciated only when in motion. Ive been caught in an absolute deluge with standing water on AO48s. A bit like driving in snow, but plain rain is no problem. In fact, I am looking forward to a good wet skid pad experience somewhere........

[kgalgas]

People in california do not how to drive in the rain or snow. There will be massive accidents all over the place, the Lotus is not a car I would want to be in if I should happen to get into one of the messes. That is why I drove the Yukon to the Gym and work today. On the other days, instead of taking the 101 from agoura to calabasas and woodland hills, I drove mulholland.

[25psi_Elise_Killer]

Check out this page in a few hours. Right now it has a lot of pretty green dots indicating traffic is flowing smoothly. In a few hours, it'll be all red indicating its crawling like a snail or Yellow triangles indicating accidents:
http://www.sigalert.com/map.asp?Regi...er+Los+Angeles

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by Gizmo3000

..not many lightning strikes here in S. Cali, but it does occur.

Hmmm... When growing up in Southern California, lighting hit a next door neighbor's TV antenna. Besides coming down the antenna and frying the TV (actually it "exploded"), the lightning came down the guy-wires - it literally blew holes (at least a foot in diameter) in the roof where they were attached. And this was only a part of the lightening bolt as the main part hit the power transformer in the back yard and took out the power lines from the pole.

Another time while driving down the road, the lightning struck the red light about 50 years in front of me.

Originally Posted by Gizmo3000

tho hypothetically, since the car sits on rubber tires, not sure how likely a car would get zapped even if light hing did strike the garage. (also, I think the transformer would fry out, rather than allow a super-jolt to travel to the car?)

The lightning bolt has just traveled several thousand feet through the air. Do you really think a 1/4 inch of rubber is going to make a difference?

The car will most likely be protected in a building, but out on the road it can get hit quite easily. Luckily for most cars, the metal body acts as a Faraday cage and the electricity passes through the outside surface of the car - you would not be (severely) injured while in the car. But unluckily for us, fiberglass doesn't work that way.