Well, winter weather is finally here. A messy mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain plagued the morning commute today. It’s been a long time since any of us have driven in winter weather, and some drivers threw caution to the wind. Commuters who didn’t respect the weather and road conditions learned their lesson the hard way. We had a slew of minor accidents and spinouts, cars into the guard rail, vehicles off the road and into the woods. There were a few rollovers this morning, too. Thankfully, none of these incidents involved serious injuries.

An accident involving a tractor trailer and a car on Route 95 North by Neponset Street in Norwood closed the road for a period of time. A few lanes were open by about 6:30 AM, but the truck was off to the side of the road all morning and curiosity delays held traffic back to Route 1 in Sharon.

Generally, speeds were reduced and drive times were increased. Traffic moved anywhere from 20 to 40 MPH on all roadways. Plows and sanders continually treated the highways, which was not an easy task given the mixed precipitation and constantly changing weather conditions.

If you did not have sufficient windshield washer this morning, I’ll bet you had to stop at the store and get it. On the ride in at 4:30 AM, a near constant stream of washer fluid was barely adequate to keep the windshield free of ice and snow.

The bright side? Volume was lighter this morning because many schools were closed and parents were home with their kids.

This afternoon’s commute will also be very slow. Keep in mind that the roads may freeze later this afternoon and tonight. Tomorrow morning’s commute could be icy on any untreated road surfaces, so we are looking at delays for tomorrow morning as well.

How long did it take you to get to work today? How did you find the road conditions?