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Snow is common in high-altitude and high-latitude areas such as Europe, North America, Greenland, and Russia. Typically, these areas will record low to very high snowfall rates during winter and toward the end of fall.
In the U.S, the snowiest months are November, December, and January. In some states, however, snowing will start as early as October and end as late as April.
The intensity of snowing during these months averages between medium and high. The National Weather Service describes this snowfall rate as anything above 0.5 inches per hour.
Some of the most notorious states that often record high snowing rates of up to 2 inches of snow per hour include New Hampshire, Alaska. Vermont, Maine, and New York. In these States, it is very difficult to keep your car on the road without these winter tools for cars.
One of the most important tools for snowy winters is a snow removal tool and preferably a snow blower. You can use it to clear snow from the driveway or pathway very fast. Otherwise, piles of snow might frustrate you in the morning or when you have to rush to work in your car.
Why is a Snow Blower Better?
There are many types of snow removal tools you can use to remove snow from the driveway but a snow blower is the most effective. It requires less effort than a snow shovel and is not as expensive as a snow removal tractor.
A snow blower can either be electric, gas-powered, or battery powered. A cordless snow blower is the most convenient for a homeowner.
Advantages of a cordless snow blower
The main advantage of a cordless snow blower is that it does not need to be plugged into an electrical socket and does not produce harmful fumes. All you need is a fully charged battery to power it through snow piles.
Another reason why a battery powered snow blower is more suitable for removing snow from the driveway at home is the fact that you can push it as far away from home as possible. Also, power blackouts, which are common during winter, cannot disrupt your snow removal plan. Unless your battery does not have enough electric charge.
Nevertheless, a corded snow blower can also get the job done but you will need a long enough cord. A gas snow blower is equally as convenient as is electric counterpart but produces gas fumes and is noisy.
4 Genius Snow Blowing Tips
Once your snow blower is ready, it is time to start blowing snow from the driveway. But you cannot do it quickly and effectively without doing some things differently.
In this section, I will share with you genius snow blowing tips and hacks that you can use when in a hurry to remove snow from the driveway for your car.
Note that these tips are only meant to help get your car out of the snow-packed driveway to the road in the least time possible.
Tip 1: Estimate the track width of your car
The track width of a car is the horizontal space between the wheels. The size lets you know the area of the driveway to focus on to avoid unnecessary work.
Instead of removing snow from the entire track, just remove snow cover as wide as your car tires. This is about 12 inches wide, which is roughly the width of a snow blower.
However, you might have to make two passes or more passes to go as deep into the snow as will be possible for the wheels to get traction. The number of passes you make depends on the snow depth in your area.
In some cities such as Syracuse, NY there is typically a very deep snow cover of over 60 inches that may not be possible to clear with a snow blower. Typically, the deepest snow a cordless snow blower can clear is less than 20 inches.
Above 20 inches of snow, you might need to use a snow removal tractor or contract for snow removal services in your area.
Tip 2: Start clearing snow from one side of the driveway
To remove snow effectively without repeating, move in the same direction for each track/path. You can start from the left-side or right-side wheels. Whichever track you choose make sure to approach it from the same direction. This will ensure that you throw the snow to the same side for each track all through.
Remember you are only creating a path for the tires and there is very limited time to do so. So, you should avoid anything that doubles your work.
Tip 3: Throw snow to the sides
Adjust the chute so that it throws snow to the sides. In other words, when clearing snow from the left-most side of the drive way, turn the chute to the left. At the center, turn the chute to the right. Let it remain in this position even as you blow snow from the rightmost track. This will keep the snow from returning to the places you have already cleared.
Tip 4: Ensure enough clearance at the center of the drive way
Once you clear the path for the wheels on one side, move to the center. Here, you only need to clear snow to get a good ground clearance for your car. You could be lucky if your car has good ground clearance.
Generally, SUVs have 7-8 inches of ground clearance whereas small cars have an average clearance from the ground of 5 inches. Again, the decision on whether or not to remove snow from the center of the track depends on the depth of snow cover versus the ground clearance of your car.
If you have to remove the snow at the center, just remove enough to create sufficient clearance. Generally, one pass with your snow blower is enough. Remember to set the chute so that it throws snow as far from the cleared tracks as possible to avoid rework.
Conclusion
Well, these are the snow blowing hacks I use to remove snow from the driveway to get the car from the parking lot to the road as quickly as possible. Do you have any other trick or hack that you use clear the driveway for your car when it snows heavily? Please share in the comment section.
