11 votes

Helsinki Airport clears runway snow in just eleven minutes – why do some airports cope better with snow than others?

Posted by mycketforvirrad
Tags: finland.helsinki, aviation, airports, helsinki airport, infrastructure, weather, winter, snow, ice, cities.capital, author.angela symons, source.euronews
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/12/09/from-finland-to-germany-why-do-some-airports-cope-better-with-snow-than-others

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Title
How snowy Finland keeps flights on track during winter
Published
Dec 9 2023
Word count
1445 words

4 comments

  1. [3]
    vord
    Link
    Irregularity is the biggest factor. Airplanes have unique challenges to be sure, and I love how the article delves into it. But stateside, you can see a massive difference between states that...

    Irregularity is the biggest factor. Airplanes have unique challenges to be sure, and I love how the article delves into it.

    But stateside, you can see a massive difference between states that regularly deal with snow and ice and those that don't.

    1 inch of snow hardly requires plowing in PA. 1 inch of snow in Texas is a pileup disaster (not even factoring grid stability issues).

    9 votes
    1. [2]
      arch
      Link Parent
      Part of the reason is tired. In Texas all the cars have summer tires year round. In New England you either have all season, or you change your car to snow tires for the winter. You're loosing...

      Part of the reason is tired. In Texas all the cars have summer tires year round. In New England you either have all season, or you change your car to snow tires for the winter. You're loosing traction just from the cold on Summer tires.

      There's also gas. Summer mix gas will freeze in the lines in the winter.

      3 votes
      1. Omnicrola
        Link Parent
        #pedantry That's not accurate, unless you're referring to diesel. Normal car gasoline will not freeze until temperatures plunge to around -40F or -50F. A car can experience other issues as certain...

        There's also gas. Summer mix gas will freeze in the lines in the winter.

        #pedantry
        That's not accurate, unless you're referring to diesel. Normal car gasoline will not freeze until temperatures plunge to around -40F or -50F. A car can experience other issues as certain components of gasoline will precipitate out as crystals as temperatures drop. The primary purpose of summer/winter blends of gasoline is to alter the evaporation temperature for fuel efficiency reasons.

        The gel point of diesel however, is only about 15F (-9C). Which is when it doesn't actually freeze but becomes so viscous a fuel pump can no longer make it move. There are additives that fix this, which I've had to use once per fill-up when I owned a diesel vehicle.

        7 votes