Central Texans + snow + highways = freakshow

Yup, it snows in the Austin area. Not often, just about once every two years, and usually a dusting. Today we got hit with some real snow. The kind that accumulates. On highways. I commute about 30 miles each way to Taylor, TX most days. The last 8 miles or so is on Highway 79, a four lane, undivided state highway with a 65 mph speed limit and no real estate between opposite sides of the highway. I drove in this morning at 8 and split before it got bad, but still got to see the spot a mile from our office where an accident happened right after I passed by, shut traffic down on both sides of the road, and caused many of my coworkers to be late, plus a fresher accident a few miles later that, from the look of the work crew, must have involved a utility pole or two. The other highways aren't as bad, but there was one empty car on the divider of MoPac. You could see the skid marks on the road and follow them from the straight line that the poor driver had originally been on to the initial swerves to the bigger jerks and finally onto the grassy median. There appeared to be another wreck a bit further down the road from where I exited. Which I was glad to do. Because snow, Austinites and steering wheels just don't mix.