Ice Storm!

[Crankin]

Things are pretty bad here right now... although I am right on the edge of the ice area, the trees are beginning to glisten as the rain stops and we lost power for an hour. Right now the whole state is under a state of emergency.
About 5 miles west of me, it's sheer ice.
Jolt, are you OK? Pictures of Worcester look terrible.
Kfergos, please tell me you didn't ride today!

[Jolt]

I am fine--am actually in Boston right now (literally just finished a final exam). We still had power when I left the house this morning and the roads were OK driving to the train; the only issue I had was having to scrape the ice off my car windows so really can't complain given the problems some people have had (my instructor, for example, lost power at her house and a tree fell on her husband's car!!).

[SheFly]

I actually drove from Bedford to Marlborough this morning before light. The roads were fine, but the branches/limbs/trees down in the northwest burbs are pretty bad. Of course, I got to an office with no power, so had to drive back home. It was amazing seeing the tree damage - this is going to take some time to clean up.

Now the worry is flooding, freezing pipes (for those without power, of which there are 250K in NH and over 125K in MA). They're saying that power might not be restored for some until Sunday :eek:.

Be safe everyone. Wonder what the final 'cross race will be like tomorrow?

SheFly

[DebW]

No sign of ice here in Lexington.

[Crankin]

I just came home from the gym; so many trees down and branches. I saw 2 fire trucks and an ambulance leaving my street, but I don't know what happened. One of the houses across from the pond had a tree fall on the deck and it's absolutely demolished.
The driving was fine, but I imagine it will all freeze tonight. Just hoping the power stays on...

[Jolt]

I just came home from the gym; so many trees down and branches. I saw 2 fire trucks and an ambulance leaving my street, but I don't know what happened. One of the houses across from the pond had a tree fall on the deck and it's absolutely demolished.
The driving was fine, but I imagine it will all freeze tonight. Just hoping the power stays on...

I think you're right about tonight...it's supposed to get really cold so we will probably have a skating rink tomorrow. I'm heading home in a couple hours...we'll see if the power is still on!

[jobob]

I lived half my lifetime in MA so I've encountered a few of those wretched ice storms. :p Stay safe all!!

[SheFly]

I think you're right about tonight...it's supposed to get really cold so we will probably have a skating rink tomorrow. I'm heading home in a couple hours...we'll see if the power is still on!

That will be PERFECT for racing 'cross tomorrow in Wrentham - NOT! Maybe I should get out the studded tires....

SheFly

[tulip]

No sign of ice here in Lexington.

Isn't Lexington right next to Concord? Strange weather patterns! Be safe (stay home!)

[SheFly]

Isn't Lexington right next to Concord? Strange weather patterns! Be safe (stay home!)

Well, not exactly ;) . There is a town in between no matter which direction you go (Bedford or Lincoln). The fact is, actually, that downtown Concord was not affected (I just came from there), but as you head out of town, NOT FAR, the ice and damage starts. Crankin lives just outside of town, heading towards Acton.

As I drove home from my powerless office this morning, there was ice all the way until just before the Concord River, and then it was gone. No ice here.

The sun is out in Bedford now, and the temp is up to 37. With predictions of temps in the teens tonight, however, flash freezing is s distinct possibility.

SheFly

[Crankin]

Good geography lesson, SheFly! Actually, my driveway and the less steep side of the hill are fine. But I just had to go out again and for some reason, I turned right at the end of my driveway. When I got to the top of the hill, it was like a war zone. Trees down all along the side of the road, next to the shared driveways and big thick areas of ice. Lots of ice falling from the trees, since it's 40 out now. The sun is shining, too. I wonder if a tree fell on a car as it was driving down the hill and that what I saw all the fire trucks for.

[tulip]

Yeah, thanks for the geography lesson. I lived in Cambridge until I was 12, but I was a real city kid. I thought going to Watertown was a drive to the country (really!). Then I moved to rural North Carolina--what a shock that was, you can imagine.

Hope the ice melts and no one was hurt and that the power comes back on pronto.

[Biciclista]

Lisa just sent me a quick email from a laptop in her car. They have no power, but they do have a woodstove, so they are able to stay warm. They don't know when power will be restored but it might be DAYS. :eek::eek::eek:
she lives in upper state NY

[Crankin]

I figured Lisa was without power. Actually, she doesn't live in upper NY state. She lives about 15-20 miles over the border from western MA, in the Berkshires. If you look on a map, it's pretty far south for NY state, except for the city.
The sun is shining, but for the people without power, what good does it do? Same thing here, about 3 days until it goes back on in the towns that are without power. I would be outta here, since we don't have a wood stove. My neighbor's daughter, husband, and 3 kids who live on the NH seacoast have been here since yesterday morning. They don't know when they can go back.

[solobiker]

I grew up in the NE so I have gone through many of those fun storms. I remember one back in 1992 I think it was...ice skating in the parkinglots and trying to keep the pipes from freezing.. Hope everyone is safe.

[Biciclista]

sorry, i grew up in NJ and everything north of NYC was "upper new york state" :D

[solobiker]

I grew up near Rochester, NY and that was considered Upstate NY also. I think anything north of NYC generally has been considered Upstate..alough that is a large area:p

[mudmucker]

Come to my house if you would like some ice. Still after 48 hrs, power lines down, trees down all over town - line down in my yard, and the ice hasn't melted off the trees yet. It's a veritable skating rink where I am. Phillipston got hit bad and the whole area is without power. I'm at 1200 ft and that elevation doesn't help. I've been without power for 48 hours with no heat so far, and they don't predict the power back on for many more days.

The night of the storm I heard a huge crack, noise, thump in the middle of sleep. After having just been robbed, it sounded like someone trying to break down the cellar door and I bolted upright. But then began the bewitching hours where literally, every 20 minutes the cracking and snapping of trees and branches occurred for the next 8 hours well into morning. The trees were so heavy with ice. It kept me awake all night it was so loud and frequent. The ones further in the woods sounded like a shotgun going off, echo and all. A couple of times branches hit the roof and I heard scraping against the house. I was seriously thinking of moving to the living room couch in the middle of the house away from trees but I didn't.

I planned ahead as I usually do and filled jugs of water for drinking and 5 gallon buckets with water for toilet flushing prior to losing power. The temp in the house held to 58d the first day. Last night it fell to 52 and today it maintained at 42 degrees. Brrr. When I can see my breath then it's time to get out of the house but I couldn't drive the roads until today. The fire department came to my house to tell me there is a state of emergency (I didn't have much contact with the outside world) and they told me they've opened up a shelter for people nearby. I've been using the shelter to refill water. I came to work in Lowell where there is power, I can shower, get gas (can't get gas where I am), stock up on water, check internet, and yes while I'm here actually work. All those years I lived with wood stoves but I don't have one now and I sure miss it. Obviously I can't find a generator east of the Mississippi but you bet I'll get one when they're back in stock. Anyway I won't be back online for a while. I have my laptop here at work where I'm pilfering off of another WiFi, since the firewall off of our server doesn't allow access to forums like this. I have a friend who is bringing his generator to my house tomorrow for a few hours where I'll be able to recharge some well water and bring the house up to temp so pipes don't freeze as it's getting closer to 32. He has no power either so he'll be taking it back. I'll go back to the house tonight to sleep - If I'm lucky temps will hold around 40 in the house. I've done backcountry camping, I'll be fine under the covers. I have a gas stove so I can at least fire up some hot beverages and actually made myself a very hearty meal by candlelight.

[songlady]

I consider us "Western NY"

[crazycanuck]

EEEEE!!!! I remember the Ice Storm of 98 (ok, i lived on the other side of Canada :o) & know how much damage it did! Yowsers!!!

Keep warm & take care of yourselves.

Ya know what happens in 9months after events like this! Perhaps the economic climate might change that though?

[Biciclista]

EEEEE!!!! I remember the Ice Storm of 98 (ok, i lived on the other side of Canada :o) & know how much damage it did! Yowsers!!!

Keep warm & take care of yourselves.

Ya know what happens in 9months after events like this! Perhaps the economic climate might change that though?
sex is pretty cheap entertainment.

[mudmucker]

sex is pretty cheap entertainment.

Chuckle. Yes it is. Fortunately I am too old to worry what might happen after 9 months, well, in transition at least. Signing off until who knows when, unless I come to work tomorrow to warm up. Man with generator is coming tonight instead of tomorrow.

[sundial]

Here's hoping that you guys are safe and warm tonight. That ice storm was a real doozy. :eek:

[Crankin]

Yea, it's true that most people think anything north of NYC is "upstate" NY. But real upstate is pretty far north!
I just got back from dinner and I have come to find out that just 5 miles from my house, almost the whole nearby town is without power. We weren't sure if the restaurant we were going to in Westford had power, but it seemed like they got it on in the business district first. My friends in Acton were without power for like 8 hours yesterday and where I used to live (Boxborough) is still without. I heard my old neighborhood looks pretty bad, with downed lines and trees, pretty much like Mudmucker described.
I feel lucky.

[solobiker]

I consider us "Western NY"

I would have to agree with that..It is just that I have heard many people clasify it as upstate as well. I tell people here in CO that I grew up near Buffalo even though I grew up near Rochester as most know or have heard of Buffalo before. Whenever I tell people I am from NY, even if I say the western part they always think I am from the city.

[Jolt]

Yea, it's true that most people think anything north of NYC is "upstate" NY. But real upstate is pretty far north!
I just got back from dinner and I have come to find out that just 5 miles from my house, almost the whole nearby town is without power. We weren't sure if the restaurant we were going to in Westford had power, but it seemed like they got it on in the business district first. My friends in Acton were without power for like 8 hours yesterday and where I used to live (Boxborough) is still without. I heard my old neighborhood looks pretty bad, with downed lines and trees, pretty much like Mudmucker described.
I feel lucky.

I feel lucky too! This section of Worcester didn't get hit too hard. I'm wondering if there will even be power at church tomorrow (in Fitchburg, which apparently got hit pretty hard along with all the other towns in that area). Better dress really warmly... Then I was planning on doing a trail run in the Princeton area but am wondering if it will even be possible to get to the trail! Might have to go to plan B.

[Crankin]

I might postpone that trail run. It might be covered with ice. We wanted to do a local hike today, but I am not sure what the conditions will be, even right by my house. Maybe I'll end up going to Lincoln Woods, just a bit further east.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi everyone!

Our area was very badly hit with the ice storm. We were without power for almost 2 1/2 days, and two of those nights dipped down to 15F degrees. :eek:
We are lucky that we got our power back during the night last night- others in neighboring villages and back roads may still go until Tuesday without heat or power. :eek:

Our house inside only dropped down to 50F, so our single living room fireplace insert stove (which is not designed to heat the whole house) did manage to keep us from freezing. We always figured it would be enough to keep us from freezing, and it passed the test.

We had running water all throughout the event too, because we are hooked up to the village water system which is gravity-fed from the little reservoir up on the hill. Thus, we don't have to depend on electric to run a pump from a well. So we had freezing cold water, -but water nonetheless!....we could flush toilets and had drinking/washing water. This is one big advantage of living on the edge of our little village as opposed to further out in the countryside surrounding us. This was one of the reasons we bought this house- that we would have access to town walking in emergencies and if gas was unobtainable, and would always have village water if electricity failed. The houses only about two houses further out from us are not on village water system, and thus had no running water.

I was also very glad that on Thursday (before the power went out Thurs evening) I was able to both fix a flat tire on my car AND get my kitty Pearl to the vet and get her started on some antibiotics for an infection- she had been getting sick for a few days prior. That would have been bad if she was cold AND getting sicker during all this.

Our other blessing was that there was miraculously power down on Main street during the whole time, so we bundled up several times and hiked the mile to town for big hot breakfasts Fri and Sat morning. That was nice, and we could get the latest 'emergency news' from everyone while in town. There was a state of emergency declared and people were not supposed to be driving unless it was an emergency.

We had lots of food, and we had plenty of lanterns and candles and flashlights. (I am sort of anal when it comes to being prepared, and we had tons of candle lanterns, 30 spare candles for them, several oil lamps, and lots of flashlights and a battery radio, a propane camp stove that could be used out in the yard if needed, and canned and dried food in the basement. We put the fridge contents into coolers and didn't lose any significant food. Since it was below freezing outside, we just put our freezer stuff in a cooler out on the porch and left it there.
Our basement has a pool of water everywhere because the sump pump was without power, but luckily we have a little emergency drain in the floor that was still functioning, so the water never got higher than 1 inch. Other people were not so lucky and had badly flooded basements.
Some of our elderly neighbors got moved out of their homes into relatives' houses or to shelters. We have elderly neighbors on 3 sides of us, but they were all fine and we kept in touch.

We closed off the upstairs so as not to waste precious heat from the woodstove, wore lots of wool, gloves and hats in the house, and piled blankets and kitties on the bed at night. During the day the cats liked hanging out in front of the stove. I read a book by lantern light both nights.
It wasn't much fun feeling cold all the time and knowing how we were slowly getting further and further behind in work, but it could have been way worse like it has been for many other people. (trees falling on their houses and cars, and one older friend of ours fell on the ice in town on thursday and broke his hip AND his wrist.)

The worst for us personally is that our beautiful 45 year old HUGE white pine in the back yard was devastated. It was about 50-60 feet tall and gorgeous, and at least 2/3 of all its large horizontal branches are broken off and it now looks like a sad tall splintered toothpick with some remaining smaller branches decorating it. We feel heartsick about it, but we'll have to wait til all this ice has melted before we even access what to do about it. It was so beautiful. :(

We are very grateful for a warm house now, hot showers, etc. This kind of thing teaches you not to take electricity for granted. This was a TERRIBLE ice storm, and will take WEEKS of cleanup and repair for many people. I read that power crews came in from as far away as Michigan (!!) to help get the power lines up again, working all throughout the 3 nights in 15F degree temps.
They are all still working like mad as many are still without heat or power.

So, we are back up and running, a grateful. :)

[pardes]

Wow, Lisa!!!! What a story. I'm so glad you were prepared. The rain that lasted for two days here in Delaware was just rain and then it headed your way. Few people here plan for such a thing as a major ice storm but ice is no respector of persons and we should be prepared.

Yes, thank goodness you got Pearl to the vet before the storm and I'm glad it turned out to be an adventure for you rather than a disaster.

[eclectic]

Glad to hear things are getting up and running again. Ice storms are NOT good things - so much damage.

Many Kudos and thanks to all the linemen and women for their long hours in horrible conditions to get the power up again.

We are currently in the thoes of a blizzard. I will take a blizzard over ice any day.
- We have heat
- we have power
-we have internet :D
- No one has to go out in it (I don't know if the plows are out anymore or not - often they pull them until things settle down)
- If travel is absolutely necessary (medical, police) - snowmobiles are readily available

Yup - I will take a blizzard over ice any day.
Glad to hear you were able to get kitty taken care of. Best of luck on the cleanup

[Biciclista]

Glad to see you're back, Lisa!

[Tuckervill]

Glad you are okay, Lisa!

My house doesn't have a fireplace anymore, but I have a kerosene heater, and our workshop has a big wood stove in it, and we could move out there if necessary. So far it hasn't been necessary in past ice storms.

But, my ex-husband and I lived with a wood stove as our only form of heat, and on a well, which needs electricity. The power went off frequently for random reasons, not the least of which was cold weather. We were warm and we could cook with propane, but had no water. I'd rather go without food, because I can always build a fire or eat cold food. Having water makes black-outs tolerable, even adventurous!

Karen

[sundial]

Lisa, bless your heart. I'm thankful your house was not damaged and that you, with your pioneering spirit, prevailed. :) Ice storms are not fun! Our area was hit with one in '94 and people were without electricity for up to a month!

Our region is going to be hit with rain/ice come Monday night through Tuesday. :eek: Looks like I'll be heading to the store to get stocked up on goods today.

[Jolt]

I might postpone that trail run. It might be covered with ice. We wanted to do a local hike today, but I am not sure what the conditions will be, even right by my house. Maybe I'll end up going to Lincoln Woods, just a bit further east.

I attempted it but didn't get very far because there were trees and branches down everywhere! It was more climbing over stuff than running and it was hard to even see the next trail marker at times because things were piled so high. The ice on the trail was the least of the problems (there were chunks of ice from the trees, but not solid sheets of ice).

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We thought of going into the woods to take some pictures of the beautiful ice formations....but it's way too dangerous to go in the woods! Big tree limbs are still occasionally falling. you can hear them fall every time the wind kicks up. :(

The night of the storm, thursday night, we lay in bed with no power and no light. It was pitch black outside and ice and frozen rain was coming down heavily. This was so scary- you could hear big trees cracking and falling literally every 60 seconds or so, from various directions and at varying distances. Big trees crashing down....crack crack crack....all night sounding like rifles and guns being shot, echoing through the night. Every once in a while our giant pine near the house would drop another limb and we lay there afraid the whole 60 ft tree would crash down onto the house while we lay there. What seemed like flashes of lightning every 10 minutes were actually electric lines being torn down by the trees and flashing as they hit the ground, lighting up the sky. It was a very scary and surreal night.
The next morning when we went outside you could still hear trees coming down every 5 minutes or so from somewhere- all day long on Friday. Poor trees! :(

[Tuckervill]

That is quite frightening. Sounds like a war zone! And then when the transformers on the power poles blow up, yikes!

I try not to stay in my house when there is heavy ice. We have a huge oak tree about 20 yards from the house, and the neighbor had 2 on her lot between our houses.

Stay safe, ya'll!

Karen

[redrhodie]

Wow, I'm glad you're okay.

Note to self..you are completely unprepaired. Who gets the single serving of oatmeal which is about the only thing in the cupboard? Good thing there's cat food.

Off to the store.

[Iris616]

Many people are still with out power here in the Albany area. My SIL and her family are staying with us (still). My daycare provider has been told not to expect power before Weds., and both of those houses are in the city of Albany. I drove through eastern Rensselaer County yesterday, and it was a mess with trees and lines down.

[PamNY]

Lisa, I'm glad you are okay (and had running water). Ice storms are beautiful but scary IMO. Hope life gets back to normal in a timely fashion.

Pam

[Tuckervill]

We had a beautiful day yesterday. Seventy degrees, warm gusts from the south. Then about 4:30 I looked out and saw the line of dark gray clouds to the north. I walked out across the yard, thinking about how nice and warm it was, going to the workshop where my husband was so I could show him the sky. Suddenly, a COLD strong wind hit me from the north. It was liking opening a refrigerator door!

In one hour it had begun to rain and thunder. In two hours the temperature had dropped 30 degrees. Sometime in the night the rain turned over to sleet, the temperature dropped to 17, and now every surface is covered in ice pellets. The trees escaped much of a coating, I guess because the rain had time to drop off and dry in the wind before the sleet and ice pellets started up. But all the roads are slick and all the schools are closed. And we're stuck here with no milk in the fridge!

Karen

[SheFly]

It's still bad in areas of MA as well. I just heard from a friend who lives in Bolton - still no power, and not expected to be back on until the END OF THE WEEK! :eek: Thankfully, she got a generator, and it is 52 here today.

Bad one for sure. I think I would take snow over this anytime, and I didn't even lose power...

SheFly

[kfergos]

Crankin - thanks for the concern. I actually did ride on Friday, and boy howdy did I get wet! For the first time ever I rode through a real stream, one that had overflowed its banks and had taken over the road. Water over my axles!

However, the road was fine, wet but not icy, and traffic was delightfully light. If only I hadn't gotten soaked to the bone it would've been an OK ride. No icy branches fell on my head, which was my coworkers' concern :p The trees in Shrewsbury were all covered in ice and bowed down to the ground or with branches snapped off. My company worked off of generator power all day. By afternoon when I left, it was sunny and 38 and the ice had mostly melted. I even saw a guy out on a recumbent on my way home!

North of us, however, is still a disaster zone. We went up to Holden yesterday and trees were encased in ice, limbs and branches still hung from wires, wires were down across roads, nobody had power, National Guard convoys drove around among all the tree-removal trucks and electrical trucks. I hope they're OK up there.

[Crankin]

Yup, I just got more info on my old neighborhood in Boxborough. Still no power and the elementary school is closed. My neighbor's daughter and grandchildren are still here, staying with them. When I talked to the daughter's husband yesterday, after he had just come back from their house in North Hampton, NH, he said he doesn't know when they will be able to return.
Yes, I would take snow any day over this.
Kfergos, glad you made it Friday. I wasn't sure how far north you had to travel to work. Saturday was the first day since last winter that I didn't see any cyclists on the road in Concord, although the streets were mostly clear.

[sundial]

Tuckerville, we're in the line of the ice and sleet today and tomorrow. Our area is predicted to get 1-2 inches of sleet on top of ice. I noticed the ice storm is moving across OK this morning so you'll be getting it pretty soon. I'm washing up everything I can in case we lose power. Stocked up on soups and Spam so we'll have a hot meal. :)

[mudmucker]

Day 5 and still no power. House is about 42 F but I'm still in it. It's cold. Trees were still encased in ice last night but fortunately temps raised a little and melted things this morning.

Saturday night when I got home the house was at 39 F. Friend with generator showed up at 9 pm. I had the generator for 3 hours before he had to take it back. Everything was stone cold and it took 3 hours to get temps up to 52. I'll take it. That and it might have kept the pipes from freezing as it was about 15 F and temps in the house were sinking.

When I woke up the next morning it was back to 41. Man with generator came back again for a few hours in the afternoon and we were able to bring house temps up to 58 which quickly shot down to 52 but man, compared to 41 it was comfortable. We also bypassed the switch to the well pump and I was able to recharge the well and collect more water. The generator was a good one and we were able to run the well and the furnace at the same time for about 2 hours so I had hot water for a spell. I washed dishes and bathed. It was a bit sad to see the generator go and know it wouldn't be coming back. Temps today are better.

On my way out of my road I saw 2 electric utility trucks turn on my road and stop. I wanted to run out and hug them and tell them to keep going straight. So seeing that, was heartening and it looks promising but I'm not sure where they were going. And, on the major highway to work I saw a convoy of about 10 National Grid trucks heading west out to my area so that lifted my spirits. If I don't have power yet tonight I will be staying with friends nearby who do have their power back.

I learned two of the most important and useful tricks that I have learned in a long time and I will throw in with my other bag of tricks in being a resourceful, self-reliant, solo homeowner:

1. I learned how to bypass the main feed to the house and rewire the furnace so that it gets current directly from a generator. And I learned how to troubleshoot when things don't quite behave the way they should.
2. I learned how to rewire and bypass the main feed to the 220-volt :eek: switch to the well pump. None of it is difficult.

other things:
-I know what kind of generator I want
-The key to staying warm when your house is 40 F is to eat frequently, like every 2 hours.

[sundial]

Mudmucker, I hope you get your power turned on soon. It's no fun freezing in your own home. :( Did you have any structural damage?

[mudmucker]

Thank you very much. Fortunately no structural damage and no trees damaged the house, or conduits weren't ripped off from the house. There is one wire down on my property but I traced it back and it is only the cable. There will be alot of cleanup on the property though, downed trees and branches everywhere. No, it's no fun being cold in your house. But as I say, it could always be worse. But as I said earlier, new tricks to add to the bag and I am thinking of new and additional contingency plans for times such as this. No harm done....

[OakLeaf]

Mudmucker, glad you're OK. Wanna come show me how to wire my pump into the generator?

[mudmucker]

Mudmucker, glad you're OK. Wanna come show me how to wire my pump into the generator?

Thank you. I am so excited about this newly acquired knowledge I would love to share it with you:)

[bambu101]

This is what it looked like here in Western Mass:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/many_western_mass_communities.html?category=Berkshires&category=Energy&category=Franklin%20County&category=Hadley&category=Weather

We have generators and kerosene heaters, and managed to stay warm, take showers, cook hot meals, and watch TV. We came home from getting more gasoline yesterday to find our neighbor scooping water from the brook to flush his toilets with (he had a woodstove, but no water). Some woman in town also nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning after running their generator in an attached garage with the door closed.

The ice is melting today with warmer temperatures, but the clean up is going to be a long process. The National Guard has been activated to help out.

I have lived in New England for 54 years, and this is the worst ice storm ever. It literally looked like a bomb went off.

[mudmucker]

This is what it looked like here in Western Mass:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/many_western_mass_communities.html?category=Berkshires&category=Energy&category=Franklin%20County&category=Hadley&category=Weather

We have generators and kerosene heaters, and managed to stay warm, take showers, cook hot meals, and watch TV.

Wow. That's great. Excellent that you have the heat and hot water. Looks like temps will be somewhat reasonable the rest of the week.

I'm pilfering WiFi out of the building here at work from my personal laptop so I have access to TE.

I grew up in Greenfield. Where in western MA are you? Yes, I've been in New England for 48.5 yrs and I agree, worst I've seen.

[bambu101]

I am in Blandford, which is on the slopes of the Berkshires, and also referred to as the Hilltowns. We are at around 1400 feet in elevation, which means more snow and ice. The other towns in the valley got only rain.

[bmccasland]

Mudmucker - I've been away for the weekend, and see you've been in all sorts of trouble! I hope you get electricity restored soon. Not sure if I prefer loosing power in the summer or the winter. Sort of like picking your evil. So here's hoping you're nice and toasty warm very soon.

[sundial]

Beth, are you guys getting any freezing rain or sleet?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I hope those of you still without power are ok. I know the temps warmed up today a lot here in NY near Albany. The ice here has melted off the trees. Many thousands of people in NY and MA and other places in the NE are STILL without power but thankfully they will not freeze today.
Tonight is supposed to be rainy, but by tomorrow temps are plummeting well below freezing again. :(

It's been awful for so many people....I feel lucky considering what others are still going through.
DH wants to buy a generator after this is over, needless to say.

[mudmucker]

Bambu - yup that's certainly western Mass. I am at 1200 feet and it's a big difference between rain and snow for MA.

bmccasland - thanks. I think I'd rather lose power in the summer. I get cold easily. But then, I don't live in N.O. either so I might speak differently if I went through that experience down there. Well, the circumstances are imposed so I don't have to choose.

Bleeker St - good you were able to get out of the woods a little earlier but 2.5 days isn't fun nontheless. It got old by noon on Friday...

Jolt, you are in the Worcester Highlands (physiographically) - that's great you didn't get that affected

some things of note:
- for about 2 days the yard was sooo fragrant with green, the evergreen smell of broken trees was heavenly
- the inside isn't that bad either - I've been using fragrant vanilla and lavender pillar soy candles the last 5 days, mmm
- for the first 3 days I kept flicking the light switch on and off everytime I entered a room, and was reminded I needed to flick the flashlight on instead.
- I never owned any Ibex or smartwool items. With the TE pi sale I got ibex and smartwool lightweight and midweight tops, a smartwool midweight half zip and some smartwool bottoms at another store. They are sooo warm, so much warmer than the polypro I have. I have been living in them, so to speak, for the last 5 days. I had just handwashed them all 2 days before the storm hit so they were nice and fresh. Bought them in the nick of time.

[Tuckervill]

I think our schools will be back in session tomorrow. I haven't heard any reports of power outages, but there have been lots and lots of wrecks. My husband said the roads were not icy two miles out of town (towards his work). We managed to get out and get to the store, along with thousands of others (seemed like). The parking spaces were all sheets of ice, but the roads were all worn down. Black ice is a problem, especially when walking. All the concrete around my house is a solid sheet. Otherwise we're just fine. Although it hasn't gotten above 20 degrees, yet, and tomorrow we're expecting more precipitation.

I've been in bed almost all day wearing my wool, trying to keep warm, in my heatless upstairs! :)

Karen

[Crankin]

Bambu, after riding those hills in Blanford last summer, I can barely imagine what it's like with ice all over them! Glad you kept warm and washed.
There have been many near misses with generators hooked up incorrectly and people almost dying from poisoning. I think there have actually been a couple of deaths.
It was 58 when I got home tonight. This is very weird. The wind is howling, though and it looks like rain, ice, and snow showers for the rest of the week.

[sundial]

Crankin, that's miserable. :( Tuckervill, pile on a few dogs and it will help. :)

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, dogs aren't allowed in the bed! ;) Cats make good foot warmers, though.

We dodged the bullet this time. There is snow in Kansas and Missouri to our north, and ice in OK and central AR to our south. Our schools are back in session today, but only in the two northernmost counties.

Karen

[mudmucker]

Yeah, dogs aren't allowed in the bed! ;) Cats make good foot warmers, though.

We dodged the bullet this time. There is snow in Kansas and Missouri to our north, and ice in OK and central AR to our south. Our schools are back in session today, but only in the two northernmost counties.

Karen

Tuckerville, where exactly are you? That's wild.

Day 6 here, no power yet.

[bmccasland]

Beth, are you guys getting any freezing rain or sleet?

Neither. Dare I mention that it was 72 muggy degrees? :o Had the back door open until the mosquito invasion got too bad. Is currently in the 60s, foggy, grey. The cold front is just north of us and the weather prognosticators are taking stabs at whether it'll dip south or not. :confused:

[sundial]

We dodged the bullet this time. There is snow in Kansas and Missouri to our north, and ice in OK and central AR to our south. Our schools are back in session today, but only in the two northernmost counties.

Karen

Our schools are closed, we had sleet off and on throughout the night but no snow. Still have power which is a good thing. I have had to fill my bird feeders twice--the cardinals are really busy. :)

Mudmucker, I'd love to have you over for a nice hot meal if you were closer. My gsds would keep you nice and warm too.

[bambu101]

Still no power here, and no sign of any restoration efforts in our immediate area. Some towns around us still have almost 100% outages, including Otis, and we are in day 5. Even with generators, it is getting old.

Crankin, the strangest thing about this ice storm was that the roads never iced up, just the trees. It was like mud season in April on the roads, but January on the trees. The roads were impassable because of snapped power poles, trees, and wires down all over the place, but not because of ice on the road surfaces.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I am thinking of you guys still with no power.....how simply AWFUL. :(

Wish I could bring you a hot shower and some radiators....

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[bmccasland]

Mudmucker - are you warm YET??? :confused:

Concerned minds out there are sending you warm thoughs of crackling bon-fires, hot cocoa, and plain old central-air.

[mudmucker]

:eek:
Mudmucker - are you warm YET??? :confused:

Concerned minds out there are sending you warm thoughs of crackling bon-fires, hot cocoa, and plain old central-air.

No I am not warm yet. Wait a minute, I think I just caught one of your warming thoughts or a spark from a virtual bon-fire for just a moment....:)

read your post earlier - what I'd give to slap a mosquito right now...

Temps will drop a little more into the 20's but nothing that would threaten pipes and cause more problems at least...

I've just gotten my first actual estimate of power restoration, possibly by Thursday.

My electricity gets distributed by National Grid. Big Utility. There are utility companies here from Tennessee, South Carolina, Michigan that are obliging these contracts. There are some towns near me who aren't off of Big Utility but from small util - those without these larger service contracts. I've heard estimates of power restoration by Dec. 24 to some of those towns.

[Crankin]

Good luck, Mudmucker. The snow is moving in! I don't think tomorrow will be too bad, but Friday looks like a big one.
We live in a town with its own utility company. It was fine when they came and got our power back on after 45 minutes,from downed branches on our street. I don't know what would happen if the devastation was worse.

[mudmucker]

Good luck, Mudmucker. The snow is moving in! I don't think tomorrow will be too bad, but Friday looks like a big one.
We live in a town with its own utility company. It was fine when they came and got our power back on after 45 minutes,from downed branches on our street. I don't know what would happen if the devastation was worse.

Thank you very much. Snow is moving in? Cripes, I've been so pre-occupied with the weather inside my house I am unaware of what is happening outside on its way!

The small util company I was speaking of is Fitchburg Gas and Electric that serve solely I believe, Townsend, Ashby, Ashburnham, and some of Lancaster. Townsend is real bad.

[Crankin]

Yea, I heard that about Townsend. One of the other students in my grad program is from there, although she lives in Sommerville now. She said her dad is a teacher there and the schools are closed for the rest of the week. They didn't know when the power would be on. I noticed that Chelmsford and Westford have school tomorrow, so the power must be mostly back on. Those are the places closest to me that have been dark.

[nancielle]

I am in Blandford, which is on the slopes of the Berkshires, and also referred to as the Hilltowns. We are at around 1400 feet in elevation, which means more snow and ice. The other towns in the valley got only rain.


On the news here the weather people commented that those cities/towns along the Route 7 corridor of Berkshire County only got the rain (I'm in Pittsfield) but those towns off the corridor (the hilltowns like Savoy, Otis, etc.) got slammed. The weather was warm (almost 60 degrees) most of yesterday but the rain that started falling froze overnight making the roads all over pretty darn slick.

Snow's in the forcast for tonight.

[Tuckervill]

Tuckerville, where exactly are you? That's wild.

Day 6 here, no power yet.

I'm in the extreme northwest corner of Arkansas, less than a mile from Oklahoma, about 25 from Missouri and about 70 from Kansas.

The weather is usually quite a story around here.

Hope your power is back on by now!

Karen

[Zen]

The weather is usually quite a story around here.



You and Sundial seem to live in some type of of hellish weather vortex
:eek:

[sundial]

Tuck and I like to live on the edge. ;)

Mudmucker, have you thawed out any over there??

[sundial]

Speaking of bizarre weather, check out this cool cloud:

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20081216/ARTICLES/812169924&tc

[Tuckervill]

Holy Toledo! That would scare the rice outta me!

It's rather like an optical illusion.

Karen

[tulip]

Thanks for posting that, Sundial. You are truly our Weather Mistress! I think clouds are so cool. I have the Audubon Guide to the Weather and they have all sorts of clouds in that book.

That is one freaky cloud!

[bambu101]

No power yet, and it is day 7. Some people in our town have been told after Christmas for restoration (a full TWO weeks after the storm).:eek:

[mudmucker]

Woohoo !! I just got word from the neighbor the power on my road is back ! Temps in the house were ranging between 39 and 44 F and that was getting real tiresome after a week.

Whew. Just in time - there is a big storm predicting 10 inches or so tomorrow Friday, flurries on Saturday, then snow again on Sunday. If power isn't coming on for people by tonight, I can't see how work crews will be able to proceed well in this upcoming weather through the weekend.

I have my main turned off in the event things got back on when I wasn't home. I might leave work a little early to go turn it on. Then get ready to snowblow myself out from my 100-foot driveway.

I have my cable line strewn across my yard. Don't know if they fixed that. I don't care. It will be soo nice to have heat.

Bambu I was wondering what goes, your way. Although you said you have wood stoves and generators, generators get very old too. Yes, I've heard dire predictions on power restoration for some people.

[sundial]

Mudmucker, that's great news!! Hope you have a cozy, warm house waiting for you when get home tonight.

Bambu, that really stinks! Are you having to take cold showers?? :eek:

Tulip, I am a skywatcher and secretly desire to be a weather alertist. ;)

[Crankin]

Congratulations on the power restoration, Mudmucker. It looks like tomorrow will bring a lot of snow.
Bambu, I feel for you.
I found out why the fire trucks and ambulance were leaving my neighborhood last Friday. Someone got hit with a falling tree limb. I guess it's pretty serious. And people continued to walk by the part of the road that has all of these branches just dangling. In fact, on Saturday, the Harvard U. x country ski team was traversing the hill on roller skis, in between the debris and ice. And, they were careening down the hill, 4 abreast. Seriously stupid.

[mudmucker]

Bambu, is there any progress out your way yet? Can you get gas nearby for the generators?

House is warm. No cable-internet access, cable will not be repaired until Dec 26. Least of concerns. Sporadically I can grab some internet time out of the neighborhood. Right now I'm in an internet cafe next to a fireplace in a nice cushy easychair. Gotta leave, snow is piling up.

[OakLeaf]

How about our Hoosier sisters? I think this latest ice storm is north of everyone on here? Pretty sure my ex-husband's family in northwestern Ohio is in the affected area though. It's definitely going to take resources away from the rebuilding in the northeast :(

[Selkie]

More ice headed toward the Atlantic/East Coast....

The DC area is now expected to get hit, tonight into tomorrow morning. Not as bad as New England and other areas got it already.

Here's hoping for a January thaw that turns into an early spring.....

On that note, the Solstice is tomorrow which means for those of us with SADD, things are looking brighter. ;)

Keep warm and safe.

[Crankin]

We have about a foot of light, fluffy snow. I am itching to go x country skiing.
Unfortunately, tomorrow we are getting more snow, topped by some ice. My son is supposed to come for a Chanukah party and now he will have to take the train out to the burbs, since there is no way his little car will make it up the hill of ice.
It's 11.3 degrees out. I guess I will get to try out all of my new wool weenie stuff.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We're ok here- got about 9" last night. Supposed to get 6-8" more inches on Sunday. But 8" snowfalls are not uncommon around here, so everyone deals with it quite well, and the roads get well plowed and sanded.
But today will be a good snow cleanup break. No problems with the power lines.
It's 10F degrees out....time to bundle up and get shoveling! :)

[Zen]

This is just bizarre.
It's far too early for this.

[OakLeaf]

This is just bizarre.
It's far too early for this.

We used more propane this November than we ever had in the 11 years we've been in our house. :(

[mudmucker]

Got a foot here too. It's continued to snow all day, very light and steady for another 3 inches and it hasn't stopped yet. It's pretty. Spent the last hour and a half snowblowing my way out. Then I threw the snowshoes on to feed the birds and tramp down the path to the compost pile. After snowblowing and shoveling, I'm not exactly in the mood to run right out to xc ski at this moment as I'd be breaking trail and it's deep. But the snow is light and dry and I know the good conditions for xc doesn't last long until things deteriorate. Not wanting to miss an opportunity I might take my skiis to the quiet roads instead of the woods and ski on something that isn't a foot deep for a short while. They haven't plowed or sanded since last night so it looks good.

[bambu101]

We got over 12'' of snow on Friday, and another 8 inches or so on Sunday. The power went out again Sunday night, but only for 6 hours this time. Pete got stranded yesterday morning when the fuel pump on his truck quit. It was 6 degrees out,with 40 MPH winds, and he couldn't call me here at home, because our phone was still out (after 11 days). He managed to call his friend to come and get him, and then we got our phone/internet back. There were still a few people without power as of early Monday morning from the December 11th ice storm.

One of our neighbors, who is in her 70s and lives alone with her dog, stayed in her 50 degree house the whole time, feeding wood into the woodstove. Pete had to help her get her car out from under a tarp/steel frame cover. One corner had fallen in from the weight of the snow on it, but luckily, the car was undamaged.

The biggest lesson we learned from all of this was that you are on your own. The local or state or federal government is going to be of limited help, so you had better have an alternate source of heat, water, and food. Good neighbors are critical to mutual survival.

After no power for 7 days, and no phone/internet for 11 days, God help us all if there is ever a terrorist attack or natural disaster that disrupts the power, water, and food supply for more than a day or two. I honestly think that the vast majority of people are totally unprepared.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The biggest lesson we learned from all of this was that you are on your own. The local or state or federal government is going to be of limited help, so you had better have an alternate source of heat, water, and food. Good neighbors are critical to mutual survival.

This is very very true.
In our little neighborhood of about 12 houses' worth of people knowing each other, we all were checking on each other and doing little things. Some are elderly, and one neighbor who brought hot soup to the oldest couple (in their late 80's, one in a wheelchair), sized up the situation and then called the grown children and suggested their parents really weren't up to staying in their house alone while the power was out. The 'children' then came and got their parents out of there for the duration. :rolleyes:
It's a good feeling to know how your neighbors are faring, what's going on, and to be able to knock on their doors and help each other out or ask for help.
We were really glad to have had all our emergency supplies stocked up well before hand: non-perishable food enough for about 3 weeks, bottled drinking water, wood for the woodstove that kept us from freezing, propane for the camp stove, battery radio, candle lamps, oil lamps, flashlights, car all gassed up, etc. We normally do have plenty of warm winter clothes and blankets.
It's always a somber reminder to find out just how much our 'normal' lives depend on electricity.

[bmccasland]

After no power for 7 days, and no phone/internet for 11 days, God help us all if there is ever a terrorist attack or natural disaster that disrupts the power, water, and food supply for more than a day or two. I honestly think that the vast majority of people are totally unprepared.

All of us in the "Blow Zone" really hoped the nation learned it's lesson after Katrina / Rita. I suppose in some areas the answer is still "no" or "not-quite".