Ice, ice, baby!

[Aggie_Ama]

UGH!! They didn't close schools and DH made it in okay so I thought it would be fine. But the roads I take had several ice spots and it was a stressful drive in. My car is front wheel drive and I shock myself by being a very capable driver on icy roads. Made it to work tired but in one piece. Saw two trucks (the pickup kind) fishtail and spin in front of me. A car in a ditch with a perplexed tow truck driver trying to figure out how to remove it. About 6 smaller town fire trucks running to and fro. A five car pile up that shut down the entrance to the toll road, probably for the best since it would be icy anyway. Another minor fender bender and one nasty multi car pile up for good measure before getting safely to the office. It should warm up and thaw before the afternoon.

Lesson learned, if the schools immediately west are delayed I am working from home. Too RISKY! Stay safe out there ladies.

[sfa]

We didn't get much of the mess here in Maryland--just a couple of inches of snow, then a layer of ice on top of that overnight. Enough to close the schools today but not to close work, unfortunately! My poor dog fell down the stairs this morning when he went out for his morning romp. He scrambled/slid/fell down the stairs, regained his feet at the bottom but couldn't get any traction on the ground to let him move around so I had to go out in my bathrobe and socks and help him back in. Poor little guy--he was so confused!

Sarah

[Tuckervill]

My power has been out since yesterday morning, all the trees in my back yard are decimated, a tree pierced my neighbor's roof, one pierced my son's trampoline, and I don't expect to get a shower before Friday.

blah. Here's a picture of my back yard. That's the trampoline under there...somewhere...

[Mr. Bloom]

11 inches to 13 inches over night. I hate snow.

But, on Facebook, I sent a joking message to a riding buddy:



Me: Today at 5:28am
Wanna go for a ride? I'm guessing traffic will be lighter than usual...

Friend's Response: Today at 6:50am
Ha! Strangely enough, I saw some bike tracks in the snow by my office. They were followed by a big patch of mashed down snow that resembled a human on a bicycle...

[Tuckervill]

LOL!

I get excited when I see a bucket truck. They climbed the pole outside my house last night at about 8:15 and at 8:36 the power came on. I keep reaching for the light switches and pulling my hand back, reminding myself that it won't work! But then, it does! It's amazing how quickly you can condition yourself one way or another.

And it was WARM in bed last night! One blanket! yippee!

Karen

[Selkie]

UGH!! .... But the roads I take had several ice spots and it was a stressful drive in. My car is front wheel drive and I shock myself by being a very capable driver on icy roads.

On ice, it doesn't matter if you have AWD, FWD, 4 wheel drive. Nothing -- except maybe chains on your tires -- will help.

[uforgot]

LOL!

I get excited when I see a bucket truck. They climbed the pole outside my house last night at about 8:15 and at 8:36 the power came on. I keep reaching for the light switches and pulling my hand back, reminding myself that it won't work! But then, it does! It's amazing how quickly you can condition yourself one way or another.

And it was WARM in bed last night! One blanket! yippee!

Karen

So glad you have your power back! Lights, heat and hot water. Amazing what you take for granted, isn't it? So now it's just limb cleanup?

[sundial]

Our power went out on Monday and just got power back on yesterday. Our region took a really hard hit. Utility companies estimate it will be 5 weeks before all power is restored. I think about 300,000 people are without power just in our region alone.

I learned a couple things whilst sitting in the dark:

• A winter Buff is worth it's weight in gold.
• French press--every household should have one!
• You can never have too many Coleman battery operated lanterns.
• Shamwow does a good job pulling water out of hand washed clothes.
• A radio that plays the local TV station is fun to listen to.
• A large insulated carafe filled with hot water is a blessing in disguise.
• Coleman cookstoves are mighty handy if you don't have a gas BBQ grill.

[makbike]

Oakleaf,

Thanks for checking on me. I'm okay but many in Kentucky are without power and water. I'm one of the few lucky ones at the moment. My little town looks like a war zone as does my yard. Lots of trees/limbs down. I lost power on Wednesday for about 8 hours but once restored it has stayed on, thank goodness. Sadly, those who live directly across the street from me have been without power for 2 days now - looks like all have departed for warmer places.

The clean up will begin in earnest in the next day or so in my yard. I fear my big white pine is a lose. My old car is buried under large branches and the the back yard is a mess. If nothing else I'll get a good work out as I pull and haul branches and debris. We have not been in school all week and I wonder if we will return on Monday for I know many teachers/staff/students are still without power and may be for another week.

For now I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the beauty outside.

[Aggie_Ama]

On ice, it doesn't matter if you have AWD, FWD, 4 wheel drive. Nothing -- except maybe chains on your tires -- will help.

All we get here are patches so front wheel is better when accelerating. Same thing in wet weather IMO. I own both and am much more comfortable in the front wheel drive than rear wheel drive on wet roads. I have spun a rear wheel drive car completely around and it scared the crap out of me. Most wrecks I saw were trucks. It is 70 today.

[Selkie]

All we get here are patches so front wheel is better when accelerating. Same thing in wet weather IMO. I own both and am much more comfortable in the front wheel drive than rear wheel drive on wet roads. I have spun a rear wheel drive car completely around and it scared the crap out of me. Most wrecks I saw were trucks. It is 70 today.

I must have misunderstood. I thought you were talking about icy roads, not wet roads.

An ice patch is easy to avoid, which is lucky for you. As I said, there nothing, except tire chains or maybe true snow tires w/studs like we used in Western Penna, that work on ice.

[Aggie_Ama]

Oh no, I meant ice but patches and some wet. Texas is almost like a grab bag. The people around here are stoopid too. That morning I am accelerating slowly on bridges, they in big trucks accelerate fast and proceed to show everyone behind them "Hey there is some ice here". I just find front wheel drive when accelerated slowly will manuever over ice better than rear wheel drive. Still rather stay home. I don't think we can get chains in Texas.

[skhill]

Here in Lexington KY it's a beautifully warm day. Go on my bike for the first time in a week (just to go the mile to church) and it felt great-- even tho I was dodging icy patches.

This afternoon I undertook to shovel out the sidewalks at my church. They're encrusted with more than 2 inches of ice, and this one warm day wouldn't be enought to get rid of everything, before more comes this week. So there I was, in my heavy winter boots, and shorts and a t-shirt, chipping ice... I think I've got a sunburn now-- from shoveling snow!!!

[Geonz]

Glad folks are digging out! We were completely spared Tuesday (when the forecast said 3-5 inches - which they got 20 miles to the south) but got our 5 inches Tuesday night (when the forecast said "flurries"), so I took the bus in and went 35 hours without getting on a bicycle for the first time in a long time! My studded tires would have gotten me there... but cars were going all over the place.
The poor backyard
Snork... Bruce Springsteen makes me glad to be an American...

[sundial]

Makbike, I was worried about you and the other TE'ers hit by this storm. Are you staying warm? Are you able to get to work? Do you have enough food and fuel?

I lost power not long after my last post so we were back in the dark. Finally snagged a little generator yesterday, just as the lights came back one. Fortunately for us, we have a gas stove so I can make a hot meal and boil water. The generator will keep our frige, tv, computer going and our cell phones charged.

This is a terrible, terrible storm and FEMA has yet to respond in our state even though it's been declared a disaster by the president. The national guard was called out but they didn't even have access to chain saws. Out of state utility trucks are still coming into the region to assist. I think we had 7800 utility poles down just in our region.

There are so many people trapped in their homes from the fallen debris. These people don't have food, water, or heat to survive the temps that are in the 20's. Please continue to pray for the victims. It's going to take a long time to recover from this.