Ice

[melissajm]

When they said "Ice storm warning," they weren't kidding...
Tech Support and I woke up to that dark, muffled silence of an electronic world unplugged, broken by the gunshot cracks of ice-laden tree limbs breaking. The sun rose on beautiful devastation: a blue silk sky over a glittering crystal world. The beloved birch tree in our front yard looks like a bowed, weeping, diamond-haired angel. At least 2 large branches are cracked off. It's battered from a past ice storm already. We hope it'll spring back. Tech Support spent the morning hauling downed branches, and his coat's stained from pine pitch. (anyone know how to get out, not the pitch itself, but the stains it leaves?)

We were lucky. We got power (and heat) back after 2-3 hours, and the house and cars are fine. My dad, at his camp up north, has to shovel 6" of snow. Their house, where my mom is, is in a State of Emergency area. She has no power. One of my sisters has no power AND standing water in her cellar. (She has a woodstove and an emergency water system, thank goodness!) I don't think the other sister has power either.

Prettiest pain in the butt ever.

Comments

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

Glad you got your power back. Sisters, spouses and kids should come sleep on the living room floor. Nice and crowded.

Did Tech Support take pictures?

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Too unsafe to get here. Parts of Route 9 are even closed, and they're telling people to stay off the roads. Besides, everyone we've heard from seems content where they are.

Nope. Too busy getting over the hypothermia from hauling branches all morning. He doesn't want to hear about pretty right now. ;)

[alaneer.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about you CL girls that live up there this morning when I saw the storm damage. Glad you're all right. I hope your family is too.

*Hugs*

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Sounds like they're inconvenienced, but Ok. Tech Support may have to get a new coat.

JS, how is it out your way?

[katie-m.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was just rain rain wind wind rain wind here, but apparently the ice starts not all that far northwest. My parents apparently didn't lose power, which I was relieved to hear.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Oh good. I read that some parts of Mass. were nasty, si I was wondering how you made out.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

Snow with some ice on top of it. I got my car sort of cleaned off, and set out, got to the end of the street and went around the block and came home. An hour and a half later, I tried again, and it was okay as long as you stuck to 40. Then I got into town (that's The Big City, Bath) and it was awful again. At one of the main intersections, people were treating it like a 4-way stop, even though there are lights and they were working. The intersection itself was a maze of slush and icy ridges.

About 2/3 of the regular staff made it in to work.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

My boss made it in, but he said there was no one else in the unit and told me to stay home. We had no light, no heat, it was still dark...So I did.

[jcdrainville.livejournal.com]

I have no real comprehension of ice storms, southern California is somewhat a weather free zone... Unless you count earthquakes as weather. ;) I'm just glad you and your family are all okay!

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Imagine every surface covered with greased glass, and trees and power lines snapping under the weight of it.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

We didn't used to get them so often -- we'd get blizzards. Ice storms were more common in warmer, but still temperate areas, like Ohio and Kentucky. But global warming. I'd frankly rather have 3 feet of snow than an ice storm. At least with that much snow, you don't feel like you're slacking when you stay home. Ice storms, the trees look beautiful, the pavement looks fine. Then you step on it. If you're me, over you go.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Yeah-the snowbanks used to be much higher!
I'd rather drive in snow than ice.

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

Wow, glad you got your power back so quickly. Ice storms are what we have all winter, and what hit Tulsa so badly last January. (They had part of town without power for two weeks, so many lines were down) I hope it's all snow from here out.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

A lot of the area may not get power back until next week. My sisters have theirs back now. Not sure about my mom.