Like so many in the Midwest, our my county was hit by an ice storm this week. It started off as just a thin layer of ice, and it wasn’t too bad to get around. Then the rain came.
The temps were around 30 when it started and there was a fair amount of ponding on surfaces, namely driveways and sidewalks and roadways. Miserable crap to deal with, for when those ponds froze, look out.
But the worst problem as always was the ice piling up on the trees and powerlines. The weatherman kept saying this wasn’t going to be as bad as 2002 which was horrible, but it was bad just the same. The icicles from the trees were at least 3″ long, and they were one next to the other. Lots of weight in ice.
The electric lines near our my house put on a freakish light show of blue, purple and red arcs of energy before all power went out. The rain continued, and it was four hours or more before a crew arrived to remove the limbs and flip our transformer back on. Folks in my area were lucky. Damned lucky.
There are still a good many homes in Whoville without electricity, and it could be close to a week or more before all power is restored. That’s coming mighty close to Christmas.
Speaking of which– Outside Christmas decorations, like the big inflated characters and such, don’t fare so well in ice. Neither do the moving objects, like bobbing deer heads and waving Santas.
I’m praying for a warming trend, say around 60. 🙂 Yeah, that’d be a great Christmas present, imo. I’m so not a winter person.
December 13th, 2007 at 2:05 pm · Link
I will send some warm weather your way…been near 80 here.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:43 pm · Link
Oh, please do, Jennifer! Highs are supposed to be in the 20s tomorrow, with snow heading our way mid afternoon into Saturday. That is on top of the ice that fell off the trees today, and piled up over an inch think in driveways, mine included. Bad thing is so many in my town still don’t have power, and won’t until sometime next week. My county was hit hardest in the last ice storm. 🙁
December 14th, 2007 at 10:25 am · Link
It’s cold and snowy by us. I hope this is it for awhile. We deserve a break. I know you do, Jan. I heard on TV this morning that there’s snow coming to Kansas today, and I hope it skips you.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:35 pm · Link
It won’t miss us, Edie, though I sure wish it would. It’s cloudy here now, and we’re supposed to get between 4-7″ pf snow with temps in the 20s. Hate. It.
December 15th, 2007 at 8:57 am · Link
Jan, we have heavy rain in TN today, and temps will be dipping tonight. Crazy weather though, cause we had a record breaker of 70 last week. Everyone hated it, cause it was just plain wierd. I know ice had been a nightmare for so many people these last two weeks. Please stay safe, and drive careful.
December 15th, 2007 at 12:13 pm · Link
Wow, 70? That’s unreal, LaDonna, not to mention those freak warming trends screw up the growing cycle. I’m staying in this weekend, not by choice. But it’s only in the 20s and it’s still snowing. Next week it’s supposed to get up in the 40s. Very weird weather.