Digital images added at 3:34pm CST; taken a bit earlier outside our house.
Just to let my readers and correspondents know, we're hunkering down getting ready for the worst, yet hoping for the best. I would say we have, currently, about 1/4 inch of ice on the trees and powerlines, and the rain is coming steadily. It is predicted that we'll recieve another 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice in the next 24 hrs., which means, essentially, weeks-long power outages and a big ol' mess t'boot.
But don't worry too much about us. We have plenty of food and water at the house, an alternative source of heat, and I just went out and started the generator for good measure's sake. I'm going to try my best to stay off the roads until this thing blows over. And I'll try to keep you updated. More later.
Update, 3:00 pm local time:
The temperature has dropped two or three degrees in the last couple of hours, and the precipitation, locally, has changed from rain to sleet. We've had, by my count, five separate (local) occurances of temporary power outages, lasting not more than a few seconds, since about 10:00 am today. And the roads are getting treacherous.
Update no. 2, Jan. 29, 7:40am
Though we're currently froze up pretty solid, and the roads are still hazardous, it looks like Providence smiled upon us this go 'round, at least in my little neighborhood, as we still have all of our utilities despite the fact that the ice continued to accumulate. But after the destructive ice storm of 2007, probably a full half of our power lines and poles were replaced with new ones, which certainly didn't hurt matters in this case. Not to mention that the trees were cut away then, mainly by nature, from the power lines. Nonetheless, the generator remains on standby. :-)
5 comments:
Ice storms are inconvenient, but they sure are pretty. Stay warm.
Coming home from my Christmas break, the heating in the car hardly managed to keep the wind- and other screens free from ice and I had to stop every odd dozen of kilometers to wipe the windshield with snow because the cleaning system was frozen solid as well. Coming home (Not anticipating anything like that, I had left a window sligfhtly open for some air circulation!) the water pipes were frozen solid and the entire house was stone cold. I positively welcomed for once the presence of the dogs in the bed. Basically, we are not used to winters like that, but they are not THAT unusual to justify the resulting mess every other year. It's the same with the first snowfall every year. Public services and car drivers act, as if weather forecasts wouldn't exist and as if this were the first snow they've ever experienced. It drives me up the wall.
I hope you will make the best of it. Stay at home, don't take any risks.
I see you've posted again today so apparently you at least have 120 volts and an Internet connection. That's something.
Stay warm.
Is that your beastie in the top photo?
Mom,
No, that belongs to our neighbor around the bend. He has that and several others that he takes the kids (my kids) for rides on now and again.
Good guy.
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