The weekend’s weather forecast portended some lousy conditions and, unfortunately, this time the forecasters got it right. The outlook map for the Lansing area put us squarely in the dreaded Pepto-Bismol pink ‘Icy mix’ swath from Oklahoma to Maine.
Last night and this morning was a non-stop cacophony of “Snap! Crash!” as icy limbs headed earthward. About 4:30 this morning my wife saw a bright flash burst across the street and almost immediately we heard all our of appliances stop. No power. After breakfast I negotiated a slalom course of downed tree limbs to a nearby supermarket which was operating on its emergency generator. Last minute Christmas shopping had instantly given way to stocking up on bottled water, camp-stove fuel, batteries, and Presto logs.
The short drive back and forth to a store made the immensity of the storm immediately apparent. Most people we know are without power and I suspect for most of us it will be several days if not longer before we get it back. Hats off to the men and women that are heading out to get things working again while the rest of us are staying inside and trying to keep warm.
I did get out and get a few photos around our place this morning to share, in case you’re in a location where you’re not experiencing the 2013 Ice Storm up close and personal. My alternative title for the post was “Beauty and the Beast.”
Bert, this is awful! Destruction that is beautiful. Midland only got a quarter inch of ice and about four inches of snow. Hope you get power soon or that you have a wood burner. Hard to stay warm and keep the pipes from freezing as we dip into the single digits!
Thanks Susan. We haven’t gotten an estimate to get our power restored but I’ve already heard some estimates as long as a week. I think generators are going to be popular Christmas gifts this year!
So sorry you’re in such a mess. Down south here in central VA we got lots of rain but it stayed warm. We often get ice storms, some years more often than snow, so we understand the beauty/beast idea very well. A few years ago a lot of folks were without power for over a week after such a storm. But our usual culprit for power outages is a dying hurricane that brings trees down across power lines. Stay warm and safe, Bert. There’s not much in this world that’s worth risking life and limb on the ice.
Hello,
Here on the West Coast, Central Coast California to be more specific, we’ve got the opposite problem. We are headed into the worst drought in a very, very long time. San Francisco had less rain in 2013 that in any other recorded year. To compound our misery, in the previous two years our rainfall was about half the yearly average
What would you do now to keep your trees heathy? Is there some way to lessen the stress of the upcoming summer. I’ve got some coast redwoods and some pines that are looking parched. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your expert advice.
Ed Morrow
Carmel Valley, CA