This is the view from our kitchen window this morning; it speaks to the depth and bite of the ice storm that is still going on and began around dinnertime last night.
Maria and I spent some hours trying to scrape the ice off of our car windows, but an hour later, the ice was back. The storm is due to end later this afternoon finally.
After a lot of scraping, I came inside, sat in front of the woodstove, put the earphones on, and listened to a Neil Young best hits album.
Neil, some blankets – my teeth were chattering – and some hot tea did the trick. I fell asleep sitting up. I don’t recall a storm like this one, and people are freezing all the way to Texas. I’m sorry for that.
We expect this up here. I wouldn’t expect it in Texas.
I don’t think we’ll be going out for a while.
Jon….I am in Texas and last February our house was 30 degrees for four days as the grid did not work. WE had no heat no light and no water, etc. so this is a piece of cake this Feb. We have had an ice storm but the grid is back in order so we have had heat (most of us). A big lesson in appreciating what we have. You and Maria take care in this kind of weather…..I am sure you are more than prepared.
thanks Sally, we are ready, but this one was a dinger..
Up here on the Canadian border, NY and Canada., we had an ice storm that took out power for two weeks. The late 90’s. I still remember the sound of the trees falling and limbs breaking when I went outside. Used our fireplace to keep warm. People still talk about that one…
Why would you try to scrape ice off your cars before the storm ends? That’s kind of silly. Let it run its course, then turn on your cars, run the defroster, and then everything will be magic. Take it from a Minnesotan–you don’t want to create more work than you have to!
Nontas, I’ve been scraping ice off my car for 20 years in storms in upstate NY, and while I appreciate your concern, I think I can make my own decisions about it, even if they are not yours. In this particular storm, the ice was accumulating rapidly and freezing in a way I have never seen before. If I’d waited for this two-day storm to stop (it still hasn’t) I’d need a saw to get the ice off of the car. As it was, it took an hour before I could open my doors. I just went out and they all opened right away. I can’t fathom why I am explaining this to you, a total stranger in Minnesota, but I guess I’m in a tolerant mood. Take care of yourself, I’m sure you know-how and I wouldn’t patronize you with obvious advice. And yes, I do know how to turn on a defroster, and no, in a storm like this, there is no magic, just good and hard work.
The storm went thru Ohio. We had ice then about 8 inches of snow. After it finally stopped snowing this morning I got my driveway cleared off. It’s cold tonight going down in the single digits with wind chills below zero.
Our humble little home is surrounded by woods. It is very beautiful and private but it can also be nightmarish in storms of all seasons. Our avenue of woods is notorious for power outages. After twenty years of borrowing our neighbor’s small generator and relying on the fireplace for warmth, we purchased a generator that automatically turns on when the power is taken out. It was installed in May. This is the first time it turned on and it’s been running for 24 hours plus . Western Pennsylvania has over a thousand residents without power because of this storm. We are last on the electric company’s list. They said maybe Sunday. We’ve been down this road at least a dozen times. But this time is different. Purchasing that generator, humming outside, was worth every hard-earned penny for comfort and peace of mind. FINALLY!