Major winter storm

[ScottM]

no problems getting to work.

her, I just walked from the bedroom to the office. The hardest and most dangerous part of my morning commute was taking the garbage to the end of the drive.

 

[tonycondon]

so this is what you call 'work' eh scott?

 

[ScottM]

so this is what you call 'work' eh scott?

I have two computers sitting side by side. Right now I am on a conference calling listening to a presentation on frame structure for 802.16m from the Nextwave corporation for consideration into what may become IMT-ADV. Exciting stuff!

 

[CJones]

BTDT, Diana..

Growing up in Bama for about 3 years in a row, we got severe ice storms in the winter. We lived WAAAAAY out in the boonies. We were the second from last house on our power line, which came in from a different direction than the houses 1/2 mile down the road from us. So, we were usually the last area in the county to get power back. At the time, we were on well water, so we would have to walk up to my grandparents' house where they had city water to shower and jug up drinking water.

I'll never forget the sound at night, though. You don't realize how quiet everything really can be until there is absolutely no electricity - no TV's, no HVAC units running, even the hum from the transformers is gone. Combine the ultimate quiet with the random crashing of old scaley bark limbs in the pitch black and it's downright eerie and amazing at the same time.

Hunker down and get back to the basics for a few days. This is usually the time that we had wished we had put up a few more quarts of vegetable soup in the summer.

 

[flyersfan31]

And it's only December.........

Good luck. Sounds like you're hanging in ok. We had a big ice storm a few years back in Maryland and man, not something I want to go through again!! We just have lingering overcast, chill, and rain. Day after day. It's like we're in Seattle or something!!

 

[foka4]

Well, I tried flying out of DSM on Northwest this morning (at 5:10am local!). After a cancellation and a delay due to airport closure, I'm giving up. Attached is a really poor quality cel phone photo of the CRJ tail with 3-4" icicles hanging off the stab.

Oh well. It was a good chance for some hangar flying with the Cap and FO.

 

[wby0nder]

That picture is AWASOME dude!

Well, I tried flying out of DSM on Northwest this morning (at 5:10am local!). After a cancellation and a delay due to airport closure, I'm giving up. Attached is a really poor quality cel phone photo of the CRJ tail with 3-4" icicles hanging off the stab.

Oh well. It was a good chance for some hangar flying with the Cap and FO.

 

[mikea]

her, I just walked from the bedroom to the office. The hardest and most dangerous part of my morning commute was taking the garbage to the end of the drive.

Same for me. I'm good unless power goes out for more than a few hours, or my DSL goes out.

But I gotta take Pancho for her first vet visit...all the way to the next driveway down the road - and that may still be a challenge.

That narrow band of ice has us right in the middle of it as it goes northwest. It's raining hard enough that my DirecTV is out. The car has another one inch layer of ice encasing it. So far my trees are holding up, but there are several that could take out my overhead power line if they give out.

I think my outside sump pump is frozen. Can't get to it. Gonna be adventure when we get a thaw.

I HAVE to move up getting a generator on my "someday" list.

My thoughts are with Diana and Tom.

 

[kevin47881]

That picture is AWASOME dude!

ROFLMAO

 

[ScottM]

Same for me. I'm good unless power goes out for more than a few hours, or my DSL goes out.

But I gotta take Pancho for her first vet visit...all the way to the next driveway down the road - and that may still be a challenge.

That narrow band of ice has us right in the middle of it as it goes northwest. It's raining hard enough that my DirecTV is out. The car has another one inch layer of ice encasing it. So far my trees are holding up, but there are several that could take out my overhead power line if they give out.

I think my outside sump pump is frozen. Can't get to it. Gonna be adventure when we get a thaw.

I HAVE to move up getting a generator on my "someday" list.

My thoughts are with Diana and Tom.

OAT is 32F right now, light rain.

 

[mikea]

OAT is 32F right now, light rain.

Yep! The ice is MELTING!

My gutters are frozen up and overflowing. Now I gotta babysit the sump pump.

 

[Diana]

Someone actually came down our driveway today. At first I thought it might be the electric company. Turned out it was the National Guard coming to check on us. How cool that they are doing that!

Got to go to town in a bit to get more gas...the generator is using about 15 gallons a day, but it's worth it. If we fill it up at about 11:00 p.m. it will last us till 6:00 a.m. so we don't have to get out there in the middle of the night.

 

[Diana]

Now that the computer is plugged in temporarily (it shuts off without warning, so I don't stay on it long), I can post pictures. Here is one more that I took the other day.

As I was driving out our driveway today, the nurse from the County Health Dept called me and said to just stay home. The office is without power or phone service so they temporarily stopped the home health visits. I was relieved to not have to go. The whole county has been declared a disaster area.

 

[jshawley]

Wow, you guys got nailed, Diana!

Hunker down and stay warm. Looks like I'll be spending spring break cutting down trees and cutting up wood at my older son's place in Fulton...

Hang in there,

 

[kevin47881]

Diana, glad to hear you and Tom are doing reasonably well.

 

[AuntPeggy]

David reports that there is a significant leak in the bedroom ceiling around the light fixture and A/C vent. He's going to try to get his sister's chain saw (she apparently just got one) and clear the roof, then lash a tarp to the roof until he can get a roofer out. When telephone lines reappear we need to get 'hold of insurance to see what kind of a deal we can get.

Poor kid just moved into my house from a nice safe apartment building where he had no "homeowner" responsibilities.

 

[kevin47881]

That stinks Peggy. Thankfully they are physically o.k.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Driving to work, I picked up 1/4 inch of ice on the car from freezing rain. It came out of the garage. The window defrosters worked so I didn't notice until i got out- I thought it was just wet. First time I ever saw that- I hope I only see it on the ground...

 

[bkreager]

Lost power this morning at 6:15, it briefly returned around 4:30pm, now I just got it back again. It must have warmed up overnight, it didn't seem like we got as much ice as they were forecasting. By 9 this morning it was 33 degrees according to my car. Unfortunately, the freezing rain was back by 5 and now its snowing. I can still hear branches/trees cracking and falling, so it seems like my electric issues may not be over. Nevertheless, I'm glad it wasn't windy and/or colder today, it could have been much much worse. I'm hoping that those of you down south can thaw out and return to normal life quickly.

It had already been slightly above freezing for 6 hours before I got my camera out, but here are a few pictures I got.

 

[wby0nder]

Hey Ben,

I just heard from a pal in Pella and apparently they've got tree branches crashing down all over town. I figured Ottumwa would be in bad shape. A couple degrees here and there make quite a difference.

Just a touch of ice in Ames this AM and a couple inches of snow after. No big deal.

Matt Michael

 

[Capt Binkley]

I think we got by a lot easier than what was forecast here in Davenport.

Power hasn't been a big issue in the city, but I understand a mainline went down between here and Iowa City. Knocked out power to a county or two.

Not too many branches appear to be down. Roads are in great shape, but not many people out on them. Hy-Vee was awfully empty around 5:30 last night.

Sure is beautiful though. I'm planning on getting some pictures later today. Forecast temps may mean this stuff will be around with us for a while. Not good for the trees.

By the way, if you guys haven't discovered YakTrax yet, go get a pair if there are any left in your area. They are a God send in weather like this.

 

[ScottM]

Lost power and phone yesterday. The first power outage was not related to the storm. An idoit semi-tractor driver from Penske/National Movers Decided to drive through our neighborhood. He hit a telephone wire and dragged down three telephone poles, a transformer and the power lines. Underneath the power lines some AT&T workers were putting in some new fiber and they almost got zappped. I heard the explosion and ran to my front window. The truck driver had seen what he did and was stopped in front of my house. I grabbed my camera to shoot pics of the downed lines and when he saw me with the camera he high tailed it out of there. JERK!

The road was closed for two hours and our electricity was out for about 5 more hours. The second outage was ice related. A tree branch took out the feed from the transformer to my house. The ComEd guys were still fixing the damage from earlier in the day so I walked down and told them about it. They were really nice and come right over and hooked me right back up. The worker said if I had called it would have been prioritized to sometime today. Instead he will call it related to the outage he was working on.

Telephones and DSL is still down as of this morning. I hope that AT&T will be back out today to fix it. They were there until very late last night. With a whole cable down it is probably a pretty big mess to deal with.

 

[AuntPeggy]

David says his bed is ruined from the water that came in through the holes in the roof and then through the ceiling fixtures. Fortunately, they had evacuated before that tree came down. He was able to remove one limb that was through the roof and send it tumbling to earth and cover the hole with a tarp. He could not remove another one, so he stuffed the opening. While up there, he noticed several spots where the roof was "soft" underfoot, so I guess we have some broken trusses.

Looks like the electric line to the house was spared, so when the city gets power back, the house should have power, too. Wonder if he should shut off the house circuit breaker until the light fixture in the bedroom is checked. The house is total electric except probably the water heater.

His father-in-law was able to get a generator through American Airlines connections, so they are staying warm with him.

 

[rknlazyr]

Diana,

You guys should have called. I would have come down. I still will if you need help cleaning up. Our ice is gone now...temperatures got above freezing and we continued to get some rain...melted it pretty quickly.

Let me know if you need help. Have truck and saw and will travel...

Joe

 

[Diana]

Diana,

You guys should have called. I would have come down. I still will if you need help cleaning up. Our ice is gone now...temperatures got above freezing and we continued to get some rain...melted it pretty quickly.

Let me know if you need help. Have truck and saw and will travel...

Joe

Thanks! Actually, we DO need help, but Tom won't ask for help. He gets his stitches out tomorrow. He is still not supposed to lift heavy stuff, but will probably get out with the chain saw today.

Nice picture in your avatar.

 

[Capt Binkley]

Here's a few photos from the day after.

Sun is out today. Sounds like it will pretty much be gone in a few hours. Lot's of crackling going on outside.

 

[mikea]

Driving to work, I picked up 1/4 inch of ice on the car from freezing rain. It came out of the garage. The window defrosters worked so I didn't notice until i got out- I thought it was just wet. First time I ever saw that- I hope I only see it on the ground...

1/4 inch? I had over an inch by the time I got home from driving 1100 miles in icing for the whole weekend. It got another 1/2 inch layer yesterday right before the above freezing rain finally disolved it.

One sight I should have taken a picture of: There were a lot of semi trailers that had a 3-5 inch dirty ice "tumors" on the top 3/4 of the trailer doors. I bet they had an adventure trying to get those open.

I see on the news this morning that St. Joseph, MO was hit bad. Guess what town I drove through Saturday?

 

[Capt Binkley]

It sure is pretty with the sunlight coming through it.

 

[mikea]

Lost power and phone yesterday. The first power outage was not related to the storm. An idoit semi-tractor driver from Penske/National Movers Decided to drive through our neighborhood. ..
..
Telephones and DSL is still down as of this morning. I hope that AT&T will be back out today to fix it. They were there until very late last night. With a whole cable down it is probably a pretty big mess to deal with.

Owww!! My worst nightmare! How are you getting online?

Those AT&T guys are running the fiber for Uverse (video). Tol' ya. They've been all over my neighborhood for going on two months. For wahtever reason they've lately had a truck parked in front of my house and today it has a generetor running.

I'm glad the ComEd guys took care of you. You would think they would tell you they needed a ticket and repair orders.

 

[ScottM]

Owww!! My worst nightmare! How are you getting online?

Those AT&T guys are running the fiber for Uverse (video). Tol' ya. They've been all over my neighborhood for going on two months. For wahtever reason they've lately had a truck parked in front of my house and today it has a generetor running.

I'm glad the ComEd guys took care of you. You would think they would tell you they needed a ticket and repair orders.

i actually had to go into the office today.

 

[mikea]

i actually had to go into the office today.

OH NO! I'm going to visit "my team" too, but only because they're having a holiday get-together. My nearest real peer works in Milwaukee. Most are in St. Louis.

 

[tonycondon]

power was out here yesterday about 5 hrs, flickered a couple times last night, then out overnight about 4 hrs. cable/internet is down.

 

[skyflyer8]

Amazing pictures.

Here is a NOTAM I found today:
PNM 12/079 ZMP IA.. NUMEROUS TOWER LIGHTS OTS TIL 0712261500

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Lost power and phone yesterday. The first power outage was not related to the storm. An idoit semi-tractor driver from Penske/National Movers Decided to drive through our neighborhood. He hit a telephone wire and dragged down three telephone poles, a transformer and the power lines. Underneath the power lines some AT&T workers were putting in some new fiber and they almost got zappped. I heard the explosion and ran to my front window. The truck driver had seen what he did and was stopped in front of my house. I grabbed my camera to shoot pics of the downed lines and when he saw me with the camera he high tailed it out of there. JERK!

Not defending his being in your hood, but...

1. Wrong turns happen, and it's usually very hard to find a place to turn one of those beasts around.

2. Movers? They may well have intended to be there. Got any new neighbors?

3. Power lines are supposed to cross public roads no lower than 14'. The highest van trailers are 13'6". The power line coming down is the fault of the power company, not the driver.

4. I'd have run from the camera too. The locals are already gonna be ****ed that their power is out (obviously, they're gonna blame the driver), the phone guys might be sue-happy, the last thing I need is to be on the front page of tomorrow's paper.

 

[ScottM]

Not defending his being in your hood, but...

1. Wrong turns happen, and it's usually very hard to find a place to turn one of those beasts around.

2. Movers? They may well have intended to be there. Got any new neighbors?

3. Power lines are supposed to cross public roads no lower than 14'. The highest van trailers are 13'6". The power line coming down is the fault of the power company, not the driver.

4. I'd have run from the camera too. The locals are already gonna be ****ed that their power is out (obviously, they're gonna blame the driver), the phone guys might be sue-happy, the last thing I need is to be on the front page of tomorrow's paper.

Signs are clearing posted on the access roads that prohibit large vehicles. I understand that people do move in. But that did not excuse him from being involved in the incident, seeing what he caused, he did stop and look, and then getting out of dodge when he realized that he just almost killed several AT&T workers by dropping three poles, a power transformer, and live wires on them. Whether or not the line was too low I don't know, but he was involved in an incident and leaving the scene of it was criminal. That is why I had to swear out a statement last night. If you ask me his behavior shows an incredible lack of professionalism and reflects poorly upon truck drivers.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Whether or not the line was too low I don't know, but he was involved in an incident and leaving the scene of it was criminal. That is why I had to swear out a statement last night. If you ask me his behavior shows an incredible lack of professionalism and reflects poorly upon truck drivers.

It wasn't clear to me from your post that he actually drove the truck out of there. In that case, he's just dumb. Trucks aren't very fast, so I'm sure you have several pics with his truck number visible. May he fry like chicken.

 

[jwriteclub]

i actually had to go into the office today.

Oh horror of horrors.

Still I'm in the same boat as a couple of you, without the 'net I cannot accomplish much work.

(Actually this past statement is categorically untrue, I probably accomplish more work with the 'net down, I just cannot communicate, and therefore **** others off when I fix their mistakes in my local copy of the CVS instead of calling them and asking them to fix it. At least I have a good excuse. I also don't feel like I am doing as much without the 'net).

~ Christopher

 

[ScottM]

It wasn't clear to me from your post that he actually drove the truck out of there. In that case, he's just dumb. Trucks aren't very fast, so I'm sure you have several pics with his truck number visible. May he fry like chicken.

Ah ok. Yeah he stopped in front of my house and was looking back towards the debris, when I stepped out with my camera he looked at me and then drove away as fast as a fully loaded 18-wheeler can. Actually I had not fully realized what was going on until he started driving away, I was busy on 911 and trying to stop traffic that was going towards the debris, so (dagnabit!) I did not get his number!! I am mad at myself for that too!

 

[Diana]

So, how is everyone else doing out there? Looks like the weather is hitting people across the country.

We may have 4 to 6 inches of snow this weekend, adding insult to injury. It will get down into the teens this weekend. I just hope the generator holds up.

Sometimes the sense of perspective keeps fluctuating. I should be thankful that I can do a load of laundry if I unplug the furnace and fridge, and should be thankful that we don't have to leave our home to live somewhere else for awhile. Some people around here are still living in shelters.

It looks like we may not have power back now till after Christmas.

 

[Capt Binkley]

So, how is everyone else doing out there? Looks like the weather is hitting people across the country.

We may have 4 to 6 inches of snow this weekend, adding insult to injury. It will get down into the teens this weekend. I just hope the generator holds up.

Sometimes the sense of perspective keeps fluctuating. I should be thankful that I can do a load of laundry if I unplug the furnace and fridge, and should be thankful that we don't have to leave our home to live somewhere else for awhile. Some people around here are still living in shelters.

It looks like we may not have power back now till after Christmas.

After Christmas??? Good Night!!!

I would think that living in southwest MO, you probably don't expect this kind of winter weather.