Winter has really hits us hard. The last week of January we had our once every 4 years snow. We got 2-1/2 inches. It was beautiful. The problem was that we got a half inch of freezing rain before the snow during 28 degree F temperatures. So we had black ice under the beautiful snow. Tractor trailers jackknifed on the highways, multiple accidents occurred. Most people stocked up on bread and milk and hunkered down for the three days. The following week school and work were back in session and temperature were in the upper 40s F.
It appeared that we were getting an early spring, when two weeks ago we got another dose of freezing rain which caused an inch of ice to form on all outdoor surfaces. Roofs, sidewalks, streets, power lines. Our power company estimated that there was 300 to 500 pounds of ice on each line. Throughout the night, it continued to rain pellets of ice - no snow. When we woke up, the world was covered with 2 inches of ice pellets. Icicles hung on everything. No one could drive or even walk outside.
We lost power about 6:30 am on Wednesday morning. With camp stoves, a gas grill and gas logs. We handled the cold pretty well as it stayed about 60 degrees F in the house. We cooked hot meals and drank hot beverages. Knitted items were a joy to own.
About 8 pm the power came back on. We took hot baths and showers and the house and water heated up. Temperatures never rose above 25 degrees F outside. The world was a real winter wonderland.
Around midnight, the weather turned. Winds of 15 to 20 miles per hour with gust up to 35 miles per hour started blowing. With ice on power lines and trees, things became dangerous. It sounded like gun fire followed by thunder of explosions as power poles and trees began snapping in half. Our power went out again.
When we woke up, the neighborhood looked like a battle zone. Over 100,000 households in our county were without power. Cell towers were down. Ten of thousands of trees were broken in half. Limbs were everywhere. Streets were unpassable. Power lines lay across streets.
Power crews were everywhere. Tree trimming companies were out in force trying to help remove trees from lines. The crews worked for days to bring power back to everyone. There were crews from many neighboring states helping.
Our power came back on around 6 pm on Thursday. Many in the county were without power for 5 to 6 days. There was a hold up after five day as there were no transformers or wire to be found in the county. Trucks brought the need supplies from four states away. All had power in ten days.
There is now still massive cleanup going on throughout our county. It is estimated that it will take another month to get all the trees branches disposed of.
It is now raining and will be 33 degrees F tonight. Is spring really around the corner?
