# Ice Storm



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Where are all the New Englanders? Are they alright? Report in with any news please.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I'm fine. I didn't have any problems at all.

Teninx, Kirstin, others? Check in, please!

L


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Jeff said:


> Where are all the New Englanders? Are they alright? Report in with any news please.


Jeff, when I first saw this post I thought maybe you were have an ice storm in your area! We are expected to have ice issues here in NE TX tonight... that is if the forecasts are correct!


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Angela said:


> Jeff, when I first saw this post I thought maybe you were have an ice storm in your area! We are expected to have ice issues here in NE TX tonight... that is if the forecasts are correct!


I was mainly concerned about the New Englanders. I know that Teninx has been without power, Ethan's okay, and we've heard from Leslie - nothing from Kirstin.

The temperature's been dropping all day here so now I'll start worrying about you now Angela.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Jeff said:


> I was mainly concerned about the New Englanders. I know that Teninx has been without power, Ethan's okay, and we've heard from Leslie - nothing from Kirstin.
> 
> The temperature's been dropping all day here so now I'll start worrying about you now Angela.


Thanks, Jeff, but you don't have to worry about me. I was hoping though that we would have had a generator purchased before the real winter weather hit. I am in a rural area and if the ice gets too bad we will lose power. The ground is still too warm for ice to be an issue on the roads, just have to watch out on the bridges and overpasses on the interstate and I don't plan to be out driving around! I am just thankful I am not any further north than I am!


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

All OK for Mrs. Ten and myself right now, but others in NH not as fortunate. Update later.


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## jah (Oct 28, 2008)

I am glad that you guys are alright.


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

As it stands now, there are appx. 130,000 households in NH without electric power. More are coming back online every hour, but some in rural areas may have to wait until after Christmas for power to be restored. In some cases the tree crews have to hike into the woods to clear fouled wires before the linesmen hike in after them and try to reconnect the whole mess. My sister, who lives in a heavily wooded area on the back roads, does not expect power to be returned this month. She's ok with a big generator, but isn't having much luck finding someone to wire it into her house...hard to find a transfer case within a hundred miles.

Got an email from Kirstin and she is fine. Strangely, some of her apartment has power and some does not....she has hot water but no heat, for example. However, she's OK.

Updates as situation develops.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Teninx said:


> As it stands now, there are appx. 130,000 households in NH without electric power. More are coming back online every hour, but some in rural areas may have to wait until after Christmas for power to be restored. In some cases the tree crews have to hike into the woods to clear fouled wires before the linesmen hike in after them and try to reconnect the whole mess. My sister, who lives in a heavily wooded area on the back roads, does not expect power to be returned this month. She's ok with a big generator, but isn't having much luck finding someone to wire it into her house...hard to find a transfer case within a hundred miles.
> 
> Got an email from Kirstin and she is fine. Strangely, some of her apartment has power and some does not....she has hot water but no heat, for example. However, she's OK.
> 
> Updates as situation develops.


Thanks for the update Teninx. Glad you and the Mrs. are OK and Kirsten, too. We had the same problem after Hurricane Ike in the rural areas because of the trees and will likely have the same if and when the ice hits here this winter. I think now is the time to go generator shopping for our house!


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I'm glad everyone is okay, but it can't be easy to be without power in the winter.  Hope you all have generators or wood burning stoves or whatever to generate heat.


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## Linda Cannon-Mott (Oct 28, 2008)

I've thought of all of you, it looks terrible on the news. Hope you stay warm and have power soon. Keep us posted.

Linda


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

For the past couple years, I've planned to install a standby generator that will instantly provide auxilliary power when the house goes off the grid.  Everyone is dependant upon electricity....our needs are a bit more vital and would certainly warrant the $6,000--$7.000 cost. Of course, buying a new accessible van and replacing worn-out transfer eqipment has postponed the installation but this spring, it's in the budget and will be installed even if I have to raid the IRA to fund it.


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

*I'm glad that everyone is okay. Weird how Kirstin only has power in parts of her apartment.*


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Perhaps Kirstin has a gas hot water heater...

Betsy


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

gertiekindle said:


> I'm glad everyone is okay, but it can't be easy to be without power in the winter. Hope you all have generators or wood burning stoves or whatever to generate heat.


I learned rather late in life to prepare, but I did learn and none too soon. While my neighbors shivered and worried about freezing pipes, I kept the house warm and marginally but sufficiently powered to weather the storm. Of course, if it was just me alone I'd be camped out on a cot at the high school gym shelter eating mac and cheese from the serving line....but having the privilege of caring for Mrs. Ten has brought me kicking and screaming into adult responsibility.

Those two nights in the freezing cold, after Laurie went to sleep, I was wide awake. I had to attend to the generator. I had to monitor the fireplace. I had to insure that the burners on the propane range were still lit. I needed to shut off the space heaters every so often to guard against CO buildup. But I did get a half-hour or so every now and then to stand silently outside on the deck with a nice cigar and reflect upon the importance of self-reliance and wrestle with the consideration of being competent to face challenging times. Odd; but then there was peace.


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Perhaps Kirstin has a gas hot water heater...
> 
> Betsy


Gas hot water heaters need electricity to spark the flame and shut off when the power fails.


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## Guest (Dec 16, 2008)

Those stories bring back some nightmares for me. We were hit with back to back ice storms in Dec. of 2000 about 2 wks. apart with the electricity out for about a week each time. It was horrible. 

We are also getting some nasty freezing stuff right now, which may stay around until Wednesday afternoon. I just hope the power stays on or else I may have to stay here at the hospital.


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## Guest (Dec 16, 2008)

Sleet/freezing rain falling tonight in Arkansas.

Not a major issue, except:

1) there is no city infrastructure to deal with snow/ice because it only happens once a year, and

2) the entire state got shut down and devastated by a massive state-wide ice storm back in 2000 that has left a permanent scar on the psyche of every native.

Now Little Rock goes crazy at the first half-hour of sleet, convinced that they will be stuck at home jobless and without electricity for a week or two.  There is a mad run on grocery and liquor stores.

It was a looooooong night.


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## Guest (Dec 16, 2008)

Hey, sweetness.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Teninx said:


> Gas hot water heaters need electricity to spark the flame and shut off when the power fails.


Oh, well.



Betsy


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## Linda Cannon-Mott (Oct 28, 2008)

LuckyRainbow said:


> Those stories bring back some nightmares for me. We were hit with back to back ice storms in Dec. of 2000 about 2 wks. apart with the electricity out for about a week each time. It was horrible.
> 
> We are also getting some nasty freezing stuff right now, which may stay around until Wednesday afternoon. I just hope the power stays on or else I may have to stay here at the hospital.


LR I hope you don't lose power. Years ago when I worked in the hospital I got stuck there 3 days one time due to a hurricane and another year for 4 days due to ice storm. That happens rarely here in Alabama every 10 to 12 years. Good luck! 
Linda


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Our big ice storm was ten years ago, 1998. People were without power for 3+ weeks. Once again, we were incredibly lucky. We lost power for about 4 hours and that was it. They had a "swap and help people" thing going on in the newspaper. We gave away two wood stoves.

L


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Our big ice storm was ten years ago, 1998. People were without power for 3+ weeks. Once again, we were incredibly lucky. We lost power for about 4 hours and that was it. They had a "swap and help people" thing going on in the newspaper. We gave away two wood stoves.
> 
> L


My brother lived in Waterville back then. He was the administrator of an SNF and was constantly on call or on the job while trying to keep his own household together. He still remembers that time, and now he's moving from the midwest to Vermont as CEO of a hospital. Some people never learn


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

Teninx said:


> I learned rather late in life to prepare, but I did learn and none too soon. While my neighbors shivered and worried about freezing pipes, I kept the house warm and marginally but sufficiently powered to weather the storm. Of course, if it was just me alone I'd be camped out on a cot at the high school gym shelter eating mac and cheese from the serving line....but having the privilege of caring for Mrs. Ten has brought me kicking and screaming into adult responsibility.
> 
> Those two nights in the freezing cold, after Laurie went to sleep, I was wide awake. I had to attend to the generator. I had to monitor the fireplace. I had to insure that the burners on the propane range were still lit. I needed to shut off the space heaters every so often to guard against CO buildup. But I did get a half-hour or so every now and then to stand silently outside on the deck with a nice cigar and reflect upon the importance of self-reliance and wrestle with the consideration of being competent to face challenging times. Odd; but then there was peace.


*I have to say this...Teninx, you warm my heart. I can't even begin to poke fun at your tinfoil hat after reading this *


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

chynared21 said:


> *I have to say this...Teninx, you warm my heart. I can't even begin to poke fun at your tinfoil hat after reading this *


Awwwww shucks, chyna...And when temps get down to single digits, I have to doff the hat before my head freezes.


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## cat616 (Nov 4, 2008)

DH & I have just returned home from a 6 day trip to NH.  We usually stay in a family vacation home on the Seacoast.  On Thursday morning we headed north of the Notches to out run the storm.  We did not want to get stuck in the house with the roads all iced up.  We came south again on Saturday.  There was no electricity at the house and it was colder inside than out so we booked into an hotel in Portsmouth.  The area was a zoo.  I think everyone and their uncle were out and about because they had no electricity at home.  I have never seen so many cars ever!  I don't think it helped that most of the Outlets in Kittery were closed due to lack of electricity.  I think there were a good number of people who came up from MA for the weekend to shop in Sales Tax Free NH and sleep in a warm bedroom with running water.

On Sunday morning we went north again for some peace and quiet. We checked the house yesterday afternoon and still no electricity.

We did meet several interesting people due to the storm.  We met a fun older lady in Ruby Tuesday.  She could not figure out how to get pepper out of the pepper mill.  DH went over and helped her.  She was a wild one,  she wanted to know our room number so she could come and dance with him that night.

On Sunday we were having lunch in Bethlehem and the table next to us had what appeared to be 4 generations of ladies having lunch.  It turned out that the oldest lady was actually the youngest lady's great great grandmother.  The lady was 107 years old!!!

We are home now and very glad to have electricity and running water.  After a hurricane once we were without electricity for about 3 weeks.  You sure learn to appreciate it when you do not have it.


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

Teninx said:


> Awwwww shucks, chyna...And when temps get down to single digits, I have to doff the hat before my head freezes.


*Very good idea *


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

cat616 said:


> We did meet several interesting people due to the storm. We met a fun older lady in Ruby Tuesday. She could not figure out how to get pepper out of the pepper mill. DH went over and helped her. She was a wild one, she wanted to know our room number so she could come and dance with him that night.
> 
> On Sunday we were having lunch in Bethlehem and the table next to us had what appeared to be 4 generations of ladies having lunch. It turned out that the oldest lady was actually the youngest lady's great great grandmother. The lady was 107 years old!!!


*Interesting people are always fun to meet. I bet you that lady uses the "pepper mill" excuse all the time 

We have 4 generation of women as well....great grandma down to my daughter. 81-8 years of age *


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## cat616 (Nov 4, 2008)

chynared21 said:


> *Interesting people are always fun to meet. I bet you that lady uses the "pepper mill" excuse all the time
> 
> We have 4 generation of women as well....great grandma down to my daughter. 81-8 years of age *


I think you may be right about pepper mill lady. We left the restaurant right after she and her hubby. She was waiting inside the door for him to pick her up at the door. (you don't see that happen too often anymore) So hubby pulls up to the curb and they have vanity plates MRS T. Hey, I am Mrs. T too! DH opened the restaurant door for her and I opened the car door. We waved as they drove off. She was so lively and her husband is yet to say a single word.

Except that the old lady was the first of five generations. Her daughter was not there. They really got me thinking of my Granny and Mom and the last Christmas that we spent together. We got a picture that year of four generations of women.


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

cat616 said:


> I think you may be right about pepper mill lady. We left the restaurant right after she and her hubby. She was waiting inside the door for him to pick her up at the door. (you don't see that happen too often anymore) So hubby pulls up to the curb and they have vanity plates MRS T. Hey, I am Mrs. T too! DH opened the restaurant door for her and I opened the car door. We waved as they drove off. She was so lively and her husband is yet to say a single word.
> 
> Except that the old lady was the first of five generations. Her daughter was not there. They really got me thinking of my Granny and Mom and the last Christmas that we spent together. We got a picture that year of four generations of women.


*LOL, the pepper mill lady sounds like a hoot ;-p

We have a picture of the four of us shortly after DD was born. I'm guessing that we could have had five generations had I not broken the cycle of having a kid young in my life...to think if I had, my kid would have been an adult by now *


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## cat616 (Nov 4, 2008)

chynared21 said:


> *LOL, the pepper mill lady sounds like a hoot ;-p
> 
> We have a picture of the four of us shortly after DD was born. I'm guessing that we could have had five generations had I not broken the cycle of having a kid young in my life...to think if I had, my kid would have been an adult by now *


And you might've been a grandmother by now - like me!


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

cat616 said:


> And you might've been a grandmother by now - like me!


*LOL which is why I broke the cycle *


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

According to the various utilities, there are still 60,000-plus homes without power in New Hampshire. Police now report increasing incidents of home burglaries with thieves targeting unoccupied and offline homes, knowing that alarm systems aren't working and gift items are probably left behind.


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## rla1996 (Oct 28, 2008)

Reading all your posts made me appreciate the fact that I live in southern AZ... -where I haven't yet needed to scrape my windshield to go to work in the morning (5am).  Hearing about all the power outages and having to go elsewhere to stay warm just makes me appreciate the fact that for me snow only exists on the mountains.  When I was young I used to hate that we had to go "visit" the snow instead of having it come to us.  Of course I also didn't understand that having it come to you gives you NO control over it what so ever - meaning amounts, icestorms, power outages, crazy traffic and such...  Last year half the city shut down because of a hard freeze that left ice on some bridges -there wasn't even any snow.  Turns out we so rarely experience such a phenomena that out city is poorly equipped for ice and snow and no one knows what to do when it happens -so it just makes a bigger mess .  The even funnier part was that it all melted and was gone by 10am, but the mess it created in those few hours still has people talking about it.  This made me realize how lucky we are to have "fair" weather almost all the time.  Turns out I like being able to "visit" the snow when it is convenient to me, then get back in my car and head for home .  I think it just may allow me to enjoy it more than most as I don't have to deal with all the inconveniences that come with it. 

rla1996


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## Linda Cannon-Mott (Oct 28, 2008)

Hope things get better there soon Teninx!


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## jah (Oct 28, 2008)

rla1996 said:


> Reading all your posts made me appreciate the fact that I live in southern AZ... -where I haven't yet needed to scrape my windshield to go to work in the morning (5am). Hearing about all the power outages and having to go elsewhere to stay warm just makes me appreciate the fact that for me snow only exists on the mountains. When I was young I used to hate that we had to go "visit" the snow instead of having it come to us. Of course I also didn't understand that having it come to you gives you NO control over it what so ever - meaning amounts, icestorms, power outages, crazy traffic and such... Last year half the city shut down because of a hard freeze that left ice on some bridges -there wasn't even any snow. Turns out we so rarely experience such a phenomena that out city is poorly equipped for ice and snow and no one knows what to do when it happens -so it just makes a bigger mess . The even funnier part was that it all melted and was gone by 10am, but the mess it created in those few hours still has people talking about it. This made me realize how lucky we are to have "fair" weather almost all the time. Turns out I like being able to "visit" the snow when it is convenient to me, then get back in my car and head for home . I think it just may allow me to enjoy it more than most as I don't have to deal with all the inconveniences that come with it.
> 
> rla1996


You can come to new york any winter and get lots of pratices in drive in snow and ice


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## DawnOfChaos (Nov 12, 2008)

Well, our area (Michigan) is under a winter storm warning from midnight tonight 'till 4 pm tomorrow. We're supposed to get about a foot of snow.

I should be doing things to help my family prepare, like making sure there is adequate food and such. But what am I doing instead? Making sure all my Kindle and other gadgets are fully powered in the event of a power outage I can at least read and listen to music. I do know that we're covered on the food/water/shelter issue though. just in case.


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## rla1996 (Oct 28, 2008)

Do they make a battery alternative for the Kindle charger in case you have no power?  --you know put in a few AA C or even D batteries and then plug it into Kindle... I guess one could use a car charger if truly desperate.. they do make those right? ... I've never thought of how I'd power my Kindle if i couldn't just plug it in.

rla1996


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

Great as the Kindle is, if you're without power for a week in the freezing New Hampshire winter, being without it is of minor consequence


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## rla1996 (Oct 28, 2008)

Teninx said:


> Great as the Kindle is, if you're without power for a week in the freezing New Hampshire winter, being without it is of minor consequence


I'm sure you're right. Being from where I am I've never had to think of such things. Though I can tell you that being unable to read something would be a major issue for me. Not a day goes by that I don't read-- I don't think I could go a day without reading something. It'd be like telling me not to breathe. How quickly I forget though that there are plenty of DTBs that don't require a power source to read.

Compared to doing simple things that we all take for granted like cooking, warming the house, and so forth, lack of a way to charge your Kindle would be of minor consequence.

 Looks like me Desert Rat tail is showing 

rla1996


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

It's OK, ria....it's just that there are so many things that we had to forego or work around without electricity, the absence of some things just weren't noticed.


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## DawnOfChaos (Nov 12, 2008)

Usually around here power outages are a few days, so if the power goes out it will not be for very long.  But Teninx is right...if it was for a week or longer, power to my Kindle would not be a high priority for me.  If I did happen to get that deperate, I do have a car charger that I could use, as I'm driving out of town to a hotel.


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

There are still about 30,000 New Hampshire households without power at this writing. A snowstorm is approaching that is forecast to yield about nine inches of snow starting at noon today, with the possibility of more ice on Sunday during a second storm.


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## cat616 (Nov 4, 2008)

Teninx said:


> There are still about 30,000 New Hampshire households without power at this writing. A snowstorm is approaching that is forecast to yield about nine inches of snow starting at noon today, with the possibility of more ice on Sunday during a second storm.


Hi Tennix, Is your power back yet? I keep thinking of you and the endless nights of keeping the fires burning.


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

cat616 said:


> Hi Tennix, Is your power back yet? I keep thinking of you and the endless nights of keeping the fires burning.


Yes, we were among the fortunate. our power was out for only 2 1/2 days--Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon.


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## cat616 (Nov 4, 2008)

Teninx said:


> Yes, we were among the fortunate. our power was out for only 2 1/2 days--Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon.


I am happy to hear that. We checked our family vacation home in NH on Monday pm and still no electricity but it was 62 outside and about 32 inside. It is back on now. The next time we visit I will have to clear out the fridge/freezer and start again. We are fortunate too, we were able to check into hotels for the duration of our visit.


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