Ice storm update

We’re basically surrounded by ice here.  The precipitation changed to alleged ‘snow’ this afternoon, but it sure looked (and sounded) like ice crystals to me!  Our vehicles are encased in ice, probably close to an inch thick on the most exposed areas, and the parking and driveway are a solid sheet of ice.  It’s great for skating . . . not so much for walking on.  I’m certainly not going to try reversing our vehicles out of it!

The roads near our home are no better.  We were ‘entertained’ today on several occasions watching dumbass drivers sliding sideways up and down the road as they failed to make allowance for the ice, and ended up in all sorts of ‘interesting’ attitudes.  Fortunately, everyone here parks off the road, otherwise there might have been some interesting crunches.  The garbage truck came around as usual, but I noticed the driver was being infinitely slower and more careful about accelerating and braking between houses.  The poor guy in the back, who had to connect the bins to the lifting mechanism, was wrapped up like an Eskimo.  It can’t have been the world’s easiest job in this cold.  I hope they paid him at overtime rates for his trouble.

Tomorrow is supposed to clear, but with the temperature having never risen above freezing all day, and not scheduled to do so until Saturday, I’m wondering how long it will take for the ice to clear.  It’s quite thick on our bushes and power lines, but so far (thanks be) we still have power (not to mention Internet access).  The next couple of days are going to be interesting, and I suspect Miss D. won’t be going to work tomorrow either.

I made a spicy chicken and sausage gumbo for supper last night, and oven-baked chicken breasts marinated in peri-peri sauce tonight, both of which added a nice internal heat to the warmth of the house.  Definitely the right meals for weather like this!

Peter

6 comments

  1. I feel sorry for the electric company linesmen and women who have to be working out there in conditions like these. With many times their only customer comments is 'Hurry – we're out of power – what's taking so long ?' Has to be a difficult job.

    I'm way down south of Louisiana, hard up against the Mexican border and even down here, its 42 degrees and rainy. Snow is a 100 YEAR event (hard freeze is rare event), so we are spared the dramatics of what most of you are going through. Hope everyone out there makes it without too many complications.

  2. We got rain, ice pellets from a sunny sky, snow, more ice pellets, and then sun in about four minutes. Then it repeated with variations for an hour, with an overcast off and on. Typical strange Panhandle weather.

    LittleRed1

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