What safety precautions should residents take during snowmelt season?

[turbo]

In '98, my neighborhood was without power for days, and I talked to a representative of the power company and asked her to send a guy with a pickup truck and a hot-stick to close the open safety. I had already visually inspected all the lines, and there were no more sagging-branch shorts. She said that she had to let the dispatchers concentrate on their priorities, and I told her that I knew a retired lineman with a hot-stick in his garage, and I'd close the safety myself. A little over an hour later, we had power. That night, with the house warming up, the thick layer of ice on the metal roof let go and destroyed my fireplace/chimney while sliding off with a roar. The next morning, the ice on the front side of the roof let go, ripping off the chimney to our wood stove. That storm was NOT fun. Try to get masons to come rebuild a fireplace/chimney in nasty winter weather, when many dozens of other folks have suffered similar fates...

 

[franznietzsche]

In '98, my neighborhood was without power for days, and I talked to a representative of the power company and asked her to send a guy with a pickup truck and a hot-stick to close the open safety. I had already visually inspected all the lines, and there were no more sagging-branch shorts. She said that she had to let the dispatchers concentrate on their priorities, and I told her that I knew a retired lineman with a hot-stick in his garage, and I'd close the safety myself. A little over an hour later, we had power. That night, with the house warming up, the thick layer of ice on the metal roof let go and destroyed my fireplace/chimney while sliding off with a roar. The next morning, the ice on the front side of the roof let go, ripping off the chimney to our wood stove. That storm was NOT fun. Try to get masons to come rebuild a fireplace/chimney in nasty winter weather, when many dozens of other folks have suffered similar fates...

Jeebus Cristo! And here four inches of rain in a day is considered bad weather.

 

[turbo]

Jeebus Cristo! And here four inches of rain in a day is considered bad weather.

Not fun, for sure. We are still suffering damage from that storm. Storm-damaged trees across many hundreds of thousands of acres have provided unprotected access to insect pests, and the bugs are out-of-control. The real loss to Maine's timber industry will never been known.

 

[Borek]

Turbo disappeared about 16 hours ago, I wonder if he is not cut from electricity and the net, from what they said here on TV parts of Maine were severly affected by the ice storm.

But http://www3.cmpco.com/outage/ doesn't list his area as affected.

 

[Andre]

Turbo disappeared about 16 hours ago, I wonder if he is not cut from electricity and the net, from what they said here on TV parts of Maine were severly affected by the ice storm.

But http://www3.cmpco.com/outage/ doesn't list his area as affected.

Hang in there, Turbo.

Actually Borek electricity transport to a lonely mansion above the ground is rather vulnerable for storm and icings out there. Very well possible that he lost power individually, while the rest of the area is unaffected.

 

[binzing]

We woke up to a little snow on Saturday, and may get more.

 

[turbo]

Sorry - I have been spending a LOT of time with my lawyers preparing for trial (starting tomorrow).

We often lose power out here in the boonies, but last spring/summer the power company went on an aggressive limb-trimming campaign and that seems to have reduced the number of tree-branch shorts considerably.

 

[SticksandStones]

We have a blizzard warning in effect today.

Right now it's -16C with a windchill of -28C. 10 hours ago it was above freezing!

I have a nice 8 hour drive on Thursday, and the signs are showing no snow for that day and it can stay like that!

 

[lisab]

Sorry - I have been spending a LOT of time with my lawyers preparing for trial (starting tomorrow).

We often lose power out here in the boonies, but last spring/summer the power company went on an aggressive limb-trimming campaign and that seems to have reduced the number of tree-branch shorts considerably.

Good luck at trial, turbo!

 

[LightbulbSun]

I was in the dark for 60 hours. I didn't get power back until yesterday around 3PM. It was really bad here. You could hear tree limbs falling and you could see white flashes that looked like lightning in the sky from all the transformers blowing out. When our power went out you could hear a "pop."

A lot of the ice has already melted from the warm temperatures yesterday. All you can hear outside is the ice crashing to the surface. One of the worse ice storms I've endured.

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Good luck at trial, turbo!

Yes, good luck, Turbo.

 

[Evo]

I was in the dark for 60 hours. I didn't get power back until yesterday around 3PM. It was really bad here. You could hear tree limbs falling and you could see white flashes that looked like lightning in the sky from all the transformers blowing out. When our power went out you could hear a "pop."

A lot of the ice has already melted from the warm temperatures yesterday. All you can hear outside is the ice crashing to the surface. One of the worse ice storms I've endured.

I do not wish to go through anotherof those, almost 2 weeks without power. Since then, the power company has kept a very aggressive tree pruning policy.

 

[Borek]

Sorry - I have been spending a LOT of time with my lawyers preparing for trial (starting tomorrow).

No idea what is going on - but good luck as well!

 

[turbo]

Good luck at trial, turbo!

Thanks, lisab! My lawyers are working on a contingent-fee-basis so if I don't win, they don't get paid. It's a pretty clear-cut wrongful-termination case under the ADA, so I have to trust in their skill and experience. It helps my confidence that the lead lawyer in my case is the president of the Maine Employment Lawyers Association and has won the largest employment law damage award in the history of the state.

It's pretty grueling preparing for trial, getting cross-examined in mock trials, etc (and having to live through that crap over and over again in my mind), but it's coming to a close.

 

[turbo]

Yes, good luck, Turbo.

Thanks, Fi! My former boss counter-sued claiming that I severely damaged his company by steering a potential client to a competitor. I did no such thing, nor have they any evidence (message pads, emails, computer records, emails, etc) to support that made-up claim. They dropped that today - the day before trial begins - it would have made them look quite desperate and dishonest to float that claim.

 

[hypatia]

We are really getting socked hard this morning, this is the worse Fall snow I can recall. about 7 inches on the ground{2 per hour}, due to stop around 2 pm. On the up side, I HAVE A SNOW DAY !

 

[Borek]

Still nothing here. But I have this picture taken in March.

 

[George Jones]

I just looked at my local weather forcast. For Sunday, it says "A few flurries ... close to 15 cm"

15 cm is 6 inches.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Starting to snow here. Visibility is quickly dropping. This is going to be one fun event. Lots of moisture for this storm to strengthen.

I heard reports out of Buffalo that there experiencing blizzard conditions. Visibility pretty much at zero.

 

[LightbulbSun]

In a matter of 40 minutes, we almost have a half inch of accumulation, and this is not the heaviest part of the storm!

 

[LightbulbSun]

Visibility is still getting worse. Anything 1/4 mile out cannot be seen with the unaided eye anymore.

 

[Astronuc]

We have a snow emergency. The police have been driving up and down the main road and ordering people to remove their cars or they will be towed.

We are expected to have a foot (30 cm) - give or take.

 

[wildman]

Thanks, Fi! My former boss counter-sued claiming that I severely damaged his company by steering a potential client to a competitor. I did no such thing, nor have they any evidence (message pads, emails, computer records, emails, etc) to support that made-up claim. They dropped that today - the day before trial begins - it would have made them look quite desperate and dishonest to float that claim.

Turbo, open a thread and tell us about it when its all over.

 

[LightbulbSun]

We have a snow emergency. The police have been driving up and down the main road and ordering people to remove their cars or they will be towed.

We are expected to have a foot (30 cm) - give or take.

From NWS Albany

...INTENSE SNOWFALL RATES WILL RESULT IN VERY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL
CONDITIONS INTO THIS EVENING...

WIDESPREAD SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE TO FALL ACROSS
ALL OF EAST CENTRAL NEW YORK AND ADJACENT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
THROUGH THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THIS EVENING.
SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 3 INCHES PER HOUR WILL OCCUR DURING THIS
TIME...WHICH WILL SEVERELY HAMPER THE EVENING COMMUTE. THE HEAVY
SNOW WILL ALSO REDUCE THE VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE
AT TIMES. EXTREME CAUTION SHOULD BE USED WHILE DRIVING ON AREA
ROADS.

The dry slot in Ohio will hamper snowfall totals in BGM.

 

[LightbulbSun]

We already have 2" of snow accumulation. It's coming down at over an inch per hour now.

 

[hypatia]

It finally stopped here, with 10 inches. I've unburied my car 3 times, due to drifting. I must admit, when I have a minute to pause from shoveling, it is just so beautiful.
Now the wind is howling, and I half to go carve out a potty path for the dog

 

[Evo]

It finally stopped here, with 10 inches. I've unburied my car 3 times, due to drifting. I must admit, when I have a minute to pause from shoveling, it is just so beautiful.
Now the wind is howling, and I half to go carve out a potty path for the dog

Heheh, I remember one deep snow and my little dog went out and fell through the snow and I couldn't see him. He managed to surface, but he was freaked out.

 

[LightbulbSun]

As of 3PM here, we have 3.06" of snow accumulation. Still coming down at over an inch per hour.

 

[Astronuc]

We have about 6'' (15 cm) now, and still snowing. Nice powder from small flakes.

 

[cristo]

I wish it was snowing here but, as usual, it's just raining. Pretty depressing, if you ask me!

 

[LightbulbSun]

As of 6PM here, we have 5.75" of snow accumulation. It's starting to slow down in intensity a bit, but it's still coming down pretty good. The roads are treacherous. We've got some nice drifting snow from the winds.

 

[bassplayer142]

We just got more then a foot just north of Detroit. What a pain to do the driveway...

 

[LightbulbSun]

Just did another measurement. We have 6.25" of snow accumulation. The intensity of the snowfall has tapered off dramatically over the past two hours. Snowfall rates are now only 1/2 inch per hour. I'm calling for 7-8" when all set and done.

 

[Astronuc]

Free Snow!

I'm giving away free snow. Come take us much as you want.

We had about 10 inches (25 cm) of snow. I've already shoveled what feels like tons, and I've still got a little more cleanup to do.

 

[turbo]

I'm giving away free snow. Come take us much as you want.

We had about 10 inches (25 cm) of snow. I've already shoveled what feels like tons, and I've still got a little more cleanup to do.

We got a dusting (1-2") overnight. Most of it played out over the Gulf of Maine. I hope more storms track south this year. We got well over 10 feet of the white stuff last winter and I'm hoping for no repeat.

 

[Evo]

We're just FREEZING here. Tomorrow's HIGH will be 15 below zero F with the wind chill.

 

[Andre]

We're just FREEZING here. Tomorrow's HIGH will be 15 below zero F with the wind chill.

Have a bit of our heat wave, about 45-50F here

 

[LightbulbSun]

Well Astro, consider yourself fortunate for tomorrow. My area and southern Saratoga county look to hit the jackpot from tomorrow's storm.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
113 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008

NYZ048>050-210215-
/O.UPG.KALY.WS.A.0014.081221T0900Z-081222T1200Z/
/O.NEW.KALY.WS.W.0014.081221T0900Z-081222T0300Z/
WESTERN SCHENECTADY-EASTERN SCHENECTADY-SOUTHERN SARATOGA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DELANSON...ESPERANCE...DUANESBURG...
SCHENECTADY...ROTTERDAM...BALLSTON SPA...MECHANICVILLE...
WATERFORD
113 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM EST SUNDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBANY HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM
EST SUNDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

THE NEXT WINTER STORM WILL BRING 5 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW TO
SARATOGA AND SCHENECTADY COUNTIES. THE HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY
OVER WESTERN SCHENECTADY COUNTY. SNOW FALL RATES ON SUNDAY COULD
EXCEED 1 INCH PER HOUR.

WINDS SUNDAY WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH OVER THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS RESULTING IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW.

More snow and low visibility tomorrow.

 

[Evo]

Heh, that's where I used to live. I got caught in a whiteout once.

 

[SticksandStones]

We got a dusting (1-2") overnight. Most of it played out over the Gulf of Maine. I hope more storms track south this year. We got well over 10 feet of the white stuff last winter and I'm hoping for no repeat.

An area just south of my school is known for getting over 16 feet a year on average. No idea how they put up with it. I'd go crazy after a while.

 

[Redbelly98]

If it's snowing, then it's time to get the Christmas display ready ...

 

[Evo]

If it's snowing, then it's time to get the Christmas display ready ...

Love it! I still think you need antlers, like my friends here.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Heh, that's where I used to live. I got caught in a whiteout once.

Really?

 

[Evo]

Really?

Yeah, Ballston Spa.

 

[Redbelly98]

Love it! I still think you need antlers, like my friends here.

What, you think I can just magically sprout antlers because somebody thinks it would look cool? How silly!

"Dammit Jim. I'm a woodpecker, not a reindeer!"

 

[Evo]

What, you think I can just magically sprout antlers because somebody thinks it would look cool? How silly!

"Dammit Jim. I'm a woodpecker, not a reindeer!"

<snort>

 

[George Jones]

Here's what the national weather service says is in store for me tomorrow night:

WINTER STORM WARNING: Saint John and County. Issued at 3:28 PM AST SATURDAY 20 DECEMBER 2008

HEAVY SNOWFALL UP TO 30 CENTIMETRES WITH STRONG WINDS AND AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF NEAR ZERO VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS IS A WARNING THAT DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.

30 cm is 12 inches.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Portland [Janus], Oregon, is getting hammered right now; probably 8" today and another 4" tomorrow.

 

[hypatia]

We will get our first Winter storm starting around 6 am tomorrow. Its predicted to add another 4 inches on top our 10 inches left by our fall storm.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Solstice, do something special.

 

[lisab]

Portland [Janus], Oregon, is getting hammered right now; probably 8" today and another 4" tomorrow.

And further north where I am (Seattle area), we're also getting hammered. Lots of snow plus a wind storm coming through about midnight. Wind storms = power outages. YUCK!