Ugh. Ice storm on the way.

[Ben E Lou]

The forecast has gotten worse and worse over the past 36 hours. It looks like we're going to get a pretty significant ice storm in the A-T-L this weekend. No fun. :(

<table class="smalltable" bgcolor="#c8c8c8" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#000080"><td class="smalltableheader" colspan="2"><center> Forecast for De Kalb County </center> </td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> Updated: 8:30 am EST on January 28, 2005 </td> </tr> <!-- --> <tr bgcolor="#ffffdd"><td colspan="2"> Winter Storm Warning for tonight and Saturday... </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td align="right" width="44">http://icons.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/cloudy.GIF</td> <td align="left" width="100%">Today
Mostly cloudy. Windy...colder. Highs in the upper 30s. East winds 15 to 20 mph.
Detail (http://www.wunderground.org/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=30084&hourly=1&yday=27&weekday=Friday) </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td align="right" width="44">http://icons.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/nt_cloudy.GIF</td> <td align="left" width="100%">Tonight
Cloudy with an 80 percent chance of freezing rain and sleet. Lows in the upper 20s. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td align="right" width="44">http://icons.wunderground.com/graphics/conds/cloudy.GIF</td> <td align="left" width="100%">Saturday
Cloudy. An 80 percent chance of freezing rain in the morning then a 70 percent chance of freezing rain and rain in the afternoon. Heavy ice accumulations possible. Highs in the mid 30s. East winds 5 to 15 mph.
Detail (http://www.wunderground.org/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=30084&hourly=1&yday=28&weekday=Saturday)</td></tr></tbody> </table>

[sovereignstar]

Remember to use the two second rule.

[Ben E Lou]

Remember to use the two second rule.:confused:

[sovereignstar]

:confused:

Oh no! Georgians don't know about the two second rule? You pick a spot on the road ahead of you and make sure that the car ahead of you hits that spot two seconds before you do.

[Chubby]

I'm assuming 2 seconds behind the car in front of you.


Bah, ice storm ice swarm. Damn people down south can't handle a little winter.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh no! Georgians don't know about the two second rule? You pick a spot on the road ahead of you and make sure that the car ahead of you hits that spot two seconds before you do.Ah, I did know that, but I wasn't thinking about it. The roads shouldn't be much of a problem at all. It has been in the 50's/60's the last few days. The problem with ice storms like this is that it is likely that we'll be without power for multiple days. The last big one we had, in January 2000, the power went out Saturday night, and my house was one of the first in my neighborhood to get it restored--on Wednesday morning. The ice accumulates on trees and power lines, bringing down tree branches onto power lines. Nasty stuff. During the 2000 storm, which was at its worst at night, I thought we were having lightning, but it turned out that those bright flashes I kept seeing were transformers exploding. :eek:

[Breeze]

In this town the rule should be expanded to at least 4 seconds.

[rkmsuf]

oooohhhh not ice. run for your lives.

[Ben E Lou]

You yankees crack me up. "Yeah, no problem. No inconvenience at all to potentially be without electricity for several days." :rolleyes:

[rkmsuf]

Hey, I lost cable for a day after 22 inches of snow. Very inconvenient not being able to watch the Tony Danza show.

[FrogMan]

You yankees crack me up. "Yeah, no problem. No inconvenience at all to potentially be without electricity for several days." :rolleyes:
not a yankee here, so maybe that's why I understand the no power thing. When I was living in Pittsfield, they had a huge ice storm up in Montreal. Some areas were out of power for weeks, not days, WEEKS! And after the ice storm had hit, temperature went back down to well below freezing point. They had people sleeping in school gymnasiums and such. My dad drove to Montreal to bring some firewood to a few of my aunts and uncles... Some people had decided to stay in their house (i.e. not evacuate) and were cooking on their woodstove and the like...

I was an operations supervisor for a paper recycling facility in Pittsfield, MA and a truck driver decided it would be a good idea to take OUR power down, along with half the front wall near the main door. We were out of power at the plant for about 2 weeks because all the technicians at the power company were up North helping the Quebecers in trouble, oh the irony... :)

FM

[Chubby]

pffffffft, we get dumped with 3 feet of snow and ice and we have power the next morning. then we walk to work, uphill, both ways!

[rkmsuf]

yeah, suck it up!

[Ben E Lou]

pffffffft, we get dumped with 3 feet of snow and ice and we have power the next morning. then we walk to work, uphill, both ways!Exactly, you have power the next morning, I'd assume because most/all of the power lines are buried, and I'm sure they have *MUCH* larger restoral crews. It isn't worth the money they'd spend to bury all the power lines, considering this is the first big ice or snow storm in five years. In the 2000 storm, two of my neighbors actually had the main line from the power pole to their house get ripped down, and I heard that happened in a lot of places. Point being, the power crews were fixing transformers and the like for the first 3-4 days--doing stuff that would restore power to dozens of homes at a time--then after that they started going house-to-house to reattach lines. I've got some branches overhanging the line to my house. Those suckers are getting cut this afternoon.

[Chubby]

nah, our power lines aren't buried tho they constantly talk about doing that each time we get an ice storm. It's just the fact that we have crews and shit to be prepared for these things much more than you guys (since they happen a lot more here than there). I think our last major ice storm we were without power for a couple of days in some areas (tho I wasn't) but nowhere near a weak excpet maybe in the boonies.

[Ben E Lou]

yeah, suck it up!Y'all lost all "suck it up" rights when you admitted that you get power/cable back within 12-24 hours of a storm. :p

Seriously, if this one is as bad as they're saying, I wouldn't be shocked at all if power is lost for several days. :(

[Radii]

hope this doesn't cut into the cub scout plans on Saturday morning(kiddo's first pinewood derby race, he seems pretty excited about the car we built), but yeah it looks like it's going to be nasty.

[Ben E Lou]

It's just the fact that we have crews and shit to be prepared for these things much more than you guys (since they happen a lot more here than there).I think our ice/snow road repair crew consists of a couple of good ol' boys in a pickup truck and a couple of boxes of rock salt. ;) Even in the 2000 ice storm, the roads were just fine, other than a few bridges/overpasses. I therefore agree that we shouldn't spend much taxpayer money to be prepared for these kinds of storms, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck every few years when we get nailed.

[rkmsuf]

Good luck...

[Breeze]

I think our ice/snow road repair crew consists of a couple of good ol' boys in a pickup truck and a couple of boxes of rock salt. ;) Even in the 2000 ice storm, the roads were just fine, other than a few bridges/overpasses. I therefore agree that we shouldn't spend much taxpayer money to be prepared for these kinds of storms, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck every few years when we get nailed.


It's been too warm the past week and will be too warm Sunday and Monday for the roads to be a prolonged problem. But your right - it's still going to suck on Saturday.

Want to bet that the stores are out of Milk and Bread? :rolleyes:

[FrogMan]

nah, our power lines aren't buried tho they constantly talk about doing that each time we get an ice storm. It's just the fact that we have crews and shit to be prepared for these things much more than you guys (since they happen a lot more here than there). I think our last major ice storm we were without power for a couple of days in some areas (tho I wasn't) but nowhere near a weak excpet maybe in the boonies.
It's not that we don't have the crews to take care of it, but that big ice storm I was talking about (was in 1998 btw), it kicked down some major power lines...

A few pics I've found:

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/images/chap07_ice_storm_picture.jpg

http://www.vancouverislandpowerline.com/images/quebec_ice_storm3.jpg

http://www.imiuru.com/icestormdiary/EarlyStormPictures1.jpg

http://www.laurentian.com/tower1.jpg

FM

[Chubby]

It's been too warm the past week and will be too warm Sunday and Monday for the roads to be a prolonged problem. But your right - it's still going to suck on Saturday.

Want to bet that the stores are out of Milk and Bread? :rolleyes:
We were last weekend due to panic buying. It always amazes me around here that people feel the need to buy a shitload of milk, bread, and anything that isn't nailed down prior to a "big storm". Power is rarely out for more than a day, and if it is do you think you're going to be opening the fridge to get that milk or ice cream cake you just bought (and yes, we ran out of ice cream cakes wtf). Of course, as a company we don't mind when we have a bigger week than xmas week :)

skydog - yeah, that's the catch. you can't really justify spending a lot on those things because you rarely need them but when you do, you're screwed because it's not enough.

[Chubby]

It's not that we don't have the crews to take care of it, but that big ice storm I was talking about (was in 1998 btw), it kicked down some major power lines...

A few pics I've found:

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/images/chap07_ice_storm_picture.jpg

http://www.vancouverislandpowerline.com/images/quebec_ice_storm3.jpg

http://www.imiuru.com/icestormdiary/EarlyStormPictures1.jpg

http://www.laurentian.com/tower1.jpg

FM
do they build things with popsicle sticks there? sheesh, we've never had a problem like that and we've gotten pounded with every ice/snow storm possible. The trees thing happens here as it will anywhere but not the towers...

[Ben E Lou]

It's been too warm the past week and will be too warm Sunday and Monday for the roads to be a prolonged problem. But your right - it's still going to suck on Saturday.

Want to bet that the stores are out of Milk and Bread? :rolleyes:Yup, people forget that they can move the food outside. I'm heading out at lunch time to buy batteries, ice and charcoal for the grill. No need for extra milk and bread. SWMBO, who normally is rational, expressed concern this morning about the food in the fridge spoiling. I said, "Uh, honey, all we need to do is move it outside into a the coolers. It won't be above fridge temperature outside until Sunday afternoon at the earliest, and even then not nearly warm enough to impact food on ice in a cooler for quite some time."

I doubt that the roads will be much of a problem even on Saturday, other than bridges/overpasses.

[ISiddiqui]

In this town the rule should be expanded to at least 4 seconds.
Word.

And that's for normal driving... for ice storms add a few more ;).

[FrogMan]

do they build things with popsicle sticks there? sheesh, we've never had a problem like that and we've gotten pounded with every ice/snow storm possible. The trees thing happens here as it will anywhere but not the towers...
don't know what to say, we never get ice storms usually. We get lots of snow, but almost no ice storm of this kind. As I said, I wasn't living in Quebec at the time, they said the thickness of the freezing rain coating went up to 3-4 inches at many places.

Some facts/information you can find on the ice storm at this link:
http://canadaonline.about.com/cs/weather/p/icestorm.htm

Canadian Ice Storm in 1998
For six days in January 1998, freezing rain coated Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick with 7-11 cm (3-4 in) of ice. Trees and hydro wires fell and utility poles and transmission towers came down causing massive power outages, some for as long as a month. It was the most expensive natural disaster in Canada. According to Environment Canada, the ice storm of 1998 directly affected more people than any other previous weather event in Canadian history.


Date: January 5-10, 1998


Location: Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada<SCRIPT>zSB(3,3);if(!z336){var zIsb=gEI("adsb");if(zIsb){zIsb.style.display="inline";zIsb.style.height="0px";zIsb.style.width="0px";}var zIss=gEI("adss");if(zIss){zIss.style.display="inline";zIss.style.height="0px";zIss.style.width="0px";}}</SCRIPT>


Size of the Ice Storm of 1998:
The water equivalent of freezing rain, ice pellets and a little snow was double previous major ice storms.
The area covered was massive, extending from Kitchener, Ontario through Quebec to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and also covering parts of New York and New England.
<LI>Most freezing rain lasts for a few hours. In the ice storm of 1998, there were more than 80 hours of freezing rain, nearly double the annual average.

Summary of Ice Storm of 1998: Freezing rain started on Monday, January 5, 1998 as Canadians were starting back to work after the Christmas holidays.
The storm coated everything in glassy ice, making all forms of transportation treacherous.
As the storm continued, layers of ice built up, weighing down power lines and poles, and causing massive power outages.
At the height of the ice storm, 57 communities in Ontario and 200 in Quebec declared a disaster. More than 3 million people were without power in Quebec and 1.5 million in Eastern Ontario. About 100,000 people went into shelters.
By Thursday, January 8, the military was brought in to help clear debris, provide medical assistance, evacuate residents, and canvass door-to-door to make sure people were safe. They also worked to restore power.
Power was restored in most urban areas in a matter of days, but many rural communities suffered for much longer. Three weeks after the beginning of the storm, there were still 700,000 people without power.
Farmers were especially hard hit. Nearly a quarter of Canada's dairy cows, a third of the crop land in Quebec and a quarter in Ontario were in the affected areas.
Milk processing plants were shut, and about 10 million litres of milk had to be dumped.
<LI>Much of the sugar bush used by Quebec maple syrup producers was permanently destroyed. It was estimated that it would take 30 to 40 years before syrup production could return to normal. Casualties and Damage:

28 people died, many from hypothermia
945 people were injured
Over 4 million people in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick lost power.
About 600,000 people had to leave their homes
130 major power transmission towers were destroyed and more than 30,000 utility poles fell
Millions of trees were brought down by the freezing rain, and more continued to break and fall for the rest of the winter.
Estimated cost of the ice storm was $5,410,184,000
By June 1998, about 600,000 insurance claims totalling more than $1 billion had been filed.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

You pick a spot on the road ahead of you and make sure that the car ahead of you hits that spot two seconds before you do.

You mean like a tree or telephone pole?

[Ben E Lou]

Word.

And that's for normal driving... for ice storms add a few more ;).Hey, you moved here, didn't you? I ask because one of my other little "pet peeves" is making fun of us for the way we drive in the snow. Look, I'm 36 years old, and I've only driven in a decent amount of ice/snow exactly twice in my entire life--and both times for less than 3 miles. What do you expect??? :p

[JonInMiddleGA]

One of the very few remaining perks of living where I live (I mean the specific street here in South Hooterville) is that we're on the main electric line for the whole town. I mean, the main line, the one that just happens to provide all the power for both the hospital & the ambulance service.

That means we are Job One for the crews here, and get power back before anybody else.

Not as good as not losing service when their's ice, but better than the 1-2 weeks that some of the people out in the county endure.

[ISiddiqui]

Hey, you moved here, didn't you? I ask because one of my other little "pet peeves" is making fun of us for the way we drive in the snow. Look, I'm 36 years old, and I've only driven in a decent amount of ice/snow exactly twice in my entire life--and both times for less than 3 miles. What do you expect??? :p
I feel you deserve to be mocked for your driving whether it is snowing or not :p. You guys do the same crap when it rains! Though in snow, it's even more ridiculous. I mean, come on! If not even an inch of the ground is covered, there is no need to slow down to unbearable levels!

[hhiipp]

Jon, you'd think that was a good thing until 30 years from now everyone on the street has cancer.

[Tekneek]

(I mean the specific street here in South Hooterville)

That is too funny.

[Tekneek]

Jon, you'd think that was a good thing until 30 years from now everyone on the street has cancer.

Yep, but then having that electricity will help you during the lengthy hospital stay...so it goes full circle.

[Tekneek]

If not even an inch of the ground is covered, there is no need to slow down to unbearable levels!

Oh, is this the logic used by the morons who run into the walls on the interstate everytime it rains during rush hour? It's a rule that, if it is raining on a weekday morning, someone will put their car right into the median wall...

[Samdari]

I'd assume because most/all of the power lines are buried,

Uhhh, no. This is not true anywhere that I am aware of.

Buried lines are actually put out of commission (due to people digging) more often than lines strung on poles are due to weather.

EDIT: By the way, I think the reason you rednecks have not figured out to embrace winter storms the way northerners have is that for some reason you have not figured out that with no electricity and impassable roads, the only thing to do is have sex. Yeah, that sucks, I'd hate for one of those storms to pass through.

[Buzzbee]

SkyDog, you should know by now that when the Atlanta meteorologists predict a bad winter storm that you should break out your sunglasses and suntan lotion. It's when they say "it will hit Tennessee hard, but the North Georgia mountains *might* get a light dusting" that you should worry.

Pish. This'll be nothing.

[ISiddiqui]

Oh, is this the logic used by the morons who run into the walls on the interstate everytime it rains during rush hour? It's a rule that, if it is raining on a weekday morning, someone will put their car right into the median wall...
LOL! I think it may be a corrolary to that rule. If it flurries in Georgia, people must slow down to 20 mph, and in some cases stop on the side of the road and start walking ;).

[Buzzbee]

LOL! I think it may be a corrolary to that rule. If it flurries in Georgia, people must slow down to 20 mph, and in some cases stop on the side of the road and start walking ;).That's only because we are afraid of all the moron yankees who speed up when it snows.:p

[ISiddiqui]

You mean the "moron" Yankees who actually know how to drive? Learn to use a turning signal, would ya, rebel? :p

[Glengoyne]

Yeah, I'm sorry but seeing an inch of snow on the ground seems to be a pretty good indicator that I should slow down a bit. It doesn't seem like ideal highway speed conditions. I'm not sure if it merits 20mph, but reasonable caution seems well reasonable.

Actually what your comment made me think of is the morons here who still drive 65 - 75 in the fog. We're talking fog that actually requires driving at 20-40 mph, Fog where you can only see the next yellow line on the road ahead of you, and maybe not that far. We don't have snow. All of my snow driving experience has been on business trips(Denver, Hartford, and Boston). Luckilly I've not run into anything, but then again I slow down.

[Buzzbee]

You mean the "moron" Yankees who actually know how to drive? Learn to use a turning signal, would ya, rebel? :p
You mean you didn't see my middle finger pointing which way I was going?;)

[ISiddiqui]

Sorry, it must have been up your ass ;).

[oliegirl]

hope this doesn't cut into the cub scout plans on Saturday morning(kiddo's first pinewood derby race, he seems pretty excited about the car we built), but yeah it looks like it's going to be nasty.

Update - Pinewood Derby is cancelled due to "declining weather". :(

I hope the storm isn't too bad, but I kind of like it when the power is out...especially since we have gas heat, stove and fireplace! It's nice to just sit around with no distractions like tv, internet, etc...it's a nice change from the usual chaotic days.

[hhiipp]

Update - Pinewood Derby is cancelled due to "declining weather". :(

I hope the storm isn't too bad, but I kind of like it when the power is out...especially since we have gas heat, stove and fireplace! It's nice to just sit around with no distractions like tv, internet, etc...it's a nice change from the usual chaotic days.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you sure your gas heater works considering your thermastat is powered by electric?

[oliegirl]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you sure your gas heater works considering your thermastat is powered by electric?

Hmmm, you'd have to ask radii that question :) But I know the fireplace would work!

[Radii]

I think it's safe to say that if the power goes out we'll freeze our asses off.

[Tekneek]

I think it's safe to say that if the power goes out we'll freeze our asses off.

You need one with battery backup...

[Radii]

You need one with battery backup...

Well, the owner was convinced the filters never need changing in a furnace and/or AC unit, so I won't be suprised if it doeshave a battery backup but that the owner is convinced the batteries are supposed to last forever.

[Ben E Lou]

So far, it is starting to look like we may have dodged a bullet. The temperature dropped a little more than predicted, so right now, it is falling as mostly sleet, with a little snow mixed in, rather than the freezing rain we had for a while last night. The trees and power lines around me got a decent glazing of ice, but nothing near the 1/2 inch coating that some forecasters were predicting. The temp is around 27-28 degrees right now, and isn't expected to rise that much today. Looks like we might get by with just bad roads just for a Saturday, with sublimation and melting by tomorrow. I doubt many in metro Atlanta will lose power at this point, although I haven't heard about Central Georgia yet, where I'm guessing it might be closer to the "magic numbers" of 30-32 degrees. With the amount of moisture that has fallen and is continuing to fall, anyone around those temperatures probably got pretty bad freezing rain. In metro Atlanta, it sounds like the roads are treacherous. Portions of interstates are closed, even. If folks do what they're told and hunker in for a Saturday at home, then there may be minimal problems.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, and as for the Montreal storm, 3-4 inches is unbelievable. A half inch can bring down pretty large branches from Georgia pines, and even potentially uproot the whole tree.

[FBPro]

A half inch can bring down pretty large branches from Georgia pines, and even potentially uproot the whole tree.
No doubt.......lived through one. :)

[Ragone]

As compaired to texans.. who have 18 car pileups when it sprinkles :)

we had 3 inches of snow in kc last night.. driving home was fun

[FrogMan]

Oh, and as for the Montreal storm, 3-4 inches is unbelievable. A half inch can bring down pretty large branches from Georgia pines, and even potentially uproot the whole tree.
oh, thanks for giving a point of comparison. I seriously had no idea is that was a lot or not. I mean, seeing power line towers bend like this and hearing the horrosr stories from relatives and all, I knew it had to be something, but the half inch to 3-4 inches comparison helps.

Good luck this weekend.

FM

[JonInMiddleGA]

As for this part of central Georgia, it looks like it snowed. But it ain't snow, it's tiny ice pellets. Probably 60%-70% ground covered (i.e. I can still see some grass & dirt & stuff)
Roads passable right now by my house, as long as you keep it around 30 mph. My electricity may depend on the next several hours worth of weather. It's started coming down again here, looks to be freezing rain/sleet mixture. And in the past hour or so, the power lines have gone from maybe-a-little-iced-over to starting to swag enough to notice. If it stops precipitatin', I think we're fine. If it keeps coming down steady for another couple of hours ... this might get kinda interesting.

[KWhit]

Still have power, but my driveway (and its significant slope) is a thick sheet of ice. I'm not going anywhere for a while.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just lost a tree in the back yard. Not a big one, actually one that surprised me though.
Healthy, leafy, green, young ... and split right down the middle.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm actually out in Covington (GrantDawg territory, maybe 30 miles as the crow flies SE of Tucker) for the weekend, speaking at a middle school retreat for several churches. I went inside the meeting room around 9:10, and just got finished. It must have warmed up a few degrees, as it is coming down as more freezing rain here now,and there's been a good bit more icing on trees and power lines than there was an hour and a half ago. Just like at Jon's house, what looks like snow is covering most of the ground, but actually it is tiny ice pellets. Yeah, if this keeps up much longer, it could get interesting here. A few small branches are down, and some larger limbs are starting to bend, and I see some power lines beginning to sag. Let's just say I'm glad I'm just the camp speaker, not here with my own kids and therefore not responsible for figuring out how to feed and handle 120 middle schoolers if the power goes out. ;)

[Ben E Lou]

Just lost a tree in the back yard. Not a big one, actually one that surprised me though.
Healthy, leafy, green, young ... and split right down the middle.Up until reading this, I was going to comment that at least the hurricanes this fall took out most of the weak trees/limbs, but I guess that isn't helpful.

There are several big limbs that hang over buildings at this camp. Hmmm...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Well, I'm back ... after losing the power around 10:45, it's finally back on as of about 5pm. I've finished some hanging company AP, played a really cool Civil War board game with my son (I now see why some middle school teachers use A House Divided to help teach the War), done some emergency pruning outside to get hanging limbs off the telephone line to the house, and had some lunch.

And now I wait to see how long before the power goes out again, about the time everything re-freezes & trees get some more stress. Thank goodness for the gas fireplaces in the den & bedroom, otherwise it would have gotten a tad chilly in here.

[oliegirl]

Everything here is frozen with a layer of ice, but we never lost power. We haven't had cable all day though...the directv satellite is probably covered with ice as well and I guess that is keeping it from receiving a signal. Good thing we have a lot of DVDs and tapes to choose from...we'll see what happens tonight and how warm it gets tomorrow.

[Ragone]

I have a theory about bad weather driving.. that i came up one day while i was in that bad ice storm last year in kc (i'm sure si and kcchief remember it)

The idiots that drive too fast generally speaking take themselves out(spin out of control, off into a ditch.. etc)

The idiots that drive too slow generally cause all the wrecks(people going acceptable rates of speed have to try to avoid them.. causing them to wreck.. go off into ditches.. etc)