General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe are caught with our proverbial pants down in this ice storm in Montgomery County, PA...
Now please allow me to preface this by saying that the vast majority of those involved have places to go, have relatives, friends, churches and synagogues opened their doors and invited those without power to spend the night or charge their phones, computers, or whatever. We are definitely NOT going to have an apocalypse of any type here anytime soon and the power should be back for virtually everyone within three days.
However, it is worth noting that there have been some real catastrophes: an ER doc was helping a neighbor remove a tree limb from his driveway and another branch fell and the doc was taken to the hospital in very critical condition. There are downed sparking power lines all over the place and believe it or not, the valley in which I live has very very poor cellular service BECAUSE building a cellular tower nearby has been voted down time and again. So the people with their power lines cavorting in their driveways can't leave their homes since 13000 volts is easily conducted through the standing water around the houses and they can't report the disaster because there's no phone service. Conundrum,eh? anyone else want to "preserve the environment" BY NOT BUILDING A FRIGGING CELL TOWER???!!!!! We have been warning about EXACTLY this issue for YEARS here: the roads are tree-lined and any storm, but especially a storm such as this one, knocks branches down and we lose power routinely. If the phone lines go down we can't call anyone and tell them that we have no power. When we tell vendors that we have no cell service, they talk to us like we're stupid or something. "How can that be?"
Anyway, there are almost 600000 homes without power and even when it comes back on for many, it goes off again due to more falling branches or shorting transformers.
Well, life sure ain't dull....
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)for a year long fire season, and absolutely no snow in the Sierras (ok very little)... or just keeping my lovely drought.
Oh and cell phone towers, let me tell you, every so often local city council (insert local city council) has that exact issue on the docket with insert group of well meaning citizens screaming NOT IN MY BACK YARD!
Ah yes, politics.
Stay warm
PCIntern
(26,700 posts)No question...
babylonsister
(171,517 posts)hope is that everyone uses their heads and keeps themselves safe. And warm.
Do most folks have generators?
PCIntern
(26,700 posts)exciting!
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)RobinA
(10,107 posts)a generator last year after the Sandy outage marathon. Thankfully the thing is cranking away, but it makes me nervous.
Kaleva
(37,873 posts)and if for some reason, cell phone service was interrupted.
PCIntern
(26,700 posts)the trees don't discriminate between lines...they nail whatever is in their way
Kaleva
(37,873 posts)It's been that way for decades where I live in the boonies of the western part of Upper Michigan.
RobinA
(10,107 posts)the area looks like a bomb went off. The landline is down, cell never does work in the house. No power, but we have a generator. Do have cable, which means internet.
Freddie
(9,584 posts)We are incredibly fortunate that we have not lost power and there are only a few trees down up here. DH works in Doylestown and they had no power from noon on (went to generators). Seems like the worst of the storm is south of here. Take care and hope your power is back soon.
PCIntern
(26,700 posts)gwheezie
(3,580 posts)We rarely have ice storms where I live but do get hurricanes, I went without power for 3 weeks once but it wasn't freezing cold, my landline was useless so I no longer have one.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)We were without power for three frigid days a couple of years ago... also a February storm. The neighboring town was out for a week.
We were freezing and cooking in the fireplace. I was really ready to go to a shelter, but toughed it out.
We saw the power company truck on our road and tried to chase it down. They waved at us and kept on going..... sigh.....
We did have phone service though. We ended up tossing all of our frozen and refrigerated food. After that, we bought a generator. TG, we have not had to use it. I think of it as an "insurance policy".
Tree-Hugger
(3,378 posts)The damage and outages in my little bubble of MontCo are very reminiscent of the Sandy aftermath. We have many trees down, including my favorite tree in front of my apartment. I spent all night listening to limbs snapping and transformers blowing. We were very fortunate to retain power as many of my nearby friends are in the dark. I drove around this afternoon and it looks horrible.
I do have a cell tower nearby and we are still having some connection issues....I have heard the same from others in my area.
I think this county was declared a disaster area. Am I correct? I know we are in a State of Emergency, but some friends said we were declared a disaster.
Are you on Facebook? If so, I highly encourage you to follow Eastern PA Weather Authority. They are phenomenal, low on hype, and typically very accurate. They do have a website, but they are more active on Facebook with important weather updates.
It's going to get windy tonight, which may stress trees and wires, so stay safe!
MadrasT
(7,237 posts)Listening to the trees crack is really eerie.
(I'm in Chester County, and I am sitting in almost dark with a Coleman camp lantern, a wireless internet connection, and a battery powered radio tuned to KYW. And no heat.)
Thanks for the Facebook tip.
Work has power so I know I can recharge everything tomorrow. (Assuming they keep it!)
Tree-Hugger
(3,378 posts)I hope your electricity is restored very, very soon.
1000words
(7,051 posts)Pants down, you say? I'm guessing significant proverbial shrinkage ...
Hekate
(94,107 posts)While we wait to see when our hills will catch fire, just remember: Life is just one damn thing after another.
meow2u3
(24,899 posts)We got a crapload of snow, but only about 1/4 inch of ice. My power never went out, but I did break my snow shovel digging out of the heavyweight snow and ice that coated it.
MadrasT
(7,237 posts)Absolute clusterfuck.
Power went out at 6:00 a.m.
Two beloved trees down in my yard.
It looks like a tornado went through out here in some places. Trees down everywhere, just everywhere.
Tried 5 different routes to get to work... finally made it (THEY HAD POWER!)
Back home and it is COLD in here.
At least I have cell service.
I already booked a hotel up by work (NE Philly) for tomorrow night in case I'm still dark out here.
I"m grateful I could (finally) make it out to the highway and wasn't stuck in my house.
Tree-Hugger
(3,378 posts)The difference in damage is staggering. There was a single branch down in the area of NE Philly I visited.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)we must be neighbors.