I fear there's not only gonna be power outages, but my neighbors and I are gonna be out in this mess clearing fallen trees off of the right-of-way. It's not been above freezing so that wet, heavy snow is still on the trees. And now it's sleeting...hard. Gonna sleet all day long. I guess it's just one method of nature's pruning.
I dread being on the freeway on Tuesday morning in Houston. They have already put sand on the overpasses but the nitwit drivers still think they are at Daytona.
4 wheel drive, baby. You got the Go, but you ain't got the Whoa! Even in nice weather, I prefer to avoid the interstates. I've always been that way, even when I was a teenager. Regarding our mess here... I got an email from a friend whose husband has a police scanner. There are tons of reports of trees down already. But even when it just rains, I see plenty of cut-up trees along the side of my immediate roads that have been taken off the street. Some are done by VDOT, some by the county, and others by people like me & my neighbors who just go get the darned thing out of the way. In fact, not long ago I was driving around after a storm and there was a felled tree in my path with "some local guy" already cutting it up. I got out, helped him get it off the road, then we were both on our way. Git 'er dun! I'm making Italian bread right now. It's still got a couple of hours of rise time left (proofing in my Breville as I type.) I'll end up trying to bake it in my wood stove if the power goes out. May as well. I can't save it for another day.
I wish we could avoid the freeways, but it's impossible to get to the Medical Center from the 'burbs without using them. We'll be in the Jeep which has 4WD, but all the idiots zig-zagging at 80 MPH are what scares me.
I used to go between DC and Richmond to visit my father when I was just out of high school in the early 70s. Unless it was real late at night, I would take Route 1 (55MPH) versus I-95, even though it took longer. These idiots who tailgate literally going 90MPH as though they are drafting folks at the Indy 500 should be shot...or at least severely beaten. I'm the same way where I live now. Route 250 is the old highway that goes from Richmond well into the state of West Virginia. Now modern I-64 runs parallel to it. When I go to Charlottesville, as often as not I'll take the old Route 250 (again, 55MPH vs 70MPH.) It's more scenic and way less stressful. And it adds just a few minutes to the trip. Of course, in the inclement weather, you're kinda stuck. The main highways are more likely to be clear, but you've got the insanity to deal with. Or in the case of DC, you've got the "sitting still for hours" to deal with. I'm sure you remember.
Yes, we have to deal with the "freeway lookin' like a parkin' lot" thing in Houston rush hour. So we leave 1.5 hours before appointment time to drive 25 miles. "Now when I die I don't want no coffin Thought 'bout it all too often Just strap me in behind the wheel And bury me with my automobile"
The roads are dry here in Maine and you can sometimes drive a couple of hundred miles without seeing another car if you go north. This has been an odd winter, but last winter was too. We have a lot of snow but it all came from only a couple of snowstorms, neither of which seemed particularly harsh at the time. We've just had a sustained cold, so that very little melting has taken place. It's been a while since our last snow, though, so the roads are dry and clear.
Brrrrrrrrr. It's 19 degrees and snowing... what the heck??? Our power has been out since 4 am. Thank goodness we have a fireplace and a gas stove and water heater. The roads are all icy but my husband had to go check on his 86 year old mother so I'm pacing around till he gets back.
15 cms of snow expected here by tomorrow. This winter has been good to us so far. NS got the brunt of it this year. Need to clear some snow from the lower roof. I heard it's going to be drifting snow.
We are up to 24 degrees and the sun is out so all the ice is melting and dripping off the roof . Low tonight is 10 degrees so we will huddle in the den by the fireplace. High tomorrow is 35. I just wish the power would come back on.