The Weather's Getting Scarier: Major Ice Storm Coming?

By: Lowell
Published On: 2/12/2007 8:38:31 AM

I grew up in New England, and I can deal fairly well with most winter weather.  But major ice storms?  Those are nasty and almost impossible to deal with: can't drive safely; trees crashing into power lines; people falling and hurting themselves; not fun at all.

Which is why it's scary to hear that we may be getting a major ice storm, at least according to the National Weather Service's latest forecast:

THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT WINTER PRECIPITATION CONTINUES FOR THE MID ATLANTIC TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. LATEST INDICATIONS
CONTINUE TO SUGGEST WARM AIR A FEW THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE WILL BE DRAWN INTO THE SYSTEM TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT...CREATING THE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT FREEZING RAIN EVENT AS SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW FREEZING.

[..]

SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF FREEZING RAIN ARE  LIKELY ACROSS MOST OF REGION. TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN BELOW FREEZING FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LOWER SOUTHERN MARYLAND.

Anyway, stock up on whatever you need, because something tells me this could be a loooong week.

Comments



this sucks (littlepunk - 2/12/2007 9:51:41 AM)
sure, we might be in line for a lot of ice...or rain.  but seriously.  who wants 2 inches of ice when we could have 14 inches of snow?  nobody.  :(


Is R-K Now the Blog for the Weather Channel :) (Matt H - 2/12/2007 11:15:13 AM)
Just kidding.  But like you Lowell, I also grew up in New England, and the irony is now up there (as well as here), when power is lost, it's lost for days on end.  When I grew up we'd lose power usually for only a few hours - rarely an entire day.  Why the change?

The simple answer is that the electric companies have scaled back their personnel to such an extent that they are never prepared for the consequences of a medium-sized storm.  Even in the D.C. area in the summer, thunder storms create havoc for our understaffed utilities. 

It just seems strange that services like electricity are not as good as they once were.  More deregulation will certainly make things worse.



Is R-K Now the Weather Channel's Blog? :) (Matt H - 2/12/2007 11:16:07 AM)
Just kidding.  But like you Lowell, I also grew up in New England, and the irony is now up there (as well as here), when power is lost, it's lost for days on end.  When I grew up we'd lose power usually for only a few hours - rarely an entire day.  Why the change?

The simple answer is that the electric companies have scaled back their personnel to such an extent that they are never prepared for the consequences of a medium-sized storm.  Even in the D.C. area in the summer, thunder storms create havoc for our understaffed utilities. 

It just seems strange that services like electricity are not as good as they once were.  More deregulation will certainly make things worse.



You can say that again, Matt... (cycle12 - 2/12/2007 11:38:38 AM)
Oh, wait...

Thanks!

Steve



The real reason this sucks! (Turning VA Blue - 2/12/2007 11:39:59 AM)
Having lived in the country most of my life, I have found when something like this happens, it is time to make sure you are clean before the storm hits!

Stock up on water, fill the tub to flush, and get the firewood handy. 

Well water and an electric heat pump make for a miserable time when you lack electrical power!

Upside - unlike hurricane season, you do not lose the fridge & freezer contents.  Just put it all outside in coolers.



Same here, TVB (cycle12 - 2/12/2007 11:51:52 AM)
Same here...

Steve



Been there, done that... (Clemgo3165 - 2/12/2007 3:36:03 PM)
Forget bread and milk - batteries, lamp oil and jugs of water are what I'm after!


Wish I had a place for firewood! (Alicia - 2/12/2007 11:43:04 AM)
The weather here can turn on a dime, we could still get snow, get sleet, or even just plain rain.

Don't be scared!!  It'll be an adventure!

Bush, Lieberman, Rove, Cheney and others?  Now that's SCARY.