Great ice storm article

[CarolAnn]

When I got my latest issue of BWH, the first article I read was this one. If you don't have a subscription, it's well worth your time to read online!

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/evangelista108.html

Even as much as I thought I was prepared, this one caught me on quite a few things!

[Mac_Muz]

The artical should have atleast mentioned to shut off the main breakers in a house running a genie... To do other wise the genie will feed the lines and or try and that can kill a worker instanly..

I have been thru so many ice storms I tend to think of them as fun.

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy.

I, and my family lived through that famous Missouri portion of that storm. I was in so much better shape than so many folks in the region that it was almost laughable. The biggest problem we had was when the water pressure dropped due to the rural water district not having an adequate backup plan and several homes being abandoned, frozen, and subsequently flooded. (They didn't turn off their water main when they made like refugees.) We had extra water in the bathtub for flushing and 80 gallons in the waterheater for drinking if need be. It's a state of mind and attitude plus only the barest of preps to ride out that type of deal. There were so many that just rolled over and surrendered and then so many more that stepped up to the plate and gave 100+%. It truly was an interesting time. I'll post more later.OzarksJohn

[hillbillygal]

I got my issue in the mail today. (Hope to subscribe after Christmas ;D) That was an awesome story. I am making a list of what I need to stock up on for the winter. There was a lot of good information that I wouldn't have thought about. I think I'll make sure to buy a cheap bag of kitty litter to keep around. If we don't use it for traction, we can always use it for oil-dry.

[Txanne]

Winters are not much of a problem here--well most of the time--BUT spring and summer now is a whole new ball game.

Ours here is out running hurricanes---blizzards and freezing to death--bring a whole new problem.

You cant take your Preps with you durning a hurricane unless you have them stored in a handy little trailer you can pull!


I would like to talk about that---there is a difference in weather in different parts of the country.


txanne

[Mac_Muz]

Well I'll agree with that Anne.. Nh is a smal state but we git weatha's big time.

We do get simmered down hurricanes from time to time, but the real last blow was before my time in 38' where there are still trees downed from that one.

We can get harsh rains that wash out roads, I can recall snow 9 feet deep as a child. It was fun as a child to open a 2nd story window and jump out. What wasn't as much fun was digging down to shovel out the ft door..

We just got a 2nd snow here. That amounted to 18" local, no big deal other than we have been over run with folks who haven't seen snow and they drive accordingly, but not for long.

We can get Nor'Easters right from Texas. These will carry 100+ mph winds. I callem Banshee winds because they howel. The last great one that bothered me more in idea than action was the last year in the tee pee. It was 50 below that night, as it had been for a bit and would be for another bit at mid night. Mid day was still chilley at -20.

Since I took that bike ride x-c it is more desert that would kill me than anything else. Heat and no water + me equals DOOMED..

I can't say I know Texas well, but I know iut better than I did. More or less West Texas is damnned dry.. Eastern third is wet, amd I never made the coast.

NH weather can be harsh, but me and others get used to it.

If you live like me, even though I rent, I rent at places where I can find wood and water.

The brook running by this place is potable water all year long. The weatha' tonight is supposed to be + 10.. not to bad heavy shirt weatha for me.

[Txanne]

Mac--When Rita hit us with her 160 MPH winds--it took yor breath---you cant draw air into them at all---the walls seem to be draw out-ward.

This Hurricane spawned 5 HUGE killer tornados---cutting a path about 100 miles wide--Looked like a giant chain saw cut through the country.

I would like to ask a real dumb question: Does it get so bad you HAVE to get out--leave your home in these blizzards?

It would seem only if you had no heat? Medical Er?

This Hurricane is the first I have ever run from---Been through some bad ones too.

Has there ever been a bad winter storm anyone has had to run from?

See I have never lived in snow and ice.
Been to the Alaskan Pensila in the winter it was -80--So cold I was told you could die in 3 minutes of exposure.

I find it strange the extremes in weather.

West Texas is Hot Dry and the sand can blow so hard it Will yank the paint off your car.


Interesting,

annie

[chloe3388]

I grew up in west Texas, it is harsh. Water that is potable is really hard to find. Most plants have thorns and nearly all the wild life is poisonous LOL.. But I love that part of the country. You learn fast as a kid to carry water and watch for snakes and such. Dehydration is a killer, in summer it can stay over 100 degrees for weeks and the humidity will be 10%.

Me in a cold climate with snow and ice I would not make it..

Guess I am just a desert rat..

chloe

[Mac_Muz]

I have the tendency to hunker down and stay around home in a blizzard. Get in wood by the stove, get a tub full of water and jugs before the power goes. Light lamps, and get a car radio hooked up to a car battery and anntenna inside, for kicks..

One Nor Easter flooded a main road in another town I once leved in and I went kayaking in the road for kicks. That night I had light, heat and tunes and all my neighbors showed up and we just partied.

I have never run from any blizzard. I guess the worst was in Maryland when we lived in the tee pee for year 2. I was flat broke but had enough to get gas.. I plowed out folks who had far more than me, untill me and my truck were commandiered by the fire dept.

A company called Diva? I forget, but they are the ones advertizing in Yankee Magazine for "pioneer shirts" was on fire. Much later I heard that was ther "storm of the century" as best I can tell.

I don't get stuck much plowing but I did that night. Stone wall on my right, and a board fence on my left which I crushed some of with better than 24" of snow, plus lots of drifting.

Luckily I had picked my my girl, who is currently my wife as a last minute deal to get foods in for others, as the Govnor had closed the roads to anyone with out a 4x4.

So she was with me when I drove up into snow much to deep about mid-night on my way back to the tee pee.

From that point we tried to walk to the tee pee, but I got lost. I wasn't dressed to be in 70 mph + winds and you couldn't see. The snow was more than waist deep, as well, so we abondoned the idea of getting to the tee pee.

We went back to the truck and made heat, and I more or less went down into just longies, trying to dry what we had.

After a while we were seen by a resident, who came out to see why we were there so long. I had the idea we would stay right there and run out of gas, but that was all we could do. That guy found out and invited us in, fed us, and offered up a shower, and food, which we took. Plus we slept in a real bed for the firs time in 1.5 years..

If I hadn't been helping those that had more than we did I would have been sound asleep in the tee pee, with no problems.

In day llight just a few feet to the left from where we had been walking corn stocks were sticking out of the snow on a ridge line. Had I been able to see that we could have made that walk.

I got pics somewhere of that snow up to my ribs after I got it plowed. There was only one 1948 jeep there besides me with a plow. The fire dept got him too.

He was the one to pull me out, and my truck was a foot and more above the road.. LOL I had driven up onto what I had packed down and couldn't see it.. That lane was wicked narrow, and so no place to puch snow off..

[Shamrock1121]

I'm located where those "great ice storms" tend to hit as well, and have been 3 days without electricity.

We've purchased as many hand-cranked things as we can so that we don't need to rely on as many batteries - even though I have a large supply of them on hand. We have 2 am/fm radios that crank (one has a light, clock, and you can use it to charge a cell phone), and flashlights that crank in every room in the house.

I avoid using anything that has a fire source, unless it was the last thing available, because most people just aren't used to using these things (candles/lamps) and they are often an accident waiting to happen because of improper use. This is especially true of using candles in rooms where you may have pets and curious rambunctious children. If I use a taper (long candles provide more light than votives), I place it on the kitchen stove (all metal around it) and put a hurricane globe around it for added protection (from breezes or contact with flamable materials).

People often don't think safety first, and will put an oil lamp on a flimsy side table that can easily be bumped or tipped over, which just happens to be next to long flowing drapes.

If you ARE using open-flames, make sure you have fire extinguishers at hand (even buckets of water or dry goods or sand that you could use to smother a fire.

Open flames also consume oxygen, so you need to open a window a tiny bit for oxygen exchange and a working carbon monoxide detector.

Yes, candles and lamps offer some residual heat, but so do "Hotties" (the 18-hour hand and body warmers), as well as hot water bottles.

Three Day Supply of Food (no refrigeration or cooking required)

- Canned tuna or pork & beans (1/2 lb/person)

- Nonfat dry milk powder (1/2 lb/person)

- Graham crackers (1 lb/person)

- Dried apricots (1 lb/person)

- Canned orange or tomato juice (46oz. per person - in individual serving sizes)

- Peanut butter (1/2 lb/person)

This supplies daily 2,100 calories and essential nutrients.

Other ideas:
Nuts, raisins, fruit rollups, granola bars, dried beef, jerky, canned meats, crackers, pudding or fruit cups, presweetened powdered drinks - such as lemonade, box drinks, hard candy, candy bars, energy bars, and dry cereals.

Don't forget 1-gallon of water per person per day.

-Karen

[kcman]

Great article. Too bad I didn't read it sooner. Kansas City is getting the edge of the ice with much more to our south-east. Probably not as far as Springfield, but between us and them.
No power loss, just couldn't do some things that were planned for today.

kcman