KC Ice Storm 2005
 

It is our second major ice storm in three years...

So far, it isn't quite as bad as the one in 2001...

But we're expecting another inch of sleet and then 2-4 inches of snow, plus 10-15 mph North winds this afternoon and evening, so who knows what will happen?

As the first picture shows, I have just come back in from cleaning off 20 hours of accumulation on my Explorer. It is times like this when I really wish I had bought a better digicam this year.

Looks like we're in for a taste of what you got, Els. Ought to be fun driving to work in the morning. I'm not looking forward to all that windshield scraping though. :(

I'm charging up the camera batteries in anticipation of some good ice shots like yours. :thumbsup:

It's fortunately going to miss us. Be careful you guys, but if worst comes to worst, take notes and pictures for us. :D

We're getting a little bit of ice here now. However, the town that I work in (Lewistown) is getting nailed. *sigh*...so, they sent us home early today to miss it, and gave me work enough to tackle tomorrow from the couch.

Warm blankies, hot chocolate, and documentation.

Man, i love this job *G*

Oh..by the way folks, if you're in it, be safe!

Els, I sincerely hope that you were not out delivering pizzas in that! (We tip our delivery guy double our usual too much in bad weather)

There but for the grace of a few degrees go we, indeed.

I am more than happy to put off trying my Amazing Ice Spike Rubbers ...

Oh..oh...that sounds painful. :thepain2:

Uh..wait...er..you mean...ahhh...nevermind. :blush:

Actually, I haven't been able to deliver pizzas for two weeks. Between hospitallizations, deaths, funerals and a surgery, plus my wife's car breaking down twice (actually, counting the phone call I got a couple of minutes ago, *three* times), it has been difficult.

I'm planning to deliver tonight, and it is still plenty nasty out there. Wish me luck. And to those of you who are getting what we got...ick.

Well we got a few inches of snow then some freezing rain here in CT. It rained most of the day today but it was mostly too warm and ended up melting some of the ice coating everything. Nothing as spectacular as Elspode's pictures but I did take a few of the ice melting.

As your camera was made in this century, your pics, if not your ice coverage, are far more impressive than mine.

I've kicked myself several times over the past couple of days for not being more motivated to document what I've been seeing. It is just bizarre. Tonight, during a delivery, I saw the most perfect solidly-frozen, green with red berries holly bush you can imagine. If the homeowner hasn't taken a picture of it himself, he should be beaten.

Now it's in your mind and will only improve with age. Pictures never do justice to those images. :3eye:

I was in that same ice storm (about 200 miles away, in Lincoln, NE), and yesterday the ice finally melted enough that I can open my car doors again. :-)

Same here. It hit 50 degrees, and the rain finished the rest of the short fall to the ground from points at which it was arrested last Tuesday.

Of course, we are getting freezing drizzle again this afternoon. Sigh.

Quick, someone hand me a windshield scraper!

More Geneva ice pictures like the one above:
Frozen lake spray.

Windshield scraper? The hell with that, someone get a blow torch and a hammer.

looks like a giant sneezed in a major way.

That's the kind of ice that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald....among others. :(

Ice? I thought it was broken/leaking hatch covers?

Whoa -- thanks for the source, Glatt!

Windshield scraper? The hell with that, someone get a blow torch and a hammer.

I've been thinking about this -- how would you get your car out of that? Chances are high that temperatures won't get warm enough during the majority of the winter to melt enough of the ice and permit some of those people access to their cars (such as the Jeep with the wire antenna enclosed in several inches of ice!). Dump lots of salt, maybe? And what damage would the ice do to the vehicle, if any, besides a dead battery if you couldn't get inside to start it after sometime?

Crap. Now I have that song stuck in my head.

The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald...

The Philly area is pretty renowned for it's own ice storms. This year is kind of unusual in that we haven't had two or three already ... we've been saved by bizarrely high temperatures on a couple of winter storms so far (50-60s in early January is just plain wrong, even for here).

So, anyway, I've had to de-encrust my car a time or two.

It takes some skill, and a lot of luck.

Your first line of defense is getting out to the car early. Removing the first layer of ice can make the going easier.

If we have notice of ice rather than snow, I have seen people put cardboard or trashbags across their card windows ... you just peel the big ol' sheet of ice off the window, once you free up a corner.

Of course, you don't usually find out that it's going to be nasty ice instead of nice fluffly snow in time.

Ice storms are when you discover what those big ridges on the back of the snowbrush/ice scraper are for. Once you scrape your way down to the windshield with that, you can switch over to the regular blade and chip you way to freedom.

sometimes the ice sheet is thick enough that you have to resort to desperate measures. This require just the right ice scraper. It should be one of the heavier, wider ones ... the use of it relies on the fact that windshield glass is stronger than other car window glass. You smack the scraper across the window, with enough force to crack the ice, and hopefully not spiderweb the windshield. Then you just chip off the ice shards.

I do not recommend trying the "whack" method on side or rear windows.

One school of thought suggests the application of hot water to the ice. This is also not a good idea, as it's almost guaranteed to crack the window if the water is too hot. Too cool and you've added an additional layer of ice.

The smart commuter carries a lighter to heat the car key in case the door locks are frozen. If the ice has seeped into the doorframe, throwing oneself at it bodily generally loosens things up enough so that the door will open, but you may find yourself having to hold it closed on the way to work.

As a matter of personal preference I tend to open the passenger side door first, and lean in to start the car, turning the heat and defrosters on as high as they will go. This makes it more likely that opening and closing of the driver's side door will occur in the way it's supposed to.

My favorite way of dealing with the whole issue is to say "fuckit" and let the car thaw itself out ... I call the ambulance for a ride into work because it's too hazardous to drive.

El, I meant to ask ... the squirrel proof bird feeder ... did that freeze in the open or closed position? (and, do your squirrels work as a team to get access to the feed?)

How cold was it?

It was so cold....

I'd read the ice build up (tonnage) made it ride lower in the water and hard to maneuver. They ran before the wind as much as they could but with all the waves coming over the rails, the ice built up until one (or more) of the hatch covers collapsed from the weight. :eek3: