January 2, 2007: Nebraska ice storm - Page 2

CaliforniaMama · 01-02-2007, 09:03 AM

I can hear my kids now: sword fighting with grass-cicles!!!!

charmzny · 01-02-2007, 09:08 AM

I've already lived through this in 1998. Most of northern New York State (yes, there is a state above Syracuse) and alot of southern Ontario and Quebec Canada got a huge ice storm. We were under a state of emergency - no power for at least two-three weeks unless you had a generator, no phones for over a month. Every pole was down between Clayton, NY and Watertown, NY (a 20mile stretch of road) plus many more all around the county. It was destructive, but oddly beautiful. I still have pictures somewhere.

Undertoad · 01-02-2007, 09:14 AM

Yep. We had a minor version of it here in 1994. It killed trees. The worst, though, was when it melted. Instead of soaking into the ground, all that water traveled over top the ice... flooding anything in its tracks... including most of my first floor.

Sheldonrs · 01-02-2007, 11:23 AM

"The cattle can. The ice has taken down their wired fencing and the only thing keeping them from romping around the countryside is the slippery surfaces they now have to manage. They must have cold headaches as they find something to graze on."

Uh-oh! Grain freeze!

nephtes · 01-02-2007, 11:24 AM

charmzny: Ah yes, Ice Storm '98. Montreal, where I live, got hit pretty hard, but was a high priority for repairs and we only lost power for a few days. Wikipedia and Google turned up a few nice shots...

http://www.verglas.netc.net/photo-serie1.html
http://www.verglas.netc.net/photo-serie-5.html
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/durham/index.shtm

Looks like there was way more ice buildup from this Nebraska storm, though... Yikes.

xoxoxoBruce · 01-02-2007, 03:34 PM

Wiki says...

Quote:

Prior to the 1998 storm, the last major ice storm to hit Montreal (1986) deposited around 30 to 60 millimetres (1½ to 2¼ inches) of ice. However, the 1998 storm left deposits twice as thick, downing power lines all over the region, damaging most of the trees in Montreal, and leaving streets covered in a thick impassable layer of ice.

That got me wondering about weight on wires.

Rough calculation gives me a 3/8 inch diameter wire in an 1.5 inch diameter sheath of ice would be 0.727 pounds per liner foot, just ice weight.

And a 3/8 inch diameter wire in a 4.5 inch diameter sheath of ice would be 6.255 pounds per linear foot, ice weight.

Add the weight of the wire and figure one to several hundred feet between supports(poles/towers), that's a hell of a strain.
Then, of course, the bigger the sheath of ice, the more resistance to wind force.
Damn, bury those babies.

astrodex · 01-02-2007, 07:50 PM

We had one of these in Boston about 10 years ago. We landed after a visit home to Florida to find the entire city covered in ice. Definite climate shock but it was amazingly beautiful. I felt lucky to have missed the actual event while still being able to enjoy the after effects.

And on the topic of scale: It's gotta be pretty cold so that's WITH shrinkage!?

xoxoxoBruce · 01-02-2007, 08:04 PM

I saw one of those in Boston during the winter of '62/'63. In the middle of the night we walked fro The Fenway and Huntington, all the way to the Logan Airport, and watched them de-ice planes.
Right down the middle of the street... not a cab, not a cop, not a truck, not a vehicle, moving. It was glorious.

kerosene · 01-02-2007, 08:46 PM

We lived in this area just before we moved back to Colorado just over a year ago. I hear they haven't had power for a week in the town we lived in. Check out the shot of the tower that collapsed. It just looks wicked.

charmzny · 01-03-2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nephtes

charmzny: Ah yes, Ice Storm '98. Montreal, where I live, got hit pretty hard, but was a high priority for repairs and we only lost power for a few days. Wikipedia and Google turned up a few nice shots...

http://www.verglas.netc.net/photo-serie1.html
http://www.verglas.netc.net/photo-serie-5.html
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/durham/index.shtm

Looks like there was way more ice buildup from this Nebraska storm, though... Yikes.

Yeah, Montreal would be considered priority. Tiny little towns like ours -- NOT! We were okay, though, we were lucky enough to get a generator before the price gouging started. I know we had a lot of ice build up. My poor maple tree looked like it got partially beheaded. It's just starting to look normal now. Let's hope this crazy weather doesn't land us with another ice storm, microburst or blizzard....:p

Ibby · 01-03-2007, 02:14 AM

Fuck. I hate the tropics. Its so damn hot in cambodia I can't even BREATHE, let alone sleep.

Spexxvet · 01-04-2007, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ibram

Fuck. I hate the tropics. Its so damn hot in cambodia I can't even BREATHE, let alone sleep.

Are you living in Cambodia now, Ibby?

Iggy · 01-03-2007, 11:53 AM

We had something similar happen to us a year or two ago (I can't remember for the life of me when exactly it was). I do know it was in January. It was very beautiful, but unfortunatly I didn't have a camera at the time so I don't have pictures. Maybe I can find some online...

Many were out of power for a couple weeks though. It was awful. I was one of the few lucky ones, but I was so scared to drive on the icy roads.

Sarasvati48 · 01-03-2007, 01:35 PM

How come every time it happens to snow or freeze up somewhere, some clown comes out saying that global warming is a rumor? There's ice in my freezer...does that mean that the polar bears are not losing land to stand on?

xoxoxoBruce · 01-03-2007, 02:42 PM

Minor point, but they're not losing land to stand on, they're losing ice to hunt on. That's why they're hungry.

01-02-2007, 09:03 AM	#1
CaliforniaMama I wonder . . . Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Left Coast, a pretty good place to be. Posts: 1,278	I can hear my kids now: sword fighting with grass-cicles!!!! __________________ Take time for silence. You never know what you might hear.

01-02-2007, 11:23 AM	#4
Sheldonrs Master Dwellar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 4,412	"The cattle can. The ice has taken down their wired fencing and the only thing keeping them from romping around the countryside is the slippery surfaces they now have to manage. They must have cold headaches as they find something to graze on." Uh-oh! Grain freeze! __________________ Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and the world laughs AT you.

01-02-2007, 08:04 PM	#8
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	I saw one of those in Boston during the winter of '62/'63. In the middle of the night we walked fro The Fenway and Huntington, all the way to the Logan Airport, and watched them de-ice planes. Right down the middle of the street... not a cab, not a cop, not a truck, not a vehicle, moving. It was glorious. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

01-03-2007, 02:14 AM	#11
Ibby erika Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: "the high up north" Posts: 6,127	Fuck. I hate the tropics. Its so damn hot in cambodia I can't even BREATHE, let alone sleep. __________________ not really back, you didn't see me, i was never here shhhhhh

01-03-2007, 11:53 AM	#13
Iggy Back and ready to tart up the place Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kansas Posts: 850	We had something similar happen to us a year or two ago (I can't remember for the life of me when exactly it was). I do know it was in January. It was very beautiful, but unfortunatly I didn't have a camera at the time so I don't have pictures. Maybe I can find some online... Many were out of power for a couple weeks though. It was awful. I was one of the few lucky ones, but I was so scared to drive on the icy roads. __________________ Chock-full of naughty goodness.

01-02-2007, 09:08 AM	#2
charmzny Disorderly Disciplinarian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern New York State Posts: 21	I've already lived through this in 1998. Most of northern New York State (yes, there is a state above Syracuse) and alot of southern Ontario and Quebec Canada got a huge ice storm. We were under a state of emergency - no power for at least two-three weeks unless you had a generator, no phones for over a month. Every pole was down between Clayton, NY and Watertown, NY (a 20mile stretch of road) plus many more all around the county. It was destructive, but oddly beautiful. I still have pictures somewhere.

01-02-2007, 09:14 AM	#3
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Yep. We had a minor version of it here in 1994. It killed trees. The worst, though, was when it melted. Instead of soaking into the ground, all that water traveled over top the ice... flooding anything in its tracks... including most of my first floor.

01-02-2007, 11:24 AM	#5
nephtes Mammal Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 8	charmzny: Ah yes, Ice Storm '98. Montreal, where I live, got hit pretty hard, but was a high priority for repairs and we only lost power for a few days. Wikipedia and Google turned up a few nice shots... http://www.verglas.netc.net/photo-serie1.html http://www.verglas.netc.net/photo-serie-5.html http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/ http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/durham/index.shtm Looks like there was way more ice buildup from this Nebraska storm, though... Yikes.

01-02-2007, 07:50 PM	#7
astrodex May Ter Dee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 26	We had one of these in Boston about 10 years ago. We landed after a visit home to Florida to find the entire city covered in ice. Definite climate shock but it was amazingly beautiful. I felt lucky to have missed the actual event while still being able to enjoy the after effects. And on the topic of scale: It's gotta be pretty cold so that's WITH shrinkage!?

01-02-2007, 08:46 PM	#9
kerosene Touring the facilities Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The plains of Colorado Posts: 3,476	We lived in this area just before we moved back to Colorado just over a year ago. I hear they haven't had power for a week in the town we lived in. Check out the shot of the tower that collapsed. It just looks wicked.

01-03-2007, 01:35 PM	#14
Sarasvati48 Mystical Miscreant Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 46	How come every time it happens to snow or freeze up somewhere, some clown comes out saying that global warming is a rumor? There's ice in my freezer...does that mean that the polar bears are not losing land to stand on?

01-03-2007, 02:42 PM	#15
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Minor point, but they're not losing land to stand on, they're losing ice to hunt on. That's why they're hungry. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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