Worst Winter Storm in 20+ years!

I've experienced my share of blizzards and other unpleasantries that Old Man Winter dishes out, but the worst I've seen happened in Nebraska in 1997. An overnight ice storm on October 17th temporarily crippled the area. Through the night, the ice fell relentlessly, and there was a constant CRACK! THUD! CRACK! CRACK! of large tree limbs breaking and falling. Every few seconds, you'd hear a large limb break and fall.

Here are some shots from my balcony here in Louisville:

First, my car, the snow looks to be a few inches. When I find my ruler I will go measure it.



Second, across at the field. Where did the bottom of the trees go?



Third, straight down off my balcony.



[edit on 27-1-2009 by hotbakedtater]

reply to post by Greenize


Stock up, stay warm, watch cartoons and think of it as a snow vacation from school when you were a kid.
Good luck!

I'm in MD and we're getting it after you guys, so it's prep time.

Be safe everyone.

PHILLY AREA - we have flurries today. Expecting 3-4 inches of snow and ice tonight. I'm sure there won't be school tomorrow. My daughter will be thrilled. We didn't get any significant snow last year - or this year to date.

Good morning! Power still on for now, although it has been flickering! We have a thick coating of ice this morning and are forecast to get an additional half inch today and the second storm, coming through later today is forecast to dump up to 6 inches of snow on top of the ice.
There are thousands without power this morning and roads are continually being closed due to trees falling. I will post some pics if I get a chance. As I sit looking out my window, there are lines not sure if power or phone, but they are hanging about 3 feet from the ground!
My boss called me this morning and after having to turn around and take several different routes to try and get in, told me not to risk it if I didn't want to. Needless to say I stayed put!

reply to post by Greenize


Sounds like to me you are in for some global warming/climet change. Throw away the heater and get out the beach blankets.

Chicago has reported the most snow in the last 100 years as well as the coldest temps since the 1880's. God i love global warming, where can i get more global warming?

Honestly people . Al Gore bashing because of a winter storm? If you read through the lines the storms you are receiving are due to global warming and just plain old maother nature. Just spend your day at home and do some research. Storms like this are an audity but probably have been recorded before and may actually be good for you and your area.

Here in British Columbia Canada we have seen some of the most bizarre weather recorded this past winter. I am in the northern point of the Sonoran desert and we usually dont have more than an inch or 2 of snow and an average january temp of around 0 celcius. This year we have had 18-24 inches of snow and a cold spell (-20 celcius) that went on for 20+ days. With this in mind we have been fighting the Nasty Pine Beetle Bug that normally wouldnt have survived in our climate. This bug can only be wiped out by a long running cold spell that has not happened for many years until this year. If you knew BC as the Green place it usually is you would be amazed at how this bug has wiped out almost all of our pine forests. (an area the size of texas!)

So take this as mother nature purging her lands and enjoy the freshness after the fact. But do be ready like we are always in Canada for that freak winter storm nobody expected.

Just assume the worst in the winter and you will be ready for anything. Dont be a sheeple and wait for the Government to help. Be proactive and help yourself by helping your neighbors.

Maybe a winter on the North West Coast will be good for all to see what 20 inches of rain frozen does then add a foot of snow. Now thats terror.
Be Happy Keep Smiling and blame Al Gore or even GW eif that makes it better.
Cheers and Chills

Originally posted by NGC2736
This is the reason I refuse, year after year, to get rid of my old wood stove. I may be sitting in the dark, but I'll be warm in the dark. And i can do limited cooking on it too, so I won't starve.

And I'm sending my heating bill, pre-wood stove, to Al "We'll All Fry" Gore.

Yes, I agree. I love our wood stove! It is 11 below zero here this morning in northern Michigan! I wonder if al has one. probably too big of a carbon footprint.

Heres a great link that shows the effects of global warming.
environment.nationalgeographic.com...

Here is a pic taken right out my front door. I can not believe we are in for another half inch of this!

Originally posted by unruly1
If you read through the lines the storms you are receiving are due to global warming

I'm sure this scientific conclusion is based on something perhaps as accurate as intuition?

Mother nature, absolutely. Global warming? "Global Warming" is a paradox. It MAY set off a continued warming event and it MAY trigger an extreme cooling event. Couple the recent cooling with a small to non-existent solar cycle 24 and we may well have the recipe for global cooling.

AB1

Yes you are right. Global warming in my eyes is just another phase the earth is going through. It could get much warmer for some period of time BUT it also could get much cooler.

Believe me when I say Im not convinced either way. Just aware of the changes we are seeing around the globe. And assuring Im ready.


reply to post by alphabetaone

I think this is the same storm that's going my way tomorrow. I think about 8 inches of snow then it turns to rain and sleet.

8 inches is really nothing, but it gives people a excuse not to come to work.

reply to post by xynephadyn


You're right that snow and ice in Kentucky is normal; however, the OP's thread is to alert us that to the severity of this storm.

I was just reading John Belski's (meteorologist at WAVE 3) blog, and this is what he said the Weather Channel was saying about this ice/snow storm that's hitting KY:

"Weather Channel says our ice storm could be catastrophic..." You can find this under the heading, "Tuesday 12:30 AM 1/27 here.

Let's hope the Weather Channel is wrong. We got hit with a lot of ice/snow here in Kentucky so far, and from what they're saying, there's more coming. Hope Lexington is faring okay.

Edited to fix typo.

[edit on 27-1-2009 by cornblossom]

Originally posted by Jay-in-AR
Weird thing though, I just took my wife in to work and on the way home I was noticing that the sky is being lit up occasionally completely GREEN.
I guess that is lightning, but it was scary to look at. I've never seen so many lightning strikes when there was ice all over everything.

That sounds more like a transformer going bad then lighting, was there any sound with it? Though I have seen lighting in an ice storm once before, I think its pretty rare when it happens.

Anyway, hope everyone is still doing well and keeping safe.

Weather change has happened for thousands of years and will continue to do so.

We have had many ice storms here in my area, just not any this terrible! That was my point.
Winter precip is a normal occurence, we all know that, just not to this extreme. As I stated earlier, there are thousands upon thousands of families without power and the worst is yet to come.
We live in the country, surrounded by woods, you can step out onto the porch and hear the trees crashing down all around us. Its a bit unnerving!

reply to post by lw2525


2006 wasn't great either.

Here is what a couple of inches of ice looks like:

Stop sign.



Lines down.



Mike has some unbelievable weather and scenery pictures.

Extreme Instability

Edit to add: Look under "Images by Year" for some great viewing.

Edit doesn't seem to be working?
[edit on 27-1-2009 by otherhalf]

[edit on 27-1-2009 by otherhalf]

Woke up this morning with a lot of ice on the trees and grass but the roads were clear. But the SHTF tonight, according to the forcasts I've seen. Northeast Ark will catch it tonight. But we are prepared. A little wood, a fireplace and food that is easy to cook.
Plus I can always fire up the gill.