HAMMERED! by Mother Nature

[Jim Keller]

Man, we got hit hard with a freezing rain yesterday afternoon thru the over night, I have several maple trees that sufferd, looks like we'll have plenty of fire wood for weenie roasts this summer! Geeze! you should see it around here, I am not looking forward to cleaning this mess up! The maples look like weeping willows! their branches are so loaded down with ice they are actualy touching the ground, (normally about 20 plus feet in the air), many have already broken off and are laying on the ground, I can hear wood cracking as whats still on the trees sway in the wind this morning. One of our huge 60 plus foot high pines is leaning over about 15 feet, I hope it stands back up when the ice melts off, it looks like it is just bending, I do not see any cracks in the trunk like it's about to break. Looks like the new roof took the hits ok, I can not see any damage to that or the gutters, but I haven't been up on it yet as it's covered in about an inch or more of shear smooth shinny ice! man I heard the roof get hit a lot last night! so I am hoping the ice actualy worked to protect the shingles. WOW, never seen an ice storm like that in the 46 years I have lived here!

Coupes safe in the garage, although it did puke it's water pump on it's first real drive since I bought it back and first time out this year day before yesterday..........sigh

[Hamish]

Just to prove that we do indeed get snow in Scotland ;)


http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb53/ABZSTILO/P1000004.jpg


Maybe not that much, but enough to make things entertaining :D

[Jim Keller]

Not that much?! HA! That's a lot! <smile> Our problem was ice this time, our normal snow falls rarely exceed 3 to 6 inches, barely enough to bother shoveling most times, although this winter has been especially snowy and wet too. They are saying 8 to 18 inches of snow starting tomorrow depending on where in Ohio you live, our area is calling for the higher amount.......<sigh>...I just need some warm sunny spring weather and all will be fine again! LOL

I have definatly lost one huge silver maple, (wonder what that's gonna cost to have cut the rest of the way down......<shudder>), but the rest look like they are coming back as the ice melts off, its' warm enough today, about 35 deg F, and the sun is out so it's melting pretty fast right now, crashing to the ground......... and on my brand new roof.....<cringe>, it has also brought down a few more large limbs since the melting started, I am staying away from the trees and cleaning up the mess till the ice is gone and it is safe to be under the branches! LOL they are dropping very large chunks of ice and sometimes bringing down big brances with them.

It is a spectacular site, especially with the sun glistening off everything today, beautiful, but I hope I never see anyting like it again!

[DJ]

...I just need some warm sunny spring weather and all will be fine again!

I'm in Charlotte today and it's beautiful here. Lows 60s and sunny. Don't know what you're complainin' about, Jim. :D

[davidb]

We got 13" here in St. Louis Monday, w/i 8
hours! Take that!

[Jim Keller]

I may have spoken too soon......That storm that dropped the 8 inches on you and 9 on a place in Texas that pretty much doesn't get snow, has arrived! and it's been merging with a huge moisture front coming up out of the Gulf of Mexico! the Columbus Ohio TV weather forecasters, (noted for being VERY melodramatic when it comes to these things), are calling for 8 to 14 inches for us by tomorrow afternoon......and then, on top of all that, they have all been saying, "We don't want to say what all the computer models are calling for so we are backing it down to the 8 to 14 inches"........all the computers are saying much more I guess.
We are prepared, have backup propane heat from the fireplace, plenty of food and water, gas for the tractor, cigs, beer, pop, toys, games, battery powered and fully charged vidieo and CD players and radios, about 8 fresh flash lights and lots of candles.........not sure what else we may need, it's been since the winter of 78 that I was actually snowed in for more than a day and without power more than a few hours...................at least all the ice melted off yesterday an I have the largest branches cleaned out of the front lawn from the ice storm two days ago, yea, it's Ohio in March, don't like the weather, wait a few hours! ha ha ha.......YUCK!

[chrisc]

Nice photo Hamish! I may believe you after all that there is skiing in scotland - im off to france next week