20 YEARS SINCE "THE ICE STORM"
Written by: Brian Neudorff
You say, "The Ice Storm" around western New York and if they were here 20 years ago they know EXACTLY what you are talking about. Since I am not originally from here here is the write-up from the National Weather Service in Buffalo:
The freezing rain began during the late afternoon of Sunday the 3rd, continuing through the morning of the 4th. The ice coated trees and power lines and sent them crashing to the ground along with utility poles and transformers. There were also numerous reports of structural damage from the weight of the ice. Ice buildups ranged from one to two inches over the hardest hit areas. Over the western fringes of the storm area, the coating of ice was followed by 4-6" of heavy, wet snow. At its peak, nearly 325,000 customers were without electricity. Virtually all schools and businesses were shut down Monday and Tuesday (March 4th and 5th) in the affected areas. In the cities of Rochester and Watertown, schools were closed for the entire week. High water in flooded basements was commonplace when sump pumps were unable to work due power failures. Governor Mario Cuomo declared eighteen countiesTonight, Scott will take a look back at the storm and we would love to hear your comments from what you remember. It has been pretty quiet on this blog as temperatures warm and less and less storms impact the area.
State Disaster Areas. State agencies were authorized to provide manpower and equipment in helping residents affected by the storm. Utility crews were brought in from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Canada to aid in the restoration of power which was not accomplished until March 16th. President Bush signed an order declaring 12 counties Federal Disaster areas. It was the most costly natural disaster in the history of New York State.
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As a weather enthusiast, the ice storm was awesome. As a home owner and mother of three little kids (one an infant) it was tough. We woke to the sound of transformers exploding and trees crashing to the ground. No power for days, cold and bored kids. Weirdly the houses behind us never lost their power so they graciously allowed us to illegally plug extension cords to their house so that we could plug in our sump pump and furnace. They also brought us hot meals! We were lucky really and only lost our power for three days but we knew people who didn't get it back for two weeks. Give me a blizzard any day.....
ReplyDeleteI was s senior in Dansville at the time. I don't remember how long we went without power but I know it was over a week. I lived on a dairy farm at the time too so that made life even harder. Luckily we had a big generator on the farm so we could power up the milk house compressor so we could milk 150 cows. At night when the chores were all done Dad and I would head to town (once the roads were open) to take a shower at the high school. I always cringe now when they call for freezing rain in the forecast. Chris from D'ville.
ReplyDeleteMose and me lived on beats for two weeks when the power was out during the ice storm.
ReplyDeleteDwight, I didn't know Scranton got the ice storm....
ReplyDeleteThis is not on the ice storm but am I the only one seeing that the GFS has been consistent with a good dose of rain and then heavy wet snow after this Sunday?
ReplyDeleteLots of rain does look likely. Probably at leats 1" of total rain. If we get closer to 2" of rain, then major flooding is possible. The GFS has backed off on significant snow later Sunday, but it will all hinge on how quickly cold advenction comes in while the precip is still going strong in our area late this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI think we'll just get a few inches of wet snow at the end on Sunday at most. Much bigger concern would be creek and stream flooding with 1" plus of rainfall. We'll be all green soon enough!
ReplyDeleteScott
Scott,
ReplyDeleteIs it true that once we lose our snowpack in a widespread fashion, daily temperatures will be able to rise warmer than they would with snowcover?
Yes that is true especially on sunny days. The solar energy will be absorbed rather than reflected back with a snow pack.
ReplyDeleteScott
11 days with no power. Got a generator on day 3 so survived fairly comfortably. Learned a lot about Jerry rigging in a short time. Everyone on the street pitched in to help each other. Generators were loaned to warm up cold houses, downed trees were removed from yards (thankfully even though we live in a wooded area no houses were hit). I remember all the extension cords going from house to house. For the most part Rochester was on it's best behavior for those 14 days.
ReplyDeleteOverall it was an experience I hope won't be repeated before I can get out of here.
I can't buy into the last two runs of the NAM because....well...it's the NAM at its least reliable time range. BUT, the NAM model has been showing what would turn out to be a prolonged and possibly destructive snowstorm beginning Sunday. A foot of very heavy, wet snow mixed with sleet could be possible based on the NAM. Again, don't get excited, it's very likely to change. That model is not looked at with great value when it shows something more than a day or two out. But just something I think worth noting.
ReplyDeleteYou know I hear what you are saying DK. I got a funny feeling that there as Scott has said before something fishy about this storm. I think someone is going to get a good deal of ice and heavy wet snow. Just a gut feeling I have but probably wrong.
ReplyDeleteyeah, like I said, I just can't buy into it yet. The 12z NAM makes the third straight run showing a major snowstorm for us. But the more important GFS doesn't. For that reason, I have to assume the NAM is wrong at this point. Definitely worth watching closely though. Surprise Winter Storm Watches could be issued by tomorrow or Sunday. Then again, all rain could happen. Gonna be a tough call.
ReplyDeleteGFS has something brewing more NE of us. Does the GGEM support the NAM data DK was talking about?
ReplyDeleteYes. The Canadian GEM supports a major snowstorm just like the NAM. However...the much more important GFS and Euro both show NO major snowstorm. It will be hard for a forecaster to justify supporting the NAM or GEM at this time range when the powerful GFS and Euro do not show anything major snowfall-wise. We should have a better handle on it by this time tomorrow.
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