Ice Storm AAR

[Keith_Indy]

So, it's mostly over around here, except for figuring out what to do with the driveway (probably nothing.) We've cleared off the sidewalk to our entrance, which the mailman appreciated.

1 - Make sure you have an ice scrapper in the house. The cars were completely iced over, and I had to spend considerable time chipping the seam of the door to get it open.

2 - Need to make a list of pre-storm prep items. Didn't have any extra dog food. We could have just cooked up some eggs and rice for them, but def. needs to go on the list.

3 - Check batteries before you need them. We had 1 lantern out of juice, and only 3 our of 6 D batteries for it. The LED lantern was fine though. Our emergency radio was also out of power, but we had AA's for it. Need to make a list of things with batteries to check before the storm.

4 - Next time we're in for an ice storm, I'm putting tarps over our 2 main vehicles. Would have saved me a lot of time chipping ice off.

5 - Hands free flashlight was a God send. Easier to move around and do things. Also easy to read by.

We were lucky, damage so far is only some small tree branches down. We did have some water dripping around one of our windows once the sun came out, and started melting the ice. That tapered off once the gutter started clearing itself. Something we will keep an eye on and deal with later.

We lost power around 8pm, right after I got done cooking dinner. Being prepared certainly made it more enjoyable. Setup one of our water containers and a bucket to fill the toilet. Otherwise, we listened to the radio, read, played backgammon, and played cards. Kept the fireplace stoked until we went to bed, kept most of the house comfortable.

I was 1/2 hoping to have to cook dinner by other means, or dig into the MRE's.

So what did other people learn.

 

[6birds]

We never lost power, so never had any issues. I put chains one one truck just in case, and will take them off later today. No trees down, driveway is almost all cleared off, pretty mild storm.

I've been working outside all week, just have to be careful not to slip (we've laid down gravel at the job-site, it's working well).

 

[unforgiven1203]

I lost power about 8pm (dayton , OH) and it has been out ever since.
I ran my little HF 800 watt genny and an electric space heater ,this didn't work very well running over capacity for not much heat! today I went out and purchased some propane for my torpedo heater,this works much better! A lot more heat with less load on the genny.
I could have been a little better prepared, but I'm quite thankful for the little chinese generator (95.00 on sale). If it gets us through this lost power episode I should have it bronzed! But more than likely will only sell it after buying a larger unit.

 

[Tactical Dave]

My AAR is this, slept through the night, got up pulled the ice free car out of the garage, had some fun driving to work....... eating free Jimmy Johns at work...........


For the record this is by far not the worst ice storm I have been in.......... that one if you turned your whipers off even for 2 seconds you would watch the windsheild freeze over......

 

[E5RANGER375]

lost power for about an hour. It wasnt even worth getting up for. I was hoping for a week long event so I could use all the **** I have. disappointed. Keith, next time for the doors mix up some faucet hot salt water and poor it in the creases. works like a charm.

 

[indytechnerd]

While our adventure could have been much bigger, having some knowledge and materials sure helped out.

1. We have a scraper/brush thingy in each vehicle, and a heavy duty scraper in the garage (which I broke a bit this AM). The few bucks for the 3rd scraper is well worth it if ya need it. Keith, you are dead-on on this .

2. Old school golf shoes with metal spikes are a winner on icy driveways and parking lots. This isn't 1st hand info, but was told to me by a guy who plows lots for extra money, I'm going to consider it expert advice.

3. A winter weather kit for the car, even if you don't have a full GHB, is a must. To go from home to Avon and back, she took H2O, blanket, extra clothing, hat/mittens, and enough food for 1 complete meal. It might be 100% in-town driving, but if you slide off, it might be a while to get out.

 

[Keith_Indy]

We've got a 1/2 inch of ice everywhere outside. Sure, it could be worse, but I'd rather have had the snow.

I have a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Korkers-Korkeez-Ice-Cleats-Size/dp/B002W8LNHW/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1296671707&sr=1-2"]pair of cleats[/ame] I can put on any shoe or boot. Used them today, and it makes for sure footing on the ice. Also portable, I ought to get a few more pairs and stash them in the car bags.

 

[Suprtek]

Just did a walk-around of the homestead. All gutters completely full of ice. Ice dams in roof valleys a foot thick in places. Tarp over the cab of my truck in the drive did a good job, no scraping needed and doors are clear. Surprisingly, the garage door opened on its own. It got caught on ice and would not close though. Chipped a 3 inch thick slab of ice away from the opening so it would. I have no large trees but all the dead branches are now out of my willow. Much of the ice on trees and shrubs has fallen off and branches are no longer sagging. Kept power the whole time despite IPL reporting many outages in my area. Walked around the whole yard and never broke through the snow.

All in all, it certainly could have been much worse.

 

[DarkRose]

While our adventure could have been much bigger, having some knowledge and materials sure helped out.


2. Old school golf shoes with metal spikes are a winner on icy driveways and parking lots. This isn't 1st hand info, but was told to me by a guy who plows lots for extra money, I'm going to consider it expert advice.

Track shoes are good too and you can get different length spikes for different conditions. Short spikes for ice only, longer spikes for snow on top of ice.

Not very warm, but good in a pinch.

 

[irishfan]

lost power for about an hour. It wasnt even worth getting up for. I was hoping for a week long event so I could use all the **** I have. disappointed. Keith, next time for the doors mix up some faucet hot salt water and poor it in the creases. works like a charm.

I haven't thawed my car out yet...I may have to try that.

Its a shame nobody posted pictures of their cooking fire built by hand outside to survive the storm

 

[IndyBeerman]

Nothing spectacular here. Lost power last night at 11:30 just as I was going to bed, called Duke on the cell phone walked back to the bed room and threw some small blankets on the dogs to keep them warm and a comforter on the bed. I was not going to fire up the generator at that time of the night. Figured I'd do that after getting some sleep.

1 hour later dogs awake me barking because the outside lights came back on, rolled over seen this and told them to calm down.

Called work @ 4:30 to verify a go-no go, and got a "We're no go for beer hauling today" and went back sleep for 3 hours.

Arise @ 7:30 and take the dogs out for their business and look over the landscape around the yard.

3 plus inches of ice/sleet/ice/sleet layers and very little limbs down.

Very surprised @ this because I have several LARGE Oak/Walnut/Maple trees on the back property line and 12 Pines on the East/West property lines and 3 Large maples in the front yard. I was worried about the pines because they was very droopy with the weight on them and the wind had picked up greatly. Wind has died down to almost nothing, just need a thaw out now and hope the ground can take it without me having to think about the septic.

Overall I think we dodged a bullet, I think most of this storm dumped a lot of it's energy farther West, plus I think it was more narrower than anticipated. It's ability to string itself out laterally across the nation 1800 plus miles did surprise me, not a lot of winter storms have the staying power to run across the country like that.

 

[Keith_Indy]

Worst part of storm for me:

All my orders being shipped UPS are delayed.

That includes 250 rnds of 00 buck, 250 rounds of 9mm American Eagle, Streamlight TLR-2, and a Lee 100 progressive press.

 

[Icarry2]

We only lost power from about 1 AM until 5 AM Tuesday morning. We were one house of about a thousand so they got to it fast.

We had plenty of candles, flash lights, batteries for flash lights, etc.

Had my crank powered emergency 7 band radio out and checked.

Had plenty of food for at least a week. Could have cooked on my small propane grill if needed but want a camp stove.

Had everyone shower and all the dishes clean before we lost power.

Checked all the water storage, had one 7 gallon and some smalelr jugs full.

Had plenty of bottled water for a few days, about two cases of liter bottles.

Had enough propane to cook and heat for at least two days.

Had the trucks topped off with gas and prepped for ice, wipers out, wind sheild coated, side mirrors covered with plastic grocery bags and loaded with emergency gear. It is pretty much standard in my work truck since I some times live out of it while working.

Family was educated and prepared and it was a great feeling.

What I need to purchase..

Generator, at least a 7500 Watt Inverter
Fuel Cans and Fuel for the Generator, at least 5-7 days worth of full load running
More water jugs, and a 55 gallon drum sanatized and sealed
Camp stove and fuel for at least 5 days
Some big coolers for warm weather event
More batteries and flash lights, the head lamp idea is a good one
Some crank style flash lights for the kids.
A CB or other type radio for two way communication
Some walkie talkies, at least 4 and a base unit.
Some deep cycle 12 volt batteries and a 2000 Watt Inverter, computer back up supply.

Anything else I am forgetting I will figure out..

Thank you to everyone on this forum who helped me learn how to be better prepared...

 

[irishfan]

Worst part of storm for me:

All my orders being shipped UPS are delayed.

That includes 250 rnds of 00 buck, 250 rounds of 9mm American Eagle, Streamlight TLR-2, and a Lee 100 progressive press.

Keith...wish I had known as I would have sold you a TLR-2 I had but didn't need I am waiting on a barrel and UPS said now there are weather delays

 

[Keith_Indy]

Family was educated and prepared and it was a great feeling.

Isn't it a great feeling to not worry about the power going out.

Oh yeah, another tip, we cranked the heat up to 75 degrees, and let the house heat up as soon as the 2nd wave hit. I think this helped with keeping the house warm when the power went out.

irishfan - well, if I like it enough, I might want another one...

 

[irishfan]

Oh yeah, another tip, we cranked the heat up to 75 degrees, and let the house heat up as soon as the 2nd wave hit. I think this helped with keeping the house warm when the power went out.

irishfan - well, if I like it enough, I might want another one...

Great tip about cranking the heat up. If mine went out I was going to have the kerosene heater going quick since I have block walls.

As far as lights go Keith, I like a TLR-1 much better for the price compared to the TLR-2. The laser is nice but to be honest I think it is hard to really pick up with the brightness of the light itself. Also, I don't look in front of my gun so much when I shoot so it was actually a delay for me to pick up the laser. I am sure others will have much different views then I do and what matters most is what fits you best.

 

[ghitch75]

power went out at 5:45PM...hooked up the 6500w coleman had heat and water at 6:00pm.....REMC called at 10:15pm.....power back on at 10:30pm....longest down here with out power was in spring of 94....18in heavy wet snow power was out for 7 days!!!!.....this was nothing....

 

[Turn Key]

I wish I could take an S-12 to my driveway...


TK

 

[mikeplan14]

3" of ice on the car today. Actually had to dig it out of the ice on the street.

 

[unforgiven1203]

still no power here, dpnl says 42,000 are without. May be friday evening before all is restored.