I was taking a training class in Boston during the Perfect Storm in 1991. The weather was horrendous, but fortunately I was several miles inland.
Since then, we've been through a lot of brutal weather here in Alabama, so we have a lot of practice. And, we take weather events seriously. Well, except for ice storms which serves as a cue to drivers here in the south, that in order to get proper traction, you must drive much faster that on drier roads.
I've been tracking hurricane Sandy for days and I've worried that some folks in the northeast might not take this storm seriously.
Jilda and I have a checklist we click off when stormy weather is heading our way. I service our generator, we stock up on food, batteries, water, medicine, and a store of fuel.
Back in 1993, our house was total electric. Our heat, our stoves, and everything else depended upon the power company.
I worked south of Birmingham then and Jilda called just before noon to say the storm was projected to be a blizzard.
I was a little skeptical, but the boss said I could leave early for home so I headed out. The sky was gray as woodsmoke when I walked to the parking lot with spits of snow falling.
By the time I'd driven the 10 miles to Birmingham, a blinding snow was blowing and traffic had slowed to a crawl through town.
Home lay 30 miles further north. I made it home a few hours later and not long after that, the power went out and it didn't come back for almost a week.
We almost froze to death and what made it worse, we could cook. Had it not been for my brother-in-law next door who had a gas stove, we'd been in a mess.
On Monday afternoon, the sun poked out from behind the clouds and a block of sunlight came through our garden doors on the back of our house.
I remember Jilda and I lying in the floor in that pool of sunlight. I hadn't shaved, bathed, or been warm for days. Jilda looked almost as bad, and I said to her, "We look like street people."
After than event, we bought gas logs, a gas heater, and a gas stove. I also bought a generator. We now take the weather very seriously.
Tonight as I type this, I'm sending a prayer for our neighbors up north. Be Safe.
I've been tracking hurricane Sandy for days and I've worried that some folks in the northeast might not take this storm seriously.
Jilda and I have a checklist we click off when stormy weather is heading our way. I service our generator, we stock up on food, batteries, water, medicine, and a store of fuel.
Back in 1993, our house was total electric. Our heat, our stoves, and everything else depended upon the power company.
I worked south of Birmingham then and Jilda called just before noon to say the storm was projected to be a blizzard.
I was a little skeptical, but the boss said I could leave early for home so I headed out. The sky was gray as woodsmoke when I walked to the parking lot with spits of snow falling.
By the time I'd driven the 10 miles to Birmingham, a blinding snow was blowing and traffic had slowed to a crawl through town.
Home lay 30 miles further north. I made it home a few hours later and not long after that, the power went out and it didn't come back for almost a week.
We almost froze to death and what made it worse, we could cook. Had it not been for my brother-in-law next door who had a gas stove, we'd been in a mess.
On Monday afternoon, the sun poked out from behind the clouds and a block of sunlight came through our garden doors on the back of our house.
I remember Jilda and I lying in the floor in that pool of sunlight. I hadn't shaved, bathed, or been warm for days. Jilda looked almost as bad, and I said to her, "We look like street people."
After than event, we bought gas logs, a gas heater, and a gas stove. I also bought a generator. We now take the weather very seriously.
Tonight as I type this, I'm sending a prayer for our neighbors up north. Be Safe.
I've been glued to the TV all day. We have 1 pair of kids in NYC (safe!) and our daughter and her little family in Boston (also safe). I've been watching the pictures coming out of NJ and Manhattan and they're horrendous. Long Island is a mess and I've heard Connecticut took a hit as well. Our prayers go up for the safety of everyone who lives in harm's way.
ReplyDeleteA great post...watching the aftermath unfold...
ReplyDeleteI do hope the weather over there calms down soon - it really looks terrifying!!
ReplyDeleteTake care
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We've been getting the rain and wind, but our electric is still on and the snow went south of us by 20mi....so all is good. We burn wood for heat so that's a help! I never underestimate the power of a woman..Mother Nature...to reek havoc!
ReplyDeleteOh it's devastating to see so much damage especially today when things couldnt be worse economically.
ReplyDeleteI hope these people can be helped and it is always a good idea to have more than one energy source.
Rest assured, we in MA took it seriously. It took a turn faster and more north than expected so we all fared pretty well. We had power back in about 5 hours, some parts of town were out til this morning. School resumes tomorrow. And in ten years I have never known the PO to close the retail windows and pull all the carriers off the roads. I was already finished and home by then, but still... it was nice to see that the state and federal businesses took it seriously.
ReplyDelete