My family and I are very lucky today - our house has had power except for a few minutes here and there. I decided to take the subway to sing at church choir this morning; it took a little more time, but it was way better for my nerves. On the way back, I stopped to talk to a friend and missed having a large, ice-covered branch fall on me by about ten feet. (And I’m very much aware of the irony of me getting killed by a tree!)
There’s no question that Toronto has been hit - 300,000 homes are without power, those without power are being told to prepare for a worst case scenario of up to 72 hours before service is restored, streetcar service has been out all day (because the power supply lines are too covered in ice!), a couple of subway stops were out of service, lots of minor accidents and lots of traffic signal out.
The freezing rain started here a couple of hours ago, but – for a change – I think Ottawa will be spared this time around. It seems to be manageable at present.
ETA: I’m nice and warm and drinking a Johnny Bower NHL Alumni Signature Vienna Dark Lager.
Good news Antonio. Yea, the freezing rain is almost a non-issue in Ottawa at this point. I need to drive to Chalk River in the A.M.; let’s hope everything’s OK?
I thought much the same thing. I hope that they can apply some of the lessons learned from the 1998 ice storm. Like you, Leaffan, we were without power for a week. Luckily, I had an Arctic-rated sleeping bag, two cats and a fireplace.
Oh, yeah - DH was “stranded” at the Royal York in TO. I had no sympathy.
I’ve been watching the news about Toronto, and it looks pretty bad. I have a friend who works for Toronto Hydro, and I’ve seen what she will be contending with. It doesn’t look good. Stay safe, folks!
I’ve ever maintained the greatness of living in Canada includes the weather, cold as it sometimes is.
Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes – none of these are regular threats.
Witness the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in New York/New Jersey last year, just from all the water and moisture left behind, never mind the initial destruction of the incredible amount of wind and water. Most times, snow and ice just don’t destroy with quite that kind of cruelty.
We’re lucky that if we are to go without power for a couple days, the worst that is likely to happen is some refrigerated food gets thrown out. Maybe a tree branch falls on somebody’s car, a house window gets smashed here and there. Pretty tame, really. Even if folks get too cold, there are always options to get them somewhere heated, and they know that when they return home, the place is going to be exactly as they left it, there’s just a bunch of snow to be removed, or ice chipped away.
In these cold-weather scenarios, mold and water damage isn’t really a factor, and good thing too, because that shit is just ignorant.
