Ice storm hits Maine.

[MaineDolFan]

This sucks.

We were clobbered last night by an ice storm that left up to one inch of sheet ice everywhere. 

For those of you that don't live in areas where this happens...3 feet of snow couldn't do the same damage is half an inch of ice.

Maine has just over one million people in the entire state.  300,000+ are without power.

And, fun-fun, it's supposed to be 15 tonight...20 for a high tomorrow and then a low of 3 Saturday night.

This sucks.  I don't have power at home, just at work - and I honestly only came in to charge my wife and my cell phones.

[Fau Teixeira]

hope you have a fireplace then and lots of timber .. it doesn't sound like the power is going to be back up before next week sometime

[MaineDolFan]

We have a fireplace, we should be all set.  If we weren't I would run out and buy a generator and hook it up to my furnance. 

Generally the areas that stay in the dark the longest are the towns really off the beaten path.  We're in shouting distance of Portland - and my house is on the same grid as the public safety building and schools.  They have generators, yes, but CMP usually works on those areas first as an issue for public safety.  I'm hoping we'll get up and running again shortly...

[Defense54]

 I heard lots of Sex will keep ya warm!  Drink Cola............Farts in baggy pants help as well. 

Seriously though..........I hope your back up and running shortly.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

TTIWWOP

[Dave Gray]

Farts in baggy pants help as well. 

Awesome.

[bsfins]

Good Luck there Maine I feel for you,We've had Ice storms the Past 2 Janurary's....We're expecting to Get An Ice Event Mon night - Weds afternoon...

I'm making preparations later this afternoon,Stocking up on batteries,making sure the Battery powered Radios are good,Battery powered Lanterns etc,etc....I'm lucky I have a Gas Hot water heater,Stove,and heater..3 of the worse things..
1.) Boredom
2.) Seeing my Fish in my Aquarium die
3.) Sitting there in front of thousands of dollars of electronics..that are useless at that moment...

[Dave Gray]

You said that 1/2" of sleet in more damaging that 3 ft. of snow.

Why is this?

I don't know much about inclement, cold weather.

[bsfins]

For one thing,Ice Sticks to everything,and is heavier than Snow....Snow will fall off power lines,Ice sticks to them and weighs them down...Also,it Pulls on tree limbs and brings limbs into the power lines....

Modified to add,the road problem...Snow can be shoveled off,With ice,you have to wait for the Chemicals to work on the roads..So Crews are slower to get to the down lines.

[SportsChick]

Ice is a bitch. Black ice is the worst.

[Sunstroke]

I've seen a couple of doozie ice storms in my life and would go through tons of snow before voluntarily braving another ice storm. The ice is definitely a lot heavier and more destructive than the fluffy white stuff.

I still remember the Maine winters... brrrrrrrrrr

[Phishfan]

I feel for ya Maine. I always welcomed a nice hard snow, but an ice storm sucks

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Ice is a bitch. Black ice is the worst.

What makes black ice and how is it tougher to handle than regular ice?

Maine, I am DYING to see some pictures of what the trees look like near your house. 

[Defense54]

Ice is a bitch. Black ice is the worst.

Thats just racist.............     

[StL FinFan]

Black ice is ice on the road that you don't see because the water mixes with all the road grime and is black, like the road.

I feel for ya Maine, we had ice storms last winter.  Luckily, we did not lose power but a lot of people did.  Power lines broke and trees fell on homes and buildings.  Ice storms are the worst.

Stay safe!