The good news is, the Ice Storm Warning has ended in Michigan

[Siwsan]

And the mixed precipitation should be ending very soon. The iffy news is, now we are under a Winter Weather Advisory. Lots of downed trees and arcing wires being reported but people stayed off of the roads, for a change, so not a lot of auto accidents on the 911 report.

I've been up for most of the night and I am beyond relieved that, so far, I haven't lost power. But I also hope I haven't just jinxed myself.

[magical thyme]

1. it was supposed to hit my area last night, but now it's postponed

and won't get going for real until noontime or so today and is supposed to last until noon tomorrow, which should make the commute a real treat.

In the meantime, I battened down earlier than necessary by more than 12 hours, so lost a bit of money leaving work early and overheating the house by a couple degrees last night. But I guess that's better than not prepping in time and ending up on on black ice or waking up freezing cold and feeling sick...

[Siwsan]

3. Our air temps stayed just above freezing, so that helped mitigate some damage

I think the more rural areas suffered the most damage and power outages. I live right in the main shopping area of Flint Township, and we have very minimal outages, as of now.

I totally prepared for an outage -I stocked the fireplace so it is ready to light, and I made sure I have lots of stored water and foods that don't need to be cooked.

They keep saying we will be "dry" for at least 5 to 6 hours, and that dry patch could expand. I just hope people will stay home, today, so that the road and power crews can get to work with minimal trouble going from job to job.

[magical thyme]

5. we're just below freezing

~30 now, and high of 31 for today. I can hear it off and on, more a drizzle than rain. And the air is quite still, but the wind is supposed to pick up later as well.

I have plenty of water set aside for all, plenty of food that only needs heating and direct-vent propane heat, battery radio and a crossword puzzle. I'm also planning on making mushroom soup today -- gas range so I can still do some cooking. I did brew a pot of coffee yesterday so I wouldn't have to have it boiled if I woke up without power.

I'm so well prepared I fully expect I won't lose power...

[Siwsan]

8. Good Luck!

And, Mushroom Soup sounds pretty tasty. I was going to survive on cheese, crackers, tuna salad or peanut butter sandwiches.

[magical thyme]

11. oh my, I insist on nice hot meals...

Back in the blizzard of '78, I was fighting clinical depression, rarely getting out of bed. I didn't even know the blizzard was coming and had planned to get food the day it hit. I was trapped for 5 days with nothing to eat but a box of cream of wheat and half a box of powdered milk. On day 4, I was able to walk to the supermarket and it had flooded and was frozen shut. On day 5, I ate the last bowl of cream of wheat, but fortunately the store had been cleaned up and re-opened.

Since then, preparing for a blizzard of those proportions has become an annual ritual, and since moving to Maine I consider it a serious necessity.

Right now, I have pre-made, frozen baggies of stock for parsley-potato and sorrel soup. Mushroom will be added to those stores today. Also some ready-to-heat wild rice with veggies, fried green tomatoes, breaded eggplant slices ready to make a quick eggplant parm, and I may still have a few packages of ready-to-heat veggie stew. Oh, and I still have a couple packs of pre-made sweet potato souffle. Frozen peaches and apples from my little orchard, and raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries.

I prep as much as I can in September and October from my garden and when stuff goes on sale at the supermarket. This year, wierd stuff went on sale like eggplant at 50 cents/pound one day that I happened in to pick up one thing or another that I'd forgotten.

So I could live off my freezer and pantry all winter if need be. I get worn out from the harvest and cooking, but when I think about it, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feel...

[Earth_First]

2. Ours was extended through noon

While we managed to fare better than those to our northwest and northeast, we still managed .025" of ice last night, and it is still raining.

Thankfully it's now risen to the freezing point in the last hour after maintaining at 30 degrees for the bulk o the overnight.

Temperatures are supposed to rise into the mid-fourties through late morning, so I believe we are in the clear.

Portions of Niagara county and northern NYS are still under States of Emergency from .50"-1.0" of ice since yesterday afternoon with loss of power to several thousand.

[Siwsan]

6. The morning news put ice accumlation at .25"

They did say the difference between 32+ degrees and 31- would make a massive difference in the ice accumulation. My pine trees do not look like they have much ice on them.

I did just notice my neighbor is trying to get out of his driveway with little success. There was snow on the roads, before the rain and sleet hit and NO good comes from that. We live at the lowest point of the subdivision so getting out means driving up an icy incline. I hope he has a damn good reason for driving!

[magical thyme]

12. the roads here on the Maine coast are clear...

The plows were out like made on Wednesday and Thursday, pushing the snow as far back as possible, scraping the roads down completely and dumping sand everywhere. Driving behind a plow, you can see the sparks flying because they really plow right down.

I saw the forecasts and took my cue from them. Shoveled out like crazy on Wednesday and Thursday as well, picked up 60 pounds of salt. I have a coffee can of it inside so I can start sprinkling before I step outside, lol.

Ice here by the coast is pretty normal...

Now that it's getting lighter, I can see the trees are coated...

[maddezmom]

4. Very good news

I am headed up your way this am. Landing in Detroit around 1 and then making the drive up to Grand Blanc.....just hope the roads won't be a mess. Glad you didn't lose power.

[Siwsan]

7. OMG! Grand Blanc???? I am a Grand Blanc alum!

My family has lived there for years. They called my Dad "Mr. Grand Blanc".

There are some power outages and tree damage in Grand Blanc. South of town has trees across the roads. You might want to check the Genesee County 911 web site for any real problem areas.

[maddezmom]

9. Thanks for the tip!

Looks okay where my folks are so far. I didn't grow up there as my folks moved after I was in college but spend a lot of time there. I think they have been there about almost 25 years. Love it in the summer!

[Siwsan]

10. It was still a "cow town" when I was a kid. Massive changes, over the years

There's a great nature preserve, behind the library on Perry Rd. I can't recommend it enough. There is a majestic Oak Tree, right in the middle, that never fails to awe me.

[maddezmom]

13. Will have to check it out

The growth in the last 10 years has been amazing. Every time I go I wonder who is buying all these new houses?

[Siwsan]

15. A sizable number of the "McMansions" are in foreclosure or just empty.

Speculators lost a lot of $$.

Old Town Grand Blanc is my favorite. Beautiful old and very well maintained houses. Lots and lots of history in Grand Blanc and the surrounding towns.

[maddezmom]

17. My folks are in Village Green

Not a McMansion by any stretch but a great home with a beautiful yard. Their next door neighbor has had their house on the market off and on for 7 yrs. finally moved back into it because it hasn't sold for 2 reasons...it needs updating and has not really been maintained on the outside either. But it is a solid home unlike a lot of the new inventory that was thrown up over the last couple of years. Oh well, it is what it is I suppose.

[Siwsan]

18. My Mom lives in Indian Hills

The older developments are great. We had a very notorious developer, in Grand Blanc, who put up a whole lot of homes that looked good on the outside, but were definitely not built to last without a whole lot of renovations. I think his kids are responsible for the plight of McMansions.

[maddezmom]

19. We have a dear friend that lives there

Great neighborhood.

[catbyte]

14. Not fun here in GR. I was 2 hours late for work because I couldn't get out of my

apartment complex on Friday morning. Glare ice, plus dumbasses tried gunning up small incline causing a 3 car pile up. Idiots. Oh well, by the time I got to main streets it was just wet. I haven't been out since Friday night. I am sure my jeep is iced in, we've had half inch of ice. Luckily I don't have to work until Jan.3. One big perk of working for a university. Stay safe!

[Siwsan]

16. We had glare ice in Flint, on Friday and Saturday

I barely made it out of the subdivision, both days, and it was a white knuckle ride back home. There's no way I can even thing about getting out, today. I drive a Saturn - great car but not really a sufficient ice-mobile. My neighbor drives a big old heavy SUV and he was sliding sideways out of his driveway.

[catbyte]

22. I hear ya! my jeep's 4 wheel drive is great in snow, but is useless on ice. The rain

transitioned to snow a couple of hours ago, so now we'll probably get lake effect. I don't plan on going out at all today. I have plenty of food for me & catfood for the guys, so I am staying in. My cats are napping all around me, so life is good. I am so grateful we have power. So many in the state who are not so lucky. It sounds like we had the same weather. It was a nightmare Friday morning, but calmed down for drive home, then freezing rain started up again yesterday. They had all snow only 25 miles north of us. They lucked out. Stay warm!

[ConcernedCanuk]

20. Canada to the rescue! - We're takin' over that storm,

.
.
.

or rather

it is taking us over?

Check out my post with pix and links from 2am this morning

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4212274

and - I'm in Northern Ontario - it started as snow about 4 hours ago - over 10" predicted - already 2" of snow at my place this morning (cleaned off the porch railing earlier to keep an eye on it)

A quote from my post 8 hours ago: (more at the link above)

"More than 14,000 customers in Kingston and other parts of eastern Ontario were hit by outages, according to the website of Ontario's Hydro One. Those numbers are likely to rise as the storm continues through the overnight."

"My specific area forecast: (fyi - 30.5 cm = 12&quot

"Precipitation Outlook - 25-35 cm of snow from Sat. Overnight to Mon. Morning."

Now y'all can sit back (well, if ur not one of the ones diggin' out) and watch as momma nature "treats" us Canucks.

It's our turn now . .

oh well

CC

[Siwsan]

21. We got absolutely no snow, from this storm - just rain, sleet and ice

About 1/4" of ice, here, but more elsewhere. Trust me, I'd MUCH rather have the snow!!

Take care!!

[MrScorpio]

23. I'm glad that it didn't come

Very glad