Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Images of the Ice

The ice will be gone today or Thursday. Most of the ice on the lawn is already gone, partially melted by the rain on Tuesday and partially by the high temperature of 39 degrees fahrenheit. Our forecast is for scattered showers and 36 degrees fahrenheit today. On Thursday, we are expecting sun and 45 degrees fahrenheit, but another storm system is headed this way on Friday. This time, the forecast is snow.

The power outages rose to 618,000 customers statewide today. Almost 251,000 of those are in and around Oklahoma City. This outage is the worst in the state's history. A similar storm in 2002 left about 250,000 without power at the height of the power problems. All 77 counties in Oklahoma have been touched. The current occupant has declared our lovely state a disaster area. Today the power companies held a press conference to say some of those poor people may be without power for a week to ten days, despite the fact that help is being brought in from out of state.

Even though we've had a couple of 30 second outages that made me hold my breath, we still have power. Several of my husband's coworkers who live no more than one or two miles to the east of us weren't so lucky. And because their homes are all electric and serviced by electric powered rural water wells, they have no power, heat or water and have had to leave their homes.

Soon the picturesque ice that has caused all the problems will be gone, so I thought I'd share a few more shots from my neighborhood.



A stand of trees on the east side of our front yard.



Our mail box.


The blackjack oak in the middle of our front yard.


The little junipers in front of my bedroom window. I wonder if they'll recover.


Another shot of the stand of trees on the east.


One of the lights that marks our driveway.



A tree from the back yard.


There are some wonderful photo slide shows of pictures residents have sent into the television stations. You can see pictures of the damage as well as some really beautiful shots of ice covering trees, bushes, furniture, houses, and statues. If you'd like to view them, go here. My kids will return to school tomorrow and our life will be essentially normal. There are many residents here who won't be so lucky. Keep them in your thoughts.

17 comments:

laurie said...

wow. those are really gorgeous pictures. but i'm glad they're not from my yard.

your junipers will recover, especially if they're small to begin with. they'll be stooped for a while, but they'll straighten up.

Swearing Mother said...

Whoah, and I thought it was cold here, but in comparison we are positively tropical.

Lovely photoes Kaycie.

lisaschaos said...

My family lives in the Joplin MO area and my grandparents have been without power for days now. :( Luckily my parents have power and they can all stay warm there. They went about 2 weeks without power in January due to the ice.

Kim said...

Thanks, Laurie. They're not in my yard anymore. Now it's just mud. I'm sure your right about the junipers. But it'll be okay if they don't. I didn't plant them, and I kinda hate them.

swearing mother, that's not even cold. It's cold where Laurie lives. Oklahoma has a mild climate. I'm glad you liked the photos.

Joplin really isn't that far from here, Lisa. I'm sure it's the same storm. My parents and MIL have been without electricity since the weekend. My parents are at a hotel (in a casino, so they're actually pretty happy) and my MIL is with hubby's sister. I hope it'll be over soon and all our relations will be able to go home.

Well, if my dad can talk my mom into leaving the casino.

Jenni said...

It sounds as though Oklahoma got it worse than the Wichita area. I simply stayed inside for three days and wore pajamas. I'm thankful we didn't have to go anywhere yesterday and that the power was only out for a few hours while we were sleeping. I hope everyone else gets power back soon and people stay safe on the roads. The ice can make things look lovely, though. I'm glad your dd got her snow day and I hope the rest of her birthday was full of happy surprises as well.

thefoodsnob said...

Nice pics!
We are expecting some 'weather' Thursday night into Friday, and a major Nor'Easter Saturday into Sunday (hmm, better buy milk on Friday!)

Lisa

The Green Stone Woman said...

We sure don't get that sort of weather here that very often. We would consider that quite a disaster. Luckily our power lines are mostly below ground. Good luck surviving the cold. Wear layers of clothes and drink hot chocolate and other warm liquids to heat up your stomach. I hear Bailey's Irish Cream works well too.

Kim said...

I think Oklahoma was the worst hit, Jenni. I really can't complain, though. Other than a bit of chill and the inconvenience of ice on the road, we were very lucky.

Thanks, Lisa. Go get that milk so you don't have to go out in the mess.

Irene, the whole state actually has been declared a disaster area. It's quite awful, all the lost trees and property damage. I think the death toll is up to 21 tonight. I am going to have to post about something else soon. This is getting too depressing.

willowtree said...

Geez, I hope everyone is ok there, I've been seeing this on the news. My thoughts are with you. Does the lawn die?

PS. I knew you were baiting me, that's why I played along.

Kim said...

Believe it or not, WT, the lawn isn't killed. It's already dormant, and the freezing doesn't seem to hurt it.

I felt a little weird because Heidi didn't seem to get the joke and I sounded like a witch. ;) It was all in good fun.

Crystal Jigsaw said...

Fabulous pictures. I really hate ice and particularly snow. Far too cold for me.

Crystal xx

the rotten correspondent said...

Have your kids really been out of school all week? Mine were just out Tuesday and then right back yesterday. Of course you got slammed and we got off easy.

I hope it all melts before the snow. And that your power stays on for you. That's really the big one.

Fire Byrd said...

We may spend hours moaning about the weather over here, and it is getting worse, but snow(touching wood) doesn't really happen. Even though it does look so beautiful in your pics.
pxx

Katie said...

We're just getting our share of ice storms now. Luckily I don't have anywhere to go today.

Kim said...

I don't like the cold, either, Crystal. It's not frigid here, though, even with the ice. I think the low has been somewhere around 23 degrees F.

RC, the kids were out Monday and Tuesday. I think it's because we're in a smaller, suburban district. Oklahoma City, Putnam City, Norman, and some others have been out all week. OKC is out because something like one third of their schools have no power and there are water treatment plants down all over the state because they don't have power. It's really a disaster area. Luckily, my house has kept power. My mom and dad haven't had power or water since Sunday. With just the two of them, they're at a hotel. The ice is gone for the most part. It's just the aftermath now that is the problem.

The thing about the weather here is the extremes. There is a saying about Oklahoma weather: If you don't like the weather, wait a few hours. It'll change.

Katie, I hope your storm isn't too bad. Enjoy the show from inside while you stay warm and dry.

Thanks for all the good wishes. It's nice of you all to think of us. (If you could hear my accent, that would have been a ya'll.)

Megnificent said...

I'm tagging you!!! And brrrrr, your pictures are making me cold.

Megnificent said...

LOL Kaycie~ I found you through a friend's page, I think. I'm brand new to blogger so I'm just kinda feeling my way around and making new friends. :)