[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by arel

I'm sure there are lots of people in my position. What do such people do in a winter power outage?

And if there is ice, how long will it tke for I-91 to be safely usable? If the predictions are correct, I only need to get to southern Massachusetts, after which the roads should be clear. In Connecticut only rain is predicted, and by Friday the roads should be back to normal.

I agree with you about having alternative electricity & heat sources and we will do that in our next home. Meanwhile, we've been in this home since 2000 and have had few power outages.

In Rutland City, we only very rarely have power outages and they're usually brief, as in 10 minutes - 2 hours. That's likely true in Brattleboro, too. It's one of the advantages of living in a small Vermont city versus in the country. The electric company seems to attend to the higher-population areas pretty quickly.

The big exception was the Rutland County "Nor'icane" of April 2007. Tornado-like winds tore off roofs and trees flattened cars. Folks lost electricity for 1-2 days in Rutland City and up to 2 weeks in outlying towns. People were staying with friends and family and in hotels. Others hunkered down and made the best of it. But that was so unusual that it made all the news; people are still talking about it and sharing photos.

As far as driving during/after the storm goes, again it really depends on precipitation and how it's affected by temperatures. I don't think I've ever been unable to drive on I-91 with snow tires. Again, it's pretty unusual for those roads to be impassable, but if there's an unusual pileup of ice there might be warnings not to drive.

I do drive very carefully and am willing to drive in conditions that maybe not everyone would. The only time I ever hit anything was when I got overconfident pulling into a very icy circular driveway with a slight grade and I slid slowly into a tree -- no damage to my car or the tree.

[Summerz]

IF we get an ice storm I will!!!!!
Hate the stuff and we get too much of it it seems.

[GypsySoul22]

I understand all about the 'suck it up' (people have to go to work and function) but really, in an ice storm unless you are 'essential personnel' stay home!!
Why true to be a superhero?

I'm glad I now have bus options if I get a job.

[Sherylcatmom]

I agree. If it's really an ice storm, I go nowhere until things clear up a bit. I've been lucky in that I work from home and no meetings, events, school, etc. have coincided with an ice storm. I really do feel for commuters, especially those working in places that don't encourage people to stay home when driving is truly hazardous.

[arel]

I went to a meeting this morning in town. My car was encased in ice, so rather than spend time scraping the ice off, I walked. That's one of the nice things about living in town, rather than in the boonies. Downtown is only a few blocks away.

The driveway and sidewalks were extremely slippery, but I had decent traction on the grass near the curb. I soon discovered that the asphalt on the road was fine to walk on. So that's how I made the rest of my way downtown.

I wore waterproof trail-running shoes.

My friend drove me home. She first had to stop in the hardware store. I went with her and I bought some pet-friendly ice melter (my landlord has an indoor-outdoor cat) and some new slip-on traction devices for walking on ice. Actually, I have slip-on cleats I bought in Brooklyn, but I have no idea where they are. But these new ones have coils. The old ones only had studs. I don't know what the difference is in terms of traction. I would have just used my old ones if I could have found them. I got more expensive ones because they didn't have the cheaper ones in my size. It looks like they were sold out.

After I got home I brought back my garbage and recycling containers from the curb. The driveway was still very slick. At one point I was gliding on the ice. But I got back to the house safely. Then I scraped the ice off my car windows. That wasn't hard because the air had warmed up. The ice came off pretty easily.

What struck me today is that people at the meeting, and in the cafe where the meeting was held, appeared to take the storm in stride. For me it was a a Big Thing. But then I have only lived here for about 2 1/2 months.

In New York, things pretty much stop when there is serious snow or ice, and people are urged to stay off the roads. But if they did that in northern New England, nothing would get done during the winter.

I guess I am on a new personal growth curve!

BTW, Sherylcatmom, Brattleboro is a town, not a city. Even though it is a local hub, it is only a town of 12,000 people. But I have been told that it swells to about 50,000 during the day.

Maybe we dodged the bullet. But things aren't over yet. I hope I can drive to Stamford tomorrow. And I hope I can drive to Rhode Island for Christmas!

This I dislike. I don't like worrying about having my plans disrupted by the weather. It is always a possibility, of course, and is so anywhere, but here in Vermont I have started worrying about it. I hope I outgrow this as I spend more time here.

[GypsySoul22]

Arel,
Don't beat yourself up about not being 'super cool' in the weather.

I'm a super wimp but I think, like you, if you prepare with the right mindset, you will be okay.

A little fear is good for everyone-- even long time, seasoned New Englanders 'respect' the weather.

[arel]

Good point.

But I think I will be more confident with winter driving up here if I practice hard stops and skids in a parking lot or school yard.

I HATE skidding or hydroplaning, but I've never had an accident because of them. I have learned to recover control pretty quickly. When I first began to experience hydroplaning, I had some experiences where the car just went where it went. But thankfully, the bullets were dodged.

Once, I drove from Brooklyn to New Rochelle in a bad fog. I became overconfident and drove too fast for the conditions. There was a busy intersection near my job, with a light. Because of the fog, I didn't see the light until I was practically inside the intersection. I hit the brakes, skidded (probably hydroplaned) to the right, overcorrected and skidded to the left, right into the lane of opposing traffic. No one was coming, so I was OK. But that intersection was normally crowded with cars, and I marvel that I did not hit anyone. It could have been a very serious accident.

It was around that time that I learned to use a seat belt no matter how short the trip. Once, while working at that same job in New Rochelle, I didn't bother with a seatbelt because I was only driving a few blocks away. Well, guess what. On that short drive, I hydroplaned and came within inches of hitting a telephone pole. I learned my lesson. From then on, I buckled up no matter how short the drive. I even buckle up sometimes if I am repositioning the car in a parking space, but now there is the added incentive of avoiding a ticket.

From those experiences years ago, I have developed a very healthy respect for road conditions and the hazards of driving in bad ones.

In New York, dangerous driving conditions were pretty rare. Unless you were already out and had to go home, you could just stay put for the day. The radio would list all sorts of event cancellations. But here in northern New England there is a different culture. Things rarely close down because of the weather. You are expected to do what you have to no matter what, and do it on time. If that means you have to leave the house 3 hours early to clean off your car and then drive to work, then that's what you have to do.

I miss my cat, but I am grateful I no longer have to drive to the veterinary emergency and specialty place in South Deerfield. It was bad enough to go in the middle of the night, but in winter road conditions it would have been infinitely worse. Of course, anything could happen with my (now) 3 cats, but they are basically healthy and an emergency is unlikely.

Right now it's raining. According to the Weather Channel's website, it is a "light freezing rain". It is 31 degrees. According to the CNN website, it is 32 degrees. The prediction is for snow tomorrow. Saturday will be sunny, but temperatures will be below freezing. I wonder how the roads will be, specifically I-91, the Cross, the Merrit, and, if necessary as a detour, I-95. I think road conditions will improve in Connecticut, but first I have get there. I think it takes a little over an hour to get into Connecticut under normal conditions. It's about an hour and a half to get to Hartford.

I hope I can go to Stamford tomorrow.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by arel

My car was encased in ice, so rather than spend time scraping the ice off, I walked. That's one of the nice things about living in town, rather than in the boonies. Downtown is only a few blocks away.

I love that part of living in town, too! You made out better than this guy: Scraping Ice Off Car Video

Thanks for straightening me out on Brat's city/town status. Even under 20,000 people, Rutland is still a city. Guess it depends how the Powers That Were incorporated the place.

[flu189]

Everybody just needs to keep an eye on the weather updates. Areas to the south will probably have quite a bit of icing and that is the worst when it comes to travel. Up my way looks like we will get a good dump of snow. Nothing excessive, but enough to finally establish a solid ground cover. Arel, for your trip, just watch the information for Mass. My son is down at U-Mass, Amherst and they are expecting a good icing which in the case of I91 could mean slow travel. The road crews are good, but can only cover so many lane miles at a whack. The brunt will hit this evening into tomorrow AM so you may be OK for your trip south. The bottom line is that when you hit the road and find it is too dicey, then just pull off and wait awhile. There is nowhere that important to get to to risk your safety. Regarding power outages. The more populated areas will have their service restored fairly quickly. Where I live I do have a generator because we are a bit more rural and it takes longer to get the lines back up and running. The generator only powers the essentials like the furnace and fridge and just a few light circuits. Basically enough to protect the house during a deep freeze.

[arel]

As a friend in New York reminded me, I can take the Vermonter for $50 and it will take me to Stamford in about 5 hours. I suppose that could work as a last resort, assuming I can pay for the ticket on the train or at the train station. But if I miss it, I don't think there is another train for the whole day.

I'm going to check it out.