Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ozark Ice Storm: More Icy Images

My sister-in-law Sandy Hodges -- married to my youngest full brother, Pastor John -- forwarded these pictures taken by her friend Karen Willett and revealing, in the most stunning detail yet, just how severe the ice was in my hometown of Salem and the surrounding area.

The first is obviously just outside of somebody's home, perhaps Ms. Willett's, early in the morning after the storm.


The next photograph shows the drive out of someone's front yard, possibly again Ms. Willett's place. Note the broken limb dangling dangerously at the top center. That's surely come down by now -- either by cutting or by the recent windstorm.


The following photo is similar, again a driveway with trees and their bent limbs, but also revealing the heavy ice pulling on the powerlines. Note those long, sharp icicles!


Next, an entire tree seems to have come down, along with several powerlines.


In the following image, taken during a drive, note the many powerlines hanging dangerously low.


Below, a frozen road, broken tree, icy powerlines, and wispy clouds.


Bowed and broken trees in a penultimate image.


Finally, a close-up for everyone to see what two inches of freezing rain will do to a tree branch . . . and note the dusting of snow that followed the ice storm.


If you want to see more images, Ms. Karen Willett has them available on Kodak Gallery, where you can click on the slideshow and see them all.

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11 Comments:

At 7:20 AM, Blogger writtenwyrdd said...

That is exactly what we get every winter up in Maine, but 2" is waaay too much for anyone. That brings power lines, trees--even roofs!--down.

 
At 7:28 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

The Ozarks don't usually get two inches, but if this sort of ice storm were to occur regularly, I suspect that the locals would begin to demand underground powerlines . . . until discovering the cost involved in that.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 8:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We were near the northern edge of the storm, and the damage was much worse to the south.
But what we got was more than enough to suit us.
We got our electricity yesterday afternoon, but I think there are still a lot of people in the hills south of Calico Rock and perhaps even in our vicinity still without.
Yesterday morning there were still some 3000 without electricity.
I have witnessed a number of ice storms, but none with such widespread damage.
17 days without power seemed an eternity for us.
Cran

 
At 8:04 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Uncle Cran, did the places south of you get more than the two inches that you reported in your area?

Jeffery Hodges

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At 11:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My source was our neighbor who drove through Calico Rock, and on down farther south, and he said it was a lot worse in that there was more damage to trees and electric service.
There were occasional high line poles down in our area, but almost every pole was down from Salem to Melbourne, according to brother Woodrow. I don't know if more ice.
Cran

 
At 12:04 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Uncle Cran, I have information from Denny Elrod (aka Daddio Al-Ozarka) that Izard County was hit less hard than Fulton, so the worst of the ice seems to have been between Melbourne and Gepp.

There are undoubtedly local variations.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 8:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We are 10 miles north of Gepp, way out in the suburbs, right next to the Arkansas/Missouri line, and in just a few miles to the north the damage lessens quickly.
I used to tell folks I built my house a stone's throw from the MO line, but we seem to have moved farther south, as now I have to throw twice to hit the line.
Cran

 
At 9:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

n.b.

Upon further thought, I have more proof of our "move further south:"
With my broken hip replacement surgery, it now takes twice the number of steps and double the time to reach the MO line.
Cran

 
At 4:41 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Well, Uncle Cran, scientists tell us that the universe is expanding, so that might account for the phenomenon that you've observed concerning stones thrown and steps taken.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 7:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is also plate tectonics, but no obvious sign in our area.
Could it just be me?
Cran

 
At 7:46 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Plate tectonics is a reasonable suggestion, Uncle Cran -- and it's not just you, for I've also noticed that walking somewhere takes me more time as the years pass.

Jeffery Hodges

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