US Winter Storms may leave thousands in darkness for days

by Amy Judd | January 28, 2009 at 10:07 am

1041 views | 38 Recommendations | 22 comments

The winter storms continue across the United States today, and emergency crews in various major US cities are working around the clock to clear ice and roads of fallen tree limbs, as another winter ice storm is on the way. Some communities across the country have lost power and it may be days before it is restored to them.

At least 19 people have died due to the storms across the Plains and the East Coast as the ice storms have cut power and made roads hazardous to drivers. Schools have been closed and government offices have been shut down for the time being.

Areas like New Hampshire are still expected to get up to a foot more of snow today, and areas like Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma are dealing with fallen tree limbs that are encased in ice; in some areas the ice is three inches thick around the limbs.

"We fully expect this to be one of the largest outages we've ever had," said Mel Coleman, CEO of the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative in Salem. "Right now, we're just hoping it's days and not weeks."

Ice storms overnight in West Virginia knocked out power to thousands more. American Electric Power reported more than 40,000 outages early Wednesday. Many other utilities struggled to keep up as ice accumulated on power lines and tree branches.

"Lines are still breaking," said John Campbell, the operations chief for Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency. "All the reports we are getting is they are losing the battle right now just because precipitation is still falling."

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Gassami

at 11:00 on January 28th, 2009

My photo was shot on January 26 in Cap-Rouge, a suburb of Quebec City, Canada. The abundance of snow shown here is due to the fact that the snow in the suburbs is generally blown on one side of the street . Should there be many more snowfalls till the end of the season, snow will be blown into trucks and be carried to one of the many snow dumps in vacant lots outside the city.

Gassami has contributed a photo to this story.

countrystones

at 11:32 on January 28th, 2009

This photo was taken on Wednesday, January 28th in our backyard in Dover, Oklahoma. It is the second morning after an ice storm began to come in on Monday, January 26, 2009. The storm ran from Monday through Tuesday afternoon.

countrystones has contributed a photo to this story.

Art_By_Alida

at 14:55 on January 28th, 2009

I am in Louisville, KY where over 100,000 people are without power, schools are closed, some police departments don't have power and emergency shelters are open.

This is another devastating blow to a city which went through it's first hurricane in September. The city is already reeling from budget problems and the cost of another storm such as this will see the city fathers scrambling for a solution.

The storm is over just now but above freezing temperatures are not due till Sunday and the trees and electric lines are heavy with layers of ice.

Amy Judd

at 14:56 on January 28th, 2009

Thank you for the update. Hope things will be going ok from here on out!

Art_By_Alida

at 15:04 on January 28th, 2009

I am one of the lucky ones...I have power, but at least 473,000 people across the state of Kentucky are without power....

Here is the info from the Louisville Courier Journal....http://www.courier-journal.com/

I'd like to make a run to the store, but I am not taking a chance. Major roads are not too bad...but the roads in neighborhoods are still icy..and trees and powerlines are down everywhere.

Amy Judd

at 15:07 on January 28th, 2009

That is a lot of people without power - wow.

I think it's best to stay in for now.

Stay safe!

ski 9

at 15:26 on January 28th, 2009

Mount Washington Valley, NH. This was a few storms ago. Now, we've been slammed again. Plenty of accidents, outages, closings and general frustration.....but ain't it pretty? Lots of great skiing too!

ski 9 has contributed a photo to this story.

MrKLM

at 16:27 on January 28th, 2009

While taking these pictures I could hear loud crashes from the nearby trees breaking due to the heavy amounts of ice and snow on the limbs. Luckily none have fallen onto the house or cars.

MrKLM has contributed a photo to this story.

bngarland

at 16:37 on January 28th, 2009

Here in Lexington, KY the storm was not as epic as the 2003 ice storm, but still ice is never fun. About 3 inches of sleet/freezing rain accumulation yesterday and last night and about 2-3 inches of snow on top of that today.

A local television weatherman said if this was all snow it would be over two FEET on the ground.

36,500 in Lexington at the moment without power.

bngarland has contributed a photo to this story.

haleyluna

at 19:09 on January 28th, 2009

My office was one of the few in Oklahoma City that didn't close during the days of the ice storm. The sun came out to melt away the cold on the third day, so I ventured outside to get a few photos.

haleyluna has contributed a photo to this story.

franciskato

at 19:29 on January 28th, 2009

I took this photo during the ice storm of December 2007 in Junction City, Kansas. I went for a walk through Junction City's South Park with camera in hand to capture images of the surrounding ice wonderland!

franciskato has contributed a photo to this story.

girlgonechild

at 19:39 on January 28th, 2009

This is just 4 hours worth! About 4 inches deep!

girlgonechild has contributed a photo to this story.

Paschen

at 19:42 on January 28th, 2009

Lucky are those that have a good old Wood stove and oil lamp.

R.P. Piper

at 20:17 on January 28th, 2009

R.P. Piper has contributed a photo to this story.

harringtola

at 20:57 on January 28th, 2009

This is a cold messy winter for sure.

tmcnellis

at 20:59 on January 28th, 2009

Skiing and tubing were at their peak in New Hampshire, where children were enjoying the new powder at Bretton Woods in icy cold temperatures.

tmcnellis has contributed a photo to this story.

tallison

at 05:53 on January 29th, 2009

Human mind can find ways to make it enjoyable.

cdstanley77

at 06:32 on January 29th, 2009

My pic was taken heading south on U.S. 25 Wednesday, January 28, 2009. We were just out driving around and got caught up behind the tractor.

cdstanley77 has contributed a photo to this story.

AlvarezGalloso

at 07:01 on January 29th, 2009

This is serious but I am not surprised. I could still remember parts of the Cleveland Akron Canton area without electricity in the Winter of 1976-1977.

158

at 16:37 on January 29th, 2009

Thanks for the reports.

This is a bad one.

Art_By_Alida

at 16:58 on February 1st, 2009

The governor of KY has called out the National Guard (a bit late if you ask me).

One town mayor is telling people to get in their cars and head south to motels if they have the means.

The people in Paducah, KY are comparing it to the devastation of the hurricane, Katrina. I have seen some of the damage and many people in my town lost power for nearly a week.