Ice Storm 09, Day 1

I'm very happy to report that I got a very unusual birthday present today -- I got a massive winter storm!! Sure enough, the weatherazzi was right about the storm. It started at about midnight, and when I got up for work this a.m. we had about a quarter inch of ice with 3 or 4 inches of snow on top. I was chauffeured to work this a.m. so at least I didn't have to drive in the mess on my birthday.

Throughout the day we had sleet and freezing rain, and by lunchtime we had another half an inch of ice at The Compound. On Mr. Toad's Wild Ride home, it was just pouring freezing rain. I'd never seen anything like it before - I'd seen sleet and freezing rain but not pouring like a steady downpour. As soon as I slid into the house this afternoon, the weatherazzi was giving the forecast for tonight - another inch of ice followed by 3-5 more inches of snow.

The Governor has already declared a State Of Emergency, and I'm hoping that the bigwigs at work will do the same. They already cancelled night shift, and for the factory tomorrow they are having an "option" day - they can use a personal day or vacation day and not get it counted against them. But for us office people, we weren't given an "option."

But all in all, today has definitely been a memorable birthday - the day of the big ice storm.