Worst.Storm.Ever.

skcin · #1 10-17-2006, 09:14 AM

Hey kids. First I must thank you guys for thinking of me.

I really do appreciate it. Second, I would like to say that although things are pretty bad, I consider myself lucky - I have a roof over my head, no major damage to my home, my friends & family members are all OK - and I have power & internet at work!

Things could be a lot worse than they are.

Now for the bitch part of this thread.

It sucks not having power for 5 days (and counting.) It sucks throwing out tons of food because it spoiled. It sucks not being able to contact the people you love for hours because they only have a cordless phone at their house. It sucks getting up every 1/2 hour all night long to bail water out of your sump pump with a bucket. It sucks being home alone in the dark (Mark was at work the night of the storm) watching & listening to huge trees crash down all around you, praying the giant one in front of your house doesn't come crashing through your front picture windows. It sucks knowing the there are people worse off than you & knowing there's really no way to help them. And it sucks to take a 4 day long weekend for your anniversary, planning to go to dinner & movies & other funt things, only to be stranded at home for that time.

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Lee · #2 10-17-2006, 09:27 AM

to hear about your storm problems. Did this just happen? I know they've had some tornadoes in the south.

I thought Ernesto was pretty bad. It was supposed to be just a tropical storm, but when it hit, it was far worst. Winds topped 80 MPH in some parts of our state. I was afraid that we'd lose power or have a tree come down on our house, but we just had a big tree branch fall in the backyard & no power loss. A lot of big trees did come down though around the state though & some parts of the area did lose power.

Lee

bikerchic · #3 10-17-2006, 09:29 AM

Oh my god, thank god you're okay!!!! I've been worried sick about you!!!! Did you get my text yesterday? So your basement wasn't flooded? When do you expect your power back on at home? I guess you and Mark had some real serious bonding time

Can we expect the pidder patter of little feet, next summer?

carrie721 · #4 10-17-2006, 09:37 AM

you're back! i'm so glad you're ok!

skcin · #5 10-17-2006, 09:40 AM

OK. Last Wednesday they had forecast about an inch of snow to fall Thursday night into Friday. On Thurs morning @ 9:30am, I went to work in a jean jacket & clogs - it was about 55 degrees & sunny. By the time I left work at 5:30pm, we had blowing snow, and it was already 6 inches deep on my car. I cleaned the car off as best I could & made it home after about a 40 minute drive (usually takes 15 minutes.) I still thought nothing of it, I was born here, lots of snow is not usually a big deal - just a pain in the ass. Mark left for work, I put on PJ's & stationed myself in front of the TV.

At 7pm, I saw flashing lights outside my house. I looked out the window & saw the fire dept. across the street - a tree limb had fallen onto the phone & power lines behind my neighbors' houses. That's a shame, I thought. Hope they have somewhere to go. I then start to panic that I'll miss my TV shows - Thurs is my busiest night! I call Mark & he tells me to find flashlights, etc. I do, and the batteries are still good (a minor miracle.) I also find his mini 2" TV that he takes to work; he had decided not to take it with him that day - score! My power goes out. around 7:30pm.

OK, no big deal, they'll have it back on in a couple of hours. I set up the mini TV to watch Earl & The Office, then Grey's. BTW - I did Strand's recommended exercise moves during Grey's.

It was during ER that I started getting worried - it was getting colder, and even a gas furnace needs electricity to power it. I turn on my gas fireplace and move to our basement rec room. This is when Mark informs me that I'll have to manually bail out the sump pump. After doing it a few times, I calculate that I'll have to empty it out every single hour all night long to prevent the basement from flooding. Great.

Thank God there's an alarm clock on my cell, and thank God it still had some juice left in it.

Now. The trees. Here's the deal - when we get tons of snow in Nove/Dec/Jan/Feb, the trees are fine - it's extremely rare that a limb will fall. Not this time - in 130 years, Buffalo has NEVER gotten this much snow this early in the season. Most of the trees hadn't lost their leaves yet, so the weight of the leaves combined with all of the wet, heavy snow that collected on them was just too much. I can't even begin to describe how scary it was to hear enormous trees split & crack under the pressure. When I was in the basement, I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the thunder & the sound of falling trees. And the lightening would light up the entire sky, reflecting off the snow. Sometimes it looked blue - I kept saying "all were bathed in blue, all were bathed in white" in my head. It was eerie.

I watched the tree 2 doors down crash onto my neighbor's house, I watched power lines snap & spark. I heard a huge crash & ran upstairs to find that a limb from my tree had fallen & missed the window by a foot. I hoped that the giant maple behind my garage wouldn't fall & crush my car.

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JazmenFlowers · #6 10-17-2006, 09:40 AM

oh my sister of the conshohocken! I'm so happy you and yours are safe. I text'd you, but you didn't respond (not that I really expected...it was just a hi I'm thinking about you). I got a tiny bit worried. I've been through similar incidents. anyone know about the great ice storm of 1994? it was like living in a warzone. anyway, this is your story, not mine...glad you're ok and back online. if there's anything you need, let me know.

bikerchic · #7 10-17-2006, 09:55 AM

^^ It's like a bad horror novel. I've been following the Buffalo news steadily. What fricken county are you in, Cheektowaga, Lackawanda, Tonawanda, Conshohockenwanda? Damn Indians. Is there a county in Buffalo that doesn't end in either "da" or "ga"?

sara1998 · #8 10-17-2006, 09:56 AM

AAHHHHH!!!! So glad to hear from you. At first I thought, aww, just a little snow storm... she'll live through it. But then I realized how bad it was. I'm so glad you and Mark and family are all doing ok.

JazmenFlowers · #9 10-17-2006, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerchic

What fricken county are you in

I think it's Erie County.

strandinthewind · #10 10-17-2006, 10:05 AM

Good Lord Child -- and that you thought of exercise during all of this shoes your commitment not only to me, but to your buns

Personally, I would have drank all of the liquor in the house. Then again, I am likely to do that anyway

Glad y'all are well!

BTFLCHLD · #11 10-17-2006, 10:09 AM

I had no idea! Probably better that way or I would have worried myself silly. I am glad you and your family are OK Paula. The sumppump sounds like quite the chore...how does that work?

skcin · #12 10-17-2006, 10:10 AM

Mark makes it to our neighborhood (after driving through 20 inches of snow on unplowed roads, over & under live power lines) around 8:15am (he's usually home by 7:20am.) He can't get down our street - all the trees are completely blocking the road. He parks at his brother's house a few blocks away (not as many trees on their street) and walks home in sneakers through the snow. His brother comes with him to help him check the house.

YAY! It's their turn to get the bucket - I can sleep now. Um...no. They have to shovel the driveway & try to get the fallen limbs & trees out of the street. I go & check on 3 elderly neighbors & they claim they're OK. I bail out the sump. I help another neighbor shovel her driveway & let her use my cell to call & check on her elderly mom. I bail out the sump. I cook ham & eggs before they go bad. I am exhausted & it's only been 12 hours.

My back is killing me & my old friend the pinched nerve has returned to my shoulder.

Friday was spent taking quick naps between bailings, watching the tiny TV, listening to the radio I dug out of the shed (can't believe the batteries were still good, it's probably been 3 or 4 years since we used that radio.) Mark gets 3 hours of sleep in (after his 12 hours shift) but it will have to do. I call friends & fam. 1 household out of the 15 I called has power. It's supposed to get down to the low 30's that night.

My brother & sisterinlaw & their kids & other brotherinlaw come to spend the night - we're the only ones with heat (did I already thank God that we decided to buy this small gas fireplace 3 years ago?) We prepare the basement with the futon & air matresses - brotherinlaw #1 goes home to prevent their basement from flooding.

At one point, me & SIL are sitting on folding chairs next to the sump - we now have to bail every 15 minutes & we've started taking turns.

The kids look worried - one asks "um...how high will the water get?" I realize she's scared they'll drown.

Cute, but sad. I explain how the sump pump works & assure them the water wo't get that high as long as we keep bailing. SIL & I are about to give up, thinking that it's completely insane to keep doing this all night & maybe for days. We move everything to higher ground just in case. We are so busy trying to keep candles lit, listen to the news & bail out the sump, there's no time to try & make this a fun adventure - no time for board games or cards or anything cool.

Set alarm for every 30-45 minutes & go to bed. So. Tired. I swear to you, if that basement wasn't our only source of heat, I would have said "f*ck it" & let it flood.

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skcin · #13 10-17-2006, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerchic

^^ It's like a bad horror novel. I've been following the Buffalo news steadily. What fricken county are you in, Cheektowaga, Lackawanda, Tonawanda, Conshohockenwanda? Damn Indians. Is there a county in Buffalo that doesn't end in either "da" or "ga"?

Those are the towns, you silly Canadian.

And yes, they all end it -ga or -da.

I'm in Cheektowaga.