All the fuss over nothing - NO calls overnight, NO power interruptions, in fact the rest of the county was pretty quiet also.

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The weather forecast is pretty grim today. They are calling for freezing rain – up to ¾ of an inch of ice is possible by tomorrow morning.

THE GREATEST RISK OF FREEZING RAIN NOW APPEARS TO BE FROM THE WESTERN S. TIER TO THE FINGER LAKES REGION BUT THIS IS NOT CERTAIN & THERE REMAINS A RISK ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION.

WHERE FREEZING RAIN BECOMES THE PREDOMINANT TYPE.OVER ONE HALF INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION CAN LEAD TO FALLING TREE BRANCHES AND SNAPPED POWER LINES. PEOPLE ARE URGED TO BE PREPARED FOR POWER OUTAGES. THE FREEZING RAIN WILL ALSO MAKE TRAVEL ON UNTREATED ROADS DANGEROUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL, ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. LET SOMEONE KNOW YOUR TRAVEL PLANS & CARRY A CELLULAR PHONE.

Yeah, as long as the cell site back-up generators have fuel…

March 4, 1991 we had a similar storm. For our department it all started as “wires burning in a tree” and ended up with a mobile home fire one week later. In between, we sawed our way through trees and branches that had closed roads. We went house to house checking on residents, in some cases freeing them from large tree limbs that were blocking the doors. We also went door to door with generators, giving each household a few minutes of electricity to run sump pumps and stay ahead of the rising water in each basement. All the while, we dodged downed wires and other hazards as we went about our duties.

We had a crew on duty continuously throughout the week. Auxiliary members cooked some mighty fine meals – hearty breakfasts, lunches and dinners reminiscent of Thanksgiving. We sheltered residents who had no heat, water or telephone, or who just wanted human contact. No one had electricity.

I kept my house warm by keeping the wood stove going constantly in between runs. The telephone worked until we decided to re-open the main route through town, by cutting the large telephone trunk line that was blocking the road. One way to keep warm and busy was to clean out the refrigerator and freezer, taking the spoiled food out back into the woods for Mother Nature to disperse. A neighbor invited me over for a fine steak dinner by lantern light.

Finally, eight days after the lights went out, electricity was restored to my road. Some people close to the city were without power for two weeks or more. New food was bought, yards cleared of downed trees and branches, house damage repaired, and lives put back in routine. Gradually the stories quieted down, but the memories linger on. Once in a while we reminisce about the “big one”. You can still see the scars on the trees that survived, even after all these years.

Well, I hope that that remains the “big one” and that today’s storm is just a flash in the pan. If you don’t hear from me for a few days, you’ll know it wasn’t.