Last night at ~8pm we lost power. Shortly after that we lost a tree in the front yard. Internet went out sometime overnight. Power & internet came back after ~19 hours.
1/4 inch of ice coated every surface, snapping trees and freezing everything solid. But the sun is warm, and the ice is melting. Regardless of its destruction, there is beauty in this spring ice storm. The birds certainly didn't seem to mind.
As I reported earlier, on February 4th, 2024 Wuhan was struck by #MotherNature (that bitch!) with a two-part #IceStorm followed by a thick (for here) blanket of #HeavySnow. And while #Wuhanren faced the disaster with their usual aplomb and resilience, giving Mother Nature the finger and insisting on going out and having fun, there was serious trouble lurking underneath the mantle of white.
Even the pictures I took pre-thaw on the 7th showed the degree of the disaster this was for local trees, with fallen boughs, many already dragged off of roadways, roofs, and even electrical wires by city workers, cut up into convenient sized chunks and piled neatly for later retrieval.
By the time the thaw began, yesterday, it was clear that no plant from tree sized to large shrub sized was unscathed by the weather. But the plant life of Wuhan is as sturdy and rebellious as are its citizens. As I left my home to perform an errand I found the trees striking back, shoving a raised middle finger into the face of Mother Nature!
I apologize for the quality of these photos, but they were taken in haste while I was carrying heavy objects. In addition it was mostly playing out well over my head, making it hard to get decent photos with a mere phone. Still, what they portray, I think, will make you proud of Wuhanese trees and their stalwart streak of resistance in the face of a seemingly-overwhelming assault by Mother Nature and the dying gasp of her General Winter!
(Mastadon users will have to click through to see all the pictures, but they're only missing a single one this time.)
¹ As mentioned in the earlier Snowpocalypse post, the tone of this report is firmly tongue in cheek.
After some scientific study on my patio, I can conclude that Crocs have better traction on wet ice than my winter boots do.
I credit the worn foam soles with having hundreds of microscopic suction cups. #icestorm#crocs
Pretty to look at, but less awesome on the car, driveway, and roads. I did some serious ice-scraping while wearing my ice cleats. #Photography#BlackAndWhite#IceStorm#Ottawa
--never do it from anywhere on the car except at the back if intending to go forward.
--push from front if intending to go backwards.
Pushing from sides put you in very hazardous position- easy to slip under tires... and if drive wheels hit you when spinning... expect major damage to your body.
Not that my opinion counts for anything, but I think this past week should be "named" as a winter storm. Big damaging storms get names, right? Besides, how else will the NYTimes describe it in their next "pity Portland" article, if they don't know what to call it?
"In retrospect, I may not have made my neighbors' sidewalks safer by shoveling them between the snow storm and the freezing rain, but I guess I did make them more fun."
(short video shows the legs/feet of someone who is ice skating down the sidewalk)