Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Winter Finally Comes to East Tennessee!

Until yesterday, we had a very mild winter here in East Tennessee.  That ended when we were hit by freezing rain, sleet and a touch of snow…


The grass and trees are coated with ice.  I measured a piece of ice from a flat surface and it was slightly more than a quarter inch thick. 

Our Internet, phone and cable TV service went down last night at about 10:15 PM.  Then, at about 10:45 PM we lost power.  Fortunately our power was restored at 4:45 AM.  The temperature in the house had dropped to 60 degrees and it was down to 21 degrees outside.


Our Loropetalum shrubs took a beating last winter when it stayed cold for an extended period of time.  We lost one then and with this ice storm the two in front of the porch may have met their end as well.  Another one in the front yard has been flattened…


This is one of our Japanese Maples… While it’s totally covered with ice, it seems to be holding up well and I expect that it will be fine.

One of the problems is that we can’t expect any significant melting until this coming Saturday when temperatures will reach back up into the mid-40s. 


Both of our large dwarf magnolias have taken a big hit!  We hope that they pop back when it warms up...


Our rhododendron looks a little forlorn doesn't it!  Despite the ice, I would note that we still haven’t had any measurable snow this winter…

Last night we just layered up and added extra blankets to the bed.  JD, our cat, was a warm and happy camper because we didn't put him in his cold room for the night.  He got to sleep with us instead… 


This is an icy winter view of Tellico Lake from our upstairs balcony…its that glimmer in the distance.  We expect temperatures to go negative for at least one of the next 3 nights so this scene isn't going to change much…

We’re fortunate indeed.  As of this moment, many others in East Tennessee are still without power…and heat!  Of course, compared to what winter has been like back in our former hometown in the Chicago’s suburbs…or one of our other former homes…near Boston…this ‘storm’ is just a minor inconvenience!
 
Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!


Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

4 comments:

  1. Yes, I heard on the news, that was quite a storm down your way. I hope your shrubs, trees survive it all, esp. the magnolias; love them, miss them. Ice is a horrible thing when it's not in a drink! Here in Chicagoland, it's still bitter cold with even lower temps on the way, below 0. Looking forward to the weekend when it's supposed to be in the 20's. You take care, be safe and warm!

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  2. Same here... We had about an inch of ICE ---and almost NO SNOW all day yesterday... Luckily we didn't lose our electricity here --and no trees down in our yard. However, there was a lot of trouble all around the area... With these frigid temperatures, this ice remains today. We did get some snow during the night which is pretty --but the ice makes it treacherous. Our community told everyone to STAY HOME this morning.. They had to clean up the trees/limbs before tackling the roads around here. Needless to say, we didn't even try to go anywhere. AND--they say we might have more snow tonight/tomorrow.. I just hope it's not ice. My pictures look like yours.... SAD, isn't it? Hubby said he'd rather have a foot of snow rather than an inch of ice.

    Stay safe and warm...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. I have a similar post coming out - it was nasty and we had no power for 18 hours - love that generator.

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  4. I'll take snow any day over ice. I keep up with the temperatures in the mountains and they have had bitter cold too, with temps dropping to zero. You should have stayed in New Orleans :)
    Sam

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