"Let it snow, let it snow..."

...Make it STOP!


We started with weather reports of "possible trace" snowfall on Saturday night that turned in to "3-4" possible" on Sunday. By Sunday at 7am it was sticking, by noon it was 4", by 3pm it was over 6" of thick, fat, wet flakes that were making trees snap under the weight. By 3:30pm Sunday, we had no power.

I went out and fired up the emergency generator and decided to snap some pictures:

This is a shot up our driveway:



Out by the road after I saw our power lines jump from something hitting them:



Closer...



While I'm by the side of the road, I here a crash behind me, so I snapped some pictures in that direction as quickly as I could...



...as the white out clears...



...still clearing...



...the reason(s)...



Monday we were able to pick up the wife from work (after she spent the night in a local motel), and by Monday night we were cut off from any other roads by fallen trees, there were two in each direction that we could see from our yard.   Tuesday was tight as we were melting snow by the fire for flushing and washing water since we used our 4 gallons of emergency water over the previous 2 days.  Wednesday morning at 3am we had the PUD work lights glaring through our windows and we were awakened by the sound of chainsaws that buzzed well past 5am (for obvious reasons, they sounded so good!).   By noon we had power and by 1 that afternoon we had water (the well pumps lost their prime).

We normally get 2-4" of snow and an additional 37" of rain per year.  This was 10+" of snow in one day, followed by an additional 2" per night for the following 3 evenings.

...ahhh, country living.



Lessons learned:(most of you REALLY want to skip this part!)

  • Issue: 2 gallons of water per person were fine for drinking, but was not enough for flushing (well water system).

  • Solution: 2 - 5 gallon water containers (additional) will be stored near the furnace for flushing with a few drops of bleach in each.  They will be marked "Non-Potable Water".
    One gallon of water was kept in the 2nd bath to "flush" the sink (for the guys), one cup clears the sink and trap.
    Flush toilets as use dictates (to avoid getting too graphic).


  • Issue: 5 gallons of gas and 1 gallon of chainsaw mix (both with "Stabil" fuel stabilizer) was not enough.

  • Solution: The generator tank was full, a tank lasts 10-12 hours, so an additional 5 gallons is needed for 2-3 days.  This becomes a safety issue with flamable storage.  Keep 1 spare can and fill as fall approaches?


  • Issue: Generator is a life saver, but the 6 switch transfer box limits the number of rooms available.

  • Solution: Reconfigure the 6 switch unit or find a "whole house" unit.  Ideally we would get an automatic system to run the entire house so we can use the stove/dryer!


  • Issue: A 2 wheel drive vehicle (even a limited slip equipped Explorer) is not ideal.

  • Solution: Even with chains or snow tires, a 2wd doesn't do well.  4wd or All-Wheel Drive is preffered to reduce the "white knuckled driving" experiecne.


  • Issue: Front wheel drive is almost as useless.

  • Solution: Even with good tires (sipped), the lack of ground clearance was as issue exiting the drive.  Think snow-plow.




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