15 February 2019, 02:36
We had 1/2 inch of ice which took out AC mains power, cable TV, Internet and cell phone coverage. We used CB radio and FRS (like PMR446) to maintain a fire watch in the neighborhood, and I estalished contact with the WV state police via a ham radio 2-meter repeater in an adjacent county, where they only had snow, because the closest local repeaters were iced up and off air, in case we had to relay any emergency traffic. Fortunately we had none/
After clearing downed power poles and power lines and cutting up downed trees blocking access into and out of the neighborhood, all was well.
My backup genny spooled up and provided full-house power for 36 hours. We did not run out of cigarettes, cat food, bog roll or rum because we keep an adequate stock for emergencies. The following blurb from a local newspaper is entertaining:
Most of the thousands of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative customers who lost electricity as a result of Tuesday’s ice storm should have their lights on by tonight.
Properties with severe damage or access issues from downed trees or power lines may not have electricity restored until Friday or Saturday night, she said.
At one point on Wednesday morning, more than 18,932 customers were without power. Most of the outages are in the county’s western and northern areas.
Shenandoah Valley Electric Co-op, which serves 93,000 customers from Winchester to Augusta County, continues to stress the importance of reporting outages and staying away from downed utility lines.
-------
MARTINSBURG — Additional ice that fell in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia on Tuesday resulted in many calls for wires down, which also has left many residents without power.
At the highest count, 1,319 Berkeley County residents — with 1,042 of those being in Gerrardstown [THAT'S WHERE I AM] — were without power as of 2:45 p.m.
By 6:30 p.m., Berkeley County had only 292 customers affected — with 156 in Gerrardstown and 116 in Martinsburg. Morgan County had 665 customers affected, with 437 in Great Cacapon, 194 in Berkeley Springs and 34 in Paw Paw. Eight customers remained without power in Jefferson County.
According to the Potomac Edison website, the estimated time of restoration is around 10 p.m. Thursday for those still without power.
Numerous downed wires were reported across the area Tuesday, according to a supervisor with the Berkeley County Emergency Services. The worst areas, she said, were the Apple Harvest and Tuscarora Pike [That's me] areas. No injuries were reported.
Jeremy Geiger, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Tuesday that as of 11:30 a.m., .2 inches of ice had fallen in Martinsburg, .5 in Ganotown [that's me], .15 in Bunker Hill, .39 in Bloomery in Jefferson County and .25 in Omps, which is in Morgan County.
These totals were added to more than an inch of wintry mix of sleet and snow that fell overnight between Sunday and Monday.
After clearing downed power poles and power lines and cutting up downed trees blocking access into and out of the neighborhood, all was well.
My backup genny spooled up and provided full-house power for 36 hours. We did not run out of cigarettes, cat food, bog roll or rum because we keep an adequate stock for emergencies. The following blurb from a local newspaper is entertaining:
Most of the thousands of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative customers who lost electricity as a result of Tuesday’s ice storm should have their lights on by tonight.
Properties with severe damage or access issues from downed trees or power lines may not have electricity restored until Friday or Saturday night, she said.
At one point on Wednesday morning, more than 18,932 customers were without power. Most of the outages are in the county’s western and northern areas.
Shenandoah Valley Electric Co-op, which serves 93,000 customers from Winchester to Augusta County, continues to stress the importance of reporting outages and staying away from downed utility lines.
-------
MARTINSBURG — Additional ice that fell in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia on Tuesday resulted in many calls for wires down, which also has left many residents without power.
At the highest count, 1,319 Berkeley County residents — with 1,042 of those being in Gerrardstown [THAT'S WHERE I AM] — were without power as of 2:45 p.m.
By 6:30 p.m., Berkeley County had only 292 customers affected — with 156 in Gerrardstown and 116 in Martinsburg. Morgan County had 665 customers affected, with 437 in Great Cacapon, 194 in Berkeley Springs and 34 in Paw Paw. Eight customers remained without power in Jefferson County.
According to the Potomac Edison website, the estimated time of restoration is around 10 p.m. Thursday for those still without power.
Numerous downed wires were reported across the area Tuesday, according to a supervisor with the Berkeley County Emergency Services. The worst areas, she said, were the Apple Harvest and Tuscarora Pike [That's me] areas. No injuries were reported.
Jeremy Geiger, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Tuesday that as of 11:30 a.m., .2 inches of ice had fallen in Martinsburg, .5 in Ganotown [that's me], .15 in Bunker Hill, .39 in Bloomery in Jefferson County and .25 in Omps, which is in Morgan County.
These totals were added to more than an inch of wintry mix of sleet and snow that fell overnight between Sunday and Monday.