Winter Storm Alfred

Still two months to go before winter officially arrives and we've already had close to 1 1/2 feet of snow. If you live in the Rockies, you're thinking, "so what?" Well, we live in the Northeast. Halloween weekend is supposed to be about trick or treat and cute kids in semi-scary costumes. Sure, it's snowed on Halloween in the past - a kind of fluffy, wet, and very cold rain that didn't stick to any surface.

In years past, big winter storms were known for when the occurred: Blizzard of '78, Ice Storm of 2009, the April Fool's Day storm, that sort of thing. This one should've been "The Halloween Storm" but instead it got a name, just like a hurricane: Alfred. I just hope Alfred is an only-child-orphan with no family to come following his path!

What late October SHOULD look like in central MA

 

What October 30, 2011 ACTUALLY looked like

Kind of scary - good for Halloween!

Pretty, too, in an awe-inspiring way

Next post - what to do when you've had no power for 3 1/2 days and little hope of getting it back for at least 3 more.

Hurricane Irene

So by the time Irene reached central New England, she wasn't a hurricane anymore. Tropical storm force winds are still powerful, especially coupled with the rain attacking already saturated soil. Our town got off pretty easy compared to some areas in Massachusetts. Had Irene still been a category 3 hurricane, things would've been nightmarish. Instead, we were inconvenienced.

This is a shot of the tree that fell down the road from our house. It ripped out of the ground, bending down over the lines, then broke up and took out a couple structures. No one was hurt, which is what really counts.

More property damage

Branch on the wires

More fallen trees

Need truck to get through here!

Choppy lake!

Beach? The waterline is usually about 3 feet to the left of that string!

This tree crew (below) was from Michigan. They thought we were all very polite - we were just grateful to have the trees cleared off the power lines.Thank you!

National Grid got our electricity back on just before 8 pm Monday. YAY! We could hear everyone cheering from down the road. Glad to have this first big hurricane over - now on to the first day of school!