Bacpacjac,

I have a number of recycled 1 and 2 liter plastic bottles filled with water and frozen in my chest freezer. In the case of a power outage they will help keep the food in the freezer frozen and/or I can then use them in an ice chest. Since it is below freezing outside where you are (in the winter anyway), I expect you could keep such frozen water bottles outside or in a garage. You could then use them in an ice chest inside to keep things like dairy products cold.

I second the idea of having a propane camp stove for cooking use during power outages. I have used mine several times. Just beware of the CO issue and have some ventilation (it sounds like you have lots of that already). I highly recommend having a CO monitor (battery powered).

However, if it is close to freezing inside your house, propane won't work all that well. A Sterno stove (or two) might be a better choice under those circumstances. I have those too.

Stay warm.

It was an even 40 deg F for the morning dog walk, 75 here now, bright and sunny. Looking like highs in the mid-70's all week. Merry Christmas

Ice storms can be very destructive when heavy. But the mild storm here in Missouri has put one-inch icicles on the trees and bushes. When the sun hits all those gleaming icicles ... It's one of the most beautiful winter scenes that I have ever seen.

Merry Christmas from the Midwest.

Pete

Michigan resident here.
I think general consensus is that we got the worst of it.
Outages peaked at over 600,000 and still remain over 30,000 a week later. In my office only one of us still had power after last Saturday night and we all live in completely different areas. Urban, suburbia, rural...didn't matter, everyone got nailed. I heard and saw transformers going off like popcorn all night. Finally at 4am Sunday my emergency lights came on...no power.

I've always lived in areas with extremely stable grids so we've never popped for a generator. Our in-laws bought one for "the family" to use, which has been rare but when we went out so did my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who had the generator. Fortunately, a buddy still had power and a genny (Honda EU200i) to lend so I had our furnace going again within a few hours. Some of our neighbors bailed for relatives houses or hotels. Our next-door neighbors decided to stick it out so I lent them the genny when we weren't home and invited them over when we were. We were going to host a Christmas Eve party at our home and since I had things under control, rotating the genny (only a 1600watt running load) between the furnace, fridge, freezer, and well pump (Yes, I live in a city and have well water), we decided to keep our plans. We got an early Christmas present when our power came up at 4pm on Tuesday, just as people were arriving.

I have friends living in the city (Lansing, Michigan's capitol) who only get power back TODAY...a big relief to one of them whose wife just gave birth to their second child Friday. And our boss, who lives about 10 miles out, is still down.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Heat - The house stayed in the 60s for about 6 hours until I was able to procure a genny. After that, no problem. Without the genny and temps in the teens, we would definitely have been bugging out. I'm part snowman but my wife uses 2 blankets even in the summer.

Lighting - I'm a bit of a flashaholic so we were flush with LED lights and lanterns. Neighbors only had old florescent and incandescent camp lights running on large cell batteries that were ransacked after the storm. I gave them a bunch of Cs and D cell batteries that I had for my kids toys. I'm more of a AA or CR123 user. After I got the genny going I strung up a bunch of LED Christmas lights throughout the house. You can string up to 43 in a chain (vs 6 of the old incans) and they barely register to the genny.

Water - We have a well despite living in town. Previous owner didn't hookup when they started offering municipal water and it's $10k to get in now. This is the one time I would consider well water a negative. Thankfully we have a 90 gallon cistern instead of an on-demand pump so I only had to run it every couple hours to keep the pressure up.

Generator - like I said we've always lived in places with stable power so the need/fear has never been present. This has now changed and we're actually going to buy my buddy's genny. He wants to upgrade and I like the efficiency/mobility/quiet of the Honda. I could top off the 1 gallon tank at 11pm and not worry about it until 7am when I left for work.

Food - we were preparing to host a party, no worries.

Just heard a piece on the radio mentioning that ER admissions for carbon monoxide spiked in Maine as power went down. Where you put that genny and how you improvise heating can make a real difference.

Hopefully everyone affected by the ice storm both above and below the 49th has come through unscathed.

Unfortunately, I have a bit of rant.

We were deployed to assist in organizing and setup of the warming centres (evac centres) outside the GTA and it was a learning experience.

Fortunately, the municipal/regional staff came together quickly. The centres were also staffed by the public health (RNs), the Red Cross (also to provide resources - cots, blankets, toiletry kits, etc.), St. Johns Ambulance (paramedics) and last but not least the Sally Ann's (to help staff the kitchens).

It was a bit of a rough start, but no plan no matter how well practiced survives first contact. After the first day everyone settled into their roles and helped each other where required. The problems came not from resources but from staffing. Owing to the scope of storm and being Christmas time - everyone was stretched thread bare. 8h shifts quickly turned into 12-15h.

Not complaining - when you looked at all those displaced from their homes at Christmas time - suck it up and do your job. At least my power is on and I have a warm place to sleep.

The one major criticism I have is communication. This will be raised during the debriefing but the one statement that constantly drove everyone up the wall was 'please check the website' (insert government or private industry provider).

THE POWER IS OFF YOU IDIOTS (not referring to anyone on ETS). THERE IS NO POWER FOR COMPUTERS, SMARTPHONES OR TELEVISIONS.

Radio is the only reliable source for the displaced. People did not know where to go. The were desperately trying to contact anyone and everyone. 911 was overwhelmed with the call volumes. When an event of this magnitude occurs information is the most valued commodity for the vulnerable. Many of the clients had pre-existing medical conditions and special needs (i.e. mental health related). Some were just looking for a hot meal and warm place to rest. Those served represented a wide cross section.

It might be a good idea in future to broadcast the relevant local information on all radio stations in proximity on the half hour. Barring that - with the advent and install of the smart hydro (electrical) meter the utilities can determine the effected areas. Dispatch resources to inform people (leaflets) informing them where to go.

Sorry, just needed to vent. A safe and happy new year to all.

Thank you for the AAR! Radio broadcasts prior to the storm's arrival would be an improvement and the people affected would definitely be tuned in after they lost power.

Thank you and all who responded during the storm and it's aftermath.

I live just north of the Tampa Bay area, and am fortunate to have excellent Doppler radar coverage by NOAA and the TV stations.. one with dual pole vertical and horizontal display... we don't get the super cell EF5 tornadoes of the mid West..., but do get some cyclones spun off the trailing edge of winter cold fronts as the warm air is driven up... and with the squall lines and storm bands of approaching tropical cyclones... a portable digital TV is nice to have.... when the weather alert radio goes off, and the power is out, a battery powered TV is a comfort...for longer duration power outages, provides a lot of relief from the boredom... with a short section of cable and a pair of rabbit ears I get several local TV stations... one uses a GPS function to tell which street the cyclone is turning on....additionally it works with a 12v cigarette plug to recharge and run....something to think about

Yes, it probs goes without saying, but do be careful with this.

It's been many years ago that my cousin and uncle's power went out and they put their generator in the basement with an open window to vent, but it wasn't enough. Long story short, the CO buildup killed my cousin and my uncle suffered from serious brain injuries from the lack of oxygen to his brain, he eventually died a few years later as well.