Ice, Ice (Storm), Baby!

[frolic]

WOW! It's nuts out there. I've seen photos of ice storms before like the Montreal one from 98, but never have been through one myself.

Large tree branch came down in front of my house but did not take any power lines with it so I'm good at the moment but they are predicting winds today which could be big trouble.

 

[mwong168]

Seen some pretty bad pics posted around the city

 

[mwong168]

 

[frolic]

I just watched a tree fall in my backyard and took my phone line with it. still have cable. I've got food though, so worst-case-scenario I can ride this out.

 

[luch]

and if you have power . PINBALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[frolic]

I already unplugged my machines, not taking risks with outages and surges .

 

[mwong168]

 

[necro_nemesis]

So how does it compare to 98? They are talking about possibly 15-20mm more throughout the day which is about probably what was already had yesterday just looking at my car. For 98 the chart is showing about 60mm in areas I know had issues from out there on Op Recuperation. The chart depicts a 6 day period. My guess is isn't going to be good news once the damage assessment is in. Thankfully tomorrow is showing snow in the forecast.

 

[frolic]

This doesn't seem to be near the scale of the '98 storm which was catastrophic, but still possibly the worst ice storm we've had in T.O.

 

[tim.sanderson]

I was at most 100 feet away from this 30+foot tree when it broke in half. (most of the broken tree is still above the ground, tangled in it self. What you see is just the small part that made it to the ground) It sounded like a gunshot going off! Luckily it landed on their front lawn, and not their car/house.

There are more trees on the ground then still standing on their own.I might go out to take some pictures of the carnage.

 

[mwong168]

The GTA and eastern Canada are in the grip of a massive weather system which is causing transit chaos and widespread power outages which could run into Christmas Day.

Toronto Hydro is working to restore power to more than 250,000 homes and businesses in the city and said the blackouts could last 72 hours or longer.

Thousands more in the rest of the GTA also lost power when ice-coated tree branches snapped and pulled down power lines.

At a news conference on Sunday, Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines called the storm a “weather catastrophe” — worse than the ice storm in Ontario in January 1998.

He said Sunnybrook and Toronto East General hospitals have no electricity and are running on emergency generators, and a water pumping station has also lost power.

Speaking to reporters, Mayor Ford called it “the worst storm in Toronto’s history.”

The city has opened community centres where people can get food, water, and warmth.

See below for a full list of reception centres.

Meanwhile, crews are bracing for more damage with another bout of freezing rain and windy weather forecast for Sunday afternoon.

Environment Canada said the rain would continue into the afternoon in southern and eastern Ontario, including the GTA and Hamilton, before changing to drizzle.

The area could get 10-15 millimetres of freezing rain on Sunday and winds gusting to between 30 and 50 km/h.

Service on all of Toronto’s streetcar routes, the Sheppard and Scarborough RT has been suspended. Trains were also bypassing several subway stations due to lack of power and, in other cases, downed trees blocked their paths.

GO Transit has restored some power to the Lakeshore East line, but not the Oshawa, Pickering and Scarborough stations, which remain inaccessible. It said the rest of the train and bus system is experiencing “major delays.”

Click here for TTC updates and here for GO Transit.

Salting and sanding crews worked through the night in an uphill battle against a dangerous mix of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain affecting an area from Niagara Falls, Ont., to the Atlantic Coast.

The weather conditions are suspected to have been a factor in three fatal highway accidents in Quebec Saturday, and another in Ontario.

Provincial police are strongly advising people not to drive unless absolutely necessary.

The weather conditions have also resulted in scores of flight cancellations and delays at airports in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton, Saint John, Halifax and St. John’s.

Passengers are being advised to check their flights before heading to the airport. Find updates for Pearson International Airport here.

As the storm continues its eastward march Environment Canada meteorologist Weiqing Zhang says it will likely be sometime this afternoon before it leaves central Canada and sometime this evening before freezing rain stops falling on the Maritimes.

Reception Centres

Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre, 29 St. Denis Dr.
Malvern Community Centre, 30 Sewells Dr.
Agincourt Recreation Centre, 31 Glen Watford Dr.
Don Montgomery Community Centre, 2467 Eglinton Ave. E.
Northwrood Community Centre, 15 Clubhouse Ct.
Mitchell Field Community Centre, 89 Church Ave.
Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre, 1369 St. Clair Ave. W.


TIPS DURING A POWER OUTAGE (Source: City of Toronto)

During an outage:

Unplug or turn off all appliances to avoid possible damage when power resumes.
Turn off water to the clothes washer and dishwasher if they are in use when the power goes out.
Leave a light or radio on so you will know when power is restored.
When power has been restored, check all fuses to ensure that none have been blown, before calling Toronto Hydro.
Plug in only the most essential appliances first, and wait 10 to 15 minutes to give the electrical system time to stabilize before connecting everything else.
How to report a power outage:

Call Toronto Hydro-Electric System’s Lights Out number at 416-542-8000. Add the number to your list of other emergency numbers.
After power is restored, try to limit electricity use to help relieve potential strain on the system. Energy conservation tips include:

Turning off all non-essential internal and external lights
Limiting the use of major power-consuming equipment such as dishwashers, washers and dryers

 

[DRANO]

Oh the horror! Not Santa!!!

I went to my backyard this morning to remove a branch that had fallen on our newly planted cedar hedge (I hope they survive!) and another one almost came done on my head. It was easily the length of a car and would've taken me out pretty quickly.
Not a day to be messing around outside for sure.
My only consolation is that, the house we lived in last year, had three massive and very old oak trees, all less than 10' from the building.
When a 30' limb came down last spring in clear weather and pulverized my fence, kid's playground and a corner of my roof... the writing was on the wall. I'm glad we weren't living there today!

Stay warm everyone!

 

[spiroagnew]

My only consolation is that, the house we lived in last year, had three massive and very old oak trees, all less than 10' from the building.
When a 30' limb came down last spring in clear weather and pulverized my fence, kid's playground and a corner of my roof... the writing was on the wall. I'm glad we weren't living there today!

Coincidence...same here. Our old house that we moved from three months ago was hit pretty bad, and is still without power. Our current place is in a new neighborhood with no "adult vegetation" yet, so no damage from felled trees..and no disruption to power service...so the one pin I have set up was rocking all afternoon!

 

[WARLOCK]

Brutal in south Scarborough.
Carnage. The poor trees took the worst of it.
No power @ home. I am at work and catching up.

New stats say 500, 000 without power. Trees fall, power lines snap.

I have never seen an ice storm like this. We have an inch of ice on the trees.
I have never seen the like, ever.

All the best for everyone. No power for almost everyone I know here at home, including me.

 

[mwong168]

 

[brewmanager]

40 hours without power so far. I've lost all cell signal in my neighbourhood, and since Rogers home phone is internet based, I dont even have that.

Luckily, we've got two gas fireplaces which have kept us toasty (I'd been advocating for the removal of one, since it hadn't been used since the home inspection - no longer, believe me!) and a gas cooktop, so we're doing fine. My father in law kindly invited us to his office for the afternoon, as the kids were starting to get wiggy at home without any outlet to occupy them, and I'm able to both charge my devices and actually use them too.

The only real problem is my CPAP machine - after two nights without it, I'm getting pretty bitchy here...

 

[TwilightZone]

I feel for you guys in the GTA. I lived through the storm in 98 and it was terrible in Ottawa. The picture you guys posted are something else. Be very careful over the next few days when walking outside. I remember walking in 98 and all of branches were falling at random This was in an old section of town and they were falling everywhere. It was quite strange at the time. I lived downtown and the streets were deserted. Just me and the sounds of branches hitting the ground.

I hope everyone gets power soon and life returns to normal.

Cheers,
Duane

 

[necro_nemesis]

This storm is bad. What's worse; I've had power all along. Now I'm stuck living with every family member without power....

Merry Xmas! :evil: :lol:

 

[superjackpot]

While not a big deal, this made my day today...

Yesterday, my power at home went out but came back up two minutes later (we're lucky). My internet was not so. Speaking with Bell Internet support this afternoon, I was told my modem would need to be replaced. Upload worked, but download did not. So, I'm like "How long will that take?" 3-5 business days I'm told. Crap. While not nearly as important as hydro and heat, no internet was not going to work with one of the Christmas presents I had bought.

Anyway, the tech tells me Bell has a holiday promo on this week. Same day delivery on new modems 7am-6pm. And my location qualified. She said I should get my modem today. It was 4:45pm when I hung up. At 6:45pm exactly, a new modem was delivered to my front door. I was totally blown away. Internet is back up!

 

[Luckydogg420]

I lost power for 10 hrs yesterday. Lost a couple branches in the backyard. But all and all, not bad.