Snow turns to Ice
The Great Storm of 2012
January 20, 2012
Olympia, WA
The 15 inches of snow that fell in our yard were followed by over 12 hours of freezing rain. The freezing rain laid a sheet of ice up to 1/2 inch thick on everything - trees, branches, roofs, sidewalks. The weight of all that ice on top of the thick blanket of snow was a recipe for disaster.
Our power went out on Thursday morning at 8 AM. It was restored on Sunday morning at 10:30 AM. In every yard on our block evidence of the storm's power lays on the ground in the form of large tree limbs, smaller branches. Along our street and Capitol Way, ancient deciduous trees up to 30 inches in diameter are split, as though a logger with a giant maul was chopping straight through the tree. It will take weeks to clean everything up. And, the landscape of Olympia will be altered for years to come.
On a side note: Thanks to all the great people who were out making life a bit easier during the storm. From the folks at the Tumwater Safeway who were operating their store despite having no lights, to the neighbors helping to clear brush and checking on one another, and to the people who had power or heat and shared their homes with those who didn't - Thank you.
