Everyone has been so focussed on the problems surrounding Y2K disruptions, but what about the possibilities of a 3-day winter storm adding to the disruptions caused by Y2k? January is historically a month for blizzards in the northeast and midwest, and the month when the western U.S. gets rain........ sometimes very heavy rain and flooding (mudslides in southern Calif. So, on top of disruptions due to Y2K, there really could be adverse weather conditions that would only make things worse.

-- Linda (lindasue1@earthlink.net), December 05, 1999

Answers

Linda, remember last winter when we had the ice storms in Missouri and Arkansas? Remember the Syzygy poster named Shirl in Arkansas who told us about being without power for at least three or four days because of it? She was so thankful that they had prepared and were able to pump water for themselves and for their neighbors because they had hooked up their water pump, among other things, to the generator. How many other people WEREN'T prepared and didn't have food, heat or water and were unable to get out because of the snow and ice?

The ice storm last winter should be a warning to us that it can and does happen, and if it happens in correlation with possible Y2K problems, then I would imagine that it really would be bad news. I guess it just reminds us that we need to be prepared for anything!

-- Denise (living5@midwest.net), December 05, 1999.

What if a real three day snowstorm happens at the same time as the expected three day embedded system "Y2K snowstorm". Would that add up to a six day storm, or would there be some synergy -- perhaps equivalent to a 4.5 day storm ? We must be precise. Any answers?

-- Richard Greene (Rgreene2@ford.com), December 05, 1999.

My concern is that a 3 day storm should occur 3 days before the rollover. All efforts to prepare at the last minute would be frozen.

-- chzcake (bryan@home.com), December 05, 1999.

It won't matter to me if there's a 3-day winter storm or a 3-day disruption of services due to Y2K. I'm ready for either scenario, aren't you? Anyone running around to prepare then is just plain nuts and deserves to be left out in the cold. The public has been warned, you snooze you lose.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 05, 1999.

What is there was a massive ICE storm right before Y2K?

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), December 05, 1999.

Last winter I was reading up about the Montreal ice storm, and concurrent reports about storm outages in Washington, Tennessee and Virginia, while I nervously awaited the installation of my wood stove. It was such a great relief to finally have it set up. I think it was sheer luck that I never needed it before.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), December 06, 1999.

After we moved into our new old house, our neighbors told us that during the Ice Storm of Jan 1998, this place had no power for over 5 weeks. FIVE weeks. 'Scuse me, did you say FIVE WEEKS???? Startling to us who had been living in a village that went without power for only 7 days. 10 miles from a small city that recovered in 4 days.

We is in the sticks now! I have a feeling that our back road will be on the tail end of Niagara Mohawk's priority list.

In Sunday's paper, the Emergency Management Dude for our county stated (paraphrasing here):

'Well, during the big ice storm, we learned that we can get outside help within three days. So we're good to go with what we have prepared.'

(end paraphrase)

It took three days for help to get into the area and start replacing lines & telephone poles. There were convoys of power company trucks coming up the interstate from the southern states. Scads of help. Tens of thousands of telephone poles trucked in, miles & miles of cable, etc.

I can't help wondering whether South Carolina, etc. power companies are going to be hurrying up here when they have their own problems.

This guy is our Emergency Management guy. The leader. Ack.

-- Arewyn (isitth@latealready.com), December 06, 1999.

What me worry!? It was 720 yesterday here--at 11:00am in the morning!

-- Slobby Don (slobbydon@hotmail.com), December 06, 1999.