Today: November 17, 2002 at 17:20:19 PST

By DAVID SHARP ASSOCIATED PRESS

New England's first major ice storm of the season spread freezing rain across the region Sunday, downing trees and knocking out power to thousands of homes.

More than a half inch of ice had accumulated in parts of northern and western Connecticut, and more than 130,000 Northeast Utility customers were without power at the height of the outages there.

Several towns in the northwest part of the state set up emergency shelters while more than 100 linemen worked to restore power. About 100,000 customers remained without electricity late Sunday afternoon.

"It's ice, it is wind, it is branches hitting lines," said utility spokesman Mitch Gross. "It's going to take some time."

Most parts of Maine had 3 to 5 inches of snow by the afternoon, and trees were sagging under the weight of ice.

An estimated 15,000 Central Maine Power customers were without electricity by Sunday afternoon, said CMP spokesman Kevin Howes. Dozens of cars slid off highways and speed limits were reduced to 45 mph on the Maine Turnpike and Interstate 95.

In Massachusetts, more than 10,000 power outages were reported in central and southeastern parts of the state overnight after ice weighed down limbs and broke power lines. State police reported dozens of minor accidents and at least one serious accident, in Andover, north of Boston.

Colchester, Conn., police were investigating whether a fatal accident Saturday night may have been related to the storm. State Police Sgt. Gregory Kenney said there had been numerous minor accidents and several roads closed by downed trees.

Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland toured areas hit by the storm Sunday.

"All the affected towns have been advised that the Office of Emergency Management is ready to help if they need any assistance," said Dean Pagani, the governor's chief of staff.

The nor'easter swept a large part of New England, dropping 3 to 6 inches of snow in New Hampshire's northern mountains and blowing cold rain across New York's Long Island.

Wind gusted up to 35 mph on Long Island, where 7,000 homes and businesses lost power, according to the Long Island Power Authority.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2002

Answers

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

54 degrees here.

and us with no heat in the house. LOL inside the temp is 72.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

No problems here. It started with a light coating of wet snow and then switched to an accumulation of almost 2 inches of rain. Apparently just cold enough that the rain didn't make all the snow go away. So, not too far inland it would have been REAL bad.

OTOH, not worth trying to do any yardwork this weekend. At this rate, my house will be cleaned up before the real winter hits. Then what will I do for the rest of the winter?

Oh yeah, time to repaint EVERYTHING...

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

do it with oil base paint so at least you can get high while yer paintin'. LOL

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

BF, I was harrassed by the lyrics of the following song while I was feverishly painting my living room back in 1991:

http://members.aol.com/berrymanp/alyrics/lroom.html

(Lou:) Holes in the ozone the size of Brazil Barges of trash in the chewable breeze Pools of industrial wasteland pate' Sulfur dioxide dissolving the trees Pretty soon it will all end with a boom Why am I painting the living room?

(Peter:) I have the whole day off Cause it's a Saturday There is a bluegrass band Somewhere along the bay Look at the lilacs bloom Why am I painting the living room?

(Lou:) A pinhead evangelist pays for his sin With a five dollar fine for a black collar crime Kingpins of industry knowingly nod Just like lake Erie they're 12% slime They wink at the president too I assume And here I am painting the living room

(Peter:) I hear the bluebird sing Don't let the day go by Look at the blossoms blow Over the blue blue sky All with a wild perfume And here I am painting the living room

(Both (repeated as per melody):) Why am I painting the living room?

(Lou:) Ah yes I can see how my tombstone will read Here lies someone of exceptional worth Though she did not do a lot for her kind Or help hold together this crumbling earth Here lies a woman they're saying of whom Sure had a goodlooking living room...

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

ROTF!

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

LOL

my :lol sympathies for having barry manilow on the brain. At least it wasn't cococabana. LOL

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

The Berrymans are cool, good satirical folk music, nothing like Manilow.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

oops! my bad.

i saw barryman in your link and immediately thought it was manilow.

I suspect my punishment will be to have him singing in my head all night at work.

Mandy...

oh shit, it's started!

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

I really do want to repaint my livingroom this winter. Ceiling too! Think I'll order up the CD and have that tune looping over and over just to give me the inspiration. It's a classic! But this time I'll use a roller instead of a 2" brush. (Can't believe I was ever that anal.) First time around I nearly dropped the can of paint, but wasn't in a position to dash to the phone to ask the radio station what in the world that song was.

Last time I hadn't yet moved into the house and my kitty was still in Boston that week. This time I have 3 cats that aren'it likely to appreciate being cooped up. I hope the Berrymans can drown them out.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

I recommend listening to ham theory tapes. (-:

Sent you a PM at TB, Brooks. If that mail is annoying you too much, the gist is that I missed Extra by 3 points, again. Argh! I'm cursed.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002