Might have to change this to snow storm, because that is what it is actually doing at the moment. It has been foggy off and on throughout the last several days. It gets really annoying when people decide they do not have to drive with headlights on through the fog and rain. I will get more into that thought later. I am still trying to figure out what exactly happened. I have suspicions, but no proof just yet.
I turned my rental in the other day. No, I have not gotten my car back. The front bumper for the car is on backorder, so that is what is delaying them fixing it. I am a little peeved. My friend, Khandi was nice enough to let me borrow her Jeep until either my car gets fixed, or she comes back from Virginia, whichever comes first. If she comes back first, I guess I will borrow her husband's car. I am sure the car needs to be driven a little bit.
My boyfriend, Rob has a friend staying with him for a couple days until his power finally comes back on. It has been out since sometime Sunday, so a week now. I hope his power comes back on soon.
So far, the roads are still clear, and I had to exert minimum effort to scrape the snow off the Jeep's windshield.
We seem to have gotten through the brunt of the storm, at least for now. This is not the worst ice storm I have seen. The roads stayed fairly clear of ice. The worst part of it was the damage to the power lines and trees. I have never seen so many damaged trees. I have seen quite a few that will likely die because of all the branches that have fallen off. It is a sad sight. I think Oklahoma needs more trees, and this storm has caused a lot of damage to the ones already here.
My boyfriend, Rob, and my friend, Khandi, have been without power since 1030 yesterday morning. I believe Rob spent the night at a friend's house. I am not sure if Khandi was able to do anything. I tried to call her, but her phone went dead just a few seconds into the conversation. I hope she is doing okay. A lot of people I work with were without power, too. I hope their power comes back on soon. I know what it is like to go a long time without power.
It was an adventure driving to work. The road I went down was narrowed to two lanes instead of the usual four because of tree debris. I called my troops and made sure they knew they still needed to show up. This was after one troop actually asked me if work was canceled. Not our career field. Our job is never done.
It has warmed up a little and the ice is melting. It is raining, too, so hopefully that will speed the melting process along. The sooner, the better. I think it will be good to see the trees relieved of the ice that weights their branches down. I can only hope that the damage I saw was not as bad as it looked.
Oklahoma is in the midst of its first winter ice storm. We have had two thunderstorms in the past 24 hours, which I do not ever recall ever witnessing in the midst of December. Rain, sleet, snow, lightning, and thunder. Not a friendly combination.
The roads are not too bad yet, but then again, I have not been driving on them for almost two hours now, so things might have changed since I was last out and about. I stepped out briefly to get some food. I spent at least half an hour warming up my car and scraping the ice off the windshield, the front windows, and the rear view window. It is not something I look forward to doing before going to work tomorrow evening, but I do not have a choice.
My job is mission essential, so I will be working, despite the nasty weather. I just hope I do not have to tell a young troop they are not allowed to drive in this type of weather. I did last year after one young troop got my patrol car stuck in the snow for three and a half hours. Needless to say, I no longer let people borrow my patrol vehicle for posting purposes during certain weather conditions.