Ice – Walt in PA

If you live in Pennsylvania, I don’t have to tell you about the weather we’ve been having over the past few weeks. It seems like once we get cleaned up from one storm we get smacked by a new one. Earlier this week, the Reading area was hit with an average of 9 inches of snow. If clearing that much snow from walkways, sidewalks, and digging out two cars (street parking) wasn’t enough, weather forecasts were calling for an additional 3-6 inches last night. Yet another system was supposed to follow and drop an estimated 2 inches of ice on Friday. The system that moved in last night was much worse than 3-6 inches of snow. Instead, we were blanketed in sleet and freezing rain. When I stepped out my front door to go to work, I found my walkway to be a giant sheet of ice. I called out of work, went back inside and poured myself a bowl of cereal while I watched the local news. My daughter woke up a few minutes later and I turned on cartoons while I finished eating. Before I could finish my cereal, there was a pop and a crash. Having a house surrounded by trees, I knew what that sound was, all too well. I opened the blinds and looked out over my front yard. What I saw was a downed tree limb that hit my cable line on the way down. The cable line was ripped free of my house and was now laying on the ground. Amazingly I still had cable and internet service (the anchors were ripped out but the connection was intact). The big problem was that the other end of the line was drooping into the street. While on the phone, fighting with the automated Comcast Support System, I heard yet another pop and crash. I stepped out onto my porch and found my neighbors swing set obliterated by a large limb. I was able to get a Comcast Safety Ticket Issued and spent the next couple of hours tensely listening to limbs and branches break all around the neighborhood. Truth be told, I would have gladly taken another 9” of snow over this mess. Sleet and freezing rain always leads to damage and lots of cleanup, especially when your house is surrounded by trees. All I can do now is keep my fingers crossed and hope that the next storm breaks up and we don’t wind up with even more sleet and freezing rain.