NJ Storm

[cruisin]

On my phone, must be short. Don't have time to search for existing thread. No power or heat since Saturday around 1pm. It's 47 degrees in the house. Not much chance for power until Thursday or Friday. Trees and powe lines down all over. Looks like a war zone.

[Yazmeen]

Oh, my, I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it was that bad. Can you go somewhere else for a couple of days?

[GarrAarghHrumph]

My yard looks like a 90' tall Big Foot stomped through it, smooshing all trees and bushes in its path. My entire town looks the same. But at least I have power, for which I'm grateful.

A lot of this area won't get power back for some days. One good thing is that the daytime temps are going to be going up a bit over the next couple of days, which can help those without heat somewhat.

Lots of schools are still cancelled here, for a second day.

[Aceon6]

Still no power where I live. The tree guys did come and clean up, so the lawn no longer looks like a beaver training ground. No hotel rooms to be had in the general area, either. Folks are bring all sorts of electronics to work so they can charge them. The guy a few cubes over from me has 3 laptops, 2 cell phones, a handheld game and his iPad all charging. Seems the biggest shortage is outlets!

[cruisin]

Unfortunately, nowhere to go, I have a dog. And not an available hotel room t be found. Could go to my brother's, but that's an hour and a half away. Too far to leave the house unchecked. It's warmer outside, but the house is not warming above 51 degrees. That' cold! Night is miserable, no light, no heat. I do have hot water, but yesterday, I had to dry my hair using the heat vent in my car, turned way up. Charging my phone in the car too. This is far worse than the hurricane. I don't know when the mess will get cleaned up. Our driveway finally got plowed, but they needed chain saws to clear the two enormous trees that fell across it. Thankfully they didn't hit the house.

[Southpaw]

Hang tough, cruisin! Next time take your hair dryer to a public bathroom and dry it there. Who cares if people look at you funny!

[milanessa]

This is far worse than the hurricane. I don't know when the mess will get cleaned up. Our driveway finally got plowed, but they needed chain saws to clear the two enormous trees that fell across it. Thankfully they didn't hit the house.

I hope you kept the wood for your fireplace. I feel for all of you without power. Happens to us every few years and, when it does, we don't even have water.

Next time take your hair dryer to a public bathroom and dry it there. Who cares if people look at you funny!

Yep. The Y here opens their showers (and outlets) to all when this happens. No one looks at you funny since we're all in the same boat.

[WindSpirit]

(((cruisin))) I know exactly how you feel. I was in the same situation. No power since Saturday, just got it back an hour ago. They were saying Thursday, too. Hopefully you'll be next. Sending you lots of HOT vibes. Hang in there!

[Aimless]

I just talked to my mother in western Connecticut. She was in the middle of giving a little party lunch for her friends, none of whom have power or heat in their homes. She has two wood stoves that are a godsend at times like this. The burners on her gas stove work too. She having her friends over to warm up. Mind you, this old dame is 84 years old and still humping wood into the house. God bless her, she's pure gold, and I worry a lot about her in a dark house at night. I heard it was the worst power outage in Connecticut's history. Worse than Irene?

[WindSpirit]

I heard it was the worst power outage in Connecticut's history. Worse than Irene?

They lost power for about two weeks then, but it wasn't so cold then. So yeah, I would call this one worse. Dark is one thing, your house being freezing cold is another. Like cruisin said it's miserable.

[Stormy]

Yes, many are in the same boat in MA. We only lost power for about 12 hours, most of it overnight. We were incredibly lucky in that regard. Many towns still don't have power and there's a lot of downed trees and branches everywhere. We're getting a generator ASAP if this is any indication of how winter is going to be.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I heard it was the worst power outage in Connecticut's history. Worse than Irene?

They lost power for about two weeks then, but it wasn't so cold then. So yeah, I would call this one worse. Dark is one thing, your house being freezing cold is another. Like cruisin said it's miserable.

There are also more people without power from this storm in CT than there were after Irene, so that's probably a factor. Irene caused 600,000 people in CT to lose power. This storm caused 750,000 people there to lose power.

[vesperholly]

This is exactly what Buffalo experienced in 2006, although it was even earlier in October, around the 14th. My neighborhood, north of the city, "only" lost power for 2 days because our lines are underground, but many places with aboveground powerlines lost power for a week or more. In the best timing of my life, I was visiting my sister in Florida.

The leaves on the trees are supposed to fall off before it snows, otherwise branches become too heavy and branches/trees come down. Stormy, if they're predicting any more snow for your area before Thanksgiving, I'd definitely get a generator! Buffalo was a huge mess and it made national news. Hopefully you can get cleaned up fast!

[Chele615]

We lost power for 2 days, but a good chunk of my town in still without power. School has been cancelled all week, with another day off tomorrow. Out of the 9 schools in town, only four of them have power. There was a professional development day scheduled today for us teachers, but they let us leave a bit early and do "prep" from home if there was power there because the high school had no heat.

[sk9tingfan]

There are also more people without power from this storm in CT than there were after Irene, so that's probably a factor. Irene caused 600,000 people in CT to lose power. This storm caused 750,000 people there to lose power.

Possibly more and I'm one of them. I flew into Newark from Toronto post SC and drove to my Mom who had power. 100% of my town and most around me have no power and it probably won't be back up until the weekend(hopefully). I was supposed to finish my vacation at home but decided I might as well turn around and go back to NJ to work. There was a 40 foot tree that was dislodged at the roots and fell between my and my neighbor's house, narrowly missing mine by about 5 feet!

[Garden Kitty]

I got power back sometime during the day, so it was on when I got home from work. Good wishes for quick recovery to everyone still without power.

[Louis]

A lot of people have been out of work this week due to power issues.

Cruisin, there are some area hotels that will take dogs. My boss has been in three separate ones since Saturday with her two dogs. She just got power back and was planning to return home tonight, but she had a reservation until Friday. I wish I had asked her the name of the hotel.....

Hope you get power soon!

I have power, but a roof that is currently open to the elements. So much for doing construction before the bad weather hit.....

[Lacey]

Um, Louis, isn't it a little cold?

[milanessa]

Um, Louis, isn't it a little cold?

A little cuddling with Sweets keeps Louis warm.

[smurfy]

Note on numbers for connecticit - it is number of customers/households, not people, so higher.
I am outside Hartford and have power (my town is about 50 percent). Many towns are 100% out and schools close for rest of week. I work in a department of 25 and only one other coworkers has power as of today. I live on a townhouse complex, and I have never seen so many cars, many of my neighbors have family/friends staying w them. I know folks staying at hotels or showering at work. But everyone I know Is very positive.