Picspam: Last night's ice storm

[bironic]

Before Valentine's Day, we hadn't had an ice storm in years. Now we've had another one on St. Patrick's Day. The weather feels like celebrating this year, I suppose.

It has come to my attention that some of you have never seen an ice storm or even heard of one. You're missing out! They happen when supercooled rain freezes on impact, leaving everything from the ground to the treetops coated in smooth, clear ice and dripping with icicles. If a lot of ice accumulates, branches and telephone wires sag under the weight. When the sun comes out, the world sparkles. It's simple, it's dangerous, and it's beautiful.

The tricky thing about ice storms around here is that it's usually warm enough that when the sun comes out, the ice melts, so you're left with only a narrow window to gaze in delight and to snap photos. My digital camera leaves a lot to be desired too, so these shots really don't do the sight in our yard this morning justice.

Nevertheless. For those of you who love ice storms or want to know what one/ours looks like, here are some glimpses of the remnants of last night's storm.


The aforementioned telephone wires:





These two shots were the best of the bunch for showing how things look overall:










Some detail shots. You can really see how the tubes of ice form around tree branches, buds and leaves:














Annnnd some random shots.






Memoryfest 1 people may remember a story about a tree I planted the day I won an INXS cassette tape. This is it:






Finally the sun came out and lit everything up like cut glass. You can almost tell:






ETA: Sunny and melting all over the place.




Quick attempt to capture the beauty while in the car (no, I wasn't the one driving):

Comments

[rivers-bend.livejournal.com]

Whenever I hear the words 'ice storm' I think of the film, and of the devastating ice storm my aunt and uncle had in VT several years ago that destroyed half their property.

So they scare me.

but that one looks beautiful.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Beautiful photos! The large tree is especially lovely in the sun. Something like that might make a really nice icon.

Ice storms are much more common here than snow, unfortunately, although we haven't had much of either this year.

[annephoenix.livejournal.com]

wow that is quite something -- thanks for the pics!

[bell]

I understand that ice storm causes all kinds of damage to trees & man-made structures, but I can't help it-- I think they're absolutely gorgeous, and each year I used to hope that I'd get to see it again. Now I'm in a place with green leaves year round, and in many ways I prefer that-- I hate seeing what I call "naked" trees (ie, without leaves)-- but I do miss the ice storms.

[purridot.livejournal.com]

I am captivated by the haunting idea that everything looks like it were made of glass. How otherworldly and alien.

(We get lovely snow, but no ice storms -- yesterday all the trees were completely coated with sparkly frost, it was uncannily beautiful. Wish I'd taken a picture!)

[roga.livejournal.com]

I'd never heard of an ice storm before, and wow, those photos are gorgeous. The tubes forming around everything are amazing.

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

One of the more beautiful forms of destruction. We have them fairly often towards the end of winter. Lovely pictures. I'll have to remember to take pictures next time instead of simply bitching that my car is completely frozen over.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

How gorgeous! I've been through earthquakes and typhoons and bushfires and floods, but none of them are quite as pretty ;)

[lima-sierra.livejournal.com]

The ice looks both incredibly beautiful and dangerous. Great photos!

I've never seen an ice storm but did experience freezing fog over Christmas whilst walking up Scafell Pike in the Lake District. The rocks on the path were covered in a thin layer of ice and every strand of grass was thickened by about 5mm of opaque ice, making them look rectangular. Stunning but a right pain to walk on!

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Off-topic, but it's mildly important (to me)! I'm applying for a prompt community for muses and need to write 200+ words from Wilson's POV about his worst fear. What do you think I ought to write about? (I'm asking a handful of people in particular for their opinion on this. You're special! :D)