Safely in Springfield

A record Springfield ice storm was not enough to keep us out, although it has forced the university to cancel the first week of classes. Tens of thousands of people were without power as power lines weighed down by ice touched the ground, snapped, and toppled power poles. Everything was covered by a 1-3 cm thick layer of ice, including parking meters, bicycles, basketball rings, trees, volleyball nets, and hand rails.

Today we had a top of -5C and a low of -16C, with some light snow. Andrew and I were out in our shorts; Andrew taking particular pleasure in kicking and shattering anything icy.

For photos and news of the ice storms, go to:

www.news-leader.com

This map shows the distribution of ice. Springfield is in Green county, right where the heaviest icing occurred.