I was backing up some files the other day and came across these pics from when I worked in OKC. That storm did a lot of damage to the wireless network. My info says this was in and around Lawton.
Some of them are very resilient. I had a pine tree that was a good 25-30 feet tall that got bent over by ice storms to the point that its top was frozen to the ground on multiple occasions. It even survived my brother in law backing into it and scraping off a big chunk of bark. A combination of borer worms and drought finally got it, though. I had another that was heavily shaded on its south side, so most of its growth was on the north side. The big ice storm a few years ago got it; I think it just couldn't handle all the excess weight on one side. It snapped off about six feet up the trunk.
Went out front a few minutes ago and heard a big limb break off and fall somewhere close by, it's currently 28° here in Norman and we're having thunder, lightning and light rain......looks like the ice build up is going to get worse before it gets any better.
Still have power here, southeast of Guthrie. Fingers crossed. It flickered about 30 minutes ago.... I just went down to the barn and gathered up gennie supplies. Got some extension cords, and the small gas jug. I have about 16 gallons on hand, and the small (2300 watt) gennie burns a quart per hour. Enough for 4-5 days with rationing. Then I fire up the bigger gen. 3500 watt, it runs on propane. I have roughly 120 pounds of propane in smaller tanks. That should be good for another few days. I've also got a 10kw, but it REALLY burns fuel. I hope I don't need any of it. We're far enough back that our power would be out for some time. I can't believe I still have internet.
Ice storm resistant trees http://www.oklahomagardening.okstate.edu/articles/tree-and-shrubs/tree-selection-for-ice-tolerance/
Yep, that's our radio tower. Had a late January ice storm in 2010, tower came down and managed to mostly miss the POS building. It wrapped around it. I want to say the ice progressively got thicker, up to three inches near the top. The 50 year old tower wasn't rated for ice, only rated for 60mph winds lol. The ice that came off as the tower fell just stuck in the ground, looked liked Supermans fortress of solitude. There's still two huge sections of tower sticking out of the ground that the crane couldn't pull out. Tried to snooze the alarm this morning, but the sound of crashing limbs tore me out of bed in a frenzy. My neighbor has three big cottonwoods along the fence line. One over my shop, one over my bedroom, the other over the gun room. At least all the limbs have been under four inches so far. Hoping the ice will melt throughout the day. It's back up to 32 in Lawton and raining.
