According to a local station, “Winter Storm Alfred was one for the record books! Not ONLY was it the worst October snowstorm on record (the old record at Bradley International was 1.7" of snow in October of 1979), but it is also responsible for the GREATEST power outage in state history (surpassing the recent record from Tropical Storm Irene in late August). About 831,000 customers lost power at the peak. The number of outages was due to the weight of heavy wet snow sticking to trees, branches, and power lines …combined with a gusty wind. Since the storm came so early, foliage was still on many trees and this only compounded the problem”. Unfortunately, the response of the our main light and power company was awful and totally unreliable as to when we were to receive our power back. That is a whole other story not worth discussing!
At first, I thought a light snow would be beautiful on the foliage. After I leave Vermont after foliage season, I usually have a good three weekends, sometimes more, to follow the color in my state. This sequence obviously, was totally off for this season. The storm worsened and the first night, the trees were snapping and falling and crashing everywhere. No one had much sleep with the power lines breaking, transformers blowing out every few minutes and sirens screaming all night. It was unbelievable and surreal. I, along with most of the neighbors and friends, thought the trees were coming down on our homes any minute!!! I said my prayers! It worked! Very few homes were destroyed by toppling trees in my town. Why they chose the roads and back yards, I’ll never understand.
The next morning, when I looked out my windows, the scene was like out of a disaster movie. My property in the back was devastated but thank goodness, there was no damage to my home. My garage was impaled and my trees brought down surrounding fences and the property of neighbors. I could not even see the grass in my back yard. I kept looking out of my window thinking it was a bad dream! Really, I didn’t know where to start because of the danger of going outside. Power lines were live everywhere. Some burning and smoldering. The first day was ok because the house was still warm. On the positive side, the best part of all, was that I got about 9 hours of sleep a night!!!! I had no electricity, hot water or heat. So it was off to bed early under piles of comforters for a long slumber! There were two parts that were not very pleasant. The darkness came at 6:15 p.m. It made for a very long night. There's only so much reading by flashlight that one can enjoy. The worst was waking up in the cold and dark with icy temperatures in the house hovering around 44 degrees! And getting dressed (ugh) in cold clothes! Yowzah!
I finally figured out to put my clothes under my blankets at night after a few days!!! Isn’t this what farmers do???? 
The key to dealing with nine, almost ten days of power outage, was preparation, organization and determination. Thoughts of Vermonters’ resilience in coping with Irene helped me through the disaster in the coming days. Complaining and whining were useless after the first few days, but I have to admit, I did my fair share! Ultimately, I had to take care of myself and pet. When I got home from work (where I charged cell phone, got warm, etc.), I organized my flashlights and lanterns, clothes for the next day, and checked on the outdoor coolers filled with food and drink that I put snow on to keep cold at night. I had to improvise and keep focused! I also made a safety check around the entire house to make sure nothing scary was going on with the pipes, furnace and hot, or rather “cold” water heater. I was really worried about frozen pipes but the days were warm and for that we were very thankful! The gas lines at the stations were unreal. Lines galore. Folks waiting for hours in the first half of the outage and running out of gas sitting there. I had one scary moment with an 1/8 tank left and with no gas stations available due to closures or ridiculously long lines, but with a tip from a co-worker found a station in another town and was saved! Talk about anxiety!!!! And, I was able to shower each day where there was a generator going and also gas for hot water!
But manage for nine plus days I did. Many of my friends and neighbors left the state or moved in with relatives further away with power. But I continued to go to work and kept myself from thinking too far ahead. I took one day at a time. By the end of the ninth day however, I didn’t think I could go another day and was thinking of leaving Connecticut to another state. I was almost in tears. BUT, miraculously, at 8:10 p.m. Sunday night, the 6th of November, the power came on. I was in shock! (No pun intended). At first, I didn’t know what to do! Little by little, I started to plug things in but not too many. Paranoia about losing power again was always in the back of my mind. The funny (strange) part was that when the lights in the house came on, I still had my flashlight on where ever I went! I think I was so afraid of losing what power I had!!!! Or maybe I had “lost” my mind at this point, who knows! Actually, I think delirium was starting to creep in!
I truly learned a lot from this experience, mostly about myself. That I can deal with things I never thought I could do. That I can be very self-sufficient and can do very well without my amenities: my beloved shower massage, internet, hot food, hair dryer, microwave, frig, etc. etc. etc. Maintaining basic needs were of utmost importance. Keeping connected to others by phone (land line or cell) for an hour or so each night was vital. My friends, family members and neighbors were there to help me in the recovery end. For that I am forever thankful. And thankful for all the out-of-state utility workers as far away as North Dakota, Ohio, Canada, and the UP of Michigan to name just a few, who came to Connecticut to assist in the disaster. Finally, a special thank you to my friends on this foliage forum who have been concerned about me the last couple of weeks! You are the best!
So writing this narrative has been quite cathartic to say the least. My yard is perfect now - not a branch or twig in sight. It feels like summer outside today. Reminders of the storm around town are slowly disappearing. School reopens tomorrow. Few lives have been lost. I’m back to some semblance of normalcy - whatever that means - and although we lost power for a few hours yesterday (pretty unnerving), we are on the mend here. Many are still without power in Connecticut and entering their 10th, 11th or 12th day but there is an end in sight. For you Moms out there, I liken this labor, an ordeal with an awesome end in sight! My power coming on was like giving birth!!!!
I’ll never forget this. But maybe I am really ready for a reality show? You never know with me! I pray that we don’t have any ice storms this winter. But I am prepared AND ready!
The full moon is shining bright tonight in a clear sky with summer-like temperatures.
Life is good.
I was worried how a city girl would do in survival mode. It sounds like you did great. I've had to go through a few power outages, but none more than a couple of days. I hope you had time to set up next year's foliage trip.
At some point soon, well before winter, I will revisit my emergency preparedness and see where I can improve for the future. One thing I did before the storm hit was to run the dishwasher and do a few loads of laundry. That helped quite a bit! 