Coping With Power Outages (And Subzero Temperatures)
Ours was among the well over one million homes that lost electricity as a result of the Northeastern ice storm that hit New England and beyond on the evening of Thursday, December 11, 2008. The extent of power outages caused by this ice storm is being classified as one of the worst ever. Other outages included land-based phone, cable, and internet services. Our place went dark at around 10 PM EST on Thursday. We had power restored around 8 PM EST on Friday. We were lucky to have power restored in about 24 hours. Estimates for other regions are as high as two weeks. Living without power for almost an entire day was an important experience, especially for the kids. Luckily we were fairly well equipped to weather the storm. Here's a summary of the lessons either learned or reinforced. Keep a powerful outdoor flashlight, e.g. something that operates on three type D batteries . Such a flashlight will provide extended run time and a strong beam of light. However, use the flashlight spar...