This is not the post I intended to publish today.
But we’re less than 48 hours away now from the predicted arrival of a major winter storm. The chances of this thing being “just a big nothingburger” are rapidly diminishing.
In fact, the forecast looks eerily similar to the forecast a day or two before the famous Memphis ice storm of ’94.
Not yet a Downtowner, I was living in The Gilmore at Madison and McLean. I was a credit hour from wrapping up my master’s degree at the U of M, and I was working there in a full-time computer support role.
I tried to come to work the morning the ’94 ice storm hit. But my ’79 Mustang hatchback wouldn’t move a foot in any direction on the Gilmore’s parking lot. A neighbor gave me kitty litter to put under the tires. It didn’t help.
I went back inside and called into work, then turned on the TV. Trees and power lines were down all over the city. Linden Avenue between Barksdale and Cooper looked like a war zone.
Some neighborhoods went 10 days or longer before the power was restored.
My point in telling you this is, don’t take the threat of an ice storm lightly.
No, I don’t think Downtown ’26 will resemble Linden Avenue ’94. There are not as many trees Downtown, and the power lines are underground. But I’d recommend avoiding driving at all costs. If you walk, wear shoes with good traction and remember, there could be a half-inch of solid ice under those several inches of snow.
Back tomorrow with more news.
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