Ice Storm on Crawford Street – 1991

The Ice Storm of the Century

 Ice Storm 1991

 March 3-4, 1991: The night before this picture was taken, it was raining as hard as I’ve ever seen it rain here in Rochester. I was returning home (north on South Ave) when I ran into a deep pond of water that had congregated in the slight dip in the road between the Al Sigl Center and St. John’s Home just prior to the light. It was deep enough to stall out my car along with several other cars in front of me. In time, I managed to jog my battery enough to get my car around the corner onto Highland Ave. I had planned to abandon it there and walk home through the park in the pouring rain, when, miraculously, I saw a tow truck ahead of me helping another car. I flagged him down and he was able to charge my battery, so that I could make it home. I was wet and distressed enough to go to bed early that night. We all awoke the next morning to the crackling of branches that were continually falling from the trees. I had planned to go to work until I got outside and saw the damage. I then went out long enough to snap this picture of the street. I didn’t stay out long, as large branches were constantly breaking off and dropping to the ground. You would hear a loud crack, then a loud crash, as the branch and its icy limbs hit the ground.  Actually, the residents in the homes pictured here faired well during the aftermath of the storm, unlike so many others only a block or two away. We only lost cable for 4 hours and never lost electrical power. Consequently, we never lost heat and were able to provide some relief to nearby neighbors who suffered without heat and electrical power for up to 6 weeks after the storm. One reason we faired so well was that our electrical service runs through our back yards and, so, was unaffected by the brittle Sycamore trees shown here. I spent many weeks afterwards cutting up these fallen limbs and branches with a borrowed chain saw until we were able to achieve a sense of normalcy again