“It sounds like a t-Tex walking through the trees!”

[Velodromed]

We’re in the midst of an ice storm in far north San Antonio and our gorgeous oak trees are not used to it. I was standing out front with the kid (schools out several days cause folks can’t drive around here in good weather), and all you could hear was tree branches falling through the low canopies all around is. Even the tops of our trees look like they were ripped off by a monster.

We decided it sounded just like the T-Tex walking through the trees when they were up in the high hide in Jurassic park 2, or King Kong on skull island. Suddenly there was a small crack in front and above us. “Oh, let’s move back more kiddo, to be safe”. So we did and a decent size tree limb exploded and fell 10 feet away from us.

Fortunately I’d moved the cars out from under the trees early morning once I realized what was happening. We got 36 more hours of it then things warm up. I know this is nothing compared to what many of y’all are going through. What’s exciting for us is deadly for many. Our good thoughts and prayers are with everyone.

Ugh. A tree branch just landed on the roof enough to shake things up…gotta run.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Dang those are some beautiful trees (oak trees right?). That stinks man!!!!

 

[kspitters]

Gorgeous out there! I just have a foot of snow everywhere, so not too bad. The worst part is the bad drivers who think they have paddles on, when in reality they have street tires. They’re not made for the snow

 

[CrashBoom]

On the plus side, oak would be a sturdy wood for ramps.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Holy crap, that's scary! Good luck!! We have a blast of cold air headed our way in a few days, I think they said it will be below zero (approaching -10F?) on Saturday morning. Oof. Stay safe everyone!

 

[Jon NC RC]

We had an ice storm near Omaha..... Halloween night ... Some 25 years ago...... Power out for days..... Thousands of trees busted up like your pictures show.....

Be safe.... Stay warm

 

[Notorious J]

That's brutal to see. We had an ice storm here about 4 years ago that wreaked havoc. Those are some huge oaks and I guess you're fortunate the damage is minimal. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

[~Kaos911~]

@Velodromed first of all stay safe!

When I lived in East Texas we had a few bouts with ice. The pines really do not like ice, the sap would expand and cause the trees to explode. Sounded like cannons being fired all around our house not to mention the splinters and tree tops falling. As a kid it was scary cool.
We just had a taste of ice Monday night into yesterday morning from a system that came up from Texas, Arkansas and then just missed another last night. One might have thought I was driving my Kraton for the first time yesterday after I hit two curbs trying to turn.

 

[Doom!]

Sucks that something that looks so cool can cause so much damage. I love how freezing rain makes everything look like it's coated in glass.

 

[RedOctobyr]

We had an ice storm near Omaha..... Halloween night ... Some 25 years ago...... Power out for days..... Thousands of trees busted up like your pictures show.....

Be safe.... Stay warm

Oof, yeah, not long after we bought our house, an ice storm took out our power for 3 days. Keeping the house from freezing was a challenge.

We have since gotten a generator, and had it wired in, which was a huge help. Now storms are still annoying, but we can keep the house warm, the food cold, and the lights on. Which is a huge benefit.

 

[Velodromed]

It is beautiful and I do love the sounds of ice crackling and branches breaking. It’s like sound with texture if that makes sense. I walked out a bit ago to find a large branch had glanced off the house shaking it somewhat, no issues I can tell. We’re not super worried about the electric going out, being on the same grid as next door the military Camp Bullis. If it does they tend to fix it quick.

Dang those are some beautiful trees (oak trees right?). That stinks man!!!!

Yup, a mix of Live Oaks and other types. We will have good BBQ wood next year once it cures.

 

[Jiggs H]

This is certainly more cold than most of us Texans are used to! My office is inside a big warehouse and I have no windows to the outdoors so for 9 hours each day I have no clue what the weather is doing unless I get a emergency alert on my phone or one of the warehouse crew comes in and tells me! We had tornadoes last week that did some damage, and now this cold wet stuff, certainly not fun! Luckily here near the coast we're not forecast to see any freezing temps (for now anyway). I actually have a short trip further north to Dayton TX after work today, the greater Houston area is so big there can be degrees worth of difference driving from one place to another Stay safe and warm!!

 

[Velodromed]

That's brutal to see. We had an ice storm here about 4 years ago that wreaked havoc. Those are some huge oaks and I guess you're fortunate the damage is minimal. Hopefully it stays that way.

Thanks, we removed the big branches overhanging the house awhile back...except one big one over the garage corner. I’m giving that one the eye. The cars worried me most since we left them over the driveway, which is covered with overhanging trees. I got them out quick after I heard a big limb crash outside our room early morning.

When I got out there the big limbs were so weighed down they were hanging just a couple feet over the cars and the leafed canopy was just 2 feet off the the driveway behind them. Had to crash through it backing up the cars, which were coated with 1/2”+ of ice so shouldn’t have scratched them up too bad. I hope.

This is certainly more cold than most of us Texans are used to! My office is inside a big warehouse and I have no windows to the outdoors so for 9 hours each day I have no clue what the weather is doing unless I get a emergency alert on my phone or one of the warehouse crew comes in and tells me! We had tornadoes last week that did some damage, and now this cold wet stuff, certainly not fun! Luckily here near the coast we're not forecast to see any freezing temps (for now anyway). I actually have a short trip further north to Dayton TX after work today, the greater Houston area is so big there can be degrees worth of difference driving from one place to another Stay safe and warm!!

Man am I glad the winds are dead still. Otherwise it would be much worse for the trees.

 

[Dan B.]

Yeah, I lived in San Angelo (west Texas) for a few years and the whole region shut down if there was a heavy frost. Texas ain’t geared up to fight much ice and snow. I hope your live oaks recover. Hang in there, man. Spring’s coming!

 

[Velodromed]

Yeah, I lived in San Angelo (west Texas) for a few years and the whole region shut down if there was a heavy frost. Texas ain’t geared up to fight much ice and snow. I hope your live oaks recover. Hang in there, man. Spring’s coming!

No kidding. Just the rumor of severe ice shut down schools a day early. The trees will be fine. This gets rid of dead and weak branches so they should rebound nicely. Except the ones that fully fall that is.

 

[#ARRMArcfanboy4life]

I guess it wasn't a twig I stepped on last night...

 

[Robbbbbb66]

Holy crap, that's scary! Good luck!! We have a blast of cold air headed our way in a few days, I think they said it will be below zero (approaching -10F?) on Saturday morning. Oof. Stay safe everyone!

It is supposed to be -35 F here on Friday night, not out of the ordinary for winter up here though to have a couple of deep negative temp days.

 

[3x9rtse]

I thought it's supposed to be warm in Texas ?

 

[Velodromed]

It’s true! (neither rain nor sleet…)

Ugh, limbs are on the power lines and they are going to go soon. Got freezing rain on the way as well. Poor trees are draggin’ ass with the worst to come. Walked up and down the street 5 minutes and limbs were crashing constantly all around.

 

[RedOctobyr]

It is supposed to be -35 F here on Friday night, not out of the ordinary for winter up here though to have a couple of deep negative temp days.

Yikes, that's the air temperature?? Wow. The news says our windchill may be -30F on Saturday morning, but that's not the actual air temp. Stay warm!! We're in New England, but it's rare that we get below zero.