Our 3-inch coating of sleet should start melting today. The forecast is for 56 degrees. Mountain View is almost back to normal. The highways are clear, side streets are sleet-covered but passable. We did not lose electrical power. Most businesses are back to normal.
The weight of the ice on roofs has been a problem. Curtis Department Store roof in Ava collapsed. Wal-Mart stores in Branson and Mtn. Grove were closed for a time yesterday because of fears of roof damage. In Mountain View Smith Flooring lost a metal building when the roof collapsed and the Mountain View Community Church also fell in. Several hay barns have fallen under the weight of the ice.
South of here, things are anything but "normal".
Here are some electrical outage numbers from utilities, as of Friday afternoon: --Entergy-Arkansas, 89,000 --Howell-Oregon Co-op, based in West Plains, 7,000 outages --Ozark Border Co-op, based in Poplar Bluff, 24,000 outages --White River Valley Co-op, based in Branson, 2,905; --North Arkansas Electric Co-op, based in Salem, 30,000 [1,500 broken poles] --Carroll Electric, based in Berryville, 30,000; --SWEPCO, serving northwest Arkansas, 59,000 --Pemiscot-Dunklin Co-op, based in Hayti, 6,000 --SEMO Co-op, based in Sikeston, 10,000 --AmereunUE, in Missouri Bootheel counties, 34,600. ---- from KY3 website.
People are living in emergency shelters at at least 14 locations from Harrison, AR, to Sikeston, MO. The Red Cross will be there as long as they are needed.
As the ground warms today, the electrical crews will have more difficulty traveling the hills and valleys of the Ozarks.
That's the news from My Corner of the Ozarks. But ...
Does God know what's going on in the Ozarks? Does God care? Is God to blame?
In Romans 5 the Apostle Paul says that we should rejoice in our suffering. That is certainly not easy for anyone, especially in the midst of the storm. The Apostle goes on to say that "suffering produces perserverance, perserverance character, and character hope." Our hope is a certain hope that "does not disappoint". Our hope is in Jesus Christ.
1 comment:
I experienced some of your ice on the way to Louisiana a little over a week ago. We stopped in Sikeston but nothing, nothing was open. It was that way for many, many miles. Glad you are recovering.
Paul
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