Even though NOAA's Climate Prediction Center says this year's winter will be warmer and drier than normal, that doesn't mean there's not a chance for frozen precipitation.
The nemesis of power lines in the South is the pine tree. It seems they actively look for power lines to fall across. Their soft wood, coarse growth rings and top-heavy design make them perfect for the task when frozen precipitation builds on needles and limbs.
That means not only do our line technicians have to put the wires back together when your power goes out; they also end up doing a fair amount of tree work just to get to the downed lines.
If you're new to our area, snow doesn't usually present a problem. If the flakes are dry and small, and we get a little help from the wind, snow tends not to stick to pine trees.
If you were around in March 2008, you lived through an exception to that rule. An unusually heavy, wet and rapid snowfall kept some homes on Walton EMC's system in the dark for up to four days.
The real terror to power company employees is ice. The largest outages ever on Walton EMC's electric system were caused by ice storms.
The biggest was in 2000. Remember Y2K, the biggest non-event in history? We all held our breath on New Year's Eve and nothing happened. Little did we know in just three weeks we'd be hit with back-to-back ice storms.
The first hit on the weekend when Atlanta hosted the Super Bowl. Just when we thought things were getting back to normal, another ice storm hit at the end of the week. Thankfully it turned out to be small.
You will do well to take a few precautions just in case we're surprised by an ice storm this winter. Check the Storm Center on waltonemc.com for all types of information, including how to prepare for a winter storm, what to do if the lights go out and power outage frequently asked questions.
And hopefully all this preparation will be for nothing.