Mother Nature or El Nino in the Ozarks? Part 1

Here in the Ozarks we have had some record setting weather events taking place over the last six months. While making life very unbearable at the time when they occurred, the long term effects are still yet to be seen.

Call it what you will, Mother Nature's ever changing cycles, climatic changes due to global warming, or El Nino, this year has been one old folks about these areas have never seen in over 50 years.

The holidays of 2006 were good ones. The weather was mild and many enjoyed life outdoors this season. Cooking outdoor BBQ and having family and friends over.

Then with the coming of the New Year came the change no one will ever forget.

It all started with an abundance of tropical moisture left over from a hurricane season that failed to produce the big ones of the previous year.

A strong pressure surge from the gulf sent an excessive amount of moisture up through Eastern Texas and Western Louisiana leaving flash flooding everywhere it invaded.

As it traveled northward, it left washed out roads and bridges in Arkansas and Oklahoma, leaving many to seek help in emergency shelters.

While all of this was going on, the folks of the upper Midwest were seeing their first snow of the year from a low pressure system bringing slightly lower than normal temperatures but ones that were much welcomed by kids anxious to build snowmen and go sledding for the first time this year.

The low pressure system moved south while the gulf moisture continued to move north with the northern most part of the Ozarks lying in it's path.

It started out with a beautiful coating of ice crystals to the trees from an overnight light freezing rain. It was the start of a weekend so we were quite content to stay at home and enjoy this first bit of winter to our area.

Later in the day with dropping temperatures the freezing rain increased and then we lost power. Not for long, about 5 minutes, and everyone was relieved when the power came back.

The freezing rain continued and about 15 minutes later the power was again gone. So was the telephone and Internet connection.

We lived in an all electric home and with the approach of nightfall the temperatures inside the house were dropping fast.

A couple old candles were found and last years quilts and extra blankets were added to the beds. There was not much sleep that night. My partner and I were up many times adding additional layers of clothing to wear back to bed.

With the loss of power meant the loss of water without the well running.

The coming light from a Sunday morning lead to finding the water in both the bowl and tank of the toilet frozen solid.

Our first steps outside found the Ozarks changed into a crystal fantasyland. Oak trees normally 30-40 feet tall were no longer stretching to the sky, but bent over and leaning to the ground.

Many new yearling trees were already touching the ground.

Our world had been transformed into something out of a Hollywood movie set. The bright morning sun shining through all the ice crystals gave hope that this would end soon and life could return to normal.

That hope came to a quick end when midday thunderstorms brought ever darkening skies and eventually snow. Not just the light fluffy flakes that are normal this time of year, but heavy wet snow the largest I can ever remember seeing.

As the light of day came to a close and the snowfall continued we could hear the breaking and snapping of trees too heavenly ladened with ice and snow. Each snap would be accompanied by a crash of ice crystals hitting the frozen ground.

There was even less sleep that night with the constant sounds of once mighty Oaks, Hickory, and Cedars, giving way to the ever growing weight from ice and snow. It was also clear there would be no commute to work the next day.

Without power, phone or Internet we had no idea of the magnitude of these storms or how long they would last. Water and food would soon be running out.

Monday brought the realization that the barnyard animals were in need of fresh water to drink. Steel metal drums usually used to burn trash were put into work as large stoves to melt pans of ice into water for the animals to get a quick drink before the water would once again freeze.

The steel drums were also used to cook our first meal in a few days along with some much needed coffee for my partner. Since food for the animals and water and supplies for ourselves were running low, we decided to try and get the Jeep wagon out to the highway.

The Jeep had seen better days and having a broken gear in the transfer case left us with 2 wheel drive. We loaded the back of the Jeep with concrete blocks and rocked the Jeep back and forth until it finally moved from it's parking place. I removed the back tires and replaced them with some steel studded snow tires I had used the previous winter.

We pointed the Jeep in the direction of the steep dirt drive out of the property and without much fanfare we made it to the dirt road to the highway. This was the first chance we had in days to be excited about anything.

The last leg of the road to the highway was a steep drive down the hill to the highway at the bottom. It turned out to be more of an amusement park ride rather than a drive with the Jeep sliding sideways more often than going straight until we finally reached the bottom.

At the bottom we found about a half dozen cars and trucks of my neighbors who could not make the drive up the hill to get home.

The highway was in far better shape than I had expected. The bright sun had melted most of the snow and ice except in places shaded from the sun.

The 17 mile trip to town was like driving through a battle zone.

Everywhere you looked were mighty trees broken or badly bent from the weight of the ice storm. The going was slow as we inched our way around trees that covered the highway. Many of the larger trees had already been cut with chain saws and dragged to the side of the road.

As we neared the first small town closest to us, we found the reason for having no power. Not only had the falling trees brought down many power lines, the power poles themselves were broken off at the ground. The 30 minute drive to our nearest Walmart revealed more of the same.

I also noticed there were no open gas stations. With no power, there was no pumping gas.

When we reached town we found that while many parts were without power, there was some sections that had street lights that worked. I found an open gas station and quickly topped off the tank.

The arrival at Walmart found a very full parking lot for a Monday afternoon. Upon entering the store we immediately went to the sporting goods department in search of a camp stove and lantern only to learn all propane products had sold out over the weekend.

While in sporting goods we did add two insulated sleeping bags good to a minus 20 degrees to our shopping cart.

I asked about candles or lamp oil and was told everything had been moved to the front of the store near the registers. At the registers were only empty pallets setting on the floor. We went to the grocery department and loaded up with can goods and bottled water.

When heading back to the register I saw two forklifts bringing two pallets of newly unloaded products to the floor. I was quick to grab a small propane cook stove and lantern, a case of propane bottles, and a box of emergency candles.

Before I could ask my partner if we should get another case of bottled propane, I turned around and everything was gone.

We paid for our new supplies and made the trip back home with the welcome thought of having hot coffee for my partner and even some hot meals while being able to see after the sun goes down.

Arriving back at the bottom of the hill to our property and seeing the same vehicles from earlier that day gave wonder as to whether the Jeep could make it up the road.

With a quick prayer said and a good head start I pointed the Jeep's nose up the hill and off we went. We were bouncing off the ground over high spots and slipping and sliding on the ice but the steel spikes of the snow tires did their job and we reached the top of the hill with a sigh of relief. At least we didn't have to carry all our new purchases up the 1 1/2 mile trip to the property.

That night brought a much welcomed bit of relaxation with a hot meal and beverage. As we both headed of to our beds we looked forward to crawling into our new insulated sleeping bags for some needed sleep.

The next morning found us doing what ended up being a daily routine.

We were standing near the steel drums burning fresh cut wood to thaw out our hands and face while melting some ice and snow for fresh drinking water for the animals. It was then that we noticed a camouflaged Hummer come over the ridge and headed down our drive.

Out popped two young National Guardsmen asking if we were alright.

They told us they had been sent to the area looking for people needing emergency help and asked if we knew of anyone needing help. We gave them directions to an elderly couple with serious medical problems and assured them we were alright.

Before they left I asked about when the power would be restored.

The answer was that extra help was being brought in from around the country and that they were starting closest to the cities and working their way out. It could be weeks before they got out to our area.

Off they went checking on the elderly couple who ended up being taken to an emergency shelter where one of them could get the oxygen he required to live.

That was the last time the Jeep was to make it up the hill to home for the next 10 days. The next day I made it to the highway for my trip to work and during my stay at work another storm brought new ice and snow to the already heavy accumulation. The Jeep only made it half way up the hill and I was thankful to be able to back it down the hill without mishap.

For the next week I would walk down to the Jeep for the ride to work, and walk back up the hill upon returning.

Thirteen days after the first storms hit, we finally woke to power once again.

That same day the county grader was able to clear the road up the hill.

We survived the ice storm of 2007 and our pantry and shelves now carry a much better assortment of emergency supplies.

When watching the television for the first time in weeks we learned of the massive destruction of these storms across this part of Missouri. The weather experts attributed the storms to the changing jet streams caused by El Nino. Local tribal seniors say it was just Mother Nature's way of cleaning the old and weak from the new and strong.

Little did we know this was not the last we would see of Mother Nature or El Nino this spring.

Read more in Part 2.