Talk:January 1998 North American ice storm/Archive 1

repeating?
We might want to rewrite the seconsd paragraph under "effects": it's a bit self-repeating now. --Circeus 21:24, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Inclusion of US
Although the meterlogical information is Canadian based, should the fact that the storm also affected parts of the States also added? Kanadier 19:13 6 Mar 2005


 * Obviously. Being from quebec myself, I am likely much more aware of the effects here than south of the border Circeus 22:42, Mar 6, 2005 (UTC)

i recently spoke to a friend who lived in vermont during this time and told me of his expirences. i can't seem to find any accounts of what happened in the u.s. part of the storm. if anyone has any info on this i think it should be included as well. i'll keep looking--Tainter 21:11, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

I know this is a long time after this short discussion, but... this was one of the major local events of my childhood growing up in the Adirondack Mountains in New York's North Country. There were major impacts from this storm in the Plattsburgh/Burlington region especially - Clinton, Franklin, Essex, and St. Lawrence counties were especially hard hit. It wasn't as hard and as long as what occurred in Ottawa and Quebec, but it was significant and severe just the same and should definitely be included in the article. And to answer a gripe from below - yes, the US military did offer assistance to Canada. I'm going to see what I can dig up on both fronts. - RPIRED 03:49, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
 * There's plenty of info online about the affects of this unprecedented storm on the NE USA:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/events/IceStorm1998/ice98.shtml http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/ice98.pdf http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/icestorm.html http://bangorinfo.com/Focus/focus_ice_storm.html I lived through it & helped forecast it in advance when I was living in VT at the time. Guy1890 (talk) 06:44, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

Deletion of "Timeline" section
I deleted a placeholder Timeline section from the article. There was no real content. If somebody has the start of a timeline, feel free to add it, but please don't clutter up the article with placeholders. (This talk page is a good place for placeholders.) - Cafemusique 11:04, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

Agreement with Merge
I agree that the Operation RECUPERATION article should be merged into this. Simply put, Op RECUPERATION was part of the response and as such should be treated within the bulk of a larger context. --Esseye 09:16, 28 August 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree as well. --[[Image:Ottawa flag.png|20px]] Spinboy 21:21, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

American Ops?
If anyone has the names and details of American military operations related to the '98 storm, they should have articles and correspondingly be mentioned within the article... --Esseye 09:19, 28 August 2005 (UTC)


 * They didn't help, so I don't understand why Canada is helping the US during their hurricanes. --[[Image:Ottawa flag.png|20px]] Spinboy 00:16, 25 September 2005 (UTC)


 * We're not talking about Christmas card lists here. Humanitarian aid should not be doled out on the basis of "So what have you done for me lately?", or eventually no one will help out anybody. We send help because it's the right thing to do, and I like to think that's the way we do things here in Canada. SigPig 17:00, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Flooding in the Southern US
The same storm also produced major flooding in the southern US, primarily in the Appalachians from Georgia to West Virginia. Should that also get a strong mention on the page (such as a full section), knowing it killed 12 and caused hundreds of millions in damage? CrazyC83 17:10, 16 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Does said flooding have a separate article already?Circeus 23:33, 16 December 2005 (UTC)


 * AFAIK, no it does not. CrazyC83 21:29, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

Canadian collaboration of the week
Since I knew this was comming up, I started early. I moved the article from 1998 Ice Storm to Ice Storm of January 1998 to fit in more with the new styling. Also note Ice Storm of December 2005. I moved some things around and changed man of the categories. I also fixed up some things on the Ice Storm section of Winter storm. Zhatt 20:52, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

Another Canadian
I'm a meteorologist with Environment Canada from Montreal office that lived and forecasted during the Icestorm of '98. I've modified the description of the phenomena and the event setup. Pierre_cb Feb 4th, 2006.

Article title
The title of this article, as it stands, is too ambiguous. It would help if there was a location in it (such as, say, North American ice storm of 1998). --Core des at talk! 00:12, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Actually, I was bold and moved it. I'm fixing double redirects, and I'll fix the listing on GAC shortly. --Core des at talk! 00:20, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
 * North American Ice Storm is much to vague as Ice Storm can and will happend any where from Oregon/British-Columbia to Virginia/Newfoundland during the winter. A better name would be Eastern Canada and Northern New-York Ice Storm of 1998.Pierre cb 00:36, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
 * True, but it is less vague than the original title. Perhaps we can discuss moving the article to a better title when it finishes its GAC run. --Core des at talk! 00:57, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
 * This storm affected way more than just Eastern Canada & NY state. It stretched from the Saint Lawrence Valley of both the USA & Canada East through much of VT, NH & ME.  Guy1890 (talk) 06:46, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

Affected Maryland
In teh Baltimore region there was also an ice storm at about that date (I was only 8 at the time, but my family has dated photographs of trees in the area from the 8th of Jan 98). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.122.228.82 (talk) 13:13, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

GA on hold
This article will be put on hold (for 7 days) until these minor adjustments can be made :


 * 1. Well written?: Pass (but could be better)
 * 2. Factually accurate?: O. K. (missing citations)
 * 3. Broad in coverage?: Pass
 * 4. Neutral point of view?: O. K. 
 * 5. Article stability? Pass
 * 6. Images?: Pass

Additional comments :
 * Exacerbating the problem was a steep drop in temperature that immediately followed the passage of the freezing rain., did it really exacerbate the problem? if so, a reliable source is needed to confort such a statement.
 * I was there (in Old Montreal, one of the worst-hit areas) and I can confirm, the drop in temperature made the ice freeze solid. Huge tree branches started to break, and hundreds (if not thousands) of cars were crushed by falling trees, as well as electric wires. The cold created a higher demand to the already overloaded power system, which couldn't handle it (transformers at the Beauharnois power station blew up; this was the last "line of defense" for Montreal). Hugo Dufort

A few references: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-258/disasters_tragedies/ice_storm/ http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/Statcan/16F0021X/16F0021XIB-e.html http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/~dominic/storm/stormpics.html http://www.verglas.netc.net/


 * IMO, the sentence Prior to the 1998 storm, the last major ice storm to hit Montreal (1986) deposited around 30 to 60 millimetres (1½ to 2¼ inches) of ice. should be part of the Background section but it goes with the rest of this paragraph so I'm not sure ... leave it as it is if you feel like it.
 * Giving numbers for For further comparison, the amount of freezing rain falling over the affected area in just these three days was double the average annual amount of freezing rain the area normally receives. would really help the reader figure out what is the amount or freezing rain that hit the region.
 * Re-phrasing this line Three weeks after the end of the storm proper, there were still 700,000 people without electricity would be helpful in figuring out why the word proper is used.
 * There is a lack of citation for the paragraph :
 * Three weeks after the end of the storm proper, there were still 700,000 people without electricity. Estimates of material damages reach around $2 billion Canadian for Quebec alone. Overall estimates are around $4-6 billion US for all the areas affected.

Lincher 00:35, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Do rivers of ice really exist or is it a metaphore?
 * Point #1 of the Trivia section isn't really notable for the storm's article, maybe it is useful for the band's page.
 * I re-wrote those sections. CrazyC83 03:01, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

GA awarded
Nice work on the article to bring it to GA status. Keep up the good work, I can see this article has the future to become a FA by an expansion and by finding more references to add material. Good luck with the rest. Lincher 11:27, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Public Domain Pictures
Here is a link to a bank of public domain pictures covering the province of Quebec. Images of the 1998 Ice Storm can be found by making a search with "verglas" as keyword. Hugo Dufort 23:10, 25 October 2006 (UTC) http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/quebec/
 * These pictures are not free, as commercial usage are at a 50$CAN fee and needs to be arranged with the original photographer, as mentioned in the "usage rights" ("droits d'utilisation") section. Boréal (talk) 01:55, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

New article title?
Well, I said earlier that I'd wait to discuss moving this again until after the GAC run, so here I am now. I understand the current title is vague, so would there be any objections to Eastern Canada ice storm of 1998 or something similar? Core des at 23:35, 19 October 2006 (UTC)


 * Good to change the name to a more precise, but the Ice Storm has touched mostly the corridor between Ottawa and Montreal which is in Central Canada, Eastern canada being more the Maritimes and Newfoudland. On top, it has touched a bit in NY, Vermont, Maine and Nova Scotia. It is difficult then to suggest you a name. Pierre cb 22:21, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
 * The Quebec province is usually considered as part of "Eastern Canada". Hugo Dufort 23:12, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Wrong section?
Hey all, I believe this line: "which combined with the extreme power outages led to numerous indirect deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators and other sources as people desperately tried to remain warm.[1]" - which is currently under the 'storm description' title, would be more appropriate under Impacts, as it does not serve as a very good concluding sentence for the storm description. Just a thought.

Canadian Point of View
I think this article needs some reworking. The problems as I see them are that this article is trying to cover the entire storm yet reports only on the issues facing Canada. I understand that Canada was harder hit, but The United States we very hard hit as well, and this artle seems to swich from North American to Canadian without clearly indicating which it's talking about.65.198.92.73 07:28, 2 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I definitely agree with this assessment. I've found some US Government pictures which might add to the article [here http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ice/durham/photo_g/photos.shtm], and the same site has some information about the US impact and reaction. - RPIRED 20:01, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Freezing Rain
Just clarified the description of "freezing rain" to make sure it's clear how it works. The old explanation seemed to imply that because things on the ground are so cold, the rain freezes when it touches them. Surface temperatures do play a role, but the rain will only instantaneously freeze if it is supercooled. 206.223.233.185 (talk) 22:50, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Today is the Tenth Anniversary, please update
Have we learned anything new or important about how to handle them? Was Quebec unprepared? Radio Guy (talk) 18:12, 4 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Here is a clipo from CBC —Preceding unsigned comment added by Radio Guy (talk • contribs) 18:21, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Kentucky area
As others have mentioned above, I also wish to see more information on the U.S. impact of this storm. It was an extremely difficult experience for many in the central and northern Kentucky area, as well - I do not have information on fatalities, but can personally attest that many, many people went without electricity or food for days and even longer, myself included, due to exploding electrical transformers and downed power lines from the cold and ice. Since everyone was unable to leave their homes (either from doors and windows being literally frozen shut, or from vehicles being stuck to the ground and immobile), stores within walking distance engaged in price gouging and other such practices. Property and tree damage in the area was extensive, and I'm sure that many other U.S. areas other than those mentioned in the article were similarly affected. I only have my memory to rely on; can anyone find properly sourced information and add it? My internet connection is pretty spotty, but I'll try and help when I can. *Vendetta* (whois talk edits) 05:52, 26 January 2008 (UTC)


 * It was a rain event in USA with from January 4th to 10th 1998, except near the Canadian border. I think you are confusing with another freezing rain event! Pierre cb (talk) 14:55, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

Unclear sentence
The second paragraph of section "Storm description" starts with this sentence, which I cannot parse: A series of surface low pressure past in this circulation between January 5 and January 10, 1998. Two problems: I think "past" should be "passed", and there is no noun to go with the adjective phrase "low pressure". I think it would be more grammatical to say A series of surface low pressure systems passed in this circulation between January 5 and January 10, 1998. but that still sounds awkward and overly technical. Another take: A series of surface low pressure systems passed through the area between January 5 and January 10, 1998. That is much clearer to me, but I do not know if it is technically accurate. If someone with meterological expertise can vet the change, I would be happy to make it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Greg Ward (talk • contribs) 00:40, 9 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The first suggestion is the right one since the text talk about the upper flow. One has to refer to it but the term "Atmospheric circulation" will make it more clear. I'm changing the text.Pierre cb (talk) 00:33, 10 March 2008 (UTC)