Rochester, N.Y. - There was no mistaking the crackling sound that woke up all of Rochester on March 4, 1991.
A solid inch of ice coated trees, houses, cars, roads--everything--dragging down power lines and breaking branches and splitting tree trunks.
The first day more than 300,000 people were without power.
Roads closed.
Schools and businesses shut down.
Hundreds of trees were lost. Original information was that power would out only a few days. But for some it was weeks.
People lucky enough to retain power during that time took in friends and neighbors, offering food and a warm place to stay. Others shared power by running electrical cords across the street. Shelters opened for people who had no power and nowhere warm to sleep.
The storm looked fantastical and beautiful, coating trees and power lines with glistening ice, but it was extremely dangerous. Falling ice from buildings and trees was potentially deadly. Though the storm itself lasted 17 hours, its effects were felt for weeks.
Channel 13 made a video of the storm coverage which sold 18,000 copies and is
now available on a DVD.
