Winter Storm Fern wreaks havoc across U.S.

Winter Storm Fern raged across the U.S., from Jan. 23-27, leaving behind a 2,000-mile path of historic snow, ice and bitter cold that affected 40 states, stretching from New Mexico to New England, according to The Weather Channel.

Brady Core milks 60 cows with his family at Keightley & Core Jerseys near Salvisa, Kentucky. While they prepared for the worst, Core said he was relieved the storm totals stopped short of destruction.

“It was a weird storm,” Core said. “It was raining in the low 20s — and I’m talking a lot of rain. Usually when we get an ice storm, it’s 40 degrees and starts raining, then the temperature drops. This time, we had rain, then snow, then more rain, all mixed together.”

Core is uncertain of snow totals in his area, between blowing, drifting and the mix of freezing rain.

“I would guess we got 3 or 4 inches, which is good because the trees and power lines were just at that point,” Core said. “We didn’t have much for broken limbs right around us, and we didn’t lose power, but just another little bit and it would’ve been a disaster.”

Fern left freezing temperatures in her wake, with nights falling below zero and windchills reaching minus 20 — rare conditions for central Kentucky.

“People always tell us they love how open our barn is,” Core said. “It is great most of the time, but not during weather like that. Of course, all our northern buddies tell us that was nothing, but it’s no competition. We just aren’t built for it.”

The barn has curtains on the north and west side, Core said, but is open to the south and east. In preparation for the storm, the Cores hung tarps on the open sides and brought in a load of big square bales of straw to create windbreaks.

“Our dry cows and heifers mostly live outside with no shelter,” Core said. “They have access to a wooded area and tree line, so we moved the hay feeders there and shook up straw bales for them to cuddle up in and stay somewhat protected from the wind.”

Keeping things thawed was a time-consuming project, Core said.

“It took my nephew and me a whole day just to thaw out the waterers and bunks,” Core said. “Even the headlocks froze shut, so they couldn’t get their heads in to eat. Most of the cattle have ball waterers, which are supposed to be freeze-proof, but not at sub-zero temperatures. I’ll bet we packed out 20-30 5-gallon buckets of hot water, all over the farm.”

Core said he is grateful they did not miss a milk pick-up, but he was concerned about other services.

“Our milk hauler is also a dairy farmer, and he’s really good,” Core said. “Normally they bring a tanker in, but for times like this, they pick up with a straight truck and offload into the tanker. We came close to running out of propane and the truck couldn’t get to us, but they did. Our garbage went more than two weeks without being picked up. That’s not major, but it all adds up.”

Nearly 350 miles southeast in Shelby, North Carolina, Ashley McMurry also watched the predictions of Fern’s impact with trepidation after an abnormally dry December. McMurry and her family milk 25 cows and process their own milk on the farm at Guernsey Girl Creamery, which they retail in their on-farm store.

“If we’re going to get any sort of winter weather, it’s usually in January,” McMurry said. “With Fern they were calling for an inch of ice here, with no snow whatsoever. … People were straight-up panicking because with an inch of ice, we’re going to lose power.”

In preparation, McMurry did what she could to make the worst conditions more bearable, ensuring her generators were in working order and providing extra bedding and hay for the outside animals.

“We got lucky with that storm,” McMurry said. “There were some dry pockets of air and we only ended up with a quarter inch of ice, so we didn’t lose power.”

Like her neighbors to the northwest, the storm left McMurry with temperatures much colder than they are accustomed to.

“Our lows have been in the single digits, and that’s cold for us,” McMurry said. “We did make it above freezing (Feb. 2). Last weekend our highs were below freezing. Normally our highs are around 45-50 degrees, and it might get below freezing at night.”

A second blast of winter dumped 9.5 inches of snow on McMurry’s western North Carolina farm Jan. 31.

“That was a very fluffy, white snow,” McMurry said. “It would have been really bad if it were a wet, heavy snow because the ice from the weekend before hadn’t really melted at all. I’m guessing the kids will probably be out of school this entire week, too.”

She said the Department of Transportation is not equipped for weather like this, and the secondary roads do not get taken care of. Her husband scraped their entire road yesterday so people could get to the store, but the school system is not going to put buses out.

As January ended with snow, McMurry said she hopes it is the last winter weather for the year.

“We have not had snow like this since 2004, when we got 10 or 12 inches,” McMurry said. “The forecast looks pretty mellow but there is an old saying down here in the South that if snow lays for more than three days, it’s waiting on more. We’re getting more snow (Feb. 5); I just pray we’re done with crazy amounts of snow and ice.”

While winter weather brings extra work and worry, both Core and McMurry agree there is something comforting about the extra time spent with family.

“There’s always a way to find good in the bad,” Core said. “Everybody’s always so busy … and then you get a week that you have no choice. You get to spend time at home, with family. Yeah, it’s cold and miserable, but at the end of the day, you know you did your best, caring for what God gave you.”