I have no idea where my brother is or how he is.
That goes for the eleventy billion relatives I have all over SC and other areas. This is in the middle of this cold 'hot mess' too.
He lives here:
This is about 40 miles south of me and in the middle of nowhere. It is somewhere to me because it's right behind my maternal gramdmama's house.
If you are here you either want to be here or your GPS device was scrambled by sunspots or something.
You can't see all the very tall trees near that house. I hope it's still intact along with him and his five kittehs.
It is really bad here. Many people live somewhat like my brother. They are off beaten paths in various forms of housing. These are the people I worry about.
No we can't drive on ice and we aren 't prepared for storms like this. They have been very rare and we spend our time and money on hurricane preparedness. However, many don't have extra money to spare. They are barely making it day to day much less having enough emergency supplies stored.
This is extremely serious. It will take a long, long time to recover from this. Some may never make it even close to back to normal.
(I have no idea if my power is back for good. I may be in and out like flashes of a dream. You can decide if that's good or bad.) 
= new reply since forum marked as read
Here in Chapel Hill (NC) power is on at our house. Lots of abandoned cars, though, including hubby's, that couldn't get up
Franklin Street (main road through town). Buses stopped running about 6 PM yesterday due to safety issues.
Duke/UNC basketball game postponed--you know it's bad when they make that decision!
I'm going out to walk the dog as soon as it's light. Take my camera with me. At least it stopped sleeting overnight,
but we're supposed to get more wintry mix later this morning.
Looked at the weather projection for next week: in the 70's by Thursday!!!
Hope you are warm and safe!
protective vibes to you and yours. We get tons of snow here starting in October, so we are used to it. But I tell you, that first and second snow of the year is treacherous as we re-adjust to winter driving from the summer mode. But for you mates who never get these types of sodding conditions I can't imagine how you are all managing.... again, please take care 
winter storms like this one. Your brother will call you by tomorrow.
as well when hurricanes hit down here. Those of us in the suburbs with jobs can take a break in a hotel or with friends out of the city.
During Hurricane Ike it was Bolivar that was hit hard, however. It is a peninsula off the coast, accessible only via boat or ferry, where many workers live. These are the folks who work in the attractions, restaurants, shops, or medical center on Galveston Island. Some made it off Bolivar before Ike hit but many did not (stayed with their pets hoping for the best etc) ....
