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Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

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Power hungry: Crews scramble to restore electricty to the region's residents

The first significant storm of winter brought with it an average of 5 to 9 inches of snow as it blew through the region and coated the Roanoke and New River valleys Sunday.

The weight of that snow and the freezing temperatures also toppled trees and tore down electrical lines and equipment.

"We had a lot of trees down. That was the major issue," said Jason Bond, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. "I'd say about half of our counties had call-outs for downed trees."

Bond said major roads such as Interstate 81 and U.S. 460 were mostly cleared by 4:30 a.m. Monday, and crews then began focusing on plowing secondary roads and removing fallen limbs.

At the storm's peak, 66,000 power outages were reported across Appalachian Power Co.'s Virginia and West Virginia service area, according to spokesman Todd Burns. Monday morning found 9,400 customers without power in Roanoke and Roanoke County; 2,000 each in Bedford and Giles counties; about 1,000 each in Franklin, Montgomery and Pulaski counties; and 240 in Craig County.

Source: Roanoke Times

Electric Snow Shovel

by Shopping Expert

Winter time is one of the most beautiful seasons of the years, especially when it snows. But to every coin there is a flip-side, and even though the sight of snow is indeed quite mesmerizing and beautiful, cleaning up the sidewalks from all the snow can be quite a chore… especially in the heights of winter, if you’re living in a region with frequent snowstorms. Thankfully, there’s an innovative gadget that was invented just a few years ago to facilitate the lives of anyone who were accustomed to using a shovel to clean their sidewalks… we’re talking of course about the electric snow shovel.

Many people assume the concept of an electric snow shovel sounds too good to be true, and they never get to try using one. This is a shame, because it does work like a charm, and it’s relatively inexpensive… especially considering the amount of manual labor it will keep you from doing.

What is an electric snow shovel, after all? If you’ve never seen an electric snow shovel, you might find the concept somewhat puzzling… but it’s actually simple. You can try to imagine electric snow shovels as a different kind of push lawn mower, except it’s meant to clear the snow, not mow the lawn. You just have to push the shovel along the path you want do clear, and it will throw the snow up to 30 feet away, while clearing about 15 inches wide of snow with each pass. In other words, a simple effortless flick from the electric shovel clears out more snow than you would by applying all your arm’s strength into the shovel a couple of times.