Winter Thread

[ergative]

The last week of sub-freezing temperature and unmelting snow has finally melted overnight, and the weather is now rainy with highs in the 40s and even 50s forecast for all week. Thank goodness. We even have some blue sky this morning! I might finally be able to go for a run for the first time in months*

[apl68]

It got warmer today.

Snow being exotherimc, I thought, "OK, ok, maybe they're right, maye we really will get walloped this time."

No dice.

No snow.

Overprediction is the new national sport.

They all want to be Harvey Leonard...

M.

The predictions have so far been very on-target around here.  This morning we still have snow on the ground from the day before (It's been a good decade since we had a snow that didn't melt the moment it fell).  It's now clear, sunny, and cold out.  We've called a snow day.  Tomorrow's forecast calls for more snow and freezing rain tomorrow and into Thursday morning.  I've never known us to get back-to-back snows before.  We're almost certainly going to have to call another snow day.  This is putting us into new territory at the library.

[mamselle]

It not only didn't snow at either of the updated times projected throughout the day yesterday, it was so exothermic it must have melted high in the sky, because it's coming down now...as icy rain.

Il pleut. Je ne l'aime pas. (It's raining. I don't like it. Cold, sleety, yuck).

That is all.

M. 

[Vkw10]

I woke to  a blanket of white snow, without a hint of grass peeking through, plus a glaze of ice and tiny icicles at the edge of the porch. Texas utility companies are doing rolling outages because they can't keep up with power demand, so the power is off about 30 minutes every three hours.

I've been reading about those rolling power outages.  Hope you stay safe and warm.

My household is fine. We pulled out the winter blankets and clothing from our years in Kansas. I worry about people who've always lived in this area and aren't equipped for cold weather. Fortunately, most people seem to be taking the advice to stay off the roads seriously.

[ergative]

The last week of sub-freezing temperature and unmelting snow has finally melted overnight, and the weather is now rainy with highs in the 40s and even 50s forecast for all week. Thank goodness. We even have some blue sky this morning! I might finally be able to go for a run for the first time in months.

I went! For a run!

(well, alternating blocks of run/gasp)

[hmaria1609]

For those in areas affected by snow storms and freezing temps, stay safe and warm!

[clean]

my area has been hit by a winter storm and without outing my location, Im sure that the national news will show that my area is having major power issues to boot!  I was without power for at least 38 hours, and there is no guarantee I will keep it. The electric company has warned that they may need to 'shed the load' at any moment.  (electricity is a gift, not a guarantee!)

Some have reported getting power back, only to loose it hours later and for long, long periods of time.  It is not some sort of power rotation here now! 

I have a small generator that has served me well so far and 5 gallons of gas.  Unfortunately, the gas tank is designed to work by replacing the cap to the fuel cap to the generator.  As the generator uses the gas, the suction draws the gas from the tank.

At about 11 pm Tuesday night, the generator stopped.  I thought, There is no way Im out of gas, but ... Well Maybe?
Well, IM not out of gas, but the hoses have clogged from old gas from when it was last used years ago.  So I have 5 gallons of gas I can not get to for now! 

So Off I was Tuesday morning to get a little gas to keep me going.   Some stations are posting reasonable prices, but have no power to pump.  Others have reasonable prices, but only one pump sill with gas, and 10 cars in line to get it! I gave up after finding a station with 8 working pumps, a tanker unloading gas, but a line to get into the station down the road.  I returned home figuring I d find a way to work it out, even if I had to cut up a garden hose to suck out some gas if necessary.

Fortunately, I had enough gas to get me to the return of electricity.  Hopefully power will remain, but Im not hopeful.  Even now, there is a slight rain that is freezing on metal that is exposed (a glaze of ice covers my grill out the back door, and I can see ice on the window and hood of the car in the driveway.  I m glad I didnt leave the generator outside, but it will take some time to get it running again as Id have to get to the gas first! 

Local news just announced road closures again as it looks like the ice is freezing on the overpasses. 

Once we make it past this afternoon, though, I think that we are going to be above freezing for the rest of the 10 day forecast, so given the date, we may be out of the hard freeze risk .

A coworker reports being out of power since Sunday night.  The news is indicating that those without power are not likely to get it back anytime soon.  Worse, our county also issued a water boil notice!!

Imagine how you would feel if you had no power (no gas stoves here!) and are told that you must boil all of your water!  And dont think that you can just get in the car!  The major roads are closed from the ice!  (and the news indicates that more just closed again this morning from freezing rain)

Our temperatures the last 2 nights have broken 128 year records!  We hit 17 on MOnday morning  and 19 on Tuesday morning!

Reports are that some faculty with power are taking in others. One reported seeing his breath Inside his house!  (My temperature indoors dropped to 55, and I had a small generator able to run a small heater.  (Thanks to my camper supplies!)

Another coworker has given up staying home.  She has had power, lost it for hours and hours.  Got it back for a few hours only to loose it again for tens of hours.  Tuesday, after losing it again, she packed up her hubby and dogs and moved in to her son's inlaw's house!  (She claimed, "Having the second COVID shot makes you brave!") I hope that they are all OK. They got their second shots only a week ago!

I offered a faculty member my spare room.  My bride was fine with me asking him, but then claimed, "You will have to clean that room!"  I said, he will be happy with heat and power, we dont have to sanitize the room first!"  However, he turned us down as he hasnt had his second COVID shot yet.  Besides, he isnt sure that he will be able to cross the bridge that separates us as the roads are closed still. 

(speaking of my camper, I am afraid to go inside. It had no power, and Im not positive that the water pipes were fully drained.  I keep it plugged in to keep the fridge operating as it takes forever to get to temperature, but with no power, it may well have frozen solid!)

Anyway, I hope that all are well and able to weather your storms! 

[mamselle]

Wow.

Stay safe, warm, and dry...

M.

[apl68]

Sorry to hear about your weather problems, clean. 

Our region has been okay so far.  But today we're supposed to have a new winter storm on top of the one earlier this week.  The new storm is supposed to be freezing rain, not snow.  We are likely to face widespread power outages as well.  My house lost power for about an hour last night, for no apparent reason.  A rolling blackout maybe?  We could see a lot of people in acute need by the end of the week.

[Harlow2]

Sorry, Clean. Gorgeous skies today, but battening down the hatches again here against tomorrow' s  forecasted 8 inches of heavy wet snow.

[spork]

My credit union can't process ATM and debit card transactions because its ATMs are tied to a data processor in Texas, which is down because of power outages.

Welcome to the Third World.

[ab_grp]

Sending warm wishes to you, clean.  It's very stressful being without power, or having it back and knowing there's a good chance you will lose it again (so much to do in the meantime!).  It's even worse if you can't really drive anywhere to get some relief, and I can't imagine trying to handle all this in a pandemic as well.  Be careful with alternative power sources, and I hope you get out of the freezing zone soon and back to some sort of normal, even if everything isn't resolved immediately.

[hmaria1609]

A mix of snow and ice will be here in the metro DC area tomorrow and Friday:
https://wtop.com/weather-news/2021/02/winter-storm-watch-issued-for-dc-region-as-significant-snow-ice-possible/
A winter storm warning has been issued. Stay safe and warm everyone!

[mamselle]

My brother (in the upper part of Michigan's lower peninsula) just wrote and said they have 4 feet of snow on ground,  with the highs around 10 degrees, going down to as low as - 21, and, "Not as much snow as in the last three years, but the winter is young....."

Meanwhile, I'm just seeing temps hovering around the 20s (above zero) in the daytime, sometimes going up to the 30s/40s, then down to the 'teens at night. And my last three snow-storms have turned to rain, ice, or slush, and then started melting the next day.

So, really just a dirty white dusting now.

Meanwhile, friends in Texas have no power, and friends in Mississippi are using their generators.

Vortexes (vortices?) gotta vortex, I guess.

M.

[clean]

Bride ventured to Target and a local grocery store chain.  No water.  The TP 'crisis' has returned!!

A coworker lives walking distance from me, but I really dont know where he lives. He lost power about the time I did, got it back about the time I did (about 3 pm Tuesday, after a 36 hour outage).  But he lost power about 4 on Wednesday. So far, I still have power. 
My batteries are recharged. I have a 'fluid pump' as that will allow me to get the 5 gallons of gas out of that tank and into the generator safely IF It becomes necessary.

I hope it wont come to it tonight as it is too dark and cold to try to get the generator running tonight. IF i loose it now, we are just going to go to bed and wait get a good night's sleep. IF there is no power, there is no need to get up in the night to check emails and internet news!

Hopefully, we will get back to temperatures that allow the power to return so that the state can get closer to the 2nd world than the 4th!  (with no power, water boil notices, and NO water to boil even if you wanted to try!!)