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Millions without power in Texas as snow storm slams US

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  john-russell  •  3 years ago  •  52 comments

By:   PAUL J. WEBER and JAKE BLEIBERG F (AP NEWS)

Millions without power in Texas as snow storm slams US
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A frigid blast of winter weather across the U.S. plunged Texas into an unusually icy emergency Monday that knocked out power to more than 2 million people and shut down...

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A frigid blast of winter weather across the U.S. plunged Texas into an unusually icy emergency Monday that knocked out power to more than 2 million people and shut down grocery stores and dangerously snowy roads.

The worsening conditions halted the delivery of COVID-19 vaccine shipments and left some Texas providers scrambling to find takers for doses expiring within hours.

Temperatures nosedived into the single-digits as far south as San Antonio, and homes that had already been without electricity for hours had no certainty about when the lights and heat would come back on, as the state's overwhelmed power grid throttled into rotating blackouts that are typically only seen in 100-degree Fahrenheit (38-degree Celsius) summers.

The storm was part of a massive system that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the southern Plains and was spreading across the Ohio Valley and to the Northeast. The Southwest Power Pool, a group of utilities across 14 states, called for rolling outages because the supply of reserve energy had been exhausted. Some utilities said they were starting blackouts, while others urged customers to reduce power usage.

"We're living through a really historic event going on right now," said Jason Furtado, a professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, pointing to all of Texas under a winter storm warning and the extent of the freezing temperatures.

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In Houston, where county leaders had warned that the freeze could create problems on the scale of massive hurricanes that slam the Gulf Coast, one electric provider said power may not be restored to some homes until Tuesday.

"This weather event, it's really unprecedented. We all living here know that," said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. He defended preparations made by grid operators and described the demand on the system as record-setting.

"This event was well beyond the design parameters for a typical, or even an extreme, Texas winter that you would normally plan for. And so that is really the result that we're seeing," Woodfin said.

The largest grocery store chain in Texas, H-E-B, closed locations around Austin and San Antonio, cities that are unaccustomed to snow and have little resources to clear roads. The slow thaw and more frigid lows ahead was also taking a toll on Texas' distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

State health officials said Texas, which was due to receive more than 400,000 additional vaccine doses this week, now does not expect deliveries to occur until at least Wednesday.

But with doses already in-hand expiring, Rice University on Monday abruptly began offering vaccines on its closed Houston campus. Harris Health System told the school it had about 1,000 vaccines that "were going to go to waste" and asked if the school could find takers, said Doug Miller, a university spokesman.

"The window was just a couple hours. They have to take care of it quickly," Miller said.

Caught without enough groceries on hand, Lauren Schneider, a 24-year-old lab technician, walked to a Dallas grocery store near her home Monday morning dressed in a coat, hat and face mask. Schneider said she didn't feel comfortable driving with the roads covered in snow and ice. She said she hadn't seen a serious snowfall in Dallas since her childhood.

"I really didn't think it's would be this serious," said Schneider.

Teresa and Luke Fassetta, trundling through the snow carrying grocery bags, said the store lost power while they were shopping. The couple said they lost power overnight, then got it back around 9 a.m., and they were hoping it would still be on when they arrived home. If not, Teresa said, "we just have a bunch of blankets and candles and two cats to keep us warm."

Several cities in the U.S. saw record lows as Arctic air remained over the central part of the country. In Minnesota, the Hibbing/Chisholm weather station registered minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 39 degrees Celsius), while Sioux Falls, South Dakota, dropped to minus 26 Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees Celsius).

In Kansas, where wind chills dropped to as low as minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius) in some areas, Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster.

Most government offices and schools were closed for Presidents Day, and authorities pleaded with residents to stay home. Louisiana State Police reported that it had investigated nearly 75 weather-related crashes caused by a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain in the past 24 hours.

"We already have some accidents on our roadways," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said during a morning news conference. "It is slick and it is dangerous."

Air travel was also affected. By midmorning, 3,000 flights had been canceled across the country, about 1,600 of them at Dallas/Fort Worth International and Bush Intercontinental airports in Texas. At DFW, the temperature was 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius) — 3 degrees (-16 degrees) colder than Moscow.

The storm arrived over a three-day holiday weekend that has seen the most U.S. air travel since the period around New Year's. More than 1 million people went through airport security checkpoints on Thursday and Friday. However, that was still less than half the traffic of a year ago, before the pandemic hit with full force.

The southern Plains had been gearing up for the winter weather for the better part of the weekend. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for all of the state's 254 counties. Abbott, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson each activated National Guard units to assist state agencies with tasks including rescuing stranded drivers.

President Joe Biden also declared an emergency in Texas in a statement Sunday night. The declaration is intended to add federal aid to state and local response efforts.

___

Associated Press journalists David Koenig in Dallas, Rebecca Reynolds Yonker in Louisville, Ky., Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Margaret Stafford in Liberty, Mo., and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.


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JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1  seeder  JohnRussell    3 years ago

San Antonio and Austin have lost all power. 

Poor people not used to winter storms. 

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
1.1  Greg Jones  replied to  JohnRussell @1    3 years ago

Neither are middle class or rich people.

Looks like those wind farms freeze up easy.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
1.1.1  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  Greg Jones @1.1    3 years ago

I should have made it more clear. I didnt mean poor as in have no money, I meant poor as in "poor fellow, he's frozen". 

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
2  seeder  JohnRussell    3 years ago

www.washingtonpost.com   /business/on-small-business/millions-lose-power-in-texas-as-freeze-sows-energy-market-chaos/2021/02/15/d5a21b16-6f68-11eb-8651-6d3091eac63f_story.html

Millions Lose Power in Texas as Freeze Sows Energy-Market Chaos

Brian K. Sullivan, Naureen S. Malik and Javier Blas | Bloomberg
6-7 minutes

Millions of households in Texas are suffering rolling blackouts for the first time in a decade as an unprecedented Arctic freeze sends temperatures plummeting across much of the U.S., roiling energy markets.

Large swaths of Dallas, Houston and other cities are being plunged into darkness for an hour at a time -- and in some cases longer -- as surging demand for heat pushes the power grid to the brink. The situation is poised to become more dire as temperatures are forecast to fall to as low as 3 Fahrenheit (minus 16 Celsius) in parts of the state.

“Every grid operator and every electric company is fighting to restore power right now,” said Bill Magness, head of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which runs the state’s grid.

The extreme cold that’s crippling Texas’s power market is part of a larger weather pattern gripping much of the U.S. Winter storm warnings, advisories and watches stretch from New Mexico to Maine. In the past week, about 800 daily records for cold temperatures have been set in the U.S. as arctic air pushes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Accuweather called it one of the busiest winter-weather patterns in decades.​

WJP2ZMTPL4I6XBSRNUYJD2WGH4.jpg&w=32https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/WJP2ZMTPL4I6XBSRNUYJD2WGH4.jpg&w=540 540w, 691w, 767w, 916w" sizes="(max-width: 440px) 440px,(max-width: 600px) 691px,(max-width: 768px) 691px,(min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 1023px) 960px,(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1299px) 530px,(min-width: 1300px) and (max-width: 1439px) 691px,(min-width: 1440px) 916px,440px" >

Texas is the home of the U.S. energy industry, and the impact of blackouts hitting its major cities; oil and gas production falling because of the cold weather, and power prices soaring to eye-watering levels is highly symbolic of a world that’s trying to get its grip on a battle against climate change, moving away from hydrocarbons.

The extreme cold appears to have caught Texas’s highly decentralized electricity market by surprise. When they warned of possible blackouts Sunday, grid operators said they’d likely last for 15 to 30 minutes at a time. On Monday morning, officials said they were lasting considerable longer.

“These are not rolling blackouts. We are dealing with system-wide power outages across the state,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Twitter.

These are the first rolling blackouts caused by cold weather since 2011. Spikes in electricity demand usually happen in summer in Texas when air conditioning use rises. A loss of frequency on the grid has caused 30 gigawatts of generation to halt. Many stations will have been undergoing scheduled maintenance, leaving the grid more exposed during unusually large spikes in demand.

Rotating outages will likely last throughout Monday morning and are a possibility until the weather conditions ease, Ercot said in a statement.

Parts of Texas were colder than Alaska, according to the National Weather Service. The temperature at 5 a.m. in Houston was 18 degrees Fahrenheit, matching the reading in Anchorage. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Frigid temperatures and a parade of storms in the U.S. follow other instances of extreme winter weather this year that have snarled ports and upended energy markets in Asia and Europe. Texas, which isn’t accustomed to winter’s full fury, is getting a big taste. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency, mobilizing federal assistance to aid local response efforts.

Power crunch

“We would expect to be in emergency operations tomorrow through at least Tuesday morning,” said Dan Woodfin, a senior director at Ercot.

The power crunch is being compounded by a lack of wind generation with output more than halving to 4.2 gigawatts. Wind turbines may freeze in bitterly cold weather, reducing efficiency, and the blades can ultimately stopping spinning.

Earlier, spot electricity prices in Texas’ West hub surpassed the grid’s cap of $9,000 per megawatt hour, a 3,466% increase from Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. LNG exports from the U.S. also plummeted after the freeze shut ports and wells, and oil production also took a hit, with Permian oil production plunging by as much as one million barrels a day. West Texas Intermediate futures rose by as much as 2.5%, above $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year.

The cut to crude supplies is threatening to unleash a rush for everything from propane to heating oil, fuels that are used in mobile heating devices.

Odessa, one of the largest oil producing areas in the Permian Basin, still has power. While San Antonio has lost power with rolling blackouts lasting 10-15 minutes, according to sources on the ground.

In Houston, there are long lines to refill household propane canisters and firewood is selling out. The city may pick up as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow overnight, along with ice and sleet, the National Weather Service said. It will get hit by another storm bringing ice and freezing rain Wednesday.

“It is going to be a cold week,” said David Roth, a senior branch forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. “The southern plains are in a cold pattern and it is going to take a while for them to break out of it.”

Frozen Turbines

A mix of freezing temperatures and precipitation is paralyzing wind farms in Texas. That would be devastating for power plants with contracts to provide a certain amount of electricity at specific times if they need to instead buy it on the spot market to meet their obligations. At the moment, that power is exceedingly expensive.

“When wind-turbine blades get covered with ice, they need to be shut down,” said Joshua Rhodes, a research associate who focuses on energy at The University of Texas at Austin.

The grid is Texas has relatively little connection with the rest of the country, making it an island when it comes to supplies.

The storms will largely miss major cities along the East Coast, Bob Oravec, senior branch forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center said. While there could be some snow showers and ice in New York and Boston, the bulk of the accumulation will be in upstate New York and interior New England Monday to Tuesday.

For more articles like this, please visit us at   bloomberg.com

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
2.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  JohnRussell @2    3 years ago

"That happens every time when the power goes out; even advanced societies become primitive and dangerous, and people die. We've seen it happen repeatedly in California for years now, rolling blackouts in a purportedly First World state that is slipping steadily into chaos.

But who saw that coming in Texas? If there's one thing you would think Texas would be able to do, it's keep the lights on. Most electricity comes from natural gas and Texas produces more of that than any place on the continent. There are huge natural gas deposits all over the state. Running out of energy in Texas is like starving to death at the grocery store: You can only do it on purpose, and Texas did.

Rather than celebrate and benefit from their state's vast natural resources, politicians took the fashionable route and became recklessly reliant on so-called alternative energy, meaning windmills. Fifteen years ago, there were virtually no wind farms in Texas. Last year, roughly a quarter of all electricity generated in the state came from wind. Local politicians were pleased by this. They bragged about it like there was something virtuous about destroying the landscape and degrading the power grid. Just last week, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott proudly accepted something called the Wind Leadership Award, given with gratitude by Tri Global Energy, a company getting rich from green energy.

So it was all working great until the day it got cold outside. The windmills failed like the silly fashion accessories they are, and people in Texas died. This is not to beat up on the state of Texas -- it's a great state, actually -- but to give you some sense of what's about to happen to you"......Tucker Carlson





One quarter of Texas power is wind???? Really????

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
2.2  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  JohnRussell @2    3 years ago
“When wind-turbine blades get covered with ice, they need to be shut down,”

Well, now that could pose some serious issues for states / counties that use wind-turbines for electricity. Yes, that's sarcasm, but true considering what we're seeing with TX this week.

I still question why they're not using methods similar to aircraft deicing. On larger aircraft, a wing's leading edge contains a rubber boot that inflates to break ice apart while in the air. While yes, a hydraulic mechanism would be required, that hydraulic fluid doesn't freeze under extremely cold temps. They'd have to determine the method of activation, but an electro-mechanical method should work and use very little electricity to activate. A capacitor could "house" the emergency power requirement for that electro-mechanical activation of the hydraulic boot deicer. I'm just a former prototype mechanic that went to aircraft maintenance / repair school though... What would I know?

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
2.2.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @2.2    3 years ago

OIP.Rin3P1TKVUWkI0OhwLM0jAHaE2?w=285&h=187&c=7&o=5&pid=1.7

Sad but clean.

One can freeze to death with the knowledge that at least it was clean energy!

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
2.2.2  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Vic Eldred @2.2.1    3 years ago
Sad but clean.

Kind of clean. The amount of plastics and aluminum used on those things is enormous. To make plastic... uses fossil fuels. To make molds for plastic parts... uses fossil fuels. Heating aluminum for parts to pour in molds... uses fossil fuels. Making the molds for those aluminum parts... uses fossil fuels. CNC machines use electricity, which may or may not be using fossil fuels. 

The fumes from either process, produces carbons.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
2.2.3  Vic Eldred  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @2.2.2    3 years ago
. To make plastic... uses fossil fuels. To make molds for plastic parts... uses fossil fuels. Heating aluminum for parts to pour in molds... uses fossil fuels. Making the molds for those aluminum parts... uses fossil fuels. CNC machines use electricity, which may or may not be using fossil fuels. 

It sounds like for the time being, we still need fossil fuels.

Thank you MsAubrey.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
3  Split Personality    3 years ago
The worsening conditions halted the delivery of COVID-19 vaccine shipments and left some Texas providers scrambling to find takers for doses expiring within hours.

Yet in December, Harris County fired the director of a vaccine clinic for finding enough patients to use "leftover" vaccine to avoid wasting it

while other hospitals fired or had arrested people who knowingly destroyed the leftover vaccine at the end of their shift.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
3.1  Kavika   replied to  Split Personality @3    3 years ago

FUBAR

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
4  Split Personality    3 years ago

We signed up on line for County controlled vaccine distribution and there was a 5 week back log.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
4.1  Kavika   replied to  Split Personality @4    3 years ago

My wife and I got our second shots this past Saturday.

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
4.1.1  Raven Wing  replied to  Kavika @4.1    3 years ago

Just got my first one last Friday. Glad to get it started. I was given the Pfizer vaccine. I haven't been this rosy cheeked since I was a young girl. (grin) 

 
 
 
shona1
PhD Quiet
4.1.2  shona1  replied to  Kavika @4.1    3 years ago

Morning. Any side effects?? The vaccine has just rolled up here y'day. Currently Victoria is in lock down again as there has been a small outbreak in Melbourne. It is the UK strain and 19 people have caught it. But think they have got it contained. Will get the vaccine but I am not rushing into it. That is the general consensus here at the moment.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
4.1.3  Kavika   replied to  shona1 @4.1.2    3 years ago
any side effects??

None at all on the first dose just a bit of a sore spot on the arm. The second one the arm was fairly sore and had muscle ache and a low grade temperature which are to be expected on the 2nd dose. They all disappeared after 36 hours.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
4.2  lady in black  replied to  Split Personality @4    3 years ago

I'm not even eligible yet to get the vaccine, I'm 58 and have no underlying conditions.  My mom, who is 87, did get her first shot and now has to wait 8 weeks to get her second shot.  

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
4.3  Raven Wing  replied to  Split Personality @4    3 years ago

I called the county number here in So Cal to register and it was only 7 days before I got my first vaccination appt. And after my first vaccination they sent me an electronic copy of my vaccination record for my files. All the other sites I had called to sign up were not even making appts at this time due to lack of vaccines. So I was really glad that I had called the right place to get the fastest results.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
4.4  charger 383  replied to  Split Personality @4    3 years ago

Virginia is supposed to get a new waiting list for vaccines this week.  You will sign up one time and then be scheduled.  Before, hospital chain opened a link at noon and it was like a speed typing test to try to get done and put marks in correct blocks all over the screen.  I could not get it done fast enough to win a slot.

 

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
4.5  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Split Personality @4    3 years ago

I'll be one of the last people to get vaccinated... I'm a healthy 42 year old that's working from home.

All of my parents [with one exception, she's not 65 until May 1] have already gotten their first doses, a few got their second doses already.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
5  Split Personality    3 years ago

We are surrounded by friends, acquaintances and co-workers, some only 2  blocks north or 3 blocks west who have no power and their pipes have frozen.

Mt SIL has power but no water, they are collecting snow to melt to flush the toilets.

Hard to believe they and we are the lucky ones.

So far we are under voluntary water restrictions and saving our firewood in case we lose power.

There is literally no where to go as the hotels are either full or without power or water.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
5.1  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  Split Personality @5    3 years ago

I have a niece who is a delivery room nurse in Austin.  They asked her to come into work for a 72 hour shift.  I guess they have a room in the hospital where she can sleep. 

I guess these blackouts are expected to go on for a couple days. Everybody turned their heaters on at once. 

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
5.1.1  Split Personality  replied to  JohnRussell @5.1    3 years ago

New, mask free, neighbors moved in catty corner to us,

yesterday at the height of the blizzard, several large truckloads from a short distance away

coming and going all day today with the car, they just tried the car again and the doors are frozen shut.

I put out hot water for the lone duck in residence and it froze within 15 minutes. (the water, not the duck)
but he is covered in ice on his wings and snow dingle berries underneath.

I tried to coax him into the garage but he's having none of it.

Still saving firewood we have a dozen candles in there heating the living room.

The heat pump has been running non stop and making some worrisome noise for a while.

Keeping our hopes up.

They say 2 or 3 more days of this.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
5.1.2  charger 383  replied to  Split Personality @5.1.1    3 years ago

Hope you get through it OK 

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
5.2  Kavika   replied to  Split Personality @5    3 years ago

You're lucky you don't have one of these. 

512

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
5.2.1  Split Personality  replied to  Kavika @5.2    3 years ago

Used to have one at a camp near Gettysburg

Took a "Hurricane" kerosene heater lamp out there and left it there for ten minutes, lol

Might reek of kerosene afterwards but it was better than the alternative, lol.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
5.2.2  Kavika   replied to  Split Personality @5.2.1    3 years ago

That is all we had until I was around 12 years old or so.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
5.2.3  Split Personality  replied to  Kavika @5.2.2    3 years ago

If I still had it I would put it out for the ducks - we weren't prepared for anything like this vortex.

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
5.2.4  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  Kavika @5.2    3 years ago

thats a fancy one , has a seat AND a door as well as a light. Im getting a kick out the "storm ropes" though.

 
 
 
Thrawn 31
Professor Guide
5.3  Thrawn 31  replied to  Split Personality @5    3 years ago

Best of luck.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
5.3.1  Split Personality  replied to  Thrawn 31 @5.3    3 years ago

Thanks, brother Thrawn...the wife is near hysterical about possibly finding any actually frozen.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
5.3.2  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Split Personality @5.3.1    3 years ago

So sorry to hear of your travails SP. We had this happen in NY after Sandy. We were hit by a weird vortex, got a foot of snow, and no power for 11 days. Thank goodness for the gas fireplace! 

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
5.3.3  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @5.3.2    3 years ago

I can honestly say that I won't have a house without a gas fireplace after having the pleasure of having one for 13 years.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
5.3.4  Tessylo  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @5.3.3    3 years ago

Isn't that pricey?  My best friend has one and they use it rarely.  He said it was like 'burning dollar bills'.  

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
5.3.5  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Tessylo @5.3.4    3 years ago

Not really. We don't use it too horribly often; on the occasions that our power goes out in the winter [rarely] or when we're playing family games [Fri. / Sat.] in the basement during the winter. Our gas bill for our house (1800 sq. ft. a story and a half with a full, mostly finished basement <- where the furnace and gas fireplace both are) at the worst time of year (Jan/Feb) is usually around $200 / month, but our electric goes down a lot. Our utilities flip flop depending on season; when our gas bill goes up, our electric is down and when our electric goes up (once A/C is needed), our gas usage is way down.

My husband and I watch TV in the basement and pretty much hang out there most of the time [teens have taken over the rest of the house jrSmiley_91_smiley_image.gif ] and we have plenty of blankets if we need a bit of additional warmth.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
5.3.6  Tessylo  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @5.3.5    3 years ago

That's where my best friend has his gas fireplace, in the basement, it is nice and toasty!  

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
5.3.7  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @5.3.3    3 years ago

Thats the way i am about the wood stove , always had one, heat even if the power goes out , but i also have a remedy for that thats easy to hook up , also have some "winter drapes " for the windows , a lot thicker , for all the windows that mitigate drafts  thus eliminating cold spots. 

 LOl i think back in the day they called that winterization. just this year , its been off a bit , especially here.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
6  lady in black    3 years ago

149882038_4820704721355877_284299235065231668_n.png?_nc_cat=1&ccb=3&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=bdrpBB_ZFvcAX_hSU2c&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=9e9b9ec917f01c5ba32385e8a0a578c5&oe=605167B7

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
6.1  seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  lady in black @6    3 years ago

That is a big difference. 

 
 
 
Thrawn 31
Professor Guide
7  Thrawn 31    3 years ago

Well I am sure these citizens will refuse all that "big government giveaway bullshit". 

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
7.1  Texan1211  replied to  Thrawn 31 @7    3 years ago

And I am sure you are dead wrong.

Why would ANY state refuse federal funds in emergencies?

 
 
 
Thrawn 31
Professor Guide
7.2  Thrawn 31  replied to  Thrawn 31 @7    3 years ago

Read some other comments, now I feel like an asshole. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
8  Buzz of the Orient    3 years ago

Because Canada is bound to get that kind of ice, snow and freezing temperatures, Canadians are prepared for it and can handle it.  For example, driving a car in those conditions is a skill we all had to learn so that we did not have the massive pileup collisions that are being reported, especially in more southern States where drivers have no inkling of adjusting to the conditions.  We also used snow tires in winter.  One bit of advice to inexperienced drivers who drive in wet freezing conditions.  The roads may be wet only, but bridges get cold wind under them and the road surface will be frozen even if elsewhere it isn't.  Many drivers don't expect that and don't reduce their speed when they encounter the bridge. 

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
8.1  charger 383  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @8    3 years ago

In Virginia there are signs that say "Bridges ice before roads".  Winter driving is a skill and mindset.  I don't know if you can get them but "Highway through Hell and 401 Heavy  Rescue" are good shows about winter driving in Canada  

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
9  Mark in Wyoming     3 years ago

a week ago it was warm enough here to consider and contemplate taking the motorcycle out , no snow , but the wind changed my mind , high 50s and low 60s here in the middle of wyo.
Lowest i have had so far is -16, havent lit the wood stove yet , thats yet, it keeps warming up during the day.

after 30+ years here i have a few tricks to stay comfortable ,  one of them is the old school indoor lamps that run on oil, one per room actually does raise the room temp up over time.  most folks think the ones i have are purely for decorative purpose, but they are functional.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
10  seeder  JohnRussell    3 years ago

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
10.1  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  JohnRussell @10    3 years ago

That's not snow! That's a dusting! jrSmiley_91_smiley_image.gif

5 layers of pants? Gosh, folks from TX would never survive in the Northern Midwest! MN and ND are far worse than MI and we received about 10" of snow overnight / this morning with overnight temps in negatives - single digits (°F) and highs in the teens (°F) with wind chills 0°F to -15°F. We have a "heat wave" coming this weekend... it's supposed to be in the low to mid 30s!

All I hear is snow blowers and shovels outside right now. People are still going to work [the ones that have to]. Most schools closed, but really... most are doing some sort of online or hybrid (2 days / week face-to-face, 3 days online) education this year anyways.

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
10.1.1  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @10.1    3 years ago
We have a "heat wave" coming this weekend... it's supposed to be in the low to mid 30s!

feb thaw , its about 40 here right now , I will just wait 5 mins to see if the weather changes , not quite kilt weather with the breeze.

the wind stopped out here once , everyone fell down .....

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
10.1.2  Kavika   replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @10.1    3 years ago

This is northern MN, that is what is known as a ''fair to middling snow storm.''

512

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
10.1.3  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Kavika @10.1.2    3 years ago

Right... MN is awful compared to lower MI!!!

That looks an awful lot like Munising or Ironwood MI! I love the Keweenaw snow depth reader... my kids asked me why there was a second sign 20 ft higher in the UP.

 
 
 
Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom
Professor Guide
11  Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom    3 years ago

We just got our power back after 30 hours without it.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
11.1  Ender  replied to  Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom @11    3 years ago

Ack. I remember losing power during a snowstorm once. Luckily we had a wood burning fireplace.

Speaking of power, I just saw this. I didn't know it could act like that. The noise always gets me too.

 
 

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