What does a coastal Texan in arctic weather do?

[aggie96]

Wrap palm trees of course! Spent all day wrapping faucets, pipes, and Palms. Christmas lights wrapped in canvas wrapped in bubble wrap sealed with duct tape. I’m praying the Pindo and Mediterranean Fan Palms make it. 😞 

Funny aside...I lit the gas fireplace (by pushing the on-switch) for the first time (only in this house 5 months, first gas fireplace ever). Nothing happened. I approached the box, then WOOSH, it lit up. I jumped 3 feet in the air, and the cats freaked out and refuse to enter the living room. Kids think it was hysterical. 
 

Um, yep. Only the second time I’ve used a fireplace indoors in Texas in the last 25 years. 😬

Edited February 13, 2021 by aggie96

[DoraBora]

I big puffy heart the Texas Gulf coast!  Your backyard is so pretty - hope your trees survive!

I'm ready to get back to or regularly scheduled winter weather -- about a week from now.  Maybe.

[Katy]

I agree, your house & yard are gorgeous. Hope your trees survive. 

[aggie96]

Thanks ladies! I’d love to take credit, but it was like this when we bought it. I think it’s lovely, too. Sadly, next week the Palms will lose their tops and almost all the vegetation will be dead. 😞

Such is the way with Texas weather. I’m a gardener junkie, so I had lots of spring plans anyhow. I just hate to lose the trees. Big money to replace (and not feasible). 

[wintermom]

I could send you some of our insulating material, if you like. It's called snow. 😉 

Hope your palms all make it.  Just wondering how often you wear parkas and toques in Texas? 

[vonfirmath]

13 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I could send you some of our insulating material, if you like. It's called snow. 😉 

Hope your palms all make it.  Just wondering how often you wear parkas and toques in Texas? 

We're supposed to get that maybe Sunday, Monday at the latest.  When temperatures dip down to single digits

[Porridge]

Every branch, every leaf is encased in ice here in central Texas! Many large limbs have broken off. I told my kids not to walk under any trees... not that we are going out very much...

[aggie96]

We purchased our puffer coats and hats and gloves for a vacation to Chicago during thanksgiving 2019. I commented today that I was super happy we made that trip!  This was the first time we’ve had them out since that trip. 

[TheReader]

We are wrapping our fruit trees.....the apple and peach are already blooming. I hate to think we might lose them. 😞

[aggie96]

Yes, I hate this for the people that bought our house. I had so many mature tropicals plus a lemon and lime that won’t make it through this for sure. 

[aggie96]

Ok. I know this is a pretty boring topic to the rest of the world, but I saw this and laughed out loud!

 

[aggie96]

This is our HEB meat department tonight. What will these people do with all that meat when the power goes out? We are supposed to be hunkered down Sunday afternoon through Wednesday late morning. Not weeks. Lol!

[Hillcottagemom]

On 2/13/2021 at 7:28 PM, aggie96 said:

Ok. I know this is a pretty boring topic to the rest of the world, but I saw this and laughed out loud!

 

This is actually really interesting for a Midwesterner who's looking forward to -20 degrees tonight and hadn't thought anything of it! It's so funny how people have different reactions to weather in different parts of the country. Are you expecting an ice storm? *After posting this I was quoted in someone else's post about a fatal accident. I want to be clear that I dont think the weather related issues anyone is dealing with are funny. I was reacting to the above meme and reflecting that, as a Midwesterner, my reactions would be reversed. 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Hillcottagemom
Clarification

[aggie96]

Yes. Houston area geographically is huge so different areas will get weather in the end. Snow, sleet, freezing rain are expected depending on how far north you are. I am in the cusp of snow/sleet. Freezing rain of course is the worst. But given trust temps here “might” reach 10 or below, that hasn’t happened in decades. Last blast was in 2018. Some reached 19 degrees for a few hours. We are expecting below freezing for 3 days steady. Then below freezing at night but in high 30s for 5-7 days after that. All dat below freezing for more than a few hours is very, very rare.

A favorite motto here is “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”  It’s true. But freezing is rough in my neck of the woods. Lol!

[mommyoffive]

Oh your trees are so pretty.  I hope they make it through.  

[Terabith]

Maybe cold Texans should participate in this challenge?  https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/life/2021/02/12/frozen-pants-challenge-helps-take-chill-off-polar-vortex-pandemic-winter/6727252002/?fbclid=IwAR3DRM6pr5CWqeqdHpi8ePw0E6aklSokV_uEdi9Z2D10JVv0VU-faf5XqpE

[gardenmom5]

2dd is in fort worth - she got rid of all her snow stuff, and doesn't have anything for her toddler.

[vonfirmath]

48 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

2dd is in fort worth - she got rid of all her snow stuff, and doesn't have anything for her toddler.

Ft Worth gets ice more than places farther south!

 

[Ellie]

6 hours ago, JHLWTM said:

Every branch, every leaf is encased in ice here in central Texas! Many large limbs have broken off. I told my kids not to walk under any trees... not that we are going out very much...

Looks like my yard here in Round Rock. 😮

[Farrar]

Someone I know in Austin was posting that some people are having to leave their water running so their pipes don't burst because nothing is insulated for cold like this.

I also hope the trees make it!

[vonfirmath]

5 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Someone I know in Austin was posting that some people are having to leave their water running so their pipes don't burst because nothing is insulated for cold like this.

I also hope the trees make it!

Yes. we always have to drip when weather gets cold. But for extended below freezing, they are telling us to stream water (overnight. Not so much during the day if people are home using the water occasionally) in plumbing that is on outside wall.  Usually we put those foam things over outside faucets but now we're being recommended to drip them.

 

Texas is also concerned about capacity of electricity to handle all the electric heating during this cold snap since it is effecting EVERY county in the state!  (Also rare)

 

It has now dropped below freezing and is not supposed to rise ABOVE freezing until Thursday afternoon.  On Monday, the temperatures are forecast to be single digits.  (Our local school district was supposed to be IN SCHOOL Monday to make up for an earlier snow day in January.  There is great speculation whether we will be virtual instead or end up taking another snow day that will have to be made up in the future.

 

This was also the week for the regional science fair -- and they have postponed it even though it was going to be all virtual. Due to the likelihoods of electrical outages and potential rolling blackouts over the week.

[ktgrok]

oh man, my sympathies!!!! As a Floridian, I can't even imagine! We get a few times a year where it might go below freezing for a few hours during the night, but not middle of the day! And not for days on end. 

And yes, we have to drip faucets if it happens (not been an issue here in Central Florida, but was in Tallahassee a few times)

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, Farrar said:

Someone I know in Austin was posting that some people are having to leave their water running so their pipes don't burst because nothing is insulated for cold like this.

I also hope the trees make it!

We have to do that too, regularly when it is cold for a long time- not if just for a few hours.

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Yes. we always have to drip when weather gets cold. But for extended below freezing, they are telling us to stream water (overnight. Not so much during the day if people are home using the water occasionally) in plumbing that is on outside wall.  Usually we put those foam things over outside faucets but now we're being recommended to drip them.

 

Texas is also concerned about capacity of electricity to handle all the electric heating during this cold snap since it is effecting EVERY county in the state!  (Also rare)

 

It has now dropped below freezing and is not supposed to rise ABOVE freezing until Thursday afternoon.  On Monday, the temperatures are forecast to be single digits.  (Our local school district was supposed to be IN SCHOOL Monday to make up for an earlier snow day in January.  There is great speculation whether we will be virtual instead or end up taking another snow day that will have to be made up in the future.

 

This was also the week for the regional science fair -- and they have postponed it even though it was going to be all virtual. Due to the likelihoods of electrical outages and potential rolling blackouts over the week.

We are being warned of an ice/snow event here from 6pm tonight to 6am Tuesday,  I changed my Monday appointments on Friday morning expecting that this may well happen.  They  are warning us of power outages.  

We had a heating outage last month for 2 days but not power so we were able to put on our two gas fireplaces and it never got really cold either thankfully.

[RootAnn]

I thought your thread title was a rhetorical question.

Good luck!

[Ellie]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

I thought your thread title was a rhetorical question.

Turns out.... 🙂

In my whole life, I don't think I've ever been in temps this cold.

Our poor homeless population. 😞

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

14 hours ago, aggie96 said:

This is our HEB meat department tonight. What will these people do with all that meat when the power goes out? We are supposed to be hunkered down Sunday afternoon through Wednesday late morning. Not weeks. Lol!

YEP! We did our shopping on Thursday and aren’t trying to leave the house at all for the next week. We’re dripping  faucets, protecting plants, sternly speaking to the dogs about wanting to go outside (LOL), etc . . . We’re in Austin. This is ridiculous. We are not built for such severe weather! Give me a run-of-the mill tornado warning over this any day. 

[DoraBora]

2 hours ago, Ellie said:

Turns out.... 🙂

In my whole life, I don't think I've ever been in temps this cold.

Our poor homeless population. 😞

I know.  The meme upthread about how afraid Texans are of this kind of weather was funny, but I'll confess that I am frightened of these sustained low temps.  Not so much for me -- I have a home, and I also have family in other parts of town if we suddenly didn't have power.  My sister has a generator.

Many of our most vulnerable folks don't have proper cold weather clothing.  We gave away tons of coats and jackets at the food pantry this week, and I worry for the people out there who can't get out or who don't have the money to get what they need.

[Porridge]

Never knew there were so many Austin-ites (I'm including @Ellie in Round Rock) here!  

My SIL says there has been historical precedent for water mains to burst in this kind of cold, and recommended we fill a bathtub (in addition to leaving certain faucets to drip) just in case.

[Porridge]

Also, on Nextdoor today, someone said they were running their dryer and it smelled like something was burning. They realized the dryer vent had frozen over.  

[Terabith]

I feel super sorry for Texan folks who are not equipped for this cold weather.  

However, i can't help but think about how happy the snow leopard at the San Antonio Zoo probably will be.  

[TheReader]

1 hour ago, JHLWTM said:

Also, on Nextdoor today, someone said they were running their dryer and it smelled like something was burning. They realized the dryer vent had frozen over.  

oh, holy cow,. Hadn't even thought of that! 

We did get the trees all wrapped, currently having "freezing rain" and the blankets are serving as lovely little igloos (already frozen around the trees). Here's hoping our peach buds survive. 

We'll be dripping our faucets, cabinet doors opened to let the heat from inside reach them, and apparently not running the dryer till it thaws; glad I got most things done. Have dirty towels, but plenty of clean ones too. 

We've got the thermostat low to help conserve electricity, per emails from our power company/guidelines being sent out by the state for the unprecedented demand they're expecting. 

 

[vonfirmath]

we were dripping our outside faucet according to Austin water requirements (at least 5 drops per minute) and just 3 hours later they were already frozen over!  So went warmed them up with a hair dryer and then wrapped them with a sock, with a foam cover with newspaper inside, then a towel and finally a trash bag. And I still don't know if it will help or not.

 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, JHLWTM said:

Also, on Nextdoor today, someone said they were running their dryer and it smelled like something was burning. They realized the dryer vent had frozen over.  

Good thing to check I suppose.  I wonder if your vents are different than ours?  That has never happened to us.  I live in the upper Midwest and we have been having temps with wind chill of around -35 for over a week.  

[mommyoffive]

7 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

we were dripping our outside faucet according to Austin water requirements (at least 5 drops per minute) and just 3 hours later they were already frozen over!  So went warmed them up with a hair dryer and then wrapped them with a sock, with a foam cover with newspaper inside, then a towel and finally a trash bag. And I still don't know if it will help or not.

 

We turn our outside faucets off in winter.  Is this because everything is not insulated? 

 

In the last 15 years our city  has only had us drip faucets one time.  THat was a few years ago when the temps were I think -60 for a long time.  

Edited February 14, 2021 by mommyoffive

[vonfirmath]

1 minute ago, mommyoffive said:

We turn our outside faucets off in winter.  Is this because everything is not insulated? 

 

In the last 15 years our city  has only had us drip faucets one time.  THat was a few years ago when the temps were I think -60 for a long time.  

That would be a great idea. I'm not sure we CAN turn off outside faucets without turning off the entire houses's water

 

[TheReader]

8 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

we were dripping our outside faucet according to Austin water requirements (at least 5 drops per minute) and just 3 hours later they were already frozen over!  So went warmed them up with a hair dryer and then wrapped them with a sock, with a foam cover with newspaper inside, then a towel and finally a trash bag. And I still don't know if it will help or not.

 

I read on a plumber's website to aim for 1 drip per second, but that's for indoors; we always turn off and wrap the outdoor ones. 

We're going to drip all the ones inside that are on exterior walls (at the 1 drip/second rate) (hot and cold sides of the faucet, and keep cabinet doors open so the indoor heat reaches the pipes against the outside walls). 

Just now, mommyoffive said:

We turn our outside faucets off in winter.  Is this because everything is not insulated? 

Yes; our homes are not built for cold weather, because it's literally a "many years apart" event (for reference, the last time we had an ice storm period was 1997, and the last time we had one similar to this was 1989, but this one will have MORE frozen precipitation and rival temps/conditions last seen in something like 1895, at least the part that's hitting Houston.....parts further north get this a bit more often). 

 

[mommyoffive]

Just now, vonfirmath said:

That would be a great idea. I'm not sure we CAN turn off outside faucets without turning off the entire houses's water

 

Ahh got it.  I suppose when they built houses down there this isn't something that builders would have put in because it is something that happens very often. 

Stay home and stay safe southern ladies.  I can't imagine how bad the driving would be for places that don't have the right equipment and for people who are not used to driving on ice and snow.  Our area is so cold that salt doesn't do anything on ice.  

[vonfirmath]

4 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Ahh got it.  I suppose when they built houses down there this isn't something that builders would have put in because it is something that happens very often. 

Stay home and stay safe southern ladies.  I can't imagine how bad the driving would be for places that don't have the right equipment and for people who are not used to driving on ice and snow.  Our area is so cold that salt doesn't do anything on ice.  

They closed the local toll roads because nothing they were doing was keeping the ice at bay.

 

[Amy in NH]

22 hours ago, aggie96 said:

This is our HEB meat department tonight. What will these people do with all that meat when the power goes out? We are supposed to be hunkered down Sunday afternoon through Wednesday late morning. Not weeks. Lol!

Even if the power goes out, you can still cook meat on a gas stove or grill.

When I was a teen, the power went out on Thanksgiving, and we cooked our turkey outdoors on the grill.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Amy in NH

[Amy in NH]

12 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Good thing to check I suppose.  I wonder if your vents are different than ours?  That has never happened to us.  I live in the upper Midwest and we have been having temps with wind chill of around -35 for over a week.  

Lots of places have hinged vent covers to keep the critters out - the cover blows open when the dryer starts, unless it is frozen shut.

[mommyoffive]

2 minutes ago, Amy in NH said:

Lots of places have hinged vent covers to keep the critters out - the cover blows open when the dryer starts, unless it is frozen shut.

Yeah that is the same as ours, hinged door.  But it also has a little over hang around it, so maybe it keeps out the water?  But yeah good thing to check.  One year we had so much snow that a peoples vents were covered by snow.  Also happens when there is so much blowing and drifting snow.  Lots of things to think of doing and checking that are not the normal for people in the lower part of country.

Edited February 15, 2021 by mommyoffive

[Amy in NH]

[Amy in NH]

Tip from the North: If you do get more than a couple of inches of snow, and it looks like it will melt suddenly (like in a rainstorm),
make sure your street drains are shoveled clear so you don't end up with surface flooding taking out your landscaping.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Amy in NH

[TheReader]

9 minutes ago, Amy in NH said:

Even if the power goes out, you can still cook meat on a gas stove or grill.

When I was a teen, the power went out on Thanksgiving, and we cooked our turkey outdoors on the grill.

this, and also, my DH reminded me.....it's not like the meat will go bad in the freezer if we lose power (at least, not our deep freeze in the garage).....the weather outside is sufficient to keep it frozen. 

[DoraBora]

17 minutes ago, Amy in NH said:

Even if the power goes out, you can still cook meat on a gas stove or grill.

When I was a teen, the power went out on Thanksgiving, and we cooked our turkey outdoors on the grill.

Or you can just put it in your car or in a container outdoors for most of this week.

[melbotoast]

23 hours ago, aggie96 said:

Ok. I know this is a pretty boring topic to the rest of the world, but I saw this and laughed out loud!

 

Fellow Texan here. This is perfect! 😂😂😂  Hope everyone is staying warm!

 

 

[aggie96]

I was rather thinking that the amount of meat that was wiped out is waaaay more than will be consumed in 3 days. Of course it can be frozen, but I was poking fun at the need to stock up enough meat for weeks instead of 3 days. Milk, eggs, bread, and inexplicably toilet paper, etc were wiped out also. The weather is dire for Texas for the next 5 days or so (in my area), but the weather will be back to 60 this weekend. :) Now, Texans LOVE their grill and could probably grill anything from meat to a cake, but ain't nobody going out to the porch to do it below 35 degrees. :) Power is already flickering, and the storm has been blowing 3 hours. Frozen meat will make it. Refrigerated not so much with the house heat cranked up. Lol. 

It's all good. I was just having fun at Texas apocalypse behavior in a winter storm. No one will stay home for Covid, but the ice will chase a Texan indoors for sure! 

Edited February 15, 2021 by aggie96

[Kassia]

We live in Ohio and my dd chose a college in TX to escape the long winters here.  Little did we know that her first winter there she'd be experiencing such a snowstorm!  Classes were canceled last Thursday and now Monday/Tuesday.  All dining locations on campus are closed except for the dining hall, which has limited hours and food.  I just hope they don't lose power.  

Edited February 15, 2021 by Kassia

[aggie96]

At least she is experienced!

 

Another pro-tip from nights out on a drilling job location--

Take your frozen meal and set it under the hood on your hot engine block. It will actually cook/heat it up enough to eat!