What does a coastal Texan in arctic weather do?

[TheReader]

I wonder if HEB clearanced the meat, in case of power loss, and that's why it was wiped out....? you're right, it's a ton to sell out at this time. Ha! 

 

[Kassia]

4 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

At least she is experienced!

 

 

LOL, she's experienced, but refused to bring anything warm with her since she didn't expect it to be this cold.  Thank goodness I made her bring boots since she has to walk to the dining hall.  No gloves or coat, but she does have a light puffer jacket at least.  Her hands are going to freeze.  I offered last week to have gloves sent through Prime, but she still refused.  Stubborn kids!  If the lose power, she doesn't have a lot of blankets either, but I think she'll have enough.  

 

 

[aggie96]

Nobody has noted it was clearance. People were stalking the items this morning when the store opened waiting for restock. HEB says it will be open tomorrow!? Monday!? Bad call in my opinion.  Several FB threads about offering assistance form busted pipes to butter.

[TheReader]

13 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

Nobody has noted it was clearance. People were stalking the items this morning when the store opened waiting for restock. HEB says it will be open tomorrow!? Monday!? Bad call in my opinion.  Several FB threads about offering assistance form busted pipes to butter.

yikes. Our neighborhood is being similarly helpful, same as during Harvey...but even our HEB closed then. I hope they don't make their employees come out in this. 

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

Who I supposed to only be in for 3 days? I thought we weren’t getting past freezing until next weekend. I’m doing everything I can to stay inside. I’m pathetic enough as an Austinite, but poor Spouse is from the Valley and his blood is thin as water. Ha! 

[Terabith]

I miss HEB so much.  The best grocery store in the world.  Also, Blue Bell ice cream.  

[aggie96]

I'm in Houston. We will be good to go by next weekend. SpaceCityWeather guys say this storm goes through Tuesday and then another storm blows through Wed/Thur. Then it's back to the regularly scheduled programming Fri and beyond.

I really really really hope so. Of course, Houston weather is heavily influenced by Gulf air separate from the rest of the state really (obviously that's not absolute). It's a major reason we moved from DFW to Houston, the weather. :)

ETA: I meant being able to drive. We *should* be drivable possible Wednesday. Hunkered down Thursday? and on the road again Friday. We'll see. It's all on the hairy-edge and could go either way in the end. Wonder what the schools will do?

Edited February 15, 2021 by aggie96

[math teacher]

My school is out all week for guess what? Winter break

[Vintage81]

I’m in the Hill Country. The power went out over an hour ago. Not sure if this is part of a rolling black out or some other sort of outage. It’s 15 degrees outside now. 🥶 I’m ready for this winter weather to be gone! 

[prairiewindmomma]

I was thinking, "Eats tacos and drinks Topo Chico while wearing blankets as coats".....

I really miss HEB.

[cjzimmer1]

I've been following one of the dog rescues in Houston that we got our puppy from and the people have been desperate to find fosters so they can pull more dogs off the streets.  On one hand, I get that's it very cold for everyone there and for many of the dogs (especially the small ones and short coated ones) will be suffering being outside and on the other hand, I keep thinking surely the huskies and the german shepherds etc will be okay even if they don't have winter coats like they get up here.  30 degrees is cold but it's not that cold.  One of the dogs they sent up got loose within days of arriving and spent about 36 hours out in temps that never got above 0 and it was fine.  Not that I'm advocating not trying to help but sometimes if hard for this northerner to wrap my mind around getting excited over 30 degrees.  I mean that's positively balmy for us.  Intellectually I get they just don't have the clothes, insulation, heat etc and when I think about that, I know it's gotta be  awful but then my mind gets stuck on the actual temp.  It's just so hard to relate sometimes or maybe I'm just a tad bit jealous because it "sounds" so much easier to deal with than numbers we've got going here.

[aggie96]

Re: School--It would be weird to me to have a Winter Break in February. For the past three years, I've planted tomatoes in February outside. Lol!

Re: Electricity being out--I hate that the power is out for y'all! I am praying ours stays. In the grand scheme of things, we'll be fine for quite a while with no electric. But the pool equipment will be extremely damaged without it. It's in freeze mode so the water features (waterfalls, bubblers, cleaner) and the spa continuously run to keep from freezing. The pumps and significant equipment are above ground and uncovered and full of water with no reasonable way to drain or cover. So for me, the risk is all abour the palm trees and the pool. Not life-threatening but big $$$$$$$ that home owners insurance won't cover.

I am thinking about the homeless (the shelters were full earlier today and calls for survival blankets were going out because people were going to be stuck out) and the animals. Lots of livestock grazing without shelter. People have spent last 2 days trying to capture stray domestics in their garages to shelter. It's been quite the scramble. I am praying there won't be human casualties due to exposure. That just breaks my heart.

 

ETA. For reference, it's 28 degrees but feels like 16 degrees. I suspect some animals would be OK, but most would not. Plus they aren't really acclimated , you know?

Edited February 15, 2021 by aggie96

[vonfirmath]

2 hours ago, aggie96 said:

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! 

When I went shopping, I wasn't stocking up for 3 days. I was stocking up for a week.  (Last Thursday through next THursday -- when the temperatures will hopefully be above freezing) and at that I'm not ure how successful I will be.

[chiguirre]

46 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I was thinking, "Eats tacos and drinks Topo Chico while wearing blankets as coats".....

I really miss HEB.

Umm, I resemble that remark. We had Torchy's today.

I've covered the Sagos, have the outside pipes wrapped and the faucets dripping. The last time we had a couple days freeze, our backflow blew out and I had to shut off the water to the house until I could get a plumber. This time I'm better prepared, but the temps are going to be lower for longer. I hope that we at least get some pretty pictures in the snow.

Our ISD was on February break last week. So far Monday will be virtual and I suspect that will be the call until Friday. 

[vonfirmath]

3 minutes ago, chiguirre said:

Umm, I resemble that remark. We had Torchy's today.

I've covered the Sagos, have the outside pipes wrapped and the faucets dripping. The last time we had a couple days freeze, our backflow blew out and I had to shut off the water to the house until I could get a plumber. This time I'm better prepared, but the temps are going to be lower for longer. I hope that we at least get some pretty pictures in the snow.

Our ISD was on February break last week. So far Monday will be virtual and I suspect that will be the call until Friday. 

They called Monday and Tuesday for virtual and my husband's work has been off since 10a-ish Thursday. However he hopes to get in at least part day Tuesday to process whatever newborn tests have gotten in (when they got in a few hours Friday the issue was the tests had not gotten through to the lab). Even in this weather, newborns keep being born and those test results NEED to get back to them rapidly esp if they are indicating issues.

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by vonfirmath

[aggie96]

I hear ya. I stock for a week at a time too. I think most people in my neighborhood must also since Sunday is PACKED and the rest of the week is empty. But still, no meat at all is weird. Our FB page is having fun laughing at themselves. I think now that the storm has started, everyone is calming down and finding the humor in a rather stressful situation. All in all it's been very entertaining! At least tonight it is. I hope things remain so the next few days. 

 

[aggie96]

Ugh! Our backflow blew in the last freeze also! That was the first thing that was wrapped in the new house. Never.again.

I now have instructions on what to do with pool should power go out. It won't be fun, but there's a plan. Given I had to hand bail my pool during Harvey in my PJ's for all the block to see...  I can't decide if half-nekked (sp intentional) and soaked in front of neighbors is worse than bundled up and freezing and wet. :)  Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Lol!

 

[Shoeless]

I feel bad for the lineman that are out fixing things in this mess. We're only 2 miles from the dispatch center, so our power tends to stay up, otherwise they can't get repair trucks and equipment out.  But man, it's gotta be rough to be out in this.  

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, aggie96 said:

Ugh! Our backflow blew in the last freeze also! That was the first thing that was wrapped in the new house. Never.again.

I now have instructions on what to do with pool should power go out. It won't be fun, but there's a plan. Given I had to hand bail my pool during Harvey in my PJ's for all the block to see...  I can't decide if half-nekked (sp intentional) and soaked in front of neighbors is worse than bundled up and freezing and wet. :)  Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Lol!

 

1. Home Depot sells insulated faucet covers for like $2. You can have them ship to store. Our neighbors thought we were crazy for having them, but it beats the towel and duct tape method.

2. Amazon sells a wired sump pump thingie that you can use to drain a pool for about $60. We hook a hose up to it and use it to drain our hot tub quarterly. Obviously, we use a power source then, but the same pump can be hooked up to a 12V battery.

[prairiewindmomma]

I really miss Torchy’s.

Finding a decent taco place here has been hard. Tacos are not supposed to come with iceberg lettuce, cheddar cheese, and sour cream, iykwim. 

Tacos al pastor. Puffy tacos. Breakfast tacos. 😭 I can’t even buy fresh tortillas here.

[Bensmom]

Just outside of Houston here. I have 4 stray cats I feed.  I managed to get 3 in my garage which was no small task.  The fourth is an old fellow who I have never touched though I have been feeding him over a year. He is on the covered porch in a box with a heating pad. It has to be cold for him, but I thought it would be enough to survive. Now I am worried that if our power goes out the poor fellow will freeze.  I am actually awake now (3:45 in the morning) just keeping an eye on the power and worrying over him. I can see him in the box on our security camera so I know he is out there and still alive. 

[aggie96]

I understand. I got 1.5h sleep before the electricity went out, pool went dead, and water went out. It’s area wide. Rolling blackout electricity. Came on 45 minutes later so pool back on. 15 more minutes and we were headed outside to drain equipment. Discovered fireplace doesn’t work without electricity. That sucks because it was the backup plan for heat. 
 

noticed toilets didn’t have pressure. Checked FB and whole neighborhood lost pressure. Started filling master tub. Got less than an inch before it went out completely. Contingency is using pool water to fill tanks. Put notes on toilets reminding everyone not to flush or see mom first. 
 

1yo kittens have never seen a filled bathtub of water. They keep falling in and then getting water everywhere. After the fifth time, I drained the tub. 
 

so now I’m posting here for stress relief, watching Downton Abbey again, and hanging out on FB. No way can I sleep now. Snow is blowing sideways. Haven’t seen snow like this for 10 years, and it wasn’t coming in sideways then.  Kids will be ecstatic in the morning! I hope so since they might be bailing water from the pool to haul inside! Lol!!!

[Vintage81]

8 hours ago, Vintage81 said:

I’m in the Hill Country. The power went out over an hour ago. Not sure if this is part of a rolling black out or some other sort of outage. It’s 15 degrees outside now. 🥶 I’m ready for this winter weather to be gone! 

We still have no power. It’s been around 10 hours. I’m not sure how cold it got last night, but there’s a crap ton of snow outside...the most we’ve ever had. I have no idea when the power will come back, but this was obviously not part of a rolling blackout. 

[math teacher]

I still have electricity, and I am praying for those of you who do not. I'm on the Arkansas/Texas border. We got snow last night-not sure how much, but it's supposed to snow all day. I know it's pretty, but I worry about the power and people having to drive to work. I can't talk dh into calling off-stubborn man.

Edited to add-It's actually supposed to stop around 9AM, but the temperature won't get above 20.

Edited February 15, 2021 by math teacher

[vonfirmath]

7 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

1. Home Depot sells insulated faucet covers for like $2. You can have them ship to store. Our neighbors thought we were crazy for having them, but it beats the towel and duct tape method.

2. Amazon sells a wired sump pump thingie that you can use to drain a pool for about $60. We hook a hose up to it and use it to drain our hot tub quarterly. Obviously, we use a power source then, but the same pump can be hooked up to a 12V battery.

We have insulated faucet covers. It is cold enough they were freezing despite them so now we have a sock with a newspaper stuffed insulated faucet cover on top of it, then a towel and a trash bag duct taped on top. And I'm not sure it is going to be enough.

[Tree Frog]

South central texas here. Were currently at 7 degrees. We've had 10 min of power since 6:30. We're part of the rolling brownout, but have not had power more than we've had power. Inside is now just at 60 degrees. Thankfully we don't have any young kids. We can use our cooktop if needed to cook because it's gas. Power just came back on. Hopefully it stays on long enough to hear the house a little bit!

[Porridge]

We woke up to no power. My SIL said theirs went out at 3 am, so that’s probably what happened for us, too.  Power came back around 7:30. 

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

2 hours ago, math teacher said:

I still have electricity, and I am praying for those of you who do not. I'm on the Arkansas/Texas border. We got snow last night-not sure how much, but it's supposed to snow all day. I know it's pretty, but I worry about the power and people having to drive to work. I can't talk dh into calling off-stubborn man.

Edited to add-It's actually supposed to stop around 9AM, but the temperature won't get above 20.

Yeah, my folks are near Texarkana and they have power too. 
 

Down in Austin, we’ve been without power since around 2 AM. Around 7 hours and counting. We are all electric so no gas heat, no hot water, nothing.  Brrrrrr! Just sitting in bed with blankets and trying not to burn up my batteries here, LOL. 

I’m glad we don’t have anywhere to go, but getting kind of nervous for what the day may bring. 

[Porridge]

http://www.ercot.com/
rotating  power outages anticipated for today

[TexasProud]

We have power. I also have two wood burning stoves going. We got 9 inches of snow on our place. I  measured with a ruler in several places. Never, ever seen anything like this.

[DoraBora]

Our power (Dallas) rolled off and on three times through the night.  It's 8 degrees outside now and beautifully sunny.  Rolling blackouts are planned throughout the day.

 

[mommyoffive]

54 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

We have power. I also have two wood burning stoves going. We got 9 inches of snow on our place. I  measured with a ruler in several places. Never, ever seen anything like this.

Whoa!

 

I hoping everyone that doesn't  have power gets some today.   That would freak me out.  We have never lost power in the cold and rarely do in regular times.  Stay warm and have some fun in the snow. 

[RegGuheert]

9 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

2. Amazon sells a wired sump pump thingie that you can use to drain a pool for about $60. We hook a hose up to it and use it to drain our hot tub quarterly. Obviously, we use a power source then, but the same pump can be hooked up to a 12V battery.

PSA for our frozen Texans:  DO NOT DRAIN YOUR POOLS!!  Drain your pool pipes if you need to and blow them out if you can, but do not drain the pool itself.

Explanation: There is a reason most of you do not have basements in Texas: high water table.  If you had basements, they would flood frequently.  This is the same reason you do not want to drain your pools: the water will literally lift your concrete, gunnite, or fiberglass pool directly out of the ground.  And if you have a pool with a vinyl liner, draining it will, at a minimum, result in permanent wrinkles which cannot be removed without an expensive visit from your pool installer.  In some cases, your liner can get ripped if you drain it.

MomsintheGarden and I also lost a clothes dryer many years ago in Maryland during a blizzard.  Our dryer vent was both louvered and hooded, so it did not freeze, but the snow piled up completely above the top of the vent and the hot air had no place to go.  As a result, the electric heater did not have enough airflow and the electrical heating coils sagged and shorted out.  Luckily it did not result in a fire.

Our prayers go out to everyone in the very cold weather.  We pray that your power comes on soon so that you can avoid/minimize the damage.

Edited February 15, 2021 by RegGuheert
typo

[vonfirmath]

29 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

We barely have 1.5 inches, have power...so far ok.

I picked TX out of a map because it did not have winter weather. Give me 30 days of 100 degree weather, not 5 days of winter !

My little girl though, so happy. She prayed for snow this winter and it came true. We don't even have enough snow to make proper snow angels, more like part grass and concrete angels. But she is out there at all times she can, bundled up. Her father accompanies her, I have abdicated my responsibility as a parent to accompany a snow loving child of mine. I have my limits.😊

The sun is annoyingly blinding, bouncing off the snow. 

Go away ! Go away ! Go away !

 

 

Most years you would have been fine

 

The last time we had weather this cold was 1989. The last time it lasted this long? 1895!

[RegGuheert]

15 hours ago, aggie96 said:

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. 🙂

This comment makes me wonder if you understand the risks associated with freezing rain.  Yes, it makes the roads hazardous, but the bigger issue is that it is VERY HEAVY.  Freezing rain can and does destroy power lines by making the wires so heavy that they fall down.

The worst damage I am aware of from freezing rain was the damage done in Quebec, Canada, in late November of 2006.  They got nearly TWO INCHES of freezing rain.  That amount of ice was so heavy that even the very large towers that hold the high-voltage wires that deliver massive amounts of electricity buckled and crumbled to the ground.  After that storm, some of the people in Montreal did not get their power back for over a month.  The temperatures rarely got above 0 degrees Fahrenheit during that time.  Here is a link to an article about that storm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Winter_2006_North_American_storm_complex

I visited the research arm of the Hydro Quebec a few months after that storm occurred.  They had placed one of the crumpled power towers near the front door so that all of the engineers inside could see what freezing rain could do to their system.  One of the engineers we met with told me that the government required them to design their system to hold at least 18 mm of ice.  He said that they always designed for at least double that: 36 mm of ice.  Unfortunately, that storm deposited over 45 mm of ice over a very wide area.

The point is that critical infrastructure can and does get damaged during severe weather events.  Just because the storm has passed does not mean that life will immediately return to normal.

Hopefully you will not get enough ice to do serious damage, but it appears to me from the weather models that I have recemtly seen that some areas of the country will get very thick ice during this next week.  (And many places have already had lots of damage from ice during the last week or so.)

[mommyoffive]

3 minutes ago, RegGuheert said:

This comment makes me wonder if you understand the risks associated with freezing rain.  Yes, it makes the roads hazardous, but the bigger issue is that it is VERY HEAVY.  Freezing rain can and does destroy power lines by making the wires so heavy that they fall down.

The worst damage I am aware of from freezing rain was the damage done in Quebec, Canada, in late November of 2006.  They got nearly TWO INCHES of freezing rain.  That amount of ice was so heavy that even the very large towers that hold the high-voltage wires that deliver massive amounts of electricity buckled and crumbled to the ground.  After that storm, some of the people in Montreal did not get their power back for over a month.  The temperatures rarely got above 0 degrees Fahrenheit during that time.  Here is a link to an article about that storm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Winter_2006_North_American_storm_complex

I visited the research arm of the Hydro Quebec a few months after that storm occurred.  They had placed one of the crumpled power towers near the front door so that all of the engineers inside could see what freezing rain could do to their system.  One of the engineers we met with told me that the government required them to design their system to hold at least 18 mm of ice.  He said that they always designed for at least double that: 36 mm of ice.  Unfortunately, that storm deposited over 45 mm of ice over a very wide area.

The point is that critical infrastructure can and does get damaged during severe weather events.  Just because the storm has passed does not mean that life will immediately return to normal.

Hopefully you will not get enough ice to do serious damage, but it appears to me from the weather models that I have recemtly seen that some areas of the country will get very thick ice during this next week.  (And many places have already had lots of damage from ice during the last week or so.)

So true.  And  Lot of people do not accept that thought.  I had this conversation so many times last year before Covid shut down the world.  I was stocking up on things and all these other parents laughed and said it was so dumb.  They thought there is no reason ever that we would not be able to go to the store everyday and get whatever we want.  And that is how they lived too, going to the store everyday and not having any stock up of things at home.  Since Covid was some thing they nobody accepted at the time, I would bring up weather or fires or anything.  They just thought that could never happen.  I was amazed.  These were smart people with advanced degrees.  I am not saying you should have a bunker, but having a stock of things especially when there are storms is a good thing to do. 

[Drama Llama]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:45 PM, 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!

So, when your outside is a giant freezer, the question is not "What do I do with meat?" when the power goes out.  It's "What do I do with humans?"  The meat can just go by the window.  

I think it's funny that in Texas there's a run on meat when snow is coming.  Here in the mid Atlantic it's milk, bread and eggs.  Because apparently snow means French toast.  That might be the cultural difference in a nutshell.

[Lucy the Valiant]

42 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

So, when your outside is a giant freezer, the question is not "What do I do with meat?" when the power goes out.  It's "What do I do with humans?"  The meat can just go by the window.  

I think it's funny that in Texas there's a run on meat when snow is coming.  Here in the mid Atlantic it's milk, bread and eggs.  Because apparently snow means French toast.  That might be the cultural difference in a nutshell.

And in the Northeast when a big storm's coming, people buy all the ice cream! Hahaha! (At least in my neighborhood - yes, bread & milk take a hit, but the ice cream is commonly WIPED OUT. Makes me laugh.)

 

Hang in there, Texas! We're rooting for you up north! 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Lucy the Valiant

[RegGuheert]

The Texans have gone quiet.  Hopefully it is because they are homeschooling their children right now.

[math teacher]

Since we are out of school all week, a teacher friend and dh went to Galveston ahead of the storm. I saw a message from her awhile ago that it was snowing in Galveston and the power was out all over the city. 

[ktgrok]

15 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Not that I'm advocating not trying to help but sometimes if hard for this northerner to wrap my mind around getting excited over 30 degrees.  I mean that's positively balmy for us.  Intellectually I get they just don't have the clothes, insulation, heat etc and when I think about that, I know it's gotta be  awful but then my mind gets stuck on the actual temp.  It's just so hard to relate sometimes or maybe I'm just a tad bit jealous because it "sounds" so much easier to deal with than numbers we've got going here.

Yeah, it's hard to grasp I'm sure - same way I can't grasp people griping about the heat when it is upper 70s. That's practically sweater weather here! But, we have A/C, most houses have ceiling fans in every room, we all know someone with a spare window A/C if the main one breaks etc. Older homes (man I wish I had one!) were built to create shade with large overhanging eaves, cross ventilation, etc. It all helps. 

But our homes are NOT meant to stay warm. We almost all have electric central heating, so if power goes out, no secondary heat. No fireplace even, no gas heat etc. We don't own a single item made of wool. We consider a thin jersey hoody our "winter jacket". Our jeans are not big enough to wear leggings underneath and we don't own long johns. (we are not even sure exactly what they are, other than what we saw in Little House on the Prairie on TV). We don't have waterproof boots - if it is raining or wet we wear flip flops, lol. Heck, we don't have boots! We have tennish shoes and flats and heels and sandals - mostly sandals. We don't have heated blankets (I actually do now - got myself one for Christmas). I literally have 3 long sleeved shirts, and one is new. Before that I had only 2 for the last several years, and one sweatshirt that is old and thin. 

And we are acclimated to 76 as "room temperature". 

[RegGuheert]

7 minutes ago, math teacher said:

Since we are out of school all week, a teacher friend and dh went to Galveston ahead of the storm.

Is she still your friend after running off with your husband? 🤪

[Vintage81]

18 hours without power now. Plus, for extra fun, we no longer have water. 😩 

[DoraBora]

13 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

Oh no, should I fill my bathtub ?? There is not enough snow outside to melt for water  !

Prob a good idea. You could also fill up some pitchers or a thermos or two. 

[RootAnn]

18 hours ago, Kassia said:

LOL, she's experienced, but refused to bring anything warm with her since she didn't expect it to be this cold.  Thank goodness I made her bring boots since she has to walk to the dining hall.  No gloves or coat, but she does have a light puffer jacket at least.  Her hands are going to freeze.  

Mine is in northern Alabama & her school is off today for ice in the forecast. (The online classes were going to still have class but the University provost put the kibosh on those plans. Mine has boots because it rains so much & picked herself up a leather jacket in Spain a couple summers ago, so she'll layer up & be fine. She's got plenty of long-sleeved flannel. It's a fashion statement... I bet she survives on the food she has in her dorm suite, though, instead of walking to the cafeteria.

16 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

30 degrees is cold but it's not that cold.  .... sometimes if hard for this northerner to wrap my mind around getting excited over 30 degrees.  I mean that's positively balmy for us.

It hasn't gotten up to -5°F real temp the last couple days and that's during the day. The poor outside cats here!!

10 hours ago, Bensmom said:

Just outside of Houston here. I have 4 stray cats I feed.  I managed to get 3 in my garage which was no small task.  The fourth is an old fellow who I have never touched though I have been feeding him over a year. He is on the covered porch in a box with a heating pad. It has to be cold for him, but I thought it would be enough to survive. Now I am worried that if our power goes out the poor fellow will freeze.  I am actually awake now (3:45 in the morning) just keeping an eye on the power and worrying over him. I can see him in the box on our security camera so I know he is out there and still alive. 

Bless you! Feral cat shelters with straw for insulation are good.

[RegGuheert]

This link leads to a map which will show you how widespread the outages are in Texas right now (and going forward): https://poweroutage.us/area/state/texas

A note in red letters at the top of the page at the above link says this:

Quote

ERCOT: Level 3 Alert – Load shedding is ongoing.
CenterPoint, CTEC, and TCEC, systems are not providing updated data, their outage counts may be out of date.

 

[Kassia]

10 minutes ago, RegGuheert said:

This link leads to a map which will show you how widespread the outages are in Texas right now (and going forward): https://poweroutage.us/area/state/texas

A note in red letters at the top of the page at the above link says this:

 

My dd lives on campus and her power was out for several hours - now she just doesn't have internet.  She said a girl living off campus said she was told it could be days before power returns.  😞

[Sdel]

Ugh....

We lost our well water.  We were fine until they turned off the power for hours.  I got the vast majority of the laundry done yesterday.    DH didn’t do the dishes like he should have and so we are stuck.....I would have done them....but I’ve got a broken hand and it’s literally the one chore I can’t do.  We had to completely unwrap my hand just so I could get a sweatshirt on (can’t do a regular long sleeve anything either). DH is hospital worker and was working leading up to, so not much prep could get done.

Praying that now that the power is up we can thaw the pipes enough to fill a bathtub for the horses but not hopeful.  DH is braving town (yay 4 wheel drive) to try to find a few more water jugs.  It’s supposed to get just above freezing tomorrow, so maybe then we can get the water back.

Currently running to oven for extra heat and so we can crack the door and it’ll stay a bit warmer for a bit longer the next time we lose power.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Sdel

[RegGuheert]

9 minutes ago, Kassia said:

My dd lives on campus and her power was out for several hours - now she just doesn't have internet.  She said a girl living off campus said she was told it could be days before power returns.  😞

That brings up a good question in my mind:  Which is more traumatic to our college students these days: losing heat in 20F weather or losing the internet?

[Selkie]

5 minutes ago, Sdel said:

Ugh....

We lost our well water.  We were fine until they turned off the power for hours.  I got the vast majority of the laundry done yesterday.    DH didn’t do the dishes like he should have and so we are stuck.....I would have done them....but I’ve got a broken hand and it’s literally the one chore I can’t do.  We had to completely unwrap my hand just so I could get a sweatshirt on (can’t do a regular long sleeve anything either). DH is hospital worker and was working leading up to, so not much prep could get done.

Praying that now that the power is up we can thaw the pipes enough to fill a bathtub for the horses but not hopeful.  DH is braving town (yay 4 wheel drive) to try to find a few more water jugs.  It’s supposed to get just above freezing tomorrow, so maybe then we can get the water back.

Currently running to oven for extra heat and so we can crack the door and it’ll stay a bit warmer for a bit longer the next time we lose power.

Oh no, I hope you can get enough water for your horses! We have harsh winters and I'm paranoid about making sure my horses drink enough, because impaction colic is such a risk. I hope your well is working again soon.