Are we talking about this impending cold weather?

[TravelingChris]

5 hours ago, lovinmyboys said:

We are getting ready to fly into Minneapolis from Europe and I am so nervous. I guess they know what they are doing? I’ll be so happy to get to my parents house and hibernate through the storm. I cannot believe I scheduled a flight into Minnesota in the winter- otoh maybe they can deal with it better??

We flew to Minneapolis in February for a college visit of my second daughter.  It was supposed to be a one night stay or so.  Well a Blizzard came, our flight was cancelled and we were stuck in hotel.  They did have good road clearance and next day, we got to the airport and hung out for the day- waiting to leave.  We finally got to go to Chicago, where the flight to DC was cancelled.  So we had to go to a hotel where they had cancelled our reservation, but then did give us a room.  Next day, we went out to Midway in Chicago and finally made it back to Dulles.  

[TravelingChris]

Where as we weren't going to be having snow, both weather.com and one of the local stations now say we are getting snow--people will normally get .5 inches but higher elevations, which may or may not include us, will get one inch, as of this morning.  Now about those higher elevations, the main forecasting is done based on the airport, which is much lower than my house.  But my house is nearer the top of one of the smaller mountains, and now that the tree leaves are gone, I can see the much taller mountains to the east of us.  Since we moved here in summer of ;11 , we have sometimes had snow when the lower parts of my street didn't, we have had instances, where maybe we could get down our hill, but couldn't go to many places since the higher passes are icy/snowy.  And sometimes, the passes are fine, but the tops of the mountains I can see from my window are snowy and you can't go up to the state park safely (where the VBAS club has a planetarium and observatory, and that is where my dh goes at least a few times a month.  

[Faith-manor]

22 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

Where as we weren't going to be having snow, both weather.com and one of the local stations now say we are getting snow--people will normally get .5 inches but higher elevations, which may or may not include us, will get one inch, as of this morning.  Now about those higher elevations, the main forecasting is done based on the airport, which is much lower than my house.  But my house is nearer the top of one of the smaller mountains, and now that the tree leaves are gone, I can see the much taller mountains to the east of us.  Since we moved here in summer of ;11 , we have sometimes had snow when the lower parts of my street didn't, we have had instances, where maybe we could get down our hill, but couldn't go to many places since the higher passes are icy/snowy.  And sometimes, the passes are fine, but the tops of the mountains I can see from my window are snowy and you can't go up to the state park safely (where the VBAS club has a planetarium and observatory, and that is where my dh goes at least a few times a month.  

Sounds like our house on the mount is going to see snow. Normally our grandsons would be excitee, but they are in Albany, NY currently and frolicking in majors snow!

[Vintage81]

10 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

I'm not that worried about the grid this time

they don't have the things done for repair like they did. There is not ice on the roads--thankfully it appears just cold and not precipitation. I'm more worried about leaving the house alone as we travel for Christmas to warmer climes (Arizona)

 

You’re probably right…especially since there’s no ice/snow this time. Safe travels on your trip to Arizona! ☺️

8 hours ago, MissLemon said:

We're near-ish San Antonio. I picked up groceries today and will grab water tomorrow. The grocery store wasn't picked over yet, surprisingly. 

Gotta grab straw for the chicken house to give them extra insulation. I'm also going to get all the laundry done, just in case we lose power and/or water.

We have pipe insulation for the spigots outside, but I couldn't find any of those foam cover thingies anywhere. Gonna have to DIY something.

And then Friday I have to take the darn dog to the vet when it's going to be so stupid cold out!

We’re headed to the grocery store this morning…curious to see how it is. That’s a good idea about laundry. I have to take my DD to the doctor tomorrow afternoon, but I don’t think it’ll be too bad yet. I’m sorry about your vet appointment, that stinks. I hope your pup is okay! 

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Just Kate said:

We changed our flight to Thursday, but that puts us getting into Columbus at midnight Friday morning. We had planned to drive, but we can just get a hotel room and wait until later on Friday to drive home. I’m just hoping we can get from Baltimore to Columbus on Thursday . What a mess. ☹️

If you land on time in Columbus I think you have a good chance of driving back safely.  But it could be close.  I'm in NE Ohio and it's supposed to start getting bad early morning I think.  Fingers crossed for you and I'm sorry about the stress. 

[YaelAldrich]

16 hours ago, MEmama said:

We get to drive to the Boston airport on Friday to pick up DS; last week the prediction was for 5-8 of snow but now it’s 1-2 inches of rain and 50 degrees?! Thinking he might oughta just take the train home instead. Boston traffic is hard enough even in non-weather! 

We have a bit of snow now, but I guess we won’t for the holiday. Boo.

Have him take the train home. Traffic is nutso here in Boston this week. It's going to be rainy and windy and warm. 

[Mom_to3]

I am predicted power outages for a decent part of the region, followed by frigid temps. Not a good combination...Will a gas fired fireplace (just radiant heat though) keep our pipes on he opposite side of the house (including the top floor) from freezing? Also bought "hot hands" hand warmers for the kiddos - those really work. DH thinks we have nothing to worry about. I don't relish spending Christmas trying to keep pipes from freezing.

It's comforting that we are all in a similar spot...

[Miss Tick]

3 minutes ago, Mom_to3 said:

I am predicted power outages for a decent part of the region, followed by frigid temps. Not a good combination...Will a gas fired fireplace (just radiant heat though) keep our pipes on he opposite side of the house (including the top floor) from freezing? Also bought "hot hands" hand warmers for the kiddos - those really work. DH thinks we have nothing to worry about. I don't relish spending Christmas trying to keep pipes from freezing.

It's comforting that we are all in a similar spot...

Keep any cabinets below sinks open to help air circulation. If you are going to be at home, just run the water a bit every couple of hours. Maybe collect it and cook with it later.

[Kassia]

These tips are from a local station:


Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. 

When the weather is very cold outside, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe - even at a trickle - helps prevent pipes from freezing.

Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. By temporarily suspending the use of lower nighttime temperatures, you may incur a higher heating bill, but you can prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst.

If you will be going away during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55° F.

[skimomma]

We are already at negative wind chills here with wind speeds increasing each day.  We will be dealing with whiteout snow conditions.  But the cold temps mean the roads won't be slippery, at least.  We deliver meals on Christmas day and will do so no matter the conditions.  We should not lose power for long but for those that might, be sure you know how the drain your pipes.  And I second the tent recommendation.  If it gets cold enough, set one up inside and fill with every blanket in the house.

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, YaelAldrich said:

Have him take the train home. Traffic is nutso here in Boston this week. It's going to be rainy and windy and warm. 

The concern is timing—he changed his direct flight from Dublin for one that goes through Paris (always one to complicate things, this kid 🤦‍♀️) so now he’ll have to go through customs in Boston instead of before boarding. If the airport is crazy—as I imagine it will be 2 days before Christmas— he might not make the train and then he’s stuck a couple hours away. There are buses but they don’t take reservations and they can be mad busy so catching one isn’t a guarantee. Also he hasn’t confirmed that he won’t be bringing ALL his dirty laundry home like last year (lol) so it’s possible he’ll have a bunch of bags to deal with too. Ugh.

We all prefer public transportation but I think we’ll just wait and see this time.

[denarii]

-54 in the wind here. Busses are all cancelled, pipes are frozen at work, still have to go in though 🤨

[mommyoffive]

A lot less snow forecasted for us now.  Depending we are on the line of getting 1-3 inches or up to 6.  Better than the double digits they were saying a few days ago.

[kbutton]

 

15 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I am really nervous about this. Son in law just left for New York for Christmas with his parents. Dd and grandsons are already there. I don't know if he left the heat on. Pipes are in the basement.

Would it be worth suggesting to him that he have a plan with a neighbor to turn it on and/or turn off the water to the house?

We turn the water off even for single night trips. 

[Faith-manor]

7 minutes ago, kbutton said:

 

Would it be worth suggesting to him that he have a plan with a neighbor to turn it on and/or turn off the water to the house?

We turn the water off even for single night trips. 

We called him and forgot that the cats are home, and the neighbor has the key and is feeding them. He had left that heat at 64, so everything should be okay! Thanks!!

[BlsdMama]

18 hours ago, Kassia said:

I am so stressed about this.  We have blizzard conditions expected Fri/Saturday with widespread power outages.  We have well water so no power means no running water - no toilets.  Two of my sons are coming home tomorrow and dd is home from college.  So we'll have 5 people with no toilets if we lose power.  Ds1 and his gf are supposed to come on Saturday but we'll see what happens.  😞  

And we just got a freezer to store all the extra food with the kids coming home and stocked up on food and now we'll have to worry about all that food spoiling.  I expect it will be a long time before the power comes back on once it's out with so many people affected by this storm. 

And it will be bitter cold.  

I am an absolute mess - I hate all the uncertainty.  

 

 

If it is any comfort - any frozen food - freezer can be moved to a garage. If you lose electric, wrap pipes near exterior walls with a blanket.

You can force a flush with a bucket if you fill your bathtub and/or five gallon buckets ahead of time. If it's yellow let it mellow was our theme song during derecho.  We're on a well too and didn't have electric for a week.

Cooking is my concern, but I guess nobody ever died on PB&J.

[BlsdMama]

44 minutes ago, denarii said:

-54 in the wind here. Busses are all cancelled, pipes are frozen at work, still have to go in though 🤨

Whoa.  Now THAT is cold.  Is your furnace keeping up? Ours is only a year old and I can already tell a big difference between this one and the old one.  We live out in the country with zero windblock and our room gets chilly.  I'm wearing boxers & a t-shirt. Love the new furnace.  Cheers to hoping no ice on lines - but it's looking like we expect snow and not ice thankfully.

[kbutton]

Our updated forecast has us getting more precipitation just before/during the huge drop in temps. It looks like DH will sleep at work to avoid driving the next AM. 

[denarii]

39 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

Whoa.  Now THAT is cold.  Is your furnace keeping up? Ours is only a year old and I can already tell a big difference between this one and the old one.  We live out in the country with zero windblock and our room gets chilly.  I'm wearing boxers & a t-shirt. Love the new furnace.  Cheers to hoping no ice on lines - but it's looking like we expect snow and not ice thankfully.

Oh yah. This is cold but not abnormality so, we usually get -40 without wind but more often in January. House is cozy. We line the windows with an extra layer of plastic etc. I wish the fireplace in the basement was working but the furnace does just fine. Going to be expensive though. 

Out of five people my husband was the only one that made it to work this morning. Three people couldn't even get their vehicles to start. 

[stephanier.1765]

You know it's cold when the heat cuts on in the middle of the day in Florida. We keep it at 65 which my mother thinks is barbaric and DH is not onboard with since he won't wear anything other than shorts and short sleeved shirts. LOL But anyway, I set it on 65 and forget it because it usually will only come in during the night so it was weird when I heard it come on a minute ago.

[Miss Tick]

1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:

We keep it at 65 which my mother thinks is barbaric and DH is not onboard with since he won't wear anything other than shorts and short sleeved shirts. LOL

Funny, funny, funny!

[Indigo Blue]

@KassiaI won’t say don’t worry, but just prepare as best you can. It’s really all you can do. You (we) will get through this. 
 

I have one son coming from Midwest…have no idea how things will go…..Just hoping he will be able to make it safely home for Christmas. 

[JennyD]

On 12/20/2022 at 2:53 PM, YaelAldrich said:

this weekend is my youngest's bar mitzvah.

Wow, mazel tov!  Especially to you!

We just got home (TN) yesterday from a semester away.  Relieved we made it back before the storm, although it looks like the pod with our belongings isn't getting here anytime soon.  It was supposed to be delivered tomorrow but apparently the driver got sick, so now it's officially delayed until Friday. I can't imagine that it will be safe for anyone to be driving on Friday, but we will see.  I will be pleasantly shocked if we actually get our stuff before Tuesday.  

But we are enjoying being back in our own home, and I just braved the crowds at Costco, TJs and the Asian market to buy all the things, so as long as we don't lose power we are set.

 

[TravelingChris]

And Yael, congratulations on the bar mitzhah

[Faith-manor]

While Mark ran errands for the moms to make sure they would have everything they need if we can't get to them, I stacked four days of wood next to the boiler shed on pallets up off the ground so the bottom row won't freeze to the ground, and got it all secured under tarps so all Mark will need to do is snow blow a path from the back door, and wood will be at our fingertips. He was pretty happy when he saw that.

We are cooking chicken breasts in the boiler tonight, and will have that with roast veggies done in there as well, and baked potatoes from the oven. He is doing extra so we can have it chopped up on salads tomorrow. Our plan for the next few days is to do a lot of grilling in the boiler. I am also going to make spinach artichoke dip for Christmas Eve. Since we have postponed festivities and probably won't be able to get to the moms on Christmas Eve, which is sad because they will be alone but it is not going to be fit to be out, we have them set up with some oldie Christmas movies like "The Bishop's Wife" on streaming, and instructions on how to find them with the remote. I took three quarts of different hearty soups/stews to them, fresh rolls, chopped fresh pineapple chunks, tangelos, and my cheesy broccoli casserole all in single servings in microwave worthy containers. This way they can have good food, not cook, and hunker down until we can get to them.

Mark and I will have to snow blow and shovel two full country blocks and a long driveway to get to my mom, and the drifting is expected to be 2 ft deep on her street so though we could hike down there, it is going to be crazy (especially for my 28" inseam legs) and of course shoveling out the door. We are getting freezing rain first so the hope is we can just stay home. His mom isn't reachable until the county plows and her road is not a priority unless an ambulance needs to get down there. Once plowed, it will take 3 hours of snow blowing and shoveling to get to her door. If the road is passable by 4 wheel drive pick up truck, we do have an acquaintance from her church who lives about a mile away who would try to get to her in an emergency. Mostly, she is on her own unless the situation is bad enough to warrant EMS because she refused to come stay with us or my mom. Stubborn as a mule. Mark and his brother are not happy with her. Sigh. She has a fireplace and we stacked wood inside, all small logs. She is capable of keeping a fire going if she loses electricity/heat.

All of the adult bachelors have purchased food, drinking water, dura flame logs for their apartment fireplaces, batteries for their flashlights, and candles. Youngest son who is the electrical engineer was informed by his manager that he is to leave at noon tomorrow and get back to the apartment before it gets bad out. He knows that ds doesn't have a ton of experience yet on bad roads because he didn't have a car on campus. I am glad he is looking out for him! Middle boy (roommate with youngest) is a research assistant, and the research team decided that no one is going in tomorrow or Friday.

Eldest boy works remote as an editor. He is about an hour and half away, and the roads between here and there will be just awful. So he isn't going anywhere.

I guess we have our ducks in a row.

Edited December 22, 2022 by Faith-manor

[Brittany1116]

Our part of FL will have lows of 20 for about 4 days. We have covered plants, wrapped pipes, taken care of animals. We took bubblewrap from a few recent packages and stuck them in the windows that are near beds. 

My parents will have lows of 3-5 for the weekend. Glad I am not traveling there this month. 

[itsheresomewhere]

The wind and dramatic drop in temp is going to be fun. But I can put the tea and other drinks outside for icy coldness and save   room in the fridge for goodies. I am debating if DS will work on Saturday or not ( he loves his first job and since it is seasonal he doesn’t want to miss).  I need to grab more water as I live in a town that is very old with very old pipes in the town and it has been a year of water main breaks.  With the sudden temp drop, I expect a few. Goodness we fix that or use that grant for fixing the pipes but no, let’s spend it elsewhere.  
 

 

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

While Mark ran errands for the moms to make sure they would have everything they need if we can't get to them, I stacked four days of wood next to the boiler shed on pallets up off the ground so the bottom row won't freeze to the ground, and got it all secured under tarps so all Mark will need to do is snow blow a path from the back door, and wood will be at our fingertips. He was pretty happy when he saw that.

...

Youngest son who is the electrical engineer was informed by his manager that he is to leave at noon tomorrow and get back to the apartment before it gets bad out. He knows that ds doesn't have a ton of experience yet on bad roads because he didn't have a car on campus. I am glad he is looking out for him! Middle boy (roommate with youngest) is a research assistant, and the research team decided that no one is going in tomorrow or Friday.

Eldest boy works remote as an editor. He is about an hour and half away, and the roads between here and there will be just awful. So he isn't going anywhere.

I guess we have our ducks in a row.

Good job on the firewood--that's one of those things that we were not good about doing ahead when we had a house with a stove, and it's one of the nicest things to have done. 🙂

If others stay off the roads after the snow has all come down, the good news is that usually ditches are filled, and fenceposts and such have plowed snow keeping you away from them, so maybe your less experienced driver can get some safe-r practice in. I learned to drive a very snowy year, and there were days that driving was like bowling with bumpers in the gutter, lol! The worst that could happen is being a little stuck until someone with a truck passed by. 

[lovinmyboys]

After 23 hours of travel we made it to my parents house. I am ready to hibernate for the week. Hope everyone stays safe and warm!

[popmom]

For those of you in the areas getting blizzard conditions, is this something that happens every year--just not this early? Or is this worse than say your typical January weather events? I just cannot fathom that much snow.

I'm not too worried about our situation. Dd drove to Auburn and got her faucets dripping. I have higher confidence in the precip forecast--which is minimal, thankfully. It did occur to me earlier that we might need to prepare for a possible power outage from the high winds/downed trees/power lines. We have plenty of firewood and a Mr. Buddy. We will be fine, but not everyone has the resources we do. Shelters have opened downtown and in some rural areas. I would enjoy this as a little adventure except for that. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by popmom

[Faith-manor]

17 minutes ago, popmom said:

For those of you in the areas getting blizzard conditions, is this something that happens every year--just not this early? Or is this worse than say your typical January weather events? I just cannot fathom that much snow.

I'm not too worried about our situation. Dd drove to Auburn and got her faucets dripping. I have higher confidence in the precip forecast--which is minimal, thankfully. It did occur to me earlier that we might need to prepare for a possible power outage from the high winds/downed trees/power lines. We have plenty of firewood and a Mr. Buddy. We will be fine, but not everyone has the resources we do. Shelters have opened downtown and in some rural areas. I would enjoy this as a little adventure except for that. 

In our part of Michigan, most storms do not dump more than 6" at a time, and we do not often get white out conditions. Other parts of Michigan are more used to be absolutely hammered on a regular basis. In the U.P., snowmobile ownership is very high, and kids coming and going from school by snowmobile is a thing.

12" is really more than our county can handle in 48 hours because the road commission budget is so low. Due to the area dying economically, it isn't going up any time soon so if this becomes a regular occurrence with climate change, schools are going to have to make virtual school the norm for winter, and the pivot would be to in person instead of the opposite. We have no homeless shelters nor warming centers in the county either, and there are definitely homeless folks here.

[popmom]

6 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

In our part of Michigan, most storms do not dump more than 6" at a time, and we do not often get white out conditions. Other parts of Michigan are more used to be absolutely hammered on a regular basis. In the U.P., snowmobile ownership is very high, and kids coming and going from school by snowmobile is a thing.

12" is really more than our county can handle in 48 hours because the road commission budget is so low. Due to the area dying economically, it isn't going up any time soon so if this becomes a regular occurrence with climate change, schools are going to have to make virtual school the norm for winter, and the pivot would be to in person instead of the opposite. We have no homeless shelters nor warming centers in the county either, and there are definitely homeless folks here.

Not even any churches opening up? I see that here in rural areas--churches will open for severe weather. Even our poorest counties have an Emergency Management office. They handle that stuff.

That's terrible.

ETA: It just hit me that it may be because we get tornadoes. Even the poorest counties have community shelters that EMA runs for tornado warnings. Those do double duty during cold weather, too.

Edited December 22, 2022 by popmom

[Faith-manor]

44 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Good job on the firewood--that's one of those things that we were not good about doing ahead when we had a house with a stove, and it's one of the nicest things to have done. 🙂

If others stay off the roads after the snow has all come down, the good news is that usually ditches are filled, and fenceposts and such have plowed snow keeping you away from them, so maybe your less experienced driver can get some safe-r practice in. I learned to drive a very snowy year, and there were days that driving was like bowling with bumpers in the gutter, lol! The worst that could happen is being a little stuck until someone with a truck passed by. 

He better not be out there practicing! The area he is in has warned folks that there will be zero visibility after 4 pm tomorrow, and no one is coming for anyone who is stranded. Roads are going to flashfreeze and the bomb cyclone of an inch or more per hour and 55 mph winds. The most experienced drivers will still be in accidents. He can practice some other time. Some roads are going to be closed, and the city is closing offices early. The road his company is on is outside of the city, rural, and low, and expected to flash freeze. Nope. He can get himself home early before that happens and stay inside!

Mark is making bagels because I got the wood done, and he is thrilled. His bagels are yummy yummy! So I am patting myself on the back 😁

[Faith-manor]

4 minutes ago, popmom said:

Not even any churches opening up? I see that here in rural areas--churches will open for severe weather. Even our poorest counties have an Emergency Management office. They handle that stuff.

That's terrible.

No. Churches here are, well, not prone to community outreach or participation. 200 churches in the county. Not a single one open for warming.

[Faith-manor]

1 minute ago, Faith-manor said:

No. Churches here are, well, not prone to community outreach or participation. 200 churches in the county. Not a single one open for warming.

Theoretically we have an EMO. Their budget is, well, less than tiny shall we say.

[popmom]

6 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Theoretically we have an EMO. Their budget is, well, less than tiny shall we say.

Good grief. I might have to write your state reps lol. That is crazy. The state funds it for our counties. It's not dependent on the revenue of the poorest counties. State government needs a kick in the rear on that. It's too cold up there under normal conditions to not have shelters open!

[kbutton]

26 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

He better not be out there practicing! The area he is in has warned folks that there will be zero visibility after 4 pm tomorrow, and no one is coming for anyone who is stranded. Roads are going to flashfreeze and the bomb cyclone of an inch or more per hour and 55 mph winds. The most experienced drivers will still be in accidents. He can practice some other time. Some roads are going to be closed, and the city is closing offices early. The road his company is on is outside of the city, rural, and low, and expected to flash freeze. Nope. He can get himself home early before that happens and stay inside!

Mark is making bagels because I got the wood done, and he is thrilled. His bagels are yummy yummy! So I am patting myself on the back 😁

Not during the storm…after if there are low traffic places. 🤣 It might not be an option at all.

[KungFuPanda]

Y’all, I am not ok. I work at a landscaping company that sells firewood. Tomorrow it will rain all day. Today EVERYONE bought firewood. I was selling it faster than the crew could replenish the racks. The boss picked up a few temps to help us keep up with demand. It was a long crazy day. I got zero actual office work done. I’m shocked that my money was right at the end of the day. I expect zero customers tomorrow so I should be able to catch up. I’m still feeling a little stunned by the pace of the day. 

[BeachGal]

I grew up in Montana and we dealt with blizzards and cold temps often. The worst part about blizzards is that you can’t see. It’s very easy to go off the road or hit someone in front of you or get hit from behind. One of my brothers had to drive during a blizzard once and went into the ditch and was stuck out in the boonies for almost two days. He knew what to do and was prepared and eventually rescued.

He and another brother worked on the fishing boats off of Alaska and later in the oil industry around Barrow, Alaska, for decades. Now that is extreme cold. Plus polar bears!

Another brother had to round up cattle in Montana in winter and would be out for several days.

I live near Chicago now. The wind chill is going to be a bit low for this time of year but it’s not too surprising either. Snowfall will be up to 7” which will be cleared quickly. They do an impressive job clearing the roads here.

My biggest gripe are drivers who go too fast on snowy roads. That’s an easy way to get into an accident and either hurt yourself or someone else — or both.

[Faith-manor]

I am just glad ds graduated. He went to university in the U.P., and since we had three kids in college at one time on three different campuses, we just couldn't have cars for everyone. So I did four years of winter round trips, TDay, XMas, and S.Break. the number of times I ended up skating in on a wing and prayer, and then stuck in hotels with him due to blizzards was more than I care to think about. I love the U.P. so three season of the year, but NOT winter.

So I can honestly say I am very, very thankful not to be driving back and forth from the "200 of snow" region!

KungFu, that is amazing! You must be so tired. I hope tomorrow is just super quiet for you.

We got all 20 face cord of wood in before Thanksgiving, and I am grateful for that.

It hits here at 4 pm tomorrow or supposedly. It is so hard to tell on this side of the state because sometimes it stalls in the middle which makes it hard to predict. Is it going to get cold enough in North Florida to kill cities trees?

[fraidycat]

1 hour ago, BeachGal said:

 

My biggest gripe are drivers who go too fast on snowy roads. That’s an easy way to get into an accident and either hurt yourself or someone else — or both.

This is the worst part of winter driving. The road conditions can suck, but it's the *other drivers* that make it terrifying.

When we were moving from MN to ND in January (military, we didn't choose a Jan. move, LOL) we hit a big storm on the drive. Visibility was very low. I was basically leading a convoy of about a dozen vehicles, including semis. I was only going about 30-35 mph, driving an SUV and pulling a trailer, with DH behind me driving the UHaul pulling a car trailer behind it. Everybody just followed us... except a red sports car who was "bulletproof" and whizzed passed us like we were standing still. It was maybe 5 or 10 miles down the road that that car was in the ditch, bumper on one side of the road, car on the other, small red bits strewn about between the two. The occupants were out of the car, trying to push it out of the ditch, so thankfully no bad injuries as far as I know, but they were in such a hurry, they got nowhere fast. 

[Lady Florida.]

15 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

Our part of FL will have lows of 20 for about 4 days. We have covered plants, wrapped pipes, taken care of animals. We took bubblewrap from a few recent packages and stuck them in the windows that are near beds. 

 

Our part will have 30s overnight for 3 days, starting Friday night. We have a freeze watch but aren't expecting a hard freeze. I'll cover my plants. I have a tomato plant in a pot so that will come inside. I have beans that just started to flower so I hope they'll be okay. My potted plants will get put in the garage, plants in the ground will get covered. This house is well insulated (built in 2019-20) so we'll stay warm inside. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be the coldest by Florida standards, highs of 49 and 51 respectively. Of course those are the two days we'll be out and about visiting family. None of us own actual winter coats. 

 

 

[skimomma]

14 hours ago, popmom said:

For those of you in the areas getting blizzard conditions, is this something that happens every year--just not this early? Or is this worse than say your typical January weather events? I just cannot fathom that much snow.

 

It is totally normal in my area.  We can get anywhere from 1-6 blizzards a year.  A normal storm can dump 12+ inches and that is not considered a blizzard or a big deal.  Actually, "blizzard" is more about wind than the amount of snow.  Because it is a holiday weekend and people are trying to travel and do their normal holiday things, it is more of a "topic" than it normally would be.  We are supposed to get 36 inches but most things will still be open.  School is already out so that is not a factor.  The roads will be cleared enough but visibility will be a problem.  We are not planning to go anywhere we cannot go on foot until the storm ends.  We do volunteer for the senior citizen Christmas dinner and we will do that no matter what.  We almost never lose power and if we do, it won't be for long so I am not terribly concerned.  If we do for more than a few hours, we will drain the pipes, pack up the cats, and walk/snowshoe/ski to friends that have wood heat about a mile away.

[Faith-manor]

Good news! The Moose Lodge announced they will be open as a warming center. The folks at the Moose Lodge are very civic minded people. When we had our rocket trqk, they would put on fundraising dinners for them and give a big donation. Very kind hearted folk. They made their announcement on the county community page and asked everyone to get the word out while they change their sign out front. They said they will have all their volunteers in place by 5 pm, and throughout the night will have hot cocoa, tea, coffee, soups, bread, and baked potatoes. Such wonderful people! The manager of the new Aldi is donating food supplies. We have some extra throw pillows that we do not use, and some wool blankets that are also just spares because I have made numerous quilts for the house. We are going to take them over there as soon as someone can meet us. I figure if other folks in the community will also pitch in then they will be able to bundle up anyone who is chilled as they arrive.

Our county, square mileage wise, is large so there need to be more centers. My hope is that on the south side of the county which is quite remote, the Knights of Columbus Hall will open.

[1234]

I’m seeing O’Hare has delayed flights 2.5 hours and has already canceled over 400. With the delay and things only going to get worse, there will be so many more canceled. It’s going to be a mess here. Traffic yesterday was crazy around us. 

I’m just really hoping we don’t lose power. We’re renting this year (trying to figure out exactly where in Chicagoland we want to settle) and have no alternative heat source in this place. 

[Faith-manor]

Oh boy, son in law is stuck in Fort Wayne. His flight to Detroit apparently had a fuel leak, and they had to emergency land because they were running out of fuel. The Fort Wayne airport is a puddle jumper kind of tiny airport, and not made for stranded travelers. He is in a very long line waiting for a chance to speak with the only person representing his airline that can possibly find him a flight to anywhere. We can't get to him, though it is only five hours away, because we would not make it back before the blizzard and white outs hit. We told him to demand they put him in a taxi, or shuttle van back to Indianapolis because that airport is much more robust, and should at least be able to get him home to Huntsville if they can get him to Albany. He was supposed to leave Tuesday, and we thought he had, but due to an emergency thing at work, he changed his flight to today. Not good.

He may end up back home and alone for the holidays. 

[Spy Car]

I hope you all stay safe and have joyful holidays.

Bill

[TravelingChris]

13 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I am just glad ds graduated. He went to university in the U.P., and since we had three kids in college at one time on three different campuses, we just couldn't have cars for everyone. So I did four years of winter round trips, TDay, XMas, and S.Break. the number of times I ended up skating in on a wing and prayer, and then stuck in hotels with him due to blizzards was more than I care to think about. I love the U.P. so three season of the year, but NOT winter.

So I can honestly say I am very, very thankful not to be driving back and forth from the "200 of snow" region!

KungFu, that is amazing! You must be so tired. I hope tomorrow is just super quiet for you.

We got all 20 face cord of wood in before Thanksgiving, and I am grateful for that.

It hits here at 4 pm tomorrow or supposedly. It is so hard to tell on this side of the state because sometimes it stalls in the middle which makes it hard to predict. Is it going to get cold enough in North Florida to kill cities trees?

Very doubtful/  Gulf coast AL is the same climate and Northern Fl and I have been there before a long, deep freeze and after, and no trees are mostly very resistant to these few days of bitter cold.  What is more likely to die are perennials and bushes that people planted that normally are for tropical areas but people take a chance.  I did have to change a hibiscus once so far.  Both my Dahlias have survived.  And a very hard palm we had tin the botanical garden finally succumbed but not to cold, but rather drought and disease/bugs/  We are not in lower AL, of course, but all the live oaks, and other more tropical type plants survived there.

And Faithmanor, I was thinking about you and how happy I was that you had your son graduated and not doing the UP drive this year a few days before you posted this.  Yeah, FM.

[BeachGal]

12 hours ago, fraidycat said:

This is the worst part of winter driving. The road conditions can suck, but it's the *other drivers* that make it terrifying.

When we were moving from MN to ND in January (military, we didn't choose a Jan. move, LOL) we hit a big storm on the drive. Visibility was very low. I was basically leading a convoy of about a dozen vehicles, including semis. I was only going about 30-35 mph, driving an SUV and pulling a trailer, with DH behind me driving the UHaul pulling a car trailer behind it. Everybody just followed us... except a red sports car who was "bulletproof" and whizzed passed us like we were standing still. It was maybe 5 or 10 miles down the road that that car was in the ditch, bumper on one side of the road, car on the other, small red bits strewn about between the two. The occupants were out of the car, trying to push it out of the ditch, so thankfully no bad injuries as far as I know, but they were in such a hurry, they got nowhere fast. 

I have traveled through ND many times and one time drove through a very long blizzard in a really crappy car. I followed a semi for hours going about 30 mph on the highway at night. I think I was hypnotized by the snow once we got out of the blizzard. LOL.

 

[TravelingChris]

12 hours ago, fraidycat said:

This is the worst part of winter driving. The road conditions can suck, but it's the *other drivers* that make it terrifying.

When we were moving from MN to ND in January (military, we didn't choose a Jan. move, LOL) we hit a big storm on the drive. Visibility was very low. I was basically leading a convoy of about a dozen vehicles, including semis. I was only going about 30-35 mph, driving an SUV and pulling a trailer, with DH behind me driving the UHaul pulling a car trailer behind it. Everybody just followed us... except a red sports car who was "bulletproof" and whizzed passed us like we were standing still. It was maybe 5 or 10 miles down the road that that car was in the ditch, bumper on one side of the road, car on the other, small red bits strewn about between the two. The occupants were out of the car, trying to push it out of the ditch, so thankfully no bad injuries as far as I know, but they were in such a hurry, they got nowhere fast. 

And the scariest drive I ever had was in the PA mountains when we were in college.  Dh needs more sleep than me so he was sleeping and we were driving in ice covered, ice fog in the dark.  When it got light, there were so many trucks off turned over, etc.  I say that again, when we were stationed in NM.  Driving on I40 east w my kids, there apparently had been black ice adn again. lots of truck and cars off the road.  

And the one thing was none were bad crashes in either case.  But still not a good thing to happen.