This weather is awful!! 2008-2021

[Koolau]

During my career I was involved with some technological developments that changed how different businesses processed their customers work. Great improvements were made in efficiency, leading to cost cutting headcount reductions. This was game changing and was quickly adopted by Megacorp's customers.

Then one day systems didn't work after an operating system upgrade and the backups were gone! Gone, the tape librarian had scratched them and poof, they were overwritten! They had millions of dollars in hardware that didn't work, none of their current data, and no clear recovery options. On top of this steaming pile they were in financial services and their regulatory requirements weren't being met.

Stuff changed afterwards.

I love it. Megacorp got caught on a smaller scale in similar "cost saving" situations. Sort of like - do we really need this brick in the wall? Okay, how 'bout THIS one. Hey, maybe THIS ONE too. Oh cr@p!

Now returning you to tonights symposium on "This Weather Is Awful."

 

[MichaelB]

Sorry. I guess I didn't understand your question. I've deleted my post.

My previous post was not directed at you, sorry of it seemed that way.

It seems the discussion has moved from weather to public utilities of affected areas, which is perfectly normal, but then from utilities to governance and policy of specific states, which is not part of the thread topic and has ruined many a fine discussion.

 

[timo2]

My previous post was not directed at you, sorry of it seemed that way.

It seems the discussion has moved from weather to public utilities of affected areas, which is perfectly normal, but then from utilities to governance and policy of specific states, which is not part of the thread topic and has ruined many a fine discussion.

Thank you for the clarification. May I suggest a Utilities or infrastructure space like the Covid area? This utilities situation is going to continue on nationwide, not just Texas and California. And with so many technical experts and generally smart people on this forum, it might make for an interesting discussion.

 

[Ronstar]

Forecast starting tomorrow for 13 days is no subzero temps, highs in the 30’s. People will be running around in shorts and t shirts after the cold snap we just went through.

 

[Car-Guy]

Forecast starting tomorrow for 13 days is no subzero temps, highs in the 30’s. People will be running around in shorts and t shirts after the cold snap we just went through.

Tonight it will get down to 18 to 20 in this area. (Still records here) But after that we will be above freezing for the foreseeable future in the 40 to 70 range. (for at least 10 days.) Still ~10% of the population of my county is without power and many more have no water and/or frozen sewer lines. Roads are all open but there's not many businesses open yet.

 

[W2R]

This weather is awful!!

Forecast starting tomorrow for 13 days is no subzero temps, highs in the 30’s. People will be running around in shorts and t shirts after the cold snap we just went through.

Good! We had a freeze warning last night but it didn't happen, and today the skies were blue and sunny and the high went up to 54F. What a relief after the awful, cold, freezing rain we had been having before.

 

[aja8888]

We got up to 50 F today in south Texas! On with the shorts and open open up the tennis courts! I have a tee time for Monday afternoon! Life is back to normal around here!

 

[W2R]

We got up to 50 F today in south Texas! On with the shorts and open open up the tennis courts! I have a tee time for Monday afternoon! Life is back to normal around here!

What great news!

 

[REWahoo]

We got up to 50 F today in south Texas! On with the shorts and open open up the tennis courts! I have a tee time for Monday afternoon! Life is back to normal around here!

Yep.

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ Oh boy! Look at those scrawny legs.

I think this guy had some problems even before this terrible freeze.

 

[Cobra9777]

Well... that was certainly an interesting week here in the Lone Star State. The worst was Tuesday morning when we woke up to -4F and couldn't get the house warmer than mid-50s... and that's when the power was on. The rolling blackouts were fairly regular for us... on for an hour, off for an hour. That went on for 3.5 days. Later on Tuesday we noticed frozen pipes in two bathrooms and the pool equipment started freezing.

Because of the plumbing issues we've had no hot water since Tuesday. We do have cold water but pressure had been very low and we got the boil notice on Tuesday evening. Internet went down early Monday morning and just came back on Friday. Cellular data must have been overloaded because it was barely usable during the day.

Anyway, power has now been restored. Boil notice is canceled. The pool equipment survived. The frozen pipes have all thawed with no apparent leaks at this point. We have one shower valve on an outside wall that isn't working. Plumber has been called but no schedule yet. If that's the extent of our damage, I'll take it.

Because of the internet outage, I'm only now catching up on news... and learning about some of the whys and wherefores. Sounds like a lot of changes need to be made. There are some truly tragic stories out there.

 

[pacergal]

We finally got power back after 6 days. Snow and ice for 3-4 days to start, then multiple days for power company to repair damage.
We survived with woodsove insert in the fireplace, butane camp stove, and battery/solar/wind up radios, lanterns and candles. Thankfully, a neighbor allowed us to use his wood pile when ours ran out on day 5. Luckily, after day 4, roads were clear so we could get restaurant take out and recharge phones in the car!
Considered going to a hotel, but not too many would also take our fur baby.
Really, really enjoyed a warm shower last night!!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It feels so nice outside...35 degrees!!! Have to break out the shorts and flip flops!

 

[ls99]

SW PA is scheduled for near zero temps tonight. I'll need to bring in some firewood, instead of traipsing outside each time when need to re fuel the woodstove. around 30F for tomorrow with some solar input. Well, it is winter after all.

 

[eytonxav]

It's finally looking up in DFW area. Our boil water notice was lifted today, no more rolling blackouts, and freezing temps are finally gone for now. Streets and sidewalks still have some snow/ice, we have not received mail or package deliveries this week but hoping for today. Now we just have worry about getting resupplied with food and possibly gasoline in the future.

 

[REWahoo]

Ouch...

Adding insult to injury, about 27,000 Houston-area residents each got a bill for $202,102.16 this week from CenterPoint Energy, according to NPR. But the emailed bill was a glitch, the natural gas provider stated.

"You do not owe this amount," CenterPoint tweeted, pinning the mistake on a "technical issue" caused by the power outage in Houston. The acknowledgement was greeted with humor and derision on social media, with one person replying, "I'm not willing to pay a penny over $100,000.00 for my gas this month. Please adjust the bill accordingly."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-power-outage-price-gouging-concern/

 

[Freedom56]

People need to take matters into their own hands and prepare themselves for the next weather event with a back-up generator. You don't need a whole house generator. A portable 2800 watt Honda generator will do for most emergencies. Homes with modern appliances and LED lighting do not draw the same amount of current as homes in the past. Don't wait for your state to winterize their power plants. It's not likely to happen any time soon as this event will quickly fade from memory.

 

[Walt34]

Don't wait for your state to winterize their power plants. It's not likely to happen any time soon as this event will quickly fade from memory.

I was thinking (hoping?) otherwise, that "heads should roll" down there in TX. Granted I "don't have a dog in that fight" living here in WV, but if some things didn't change and soon I'd be packing my bags to where the people that run the power plants and the people that run the govt. are competent. The articles I'm reading make it sound like TX is a third-world country - no power, no food, no water.

More fuel for REWahoo's list of "reasons not to move to TX".

 

[aja8888]

I was thinking (hoping?) otherwise, that "heads should roll" down there in TX. Granted I "don't have a dog in that fight" living here in WV, but if some things didn't change and soon I'd be packing my bags to where the people that run the power plants and the people that run the govt. are competent. The articles I'm reading make it sound like TX is a third-world country - no power, no food, no water.

More fuel for REWahoo's list of "reasons not to move to TX".

Maybe I shouldn't post this as more people will want to come here!

There's plenty of food and water, and everything else for that matter. I'm right in the middle of what happened and it feels like back to normal around here. Everything is open, people are out running around, etc.

The snow and ice are gone!

It's 65 F outside and sunny. My golf game is set for Monday afternoon. We are going out to dinner tonight with my daughter and her husband.

I was at Walmart a bit ago and got everything I went in there for.

I bought gas for my van for $1.99 at Walmart.

Boy, the MSM is just sensationalizing everything these days.

(the plumbers are busy too)

 

[Ronstar]

Maybe I shouldn't post this as more people will want to come here!

I don’t have that problem- I’m in Illinois. But great day here also. Mid 20’s. Seems like a heat wave (40 degrees warmer than a few days ago.) Sunshine. No wind. People playing on the lake - snowmobiles, atv’s and some walkers. And some people shoveling off their roofs.

 

[REWahoo]

The articles I'm reading make it sound like TX is a third-world country - no power, no food, no water.

More fuel for REWahoo's list of "reasons not to move to TX".

<<< Now do you understand the reason for my "location description"?

 

[aja8888]

<<< Now do you understand the reason for my "location description"?

You realize that as hard as we try, they are still coming . Most are going to Austin so maybe we can let them have that city if they leave the rest of Texas alone?

 

[Car-Guy]

People need to take matters into their own hands and prepare themselves for the next weather event with a back-up generator. You don't need a whole house generator.

+1 - I could write a book (a short one) on what we did to "get by and to be creative" this week. Nothing "life threatening" but it was more than just inconvenient this time. Multiple power outages (5 hours was the longest but probably about 24 to 30 hours if I added them all together) low or no water pressure at times, boil water orders, temps got down to zero so it was getting fricken cold, one of my two backup generators failed as did one of my backup heaters, frozen water and sewer lines, cell phone service was down at times, and the hits just kept on coming. How did people live back in the 1800's and before.

Today temps are in the mid 50s and everything is restored at my house... What a difference a few days makes. I just looked on line and there are still ~500 without power and another 1000 or so without any water in my county... That's still a lot when you have less than 20k in the entire county. So, it could have been worse for us...

I have two backup gas powered generators for a total of about 15,000w... One developed a gas line leak which I could have repaired on the fly if needed but the other one handled our needs.

Real life lessons for me... Two backup generators are better than one, you can never have too much gasoline, have plenty of clean buckets to store water while you can, "halogen work lights can work pretty well as alternate heaters, etc, etc. BTW, on the fly engineering (being politically correct here) can be dangerous, so be extra careful when being creative. And finally, it absolutely amazes me how little some people in my family know about how systems work in the home....

 

[Montecfo]

People need to take matters into their own hands and prepare themselves for the next weather event with a back-up generator. You don't need a whole house generator. A portable 2800 watt Honda generator will do for most emergencies. Homes with modern appliances and LED lighting do not draw the same amount of current as homes in the past. Don't wait for your state to winterize their power plants. It's not likely to happen any time soon as this event will quickly fade from memory.

Well it seems a little sad that they both do not winterize AND seem to have no plan for extreme weather.

And of course this once a century weather pattern could recur next year, or never.

And you need not just a generator, you need enough fuel for several days. Not easy to store.

Still I guess it beats annual forest fires and running out of water.

 

[aja8888]

And finally, it absolutely amazes me how little some people in my family know about how systems work in the home....

We live in a 55+ community and I can relate to that. There are a lot of widows here and most of them don't even know where the water shut off valve is, let alone anything about the rest of the house.

My daughter's house got hit worse than mine as she had no power for 36 straight hours in the coldest period. I showed her and her husband how to shut off the water and drain the plumbing before the worst came. Even that didn't stop a few pipes from freezing that couldn't be fully drained, but the ice had room to expand in the pipe so there were no breaks.

We had power throughout the storm as we are on a power grid next to three large hospitals and they were kept powered up.