This weather is awful!! 2008-2021

[W2R]

Seems like the whole country (except maybe Florida?) is getting hammered by this winter storm. I'm thinking it should cut way back on the bugs next summer though.

 

[Ronstar]

So, what do you do all day?

Yard work never ends, but now it’s a never ending personal freeze-thaw cycle.

 

[Dtail]

Seems like the whole country (except maybe Florida?) is getting hammered by this winter storm. I'm thinking it should cut way back on the bugs next summer though.

Yep, Florida has avoided this storm. 70's/80's this coming week.

 

[W2R]

Yep, Florida has avoided this storm. 70's/80's this coming week.

So glad to hear that!

Frank and I got together after he got off work tonight, and went over our plans in case of a lengthy power outage.

 

[Telly]

We're in North Texas. I winterize the waterfall. But the pool itself is still running. We've never shut it down in 20 years. It has freeze protection, which basically just keeps the filter pump running when temps drop below a pre-set temperature. When it drops to single digits (which is sort-of rare), I also turn on the Polaris pump and leave it running. We've never had a problem as long as the water is constantly moving.

But we are forecast to be at 0F on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Low of 4F the day prior. I've never seen temps that low before and not sure what will happen with the pool. Also hoping the power doesn't go out. We're supposed to get mainly snow up here. Not much freezing drizzle. So I hope that means less risk of power outages.

We're sharing the cold with you! Back in late December of '89, it was -2 F one night, which set a record. We lost power for a couple hours maybe 7 AM or so. We did not have a pool then. The power outage covered hundreds of houses, caused by contraction of the power line due to the cold on a curve on an FM road. It lifted the line, with insulator attached, right off the steel crossbar on a pole, then the line contacted the crossbar, which is grounded.

What a time that was for a couple days. Every natural gas line monitoring station had a white F-250 with work box on it sitting there 24/7, with a guy freezing inside (diesel, minimal heat at idle). They reported flow conditions via radio back to HQ. Some new areas of houses lost gas pressure for a day. The area growth exceeded gas supply in the severe cold emergency. We had gas ok.

I have a floating bubble cover on our pool every winter, that helps keep temp up, water needs down, chlorine use way down.
We have a Polaris 360, which runs off the pool filtration pump, so we just keep the flow valve open to usual position and let it run, so no freezing in the line to the Polaris wall fitting. With a bubble cover on, putting Chlorine tablets in the chlorinator will cause over-chlorination due to the cover, so we occasionally put a tablet in a skimmer basket instead. But we keep the water valve open to the in-line chlorinator (with no tabs inside) so the feed line to, and chlorinator column itself, doesn't freeze.

In case of power loss in real cold temps, turn off all pump power (not inside the timer box, use the master power switch), then remove all equipment drain plugs, like pump basket, pump itself, bottom big plug on filter. If you have a heater, there is probably a plug for that too, we don't have a heater. Some years ago part of our neighborhood lost power for a couple days, pool equipment was a total loss. People did not know about draining pool equipment (or did not want to do it), so it all froze and cracked. Junk.
As you can imagine, the length of time that pool equipment can go without water movement is inversely related to temperature!

A thing I have heard, but never needed to do (yet!), is that in a below-freezing power outage, besides the above actions, to put an empty milk or windshield washer antifreeze jug, whatever, an empty gallon jug that will fit into skimmers, with some means of holding it down into the water. This will give expansion space for ice, the jug will crush in, instead of destroying the whole skimmer units ($$). I do, however, always have suitable empty jugs around.

 

[Hermit]

The cold finally arrived here in the mountains. Yesterday it was nice up here while below zero down in Denver. This morning it was -13 here with and inch of snow and snowing very lightly all morning. The sun is starting to peek out now so it should warm up. It is supposed to be in the high 30s tomorrow.

 

[Marita40]

-18 on the car thermometer as I came out of church this morning. That's the lowest I recall in many years. We have been in the deep freeze for awhile now. The old house makes unnerving cracking noises at night.

 

[NW-Bound]

Seems like the whole country (except maybe Florida?) is getting hammered by this winter storm. I'm thinking it should cut way back on the bugs next summer though.

No, not AZ. We had a high of 73F yesterday, and today will be higher.

Up in my high-country 2nd home, the high is about 40F, and the low 28F.

Texas is facing a shortage of electricity and nat gas. The price of wholesale electricity reached $7/kWh, and nat gas reached $600/million BTU (normal price is $2 to $4).

 

[REWahoo]

Texas is facing a shortage of electricity and nat gas. The price of wholesale electricity reached $7/kWh, and nat gas reached $600/million BTU (normal price is $2 to $4).

Yep, the TX power grid (ERCOT) is struggling to keep up. Overnight lows here are forecast to drop into the single digits tonight and tomorrow, something that hasn't happened for more than 30 years.

I have my new portable generator set up and ready to go, just in case. I purchased it thinking it would provide back-up power to run an air conditioner. Never dreamed it might see its first use powering electric heaters.

 

[W2R]

No, not AZ. We had a high of 73F yesterday, and today will be higher.

Oh good! I heard from a forum friend (on another forum) that southern California has also escaped the freezing weather. Good!

The power company keeps sending us texts and e-mails telling us to expect massive and possibly long power outages. Ugh. So, we are doing laundry now while we have power, and charging up all of our electric devices. We'll be fine but we also hope this doesn't turn out to be as bad as predicted.

My daughter in Beaverton, Oregon, just sent me a photo of the snow in her back yard. She said 200,000 there have lost power, but she still has hers.

 

[ABQ2015]

My niece in Las Cruces, close to El Paso, is excited to have snow this morning and it is still coming down. Usually after a snow, the weather is calm and sunny (which melts most of it) but today it is cold (high teens) and windy. I put the bird feeders and birdseed (on cardboard) in protected places and they seem to be finding it.

 

[Ronstar]

Tomorrow should be interesting. Taking MIL for MOHS surgery 25 miles away. It takes 2 hours between slices to get results back to see if they need to take another slice. This could take all day. Meanwhile, DW and I cannot stay in the Dr's waiting room.

It will be below 0° when we get there. I need to find some warm places to visit nearby, because I'm not sitting in my truck all day at 0°.

 

[MRG]

This morning.

 

[Car-Guy]

Tomorrow should be interesting. Taking MIL for MOHS surgery 25 miles away. It takes 2 hours between slices to get results back to see if they need to take another slice. This could take all day. Meanwhile, DW and I cannot stay in the Dr's waiting room.

It will be below 0° when we get there. I need to find some warm places to visit nearby, because I'm not sitting in my truck all day at 0°.

Let's see... Long ride with the MIL, below zero, all day.... Sounds to me like her surgery could hurt you more than her..


I'd be thinking Uber or Lyft.

 

[audreyh1]

We’re looking at around 25 degrees tonight and tomorrow night here in the RGV. We haven’t had a freeze in many years, so this is not fun!

It might even snow at midnight. I’d rather snow than sub freezing temps.

 

[Car-Guy]

We’re looking at around 25 degrees tonight and tomorrow night here in the RGV. We haven’t had a freeze in many years, so this is not fun!

It might even snow at midnight. I’d rather snow than sub freezing temps.

I'll bet they will be firing up the Sumdge Pots tonight. (Assume they still use those in the orchards.)

It's already 23 here on the way to about 8.... Of course I'm over 400 miles to your North... Or about half way across Texas .

 

[neihn]

Snow patrol.

https://youtu.be/wT5UJskJPWI

Oh boy.

 

[FreeBear]

I am not very thrilled with our weather. While we do have winter here, it's rarely this severe. It hasn't been over 32 degrees for 4 days and it looks like it won't get above freezing for another 9 or 10 days. BOO!!! Between our devastating ice storm a couple of months ago and the possibility of 12"+ of snow this weekend and wind chills of -20 degrees, I am ready to move to Tucson.

Come on down, glad to have you! Nights can get down around freezing during the winter, but it warms up during the day into the 60's and sunny. DW and I joke that spring has now sprung after 3 weeks of "cold", ie 60 F during the day.


Oh, we just endured the hottest summer ever, but found it suprisingly tolerable. Just get up before sunrise to enjoy 70-80F when it get crazy hot in July & Aug. Yes, it was hot, but I'm so glad to have escaped Frozen Flyover.

My niece in Las Cruces, close to El Paso, is excited to have snow this morning and it is still coming down. Usually after a snow, the weather is calm and sunny (which melts most of it) but today it is cold (high teens) and windy. I put the bird feeders and birdseed (on cardboard) in protected places and they seem to be finding it.

Cruces and ABQ were in the top 10 when we planned our escape from the Frozen North. DW vetoed both over Phoenix/Tucson because of the colder winters. Clearly, she's the brains in the family .

 

[NW-Bound]

Come on down, glad to have you! Nights can get down around freezing during the winter, but it warms up during the day into the 60's and sunny. DW and I joke that spring has now sprung after 3 weeks of "cold", ie 60 F during the day.

Oh, we just endured the hottest summer ever, but found it suprisingly tolerable. Just get up before sunrise to enjoy 70-80F when it get crazy hot in July & Aug. Yes, it was hot, but I'm so glad to have escaped Frozen Flyover...

Not in Phoenix. On the hottest summer days, the lowest temperature of the day occurs right before sunrise. It's 90F! It takes all night to cool down to that temperature, and as soon as the sun comes up, the onslaught begins anew.

I have a 2nd home in the high country of AZ, where the average high in July is 84F and the average low 55F. Sadly, we cannot use it to escape the heat in the low desert because my wife is the care taker of her mother, who does not do well at high elevation due to her COPD.

 

[Poopycat]

I am absolutely miserable. It is currently 3 degrees with a wind chill that makes it feel like -16. We are in a winter storm warning and are expecting 6-9 inches of snow. That’s 6-9 inches too much for me.

We haven’t been above freezing for a week and don’t look to be above freezing til Saturday.

As of today, I have exactly 500 days to go until I submit my resignation. I don’t know where I’ll end up yet, but I can guarantee it won’t be anyplace where the temperature gets anywhere near 3 degrees.

 

[aja8888]

We are getting freezing rain right now and it's 26 F outside. Tomorrow will be a mess in Houston, Texas.

 

[REWahoo]

Texas is facing a shortage of electricity and nat gas. The price of wholesale electricity reached $7/kWh, and nat gas reached $600/million BTU (normal price is $2 to $4).

In addition to record demand due to frigid temps, here is something else contributing to that price spike:

Nearly half of Texas' installed wind power generation capacity has been offline because of frozen wind turbines in West Texas, according to Texas grid operators.

Wind farms across the state generate up to a combined 25,100 megawatts of energy. But unusually moist winter conditions in West Texas brought on by the weekend's freezing rain and historically low temperatures have iced many of those wind turbines to a halt.

https://www.mrt.com/news/state/article/Frozen-wind-turbines-hamper-Texas-power-output-15951141.php

 

[skyking1]

I am absolutely miserable. It is currently 3 degrees with a wind chill that makes it feel like -16. We are in a winter storm warning and are expecting 6-9 inches of snow. That’s 6-9 inches too much for me.

We haven’t been above freezing for a week and don’t look to be above freezing til Saturday.

As of today, I have exactly 500 days to go until I submit my resignation. I don’t know where I’ll end up yet, but I can guarantee it won’t be anyplace where the temperature gets anywhere near 3 degrees.

Stay close enough to the ocean and it never gets that cold out here on the West Coast. Come on out!

 

[Katsmeow]

I live in the Dallas Fort Worth area. it is 9 degrees according to my Alexa right now. My patio table has about 3" or so of snow on it. Right now there is no snow, but it is supposed to pick back up in a little while and show until morning. Morning forecast (depending on which weather source I use is 3 to 6 degrees). It would get above the low teens (maybe 15) tomorrow then is supposed to get to 3 degrees tomorrow night but no more snow (one source forecast it being 5 below so who knows). Tuesday is supposed to get up to about 20 and then 25 on Wednesday but the snow is supposed to then come back. It isn't forecast to get above freezing until the weekend. But, the coldest is the next 24 hours.

I realize other areas get much colder. I once flew to Vermont when it was below zero. The next day I was driving (on totally clear roads) when the radio said it had warmed up to 4 degrees! But, they are set up for that sort of thing. We are not. Hence, 6 people dying in an over 100 car pileup in Fort Worth the other day.

 

[W2R]

Baton Rouge has some rugged weather right now, too, freezing rain and 29F, with 100% freezing rain continuing tonight and tomorrow, and then plunging down to 16F tomorrow night. How awful. They are only about 60 miles west from us on I-10. I used to live there back in the 1990's.