Freezageddon

[Wild Bill]

Thanks BGIF. I did not want to delve into the wonderful world of heat pump thermodynamics.

Irishog 77: I apologize for not specifying I did not have a furnace. For perspective, I have a HVAC unit with an exterior condenser and and interior fan and coil unit. I cool my house approximately 60% of the year. The other 40% of the year is a mixture of the system being turned off completely (during the wonderful 50-78 degree days), or rarely used to heat my home during the periods of time it dips below 50 degrees (which may be only for overnight or for a few days at a time, until it warms up again).

I do need to upgrade though.

If you want a quick fix, just buy a portable kerosene heater and use clean kerosene (the fumes aren't as intense). It's safe to use indoors as long as it's not an extended period of time. The clean kerosene is expensive (I believe it's about $10/gallon), but if it prevents plumbing damage, it's well worth the cost.

 

[chicago51]

Last summer my car battery went bad and I had to replace it. Looking back it was a blessing in disguise and having a brand new battery in the car this winter has been invaluable.

 

[woolybug25]

If the entire country had to suddenly go through a WNY winter... I'm pretty sure half of the population would die.

 

[Cackalacky]

That time Jim Cantore kneed a kid in the crotch at College of Charleston | The Battery | Charleston City Paper
Thunderdome has begun.

 

[dshans]

...It's common for Anchorage to have milder temps than folks in the Dakotas, Minnesota, the UP, etc. In any case, we hope the Jet Stream doesn't sober up any time soon.

Eff you!!! I've a pot of coffee on the stove with the name "Jet Stream" on it. And not the wimpy Maxwell House crap!

 

[dshans]

This thing has gripped the entire continental US. I'm ready for spring.

Patience is a virtue. Trust me...

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Patience is a virtue. Trust me...

Wouldn't patience be apropos if we had any say in the matter at all?

 

[dshans]

Wouldn't patience be apropos if we had any say in the matter at all?

At the point one feels they have control, they have lost all control. God works in mysterious ways. "As quickly as you can...snatch the pebble from my hand. When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave."

Just because there’s snow on the roof doesn’t mean there’s not a fire in the furnace. When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars ...

 

[Irish#1]

At the point one feels they have control, they have lost all control. God works in mysterious ways. "As quickly as you can...snatch the pebble from my hand. When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave."

Just because there’s snow on the roof doesn’t mean there’s not a fire in the furnace. When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars ...

How much of that coffee did you drink? lol

 

[dshans]

How much of that coffee did you drink? lol

Apparently not nearly enough to counter the beer and wine. Or the LSD, mescaline and mushrooms from my (much) younger days.

On the Road, Fearing and Loathing in The Twin Cities. I'm just Another Roadside Attraction on the way to Trout Fishing in Big Sur.

 

[BGIF]

Everybody in the extended family is safe tonight. My wife and a sister are staying with their mom. I'm at home with "the children" our two Scotties, and my wife's nephew and a business associate.

The nephew and associate were at a business meeting about 5 miles from my house when the snow started falling around 10 am. A little later they were advised that the governor had declared a state of emergency and all schools and businesses were closing. They packed up and headed out. Unfortunately so did almost every businessperson in the state as well as anyone with a schoolchild as the buses were all grounded. It probably took no longer than 15 for the accidents and gridlock to halt traffic.

The Birmingham metro area is all hills and valleys with only a few north south roads through the hills and only a half dozen crossings over the Cahaba River. Due to land use laws there is essentially no secondary road systems as developers are not required to extend the principal road in their subdivision to connect with adjacent subdivisions so there is only one access point to the primary road system. If the primary system is overwhelmed there is no other way to go but sit and wait it out.

We only had 2-3 inches of snow but it came in the middle of the day when the ground had been frozen due to Freezageddon. Usually when it snows here the ground is above freezing so the snow quickly melts. Not this time.

People knew a winter storm was coming but the weather forecasts said a dusting to a half inch. At least two network meterologists apologized (obviously they don't work for the government).

The nephew and associate made two miles in the first two hours. He decided to scrap going back to their office to get the associate's car and head to my house the nearest relative to his 20. After another three hours they were within 1 mile of my house. After pushing several cars up a hill they couldn't get anymore up with backpower. They pulled off the side of the road in a strip mall and walked the rest of the way in business suits. It took them 5 hours to make the 5 miles.

The nephews older brother lives about a mile from me. It took him 10 hours to get home. His car is on the side of a road he walked about 8 miles but was fortunate to have his camping gear and hiking boots in the car's trunk.

His wife had taken the family van to pick up her two elementary school kids. Her car's in a ditch with a busted front end. A neighbor of their's with 4 wheel drive eventually got her and the two kids and they got home after about a 6 hour saga. Their middle school daughter is spending the night at a sleep over at classmate's house near the school. Most of the their classmates like tens of thousands Alabama school kids are spending the night at their school. School boards made the decision to keep the kids in a safe environment with heat and food rather than putting more vehicles on the clogged roads.

The nehew's dad's car is stuck in traffic on another road. He walked about 5 miles to get home. Their mom is stuck in New Orleans with cancelled flights.

There are thousands of stranded cars, gonna take a day or two to get that sorted out. Tow trucks can't even get in to pull out many clogged streets at this point.

Deaths reported have been few. Power outages in North Central Alabama seem to be minor. Futher South where the ice/frozen rain fell are supposed to be worse off.

We're all under roof, out of the cold, with food, and heat and lots of stories to tell about the "Great Winter Storm of 2014 ... all two to three inches of it. We're thankful.

 

[dshans]

I may kid, from my high (pressure) horse in MN when it comes to cold and snow, but I do hope that all are warm and well. If you worry about pipes freezing, open a faucet or two to a slow drip. The added cost of your water bill is a helluva lot cheaper than the cost of a plumber.

 

[KPENN]

If the entire country had to suddenly go through a WNY winter... I'm pretty sure half of the population would die.

No kidding man...

 

[Bogtrotter07]

At the point one feels they have control, they have lost all control. God works in mysterious ways. "As quickly as you can...snatch the pebble from my hand. When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave."

Just because there’s snow on the roof doesn’t mean there’s not a fire in the furnace. When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars ...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EhbxI5eVnM4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

He didn't drink enough!

 

[NDinL.A.]

School is closed yet again; 5th day off in a row (7 if you include the weekend). I love my daughter to death, but after 5 days of her, mommy and I stuck mostly indoors, thank God daycare is finally open again so she can play with some other kids. She barely watches TV other than Dora, and my wife and I were running out of ways to entertain her lol.

8 snow days in January - test scores are bound to take a hit this year...

 

[NDFan4Life]

8" of snow. Base is closed again. It took them until 9:00 last night to decide to close the base. Have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Won't know until later tonight. Supposed to be up near 60 by Friday. Gee, I love winter in NC!

 

[Irish#1]

Everybody in the extended family is safe tonight. My wife and a sister are staying with their mom. I'm at home with "the children" our two Scotties, and my wife's nephew and a business associate.

The nephew and associate were at a business meeting about 5 miles from my house when the snow started falling around 10 am. A little later they were advised that the governor had declared a state of emergency and all schools and businesses were closing. They packed up and headed out. Unfortunately so did almost every businessperson in the state as well as anyone with a schoolchild as the buses were all grounded. It probably took no longer than 15 for the accidents and gridlock to halt traffic.

The Birmingham metro area is all hills and valleys with only a few north south roads through the hills and only a half dozen crossings over the Cahaba River. Due to land use laws there is essentially no secondary road systems as developers are not required to extend the principal road in their subdivision to connect with adjacent subdivisions so there is only one access point to the primary road system. If the primary system is overwhelmed there is no other way to go but sit and wait it out.

We only had 2-3 inches of snow but it came in the middle of the day when the ground had been frozen due to Freezageddon. Usually when it snows here the ground is above freezing so the snow quickly melts. Not this time.

People knew a winter storm was coming but the weather forecasts said a dusting to a half inch. At least two network meterologists apologized (obviously they don't work for the government).

The nephew and associate made two miles in the first two hours. He decided to scrap going back to their office to get the associate's car and head to my house the nearest relative to his 20. After another three hours they were within 1 mile of my house. After pushing several cars up a hill they couldn't get anymore up with backpower. They pulled off the side of the road in a strip mall and walked the rest of the way in business suits. It took them 5 hours to make the 5 miles.

The nephews older brother lives about a mile from me. It took him 10 hours to get home. His car is on the side of a road he walked about 8 miles but was fortunate to have his camping gear and hiking boots in the car's trunk.

His wife had taken the family van to pick up her two elementary school kids. Her car's in a ditch with a busted front end. A neighbor of their's with 4 wheel drive eventually got her and the two kids and they got home after about a 6 hour saga. Their middle school daughter is spending the night at a sleep over at classmate's house near the school. Most of the their classmates like tens of thousands Alabama school kids are spending the night at their school. School boards made the decision to keep the kids in a safe environment with heat and food rather than putting more vehicles on the clogged roads.

The nehew's dad's car is stuck in traffic on another road. He walked about 5 miles to get home. Their mom is stuck in New Orleans with cancelled flights.

There are thousands of stranded cars, gonna take a day or two to get that sorted out. Tow trucks can't even get in to pull out many clogged streets at this point.

Deaths reported have been few. Power outages in North Central Alabama seem to be minor. Futher South where the ice/frozen rain fell are supposed to be worse off.

We're all under roof, out of the cold, with food, and heat and lots of stories to tell about the "Great Winter Storm of 2014 ... all two to three inches of it. We're thankful.

Glad everyone is okay.

I remember going through Georgia around 1991 when they got his with about 3"-4" of snow. They only ones driving were the northerners like me.

 

[Irish#1]

School is closed yet again; 5th day off in a row (7 if you include the weekend). I love my daughter to death, but after 5 days of her, mommy and I stuck mostly indoors, thank God daycare is finally open again so she can play with some other kids. She barely watches TV other than Dora, and my wife and I were running out of ways to entertain her lol.

8 snow days in January - test scores are bound to take a hit this year...

Has she watched "Tangled"? My little granddaughters love it.

 

[connor_in]

Its warming up!

PS: WHO is most likely to bump this thread in the summer at 100+ temps and high humidity?

 

[Cackalacky]

Lots of power outages here. All bridges over water are frozen solid. No way out of the Peninsula except up I-26 where the DoT decided to keep that route accessible. I ended up pulling out my hurricane box for this one late last night.

We only have a few inches on the ground but we are still getting pounded by ice pellets.

 

[IrishInFl]

I got work off today because of the weather in Tally. Freezing rain is the worst.

 

[Cackalacky]

I just realized in one of posts above that I posted a "LOL" regarding Atlanta and Birmingham conditions. It was intended to be a "WOW" and not a LOL.

Three of my good friends in Atlanta spent 6-9 hours commuting less than 15 miles.

 

[NDohio]

My first experience with snow/ice in the south. It really is a completely different feel to drive on an ice covered road with absolutely no salt on it whatsoever.

No salt and five snow plows for the entire county.

Praying for those in ATL and AL that still aren't home from their commute from work/school yesterday.

 

[#1rish]

I am completely over this winter. Bring on the other 3 seasons.

 

[woolybug25]

This year seriously has me wondering how southerners have got the reputation of being "tough". Not trying to dig on my southern friends here (shoot, my own dad lives in SC), but this is silly.

I understand not having the infrastructure to deal with the snow and thus having to deal with traffic, shutdowns, etc. But for crying out loud... we are talking about a couple inches of snow and temperatures that are really not that bad.

Spend a winter in WNY, Michigan or Wisconson. Every single year they put up with conditions significantly worse for MUCH longer than whats going on now. What is different other than the "we're not used to it" argument?

- Road closures: Check, happens several times a year in the north. Some major highways are shut down for days at a time every year.

- Power failure: Check. Every year thousands of people have to heat their homes without power. Often for many days and at far more dangerous temps.

- Traffic: Check... big time check...

Northerners go though significantly worse conditions and rarely even mention it. The south has to deal with a snow dusting and temps slightly under 32 and everyone is acting like the world is ending. So next time southerners want to act like yankees are sissies... remember this year's winter.

 

[connor_in]

My first experience with snow/ice in the south. It really is a completely different feel to drive on an ice covered road with absolutely no salt on it whatsoever.

No salt and five snow plows for the entire county.

Praying for those in ATL and AL that still aren't home from their commute from work/school yesterday.

Just as an FYI...in places up north here, they have been putting down salt, only sand...the reason being, below a certain temp, the salt apprently doesn't activate effectively and is just wasted...hold it off until temp rise just a smidge

 

[DomerInHappyValley]

Just as an FYI...in places up north here, they have been putting down salt, only sand...the reason being, below a certain temp, the salt apprently doesn't activate effectively and is just wasted...hold it off until temp rise just a smidge

I read an article a little while back. Some town in I wanna say Michigan is using a beet juice solution. My understanding is that its better for the enviroment and works better than the water treatment they are using now.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I have been in the south twice for snow and ice. It wasn't pretty, not at all. Of course, I know some fellow parents up here whose heads are about to explode! That isn't pretty either.

Excuse me, I have to go, my kids are getting the cat drunk, trying to entice him into their fort with nip . . .

 

[pkt77242]

I read an article a little while back. Some town in I wanna say Michigan is using a beet juice solution. My understanding is that its better for the enviroment and works better than the water treatment they are using now.

I am pretty sure that Toronto uses the beet juice.

 

[CTHindman]

This year seriously has me wondering how southerners have got the reputation of being "tough". Not trying to dig on my southern friends here (shoot, my own dad lives in SC), but this is silly.



I understand not having the infrastructure to deal with the snow and thus having to deal with traffic, shutdowns, etc. But for crying out loud... we are talking about a couple inches of snow and temperatures that are really not that bad.



Spend a winter in WNY, Michigan or Wisconson. Every single year they put up with conditions significantly worse for MUCH longer than whats going on now. What is different other than the "we're not used to it" argument?



- Road closures: Check, happens several times a year in the north. Some major highways are shut down for days at a time every year.



- Power failure: Check. Every year thousands of people have to heat their homes without power. Often for many days and at far more dangerous temps.



- Traffic: Check... big time check...



Northerners go though significantly worse conditions and rarely even mention it. The south has to deal with a snow dusting and temps slightly under 32 and everyone is acting like the world is ending. So next time southerners want to act like yankees are sissies... remember this year's winter.

My response to this: I live on the Gulf Coast where hurricanes are a yearly occurrence. Cat 1 hurricane means I will be traveling through puddles to get to work.
Ask NJ about the weather I am having today and they would laugh at the amount of things closed. Now remember what Hurricane Sandy did to them. She was a cat 1.