Freezageddon

[BGIF]

It's baaaaaaaack!

It's baaaaaaaack!

Ice Storm to Batter South Tuesday, Wednesday


I'm hoping for snow but they've forecast ice for us. Down here ice storms drop power lines like crazy. I'm on a deadend line that only serves 17 homes so to the Power Company were almost as low as a single residence being knocked out. In the 30+ years I've lived here we have 4-6 day outages about a half dozen times.

This storm is supposed to have a Part II coming through the following day. But the weekend we're supposed to back to warm weather. The daffodils are already blooming.

Raining right now south of Birmingham but expected to start changing to a sleet/ice mix shortly. North of Birmingham it's been snowing.

School closing notices started Monday afternoon.

The EMA managers were interviewed in the 5 county area. All claimed to be ready with shelters open and there were lots of photo ops of sand trucks (unless it was the same truck accompanying the TV crew on their metro area report.

Alabama power claims repair crews are on alert and mutual aid crew from out of state are also ready to go.


The GA governor declared a State of Emergency there earlier Monday night. There forecast to be hit much worse than we are as of now.

 

[Irish#1]

Ice Storm to Batter South Tuesday, Wednesday


I'm hoping for snow but they've forecast ice for us. Down here ice storms drop power lines like crazy. I'm on a deadend line that only serves 17 homes so to the Power Company were almost as low as a single residence being knocked out. In the 30+ years I've lived here we have 4-6 day outages about a half dozen times.

This storm is supposed to have a Part II coming through the following day. But the weekend we're supposed to back to warm weather. The daffodils are already blooming.

Raining right now south of Birmingham but expected to start changing to a sleet/ice mix shortly. North of Birmingham it's been snowing.

School closing notices started Monday afternoon.

The EMA managers were interviewed in the 5 county area. All claimed to be ready with shelters open and there were lots of photo ops of sand trucks (unless it was the same truck accompanying the TV crew on their metro area report.

Alabama power claims repair crews are on alert and mutual aid crew from out of state are also ready to go.


The GA governor declared a State of Emergency there earlier Monday night. There forecast to be hit much worse than we are as of now.

Good luck down there. Last night and the night before, we were in the minus category again with temps finally getting above zero around 11:00AM.

 

[ulukinatme]

Good luck down there. Last night and the night before, we were in the minus category again with temps finally getting above zero around 11:00AM.

Yup, -6 here in Ohio right now. Ready for this winter to go.

 

[Irish YJ]

Just sent the last of my peeps home for the day here in ATL, and will have them working from home the next day or two. Now sitting in the building by my lonesome cranking Jason Aldean.... yeeeehaaa finally some productive time

 

[tko]

Bracing for Thursday's festivities here in Philly. We were without power from Wednesday last week until 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Thankfully some friends have a generator and took us in for a few nights. Golf season seems so far away!

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Well, I am sorry for all of you who are in the process of getting slammed now. Last night we were supposed to get to eight below again, but the massive low pressure area in the south was big enough that it absorbed a lot of that cold.

Toledo averages in the mid-forties inch range for winter snow fall. I saw on the news last night, just over half way in, we stood at 66 inches, the second snowiest winter for us '81-82 was 67", and the snowiest, with the biggest single snowfall ever was '77-78 with 73". We only need six inches to break the all time record. Every third April we average that alone! And we still have over half of February and all of March.

I like the stabbed dead snowman idea.

 

[connor_in]

Winter Storm Seen from Space Over Southern US | LiveScience

 

[Irish YJ]

Hotlanta covered in ice this AM. Getting pounded with freezing rain and sleet. It's supposed to keep going all day and change to snow tonight and continue through 8am Thursday.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Good luck to all of you in the Southeast. We unexpectedly hit -9, so there is more artic mojo to this storm than anticipated.

With that said, the 21st just might be my favorite day of the year so far. (Long range forecast 52 degrees, that is above zero.)

 

[Kingbish01]

I'm in Atlanta and probably won't be leaving the house for a few days. Sucks

 

[Kingbish01]

Hotlanta covered in ice this AM. Getting pounded with freezing rain and sleet. It's supposed to keep going all day and change to snow tonight and continue through 8am Thursday.

Are you in North Atl or South?

 

[Irish#1]

Hotlanta covered in ice this AM. Getting pounded with freezing rain and sleet. It's supposed to keep going all day and change to snow tonight and continue through 8am Thursday.

By Saturday it will just be a bad memory, so you know you won't get any sympathy from me! lol

 

[MNIrishman]

Getting ready to put on my big boy pants and spend the weekend snowshoeing on the north shore. Also going to check out the ice caves at the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. I can't be the only one enjoying this winter?

 

[ACamp1900]

Looking at a high of 83 today............

 

[BGIF]

Hotlanta covered in ice this AM. Getting pounded with freezing rain and sleet. It's supposed to keep going all day and change to snow tonight and continue through 8am Thursday.

I stayed up watching the radar. The ice band was coming out of Mississippi extending down to around even with Montgomery but by the time it got to Birmingham it was mostly north of I 20. It passed BHM and then swung back down to the South again smashing Atlanta. It was like BHM was under The Dome. We got some snow but missed the heartache GA, SC, and NC got.

I like snow but have no use for ice, particularly when the ice covered limbs and trees tear out power lines, and the transformers start to pop like firecrackers ... and the heat slowly gets sucked out of the house until you can see your breathe.

I put in a gas water heater and a gas cook top year's ago to deal with the ice storms down hear. I also finally hooked up to city water. I still used my well for irrigation but got tired of walking down to the creek to break the ice to get water to flush the toilets. The womenfolk objected to not flushing. I can also take a hot shower while keeping logs in the fireplace.

The real estate agent couldn't understand why I wanted a house with a fireplace. "You Yankees ... "


Hope all you folks to the east and northwards got your power back on!

 

[BGIF]

Looking at a high of 83 today............

We're up to 44.

65 tomorrow.

 

[wizards8507]

Where's the snow? On the ground in 49 of 50 states

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Well we are at 24, which looks to be our permanent temperature until Monday, which we hit 36! Anyone care to guess the last time it was above freezing?

Next week, heart be still, we could hit 50!

 

[NDBoiler]

Looking at a high of 83 today............

 

[Irish2155]

Saw a high of 50 mid next week. Got to find my shorts and flip flops...open the damn pool.

 

[dshans]

Saw a high of 50 mid next week. Got to find my shorts and flip flops...open the damn pool.

Just invite all the neighbors and hand them an ice pick as they walk in ...



Also have large pots of hot toddies (for the adults) and hot chocolate (for the kiddies) at hand.

 

[Irish2155]

Just invite all the neighbors and hand them an ice pick as they walk in ...



Also have large pots of hot toddies (for the adults) and hot chocolate (for the kiddies) at hand.

Yes...neighbors are more than welcome, but not enough ice picks to go round. BYOIP

Hottie toddies...my friend, you are on to something. Can do that.

BTW, 5 weeks until spring.

 

[dshans]

BTW, 5 weeks until spring.

"Official" seasonal calendars don't mean shit here. Maybe we'll have the traditional "January Thaw," which passed us by, in late March this year.

I'll take it. But I'm not counting on it.

 

[Cackalacky]

Parents have been without power going on 2 days now. They lost all their frozen food and luckily have a natural gas fireplace.

 

[dshans]

I guess one of the few advantages to living through a MN winter is this: if the forecast is for cold weather that may affect power, put a large cooler or two filled with an inch or two of water on the back steps overnight (or two) and you should have a base of ice.

Transfer the contents of the freezer to the coolers and keep them protected from the sun and heat. Thaw and eat as much as you can – on your gas stove – and hope that the power returns before all is lost

 

[BGIF]

I guess one of the few advantages to living through a MN winter is this: if the forecast is for cold weather that may affect power, put a large cooler or two filled with an inch or two of water on the back steps overnight (or two) and you should have a base of ice.

Transfer the contents of the freezer to the coolers and keep them protected from the sun and heat. Thaw and eat as much as you can – on your gas stove – and hope that the power returns before all is lost

In the 30+ years I've lived in Alabama I've lost power for extended periods a half dozen times. Only twice have the temps been cold enough in the day time to make an outdoor coolers work. Then at night the temps go below freezing and the roads refreeze (with no plows or salt trucks) and more power lines come down from weaken trees which finally succumb.

You have tougher overall conditions but you also have the life skills and conditioning as well as the local infrastructure (house and govenrment EMA) to deal with it. Thirty years ago we got down to single digits for a week, very rare condition. They opened lots of shelters for those who couldn't keep their houses warm or had lost their space on the heated grate. Only problem was most of the shelters weren't designed for that cold either and quite a few were taken out by freezing plumbing and pipes in unheated or uninsulated spaces. Building codes were changed but the existing building get grandfathered in.

 

[Cackalacky]

In the 30+ years I've lived in Alabama I've lost power for extended periods a half dozen times. Only twice have the temps been cold enough in the day time to make an outdoor coolers work. Then at night the temps go below freezing and the roads refreeze (with no plows or salt trucks) and more power lines come down from weaken trees which finally succumb.

You have tougher overall conditions but you also have the life skills and conditioning as well as the local infrastructure (house and govenrment EMA) to deal with it. Thirty years ago we got down to single digits for a week, very rare condition. They opened lots of shelters for those who couldn't keep their houses warm or had lost their space on the heated grate. Only problem was most of the shelters weren't designed for that cold either and quite a few were taken out by freezing plumbing and pipes in unheated or uninsulated spaces. Building codes were changed but the existing building get grandfathered in.

Yep. We have lots of buildings and homes here in Charleston that have no insulation in the perimeter walls (basically wood siding, wood framing, and plaster walls). This works ok except when it's cold of course.

 

[dshans]

I... You have tougher overall conditions but you also have the life skills and conditioning as well as the local infrastructure (house and govenrment EMA) to deal with it.

Good points. We had a freak storm with an extreme down draft (mini, linear tornado?) late this past June. I lost a 70 year old, seventy foot tree and power for close to four days. I just made a point of not opening my freezer and the refrigerator only briefly and only when absolutely necessary.

Some neighbors were amazed when I walked around with a cup of coffee in the morning. "Where did you get coffee?" Well, I have a gas stove and a French Press. They also clearly hadn't heard about Cowboy or Campfire coffee. Three days of warm beer was a bitch though.

Adequate insulation is a good thing. Keeps the heat in in the winter and the heat out in the summer. My house is going to turn 101 in May. One of the first things I did when I bought it in '83 was have insulation blown into the attic. Two years later I had cellulose blown into the walls. Five years ago I had Tyvek and siding with 1/4 inch of styrofoam added. I have no air conditioning outside of two window units that come into play for maybe ten days a year. This may change now that I no longer have a massive tree that shaded the west side of my house as well as parts of my neighbors' houses on either side.

I've never had a pipe freeze. I count myself lucky.

 

[NDBoiler]

Saw a high of 50 mid next week. Got to find my shorts and flip flops...open the damn pool.

Lol I saw that too and told the kids be ready to go to the beach next week.

 

[Cackalacky]

In addition to the ice storm we just had a earthquake. I am officially convinced it is not safe in the south anymore.