Severe weather thread

We are at -5 F./-20.5 C. but we are used to that. I was amazed yesterday that Kansas City and Fairbanks were the same afternoon temperature. That in NOT COMMON. We have never had exploding trees here, even at -52 F./-46.7 C. I guess our trees are used to it too. Trees DO explode in wildfires here though. In the bush village where we lived, schools closed when the wind chill reached -65 F.
 
Although I often run into people who are whining about the cold, we haven't had any weather that was unusual yet this year, given that the usual allows for a high degree of fluctuation. Although everything is closed today because of severe weather alerts, it's 5 degrees right now, but the sun hasn't come up yet, and it's supposed to reach 32 degrees later today. We have had maybe a half inch of snow overnight, if that, although it might snow later today. They're still forecasting heavy snow, although it says 10-16 inches, which isn't a load of fun but not horribly unusual for January in Maine.
 
On the one hand, we often reminisce about the winters we used to have, with temperatures well below zero and snowstorms that bury our cars or even our houses, and we attribute this change to global warming or climate change, worrying that the world is coming to an end if we can't reduce our carbon output. On the other hand, when we get weather we should typically expect in late January in Maine, we issue severe weather alerts and worry that the world is coming to an end.
 
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It is 17, f/l 4 here this morning and a swirling of snow, but not enough to actually cover the ground. Lots of black ice, but the worst of everything seems to have missed us, and we still have power.
We are keeping bundled up and staying warm, and there is no reason that we need to go anywhere.

Pictures I am seeing online from other areas near here look a lot worse, and both Mississippi and Tennessee seem to have had lots of ice storm. This is one place in Mississippi.

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Yvonne Smith said:
It is 17, f/l 4 here this morning and a swirling of snow, but not enough to actually cover the ground. Lots of black ice, but the worst of everything seems to have missed us, and we still have power.
We are keeping bundled up and staying warm, and there is no reason that we need to go anywhere.

Pictures I am seeing online from other areas near here look a lot worse, and both Mississippi and Tennessee seem to have had lots of ice storm. This is one place in Mississippi.

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And more may be coming to the east.
NYC videos were interesting to watch. They clean up the blizzard and dump the snow in the river, time after time.
 
My 2 neighbors and I ended up calling a guy to clear our right-of-way. My tractor without chains just can't do it. The ice on top of the snow is so thick I can walk on it without punching through. It's one solid thick sheet as far as the eye can see. I tried driving on top to break it up and just ended up getting stuck. After an hour I had one section of my parking area cleared, and pretty much tore it up in the process. *sigh*
 
Yesterday it reached 45 c here = 113f phew IMG_1084.gif….we gave our usual 3 km walk a miss this morning it was still 36 c at 6 am
( 97f) I walked out our front door onto the porch area and it was like waking into a oven …….the house bricks tend to hold on to the heat
Long ago before air conditioners ,lots used to hose the bricks down after dark to cool the house down …..

Where I grew up 99% homes were built of wood frames and corrugated iron cladding ….so the cooled quickly after sunset
 
Don Alaska said:
I read that Texas made a lot of changes after the last disaster you had and the state was doing much better this time around. Glad you are safe and warm @Beth Gallagher
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They did make some improvements in supply, Don. Of course the big worry was that the ice/sleet would bring down power lines which would still leave people in the dark. Some situations just can't be avoided.
 
Don Alaska said:
Unless they put a good portion of the lines underground. That would help some but is expensive to do.
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I doubt that will ever happen. Texas is a big place and the cost would be astronomical, plus there are many electricity providers that would have to coordinate such an undertaking. Our subdivision has underground utilities but the main lines to the area are all on poles.

I see a lot of ugly remarks about the Texas grid on other forums and social media, but honestly I don't believe our grid is any worse than any other state. The freeze of 2021 was an unprecedented event that caught the electric suppliers off guard but the fact is that homes in most of Texas just aren't constructed for bitter cold. The resulting frozen pipes and busted plumbing was a bigger issue than the cold weather.
 
I finally got dug out today. Today was my first day off my property since last Wednesday.

My neighbors and I had to hire a guy with a skid loader. My tractor could not get traction to travel on the ice, much less push hundreds of pounds ice & snow around...and that's when it was fresh. After sitting since Monday, the stuff is immovable. I can't break up the thick surface layer no matter how hard I beat it with my shovel. I cleaned off the tarp roofs of my firewood racks yesterday and had to get a stick of firewood and beat on it in order to break the ice sheet up into slabs to remove them.

We got more snow (but no ice) forecast for Saturday...just a couple of inches.
 
Marie Miller said:
We have major road construction for several miles. The one open lane into town has not been treated. A bumpy ride to say the least.
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Last year - same weather scenario, same already rescheduled appointment and new front bearings for my truck after we did a $2500 ice dance. SO offered to take time off to drive me. Then he pulled his truck out, set the carseat heat, checked for gloves/hat/heavy coat. I made it back home in one piece after getting stuck in ice sludge with a full buggy in the parking lot of a grocery store. Doctor's office followed up if I had made it home.
 
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More cold in the forecast. This is getting old!
Nothing like long house coats, ear muffs (fox fur to match my hair), no earrings and glasses with stems long enough to have hands in the water - the daily trip to the crock pot aka hot tub.
 
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