Winter storm No power

[wheelbender6]

Normal in winter, but not normal in Houston TX. I have been through subfreezing weather in TX, but not without electricity. Thank God for propane and solar! I'll get through it with instant coffee, canned goods and mullwine.
Being such a genius, I left my generator at the beach house I sold last summer. I thought the new residents would need it more than me. Sure could use that generator now.

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[cheesy]

And people wonder why I am knee deep in Coleman products. Eat lots of beans and snuggle with your other half. She'll hate you for it unless she has the same idea.

Sub zero here in NE Illannoy but we still have power. Stay warm.

[wheelbender6]

Been a while since I have done winter camping, but a few things are coming back to me now, sorta.
-We have one of those am/fm/wx emergency radios that you can recharge by turning a crank. We never used it when we lived at the beach, even during hurricane Harvey. I'm using it now, to reduce smart phone use.
-There is no power at my work office either, so the network is down so I can't get work done from home, even on battery power.
- I want to go outside (18 degrees f) and do some things, but it just takes too long to get warmed up again without power.

[TxTaoRider]

Rolling power outages here in the north texas area. Glad I've got a heater buddy and propane stove.

[Emerikol]

My mom and buddy TJ back in GA have been complaining about the weather non-stop for the past week. They got some freezing rain and snow, and it's been miserably cloudy and cold the past little bit. Every time they say how much they hate it, I send them a picture of me in the back yard next to the grill in shorts and a t-shirt. We've been eating a lot of grilled foods the past couple days, but for a completely different reason. I think the high today out here in Phoenix was 71* today. It's a tough life... :lmao:

[wheelbender6]

I lived in the Phoenix area for 15 years. It was really fun. We had a couple of summer nights where the power was off or our HVAC broke down. That wasn't much fun either. At least we had no mosquitos in Phoenix.

[Megadan]

You guys are causing us power outages up here, and our temps are well below zero. -22 for the low tonight.

[Mudflap]

Cold and snow at home in Bend Or, glad I'm here camping in Az. Just wind and pleasent temps but as dry as I've ever seen it. Nearly zero rain here over the last 12 months so the creosote bushes are more orange than green and the washes (ATV freeways) really need a flush. Hugely different than 2 years ago when flowers covered the desert and the coyotes were fat and happy.

[JerryHawk250]

Just saying.

[Biker_Andy]

Lol, funny one Jerry...

One of the many places I work is a North American fertilizer giant. They buy natural gas in blocks and use it to make ammonia. They purchased these blocks at 2 dollars a unit but due to these extrem temperatures down south Natural gas prices skyrocketed to 80 dollars per unit. They shut down all southern factories, stopped making ammonia and instead sold all the gas back to the gas companies for far more profit then if they used it to make ammonia. Then used the opportunity to do maintenance like a miniture turnaround.

[OneLeggedRider]

We've had a fair amount of snow here in Ohio the last 10 days but no power outages and the temps haven't been bad (5° to 32°). But I'm sure us northeners are a little better prepared for nasty weather and power outages. I've got lanterns, oil lamps, canned heat, and kerosene heaters along with a camping stove and several cords of firewood stacked. I don't know about the shelf life of canned heat (my supply is many years old), but I figure as long as it's still sealed it should be viable.

The big thing is keep your pantry stocked with lots of canned goods and peanut butter. My deep freezer is outside and well stocked so winter power outages don't affect it. I don't have a generator at the moment but I've had my eye out for a diesel welder. We've also got 4 4x4 trucks and alot of livestock to harvest. ~ And a country boy will survive ~ :lmao:

Jk, y'all stay warm down there in Texas and Louisiana, you'll be sweating again before ya know it. :)

[wheelbender6]

i went to my son's house in Spring Branch on Monday afternoon because he still had power and water. By Tuesday morning he had neither.
-The power at my place was restored in the middle of Tuesday nite, so I returned on Wednesday. No water for at least two more days, though.
-No bottled water at my local grocer, so I bought a lot of club soda (burp!). Can't wait to taste coffee made with club soda.
-I am collecting rain water to flush toilets and such. It is still raining a lot.
-I am keeping my TV turned off until power is restored in all of my county. I don't know how much that really helps those still without power get it restored, but it makes me feel like I am helping them.

[SGCSCRX3]

Wisconsin here.....it's been really cold this last 2 weeks and starting to warm up again in the 20's this weekend. This winter is holding on with more snow in my yard then we have had over the years. Looking forward to getting back on the bike hopefully next month. Good luck take care and stay warm and safe.

[wheelbender6]

Our water and power problems are being rapidly solved, Texas style.
-One of our US Senators went to Mexico on vacation (he flew back after the press caught him there)
-The Mayor of Houston and Governor of Texas still have not spoken to each other, 5 days into the crisis.
-These guys need to put politics aside for a minute or two and solve some effing problems.

[culcune]

Cold and snow at home in Bend Or, glad I'm here camping in Az. Just wind and pleasent temps but as dry as I've ever seen it. Nearly zero rain here over the last 12 months so the creosote bushes are more orange than green and the washes (ATV freeways) really need a flush. Hugely different than 2 years ago when flowers covered the desert and the coyotes were fat and happy.

We had some decent rain the past month in Yuma. I was hoping for more, actually, but then we kept getting sunny and in the 70s. To be honest, I would prefer some more winter weather and not just high 30s/low 40s in the morning and then warm up to 70s. I want 50s all day, and if we don't get rain, at least cloudy like it's going to rain. Just for a few months to counter-balance the 110s to 120s in the summer for days and weeks on end...

[2LZ]

Our extended outages happen in the summer. They purposely shut us off for fire season. The generator keeps the house going....with the exception of hot water and the HVAC. We spend a lot of time in our above ground pool.
Never, ever, count on a politician to solve your problems. They don't care.

[wheelbender6]

Never, ever, count on a politician to solve your problems. They don't care.
True. There are some good people in politics of all stripes, but the party eventually gains total control over them or runs them off.

-Politicians do care about the economy. A good economy is vital to re-election of an incumbent.
-Power outages, wild fires, water outages, floods, severe storms, etc are devastating to the economy.

[wheelbender6]

To be honest, I would prefer some more winter weather and not just high 30s/low 40s in the morning and then warm up to 70s.

Winter weather conditions (snow) without the increased auto accidents, stranded motorists and utility outages is enjoyable. Sooner or later, those winter weather consequences occur.

When I lived in the Phoenix area, we could take the kids up the Mogollon Rim in winter to go sledding in the snow in about 2 hours.
-I guess it may take you 5 hours or so to drive up the Rim from Yuma.
-The Tecate Divide in CA is probably closer to Yuma for enjoying some snow.

[culcune]

-The Tecate Divide in CA is probably closer to Yuma for enjoying some snow.

I just drove up that way last weekend and all the snow from a couple weeks prior had all melted. I think the San Bernadino Mtns, or even San Gorgonio near Palm Springs will offer me a close enough winter experience.

[wheelbender6]

Water service returned yesterday, but we are still under a boil water order for a few days. That will give my Coleman stove a workout for a few more days.

[wheelbender6]

I'm not smelling too sweet after 7 days of "baby wipe" baths. Temp is up to 70 degrees today. Barefoot weather.

[Biker_Andy]

Anyone get an outrageous electric or gas bill? I heard one Texan got a $17,000 electricity bill. It said that prior to this bill he was only charged $250 total since the beginning of 2021. Not sure the accuracy, as I heard it second hand.

[roundhouse]

Anyone get an outrageous electric or gas bill? I heard one Texan got a $17,000 electricity bill. It said that prior to this bill he was only charged $250 total since the beginning of 2021. Not sure the accuracy, as I heard it second hand.

Heard that as well, something about they chose a variable rate provider. During a mild winter they would save a bundle but the cost goes up with demand that is determined by some algorithm. With demand well over 100% the cost for them per kWh soared exponentially.

And this is what I read as I skimmed an article.

Monday we had a few hours of power then Monday night nothing until Thursday eve.

Not that bad honestly, I made deer chili in a cast iron pot on the grill one night and me and the fam just talked while bundled up in blankets.