2020-21 Winter weather; bring it on

[CHIEF 5072]

Man, the last time I remember a freeze like this, it was 1983. The water line to our house was about 1/2 mile long and went up the side of a hill, it was completely frozen for about 10 days. We also had to feed about 350 head of cattle and bust the ice on the stock tanks. It was miserable.

CHIEF

[Orange&White 5516]

soda names talk not going away

[Post Oak 20184]

Thunder sleet in Waco.  So we've got that going for us, which is nice.  

[landman 559]

6 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

Man, the last time I remember a freeze like this, it was 1983. The water line to our house was about 1/2 mile long and went up the side of a hill, it was completely frozen for about 10 days. We also had to feed about 350 head of cattle and bust the ice on the stock tanks. It was miserable.

CHIEF

Looking forward to the ice busting this weekend in the troughs at our place.  And hoping a few new-born Longhorns make it through.

[CHIEF 5072]

4 minutes ago, landman said:

Looking forward to the ice busting this weekend in the troughs at our place.  And hoping a few new-born Longhorns make it through.

You gotta barn or shed to get them out of the wind and wet?

CHIEF

[Rip76 4914]

9 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

Man, the last time I remember a freeze like this, it was 1983. The water line to our house was about 1/2 mile long and went up the side of a hill, it was completely frozen for about 10 days. We also had to feed about 350 head of cattle and bust the ice on the stock tanks. It was miserable.

CHIEF

Man that was cold.  I was staying with my grandmother in Somerville for a couple of weeks.  I had just been gifted a 1983 Hutch and I took it to my grandmother's to ride around town.

I believe it was 6 degrees that morning, and one of her pipes busted and the water ran out the front door and froze on the sidewalk.  I didn't know this, hopped on my bike and busted my ass on the porch.  Nice.

[Al_4_ISU 12409]

13 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Even Pepsis are cokes down here.

"Soda" was not the weirdest terminology when I lived up north, and a bunch of them used "pop" as well, and the first time somebody asked if I wanted a pop, I was like "what the fuck are you doing asking me if I want that in front of other people?

I can actually spot the military areas of North Dakota on this map - I'm pretty sure that yellow area is near Minot.

 

I had a confusing exchange with a waitress in Dallas once when I asked for a Diet Coke and she said "what kind".

The one "soda" county in Iowa is Johnson where U of I is.  Of course those fart sniffers say "soda".  Surprised my county (third west of the Mississippi along MN border) is only 50-80%.  It must be my wife dragging it down.  She says "soda" to try and disguise living most of her life in hick towns.

I also think it's interesting to see that pop/coke line hitting Oklahoma hard.  I've always thought of them as being where the South and Midwest collided.  One foot in each, and not truly a part of either.

Lastly, check out the name of the guy who made the map.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Al_4_ISU

[Amos Moses 795]

18 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Why is Dark Skies telling me it's going to be 9 degrees Monday morning, and 1 degree on Tuesday?  It's showing a good 72 hours of a hard freeze.

Is it just me or has Dark Skies gone to shit lately, and I think I have mentioned that before.

Weather Channel app is showing 14 degrees on Sunday and 11 on Monday.

If it was going to hit 9 degrees and 1 degree, I'd think plumbers were going to be even busier than we are predicting.  Shit, even 11 and 14 will make them plenty busy.

Yes, Dark Sky seems a bit batshit recently, especially when forecasting cold a few days out.  I noticed this back a few months ago, too.

[bolverk 29399]

16 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Any advice on my rose bush?  It's at the back end of the yard, about 100 feet from the nearest outdoor plug.  I've covered it with a heavy-duty, plastic garbage can.  I don't think that's going to do much with these temps over time.  

At my mom's house in Big Spring, she has a gigantic rose bush that pretty much obscures the front porch. We moved there in 1977, and that bush was already a beast. So far as I can recall, she (we) never did a thing to protect it in any manner whatsoever. While it's Texas, it's still West Texas where the winters can get and have gotten really cold. Granted, the house faces the south/southeast so it's protected from western and northern winds, I think your bush should be able to tolerate a short spell of severe cold unless it's a young plant that's not well-established or some weak hybrid varietal or something I'm unaware of.

Cold Hardiness for Rose Bushes
A rose bush's inherent hardiness contributes to its ability to withstand subfreezing temperatures. For example, old garden rose varieties can tolerate extremely cold winters, whereas more modern hybrid tea roses need considerable winter protection to survive the cold undamaged. Examples of hardy rose varieties include Rosa alba maxima, 'Maiden's Blush' and 'Koenigen von Daenemark.'

Acclimation, midwinter hardiness and deacclimation also contribute to a rose's ability to survive freezing cold. Shorter days and decreasing temperatures trigger physiological and biochemical cues in rose bushes that prepare them for winter dormancy. Certain cold-hardy rose varieties have maximum hardiness levels that allow them to withstand USDA zone 4a and 4b low temperatures of minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

[bolverk 29399]

x2

Edited February 11, 2021 by bolverk

[ztejas 43263]

Someone school me on what driving conditions might be like in Austin today. Right now it's below freezing and raining - so - fuck that - but it's forecasted to get to 34 - will that keep it from significantly icing over until tonight?

[Knoxtnhorn 5929]

4 minutes ago, bolverk said:

At my mom's house in Big Spring, she has a gigantic rose bush that pretty much obscures the front porch. We moved there in 1977, and that bush was already a beast. So far as I can recall, she (we) never did a thing to protect it in any manner whatsoever. While it's Texas, it's still West Texas where the winters can get and have gotten really cold. Granted, the house faces the south/southeast so it's protected from western and northern winds, I think your bush should be able to tolerate a short spell of severe cold unless it's a young plant that's not well-established or some weak hybrid varietal or something I'm unaware of.

Cold Hardiness for Rose Bushes
A rose bush's inherent hardiness contributes to its ability to withstand subfreezing temperatures. For example, old garden rose varieties can tolerate extremely cold winters, whereas more modern hybrid tea roses need considerable winter protection to survive the cold undamaged. Examples of hardy rose varieties include Rosa alba maxima, 'Maiden's Blush' and 'Koenigen von Daenemark.'

Acclimation, midwinter hardiness and deacclimation also contribute to a rose's ability to survive freezing cold. Shorter days and decreasing temperatures trigger physiological and biochemical cues in rose bushes that prepare them for winter dormancy. Certain cold-hardy rose varieties have maximum hardiness levels that allow them to withstand USDA zone 4a and 4b low temperatures of minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cool and thanks.  It's in a corner, so protected from the wind.  

[Al_4_ISU 12409]

I'd give y'all advice for driving on ice, but here's the thing:  it doesn't matter how used to it you are, it fucking sucks and you should probably avoid it at all costs.

If you can't, the main thing to remember is don't just slam on your brakes.  It's going to make things worse.  Let off the gas, and gently pump them.

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2630]

31 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Any advice on my rose bush?  It's at the back end of the yard, about 100 feet from the nearest outdoor plug.  I've covered it with a heavy-duty, plastic garbage can.  I don't think that's going to do much with these temps over time.  

Most types of Roses will be fine. They are generally a cold weather plant. 

[Pato del Muerto 52342]

58 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Can we please not turn this into a 6+ day weekend for my kiddos?  I obviously love them (4/7 yo) but the thought of RRISD closed for weather on Friday, then two days off for President’s Day, and possibly more shutdowns on Wednesday...with nowhere to go and nothing for them to do, while I’m supposed to be working...gives me anxiety.  Already have to plan for 3 more ‘asynchronous days for teachers to plan’ that I’m a little bitter about.

/rant

Schools are open here

[El Diablo 4232]

2 hours ago, CHIEF said:

Man, the last time I remember a freeze like this, it was 1983. The water line to our house was about 1/2 mile long and went up the side of a hill, it was completely frozen for about 10 days. We also had to feed about 350 head of cattle and bust the ice on the stock tanks. It was miserable.

CHIEF

Crossed my mind last night that a lot of livestock are going to be hating their short lives just a bit more this week. 

[TornACL 7675]

1 minute ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I'd give y'all advice for driving on ice, but here's the thing:  it doesn't matter how used to it you are, it fucking sucks and you should probably avoid it at all costs.

If you can't, the main thing to remember is don't just slam on your brakes.  It's going to make things worse.  Let off the gas, and gently pump them.

It never fails that people in DFW drive 12 mph on the freeway and then ride their brakes across every bridge or overpass. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that some of them are trying to purposely get into minor accidents. 

[Pato del Muerto 52342]

4 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I'd give y'all advice for driving on ice, but here's the thing:  it doesn't matter how used to it you are, it fucking sucks and you should probably avoid it at all costs.

If you can't, the main thing to remember is don't just slam on your brakes.  It's going to make things worse.  Let off the gas, and gently pump them.

With all the rwd trucks and suvs in Texas, it’s not only braking that will be problematic. 

[ztejas 43263]

4 minutes ago, Xian said:

Most types of Roses will be fine. They are generally a cold weather plant. 

What about the Yellow Rose? Is there something we need to do to keep nips from freezing?

[Pato del Muerto 52342]

Just need to brush off the truck and I’ll be on my way.

[smuggs 9342]

22 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

Thunder sleet in Waco.  So we've got that going for us, which is nice.  

Thunder Sleet was my arcade name back in my Golden Axe days at Aladdin's Castle.

[Al_4_ISU 12409]

5 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

With all the rwd trucks and suvs in Texas, it’s not only braking that will be problematic. 

I foresee a whole lotta fishtailin'

[utee94 15745]

9 minutes ago, Xian said:

Most types of Roses will be fine. They are generally a cold weather plant. 

Mine might actually stop blooming, but other than that they'll be back stronger than ever in a couple months.

[Homercles 10205]

13 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Schools are open here

Here too. I’m thinking more about tomorrow or after stuff is really frozen mon-tues

[Message Board User 12389]

5 confirmed dead on that I 35west 100 car accident in FW.

Ugh.

[Borachio 416]

Icicles starting to form on the trees here in Round Rock near La Frontera.

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2630]

6 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Mine might actually stop blooming, but other than that they'll be back stronger than ever in a couple months.

Yep. This will probably kill off a lot of the bugs/parasites that feed on them down here.  My Roses are going to look great come springtime. Sadly everything else will be dead

[Nueces River Rat 5529]

The Ghost of the Winter of 1899 is knocking on the door...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blizzard_of_1899#Texas

 

Quote

Third-coldest February, 1895–2018.^[134]

• Amarillo: −16 °F (−26.7 °C) all-time record^[135]
• Austin: −1 °F (−18.3 °C) second-lowest ever^[136]
• Blanco: −6 °F (−21.1 °C) tied with January 31, 1949, for all-time record^[136]
• Brenham: 0 °F (−17.8 °C) all-time record for February^[137]
• Brownsville: 12 °F (−11.1 °C) all-time record^[138]
• College Station: 1 °F (−17.2 °C) all-time record for February^[137]
• Conroe: 6 °F (−14.4 °C) tied with February 2, 1951, for all-time record for February^[137]
• Corpus Christi: 11 °F (−11.7 °C) all-time record^[139]
• Crosbyton: −14 °F (−25.6 °C) all-time record^[140]
• Dallas & Fort Worth: −8 °F (−22.2 °C) all-time record^[141]
• Danevang: 3 °F (−16.1 °C) all-time record^[137]
• El Paso: 5 °F (−15.0 °C)^[142]
• Galveston: 8 °F (−13.3 °C) all-time record^[137]
• Hallettsville: 5 °F (−15.0 °C) tied with December 23, 1989, for all-time record^[136]
• Houston: 6 °F (−14.4 °C) second-lowest ever^[137]
• Laredo: not available
• Marshall: −9 °F (−22.8 °C) all-time record^[143]
• New Braunfels: 2 °F (−16.7 °C) tied with January 31, 1949, and December 23, 1989, for all-time record (as of December 19, 2017)^[136]
• San Antonio: 4 °F (−15.6 °C) second-lowest ever^[136]
• Temple: −4 °F (−20.0 °C) tied with December 23 and 24, 1989, for all-time record (as of November 8, 2003)^[144]
• Tulia: −23 °F (−30.6 °C) all-time record for Texas, which Seminole tied on February 8, 1933^[48]
• Tyler (Pounds Regional Airport): 0 °F (−17.8 °C) all-time record^[143]

Ironically occurred almost at the exact time as this current one..

[HouTex 1850]

Many here are suggesting to keep your water dripping all day/night to prevent your pipes from freezing. The “experts” used to tell us that would impair water pressure all over the city and instead to turn your water off and drain as much water as possible. Has something changed with the water system over the last 10-15 years?

[Nicole44 22027]

ATC EMS says it is still working to get to patients involved in the 26-car pileup on SH 45 and get them out of their cars. Four people have been taken to the hospital and it says it expects one more to be taken there as well.

[Paper_jam 828]

In NE Austin, trees getting iced up. Branches from one of my oaks are now dragging on my neighbor's roof. A few days ago hired a tree company to cut those limbs but I guess I was too late.

 

[Surly Bevo 24696]

Freezing rain is the devil.  People see sleet, they see snow....they react accordingly in how they drive.  Now in theory regular rain should make you more cautious but it's not novel so guard is down, that shit freezes black and it's a fucking shitshow

[Homercles 10205]

30 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Here too. I’m thinking more about tomorrow or after stuff is really frozen mon-tues

Karens on the district’s Twitter feed beat me to it, saying it’s negligence to not have canceled today.  Definitely agree it’s not awfully safe to be driving out there and I hope they make the right call as needed...but 1) They always cry for the schools to close on social media 2) They are free to do remote learning anytime they need to and 3) hopefully it’ll warm up enough to keep roads from freezing over.  
 

Like I said, I bitch about this a lot.  As my kids get older and self sufficient, it won’t impact me so much. 

[Paper_jam 828]

Sometime in the '95-97 timeframe I was driving to work on I35, at about 8 AM when the roads changed over from wet to icy pretty suddenly. Everything seemed fine until I got to the overpass over Highway 290 and saw cars in front of me sliding around. It was more luck than skill that got me through that. I tried gently braking but the tires would just instantly lock. this was in a Camaro Z28 with no traction control and summer performance tires.  After I got to work, they told us to go back home, now on roads that were completely fucking iced.

 

 

[Continental Op 3934]

3 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Karens on the district’s Twitter feed beat me to it, saying it’s negligence to not have canceled today.  Definitely agree it’s not awfully safe to be driving out there and I hope they make the right call as needed...but 1) They always cry for the schools to close on social media 2) They are free to do remote learning anytime they need to and 3) hopefully it’ll warm up enough to keep roads from freezing over.  
 

Like I said, I bitch about this a lot.  As my kids get older and self sufficient, it won’t impact me so much. 

The broads I know bitch regardless of what the schools wind up doing.  

[SimonBolivar 10913]

2 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I've never understood what exactly constitutes "yankee", but you'd get a strange look for using the word "soda" where I'm from.  And you'd also get a strange look for calling anything other than Coke "coke".

We go over this all the time on here, but Texan Millennials use the word soda often. We do use "Coke" too, but it's one of those things that I think is slowly dying out. You never hear pop here though. 

[Al_4_ISU 12409]

6 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

We go over this all the time on here, but Texan Millennials use the word soda often. We do use "Coke" too, but it's one of those things that I think is slowly dying out. You never hear pop here though. 

I truly resent the death of regional dialect, and have kind of gone the other way as most people my age (I'm an old-end millennial).  I think those quirks are part of what makes the world an interesting place and where 18 year old me tried to purge a lot of the hickisms from my vernacular (once I entered the larger world and realized that these sayings or terms weren't commonplace) to impress people, I now embrace the local weirdness.  I wish everyone did.

[phdhorn 6224]

Seeing some icing form on limbs in The Cave.  That's uh, so not good.  @ 31°.  Just two more degrees, please.

[SimonBolivar 10913]

1 minute ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I truly resent the death of regional dialect, and have kind of gone the other way as most people my age (I'm an old-end millennial).  I think those quirks are part of what makes the world an interesting place and where 18 year old me tried to purge a lot of the hickisms from my vernacular (once I entered the larger world and realized that these sayings or terms weren't commonplace) to impress people, I now embrace the local weirdness.  I wish everyone did.

Haha absolutely. I remember when I started working for Disney in Florida I was 20 and all of my friends laughing their ass off when I told them that I thought I had the general TV English accent.

 

"Dude, you call it a the-ate-her".

[Brisketexan 104590]

58 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

5 confirmed dead on that I 35west 100 car accident in FW.

Ugh.

Yeah, saw one of the videos -- those big semis were just battering rams, laying waste to everything in front of them.  Awful.

F getting out on any major road today.

[Bevo&Pevo 5026]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, saw one of the videos -- those big semis were just battering rams, laying waste to everything in front of them.  Awful.

F getting out on any major road today.

Or tmrw, the weekend, Mon, Tues, or ......

[Trey3216 15325]

1 hour ago, Post Oak said:

Thunder sleet in Waco.  So we've got that going for us, which is nice.  

Almost got struck by lightning while on my morning run with the dog.  Hit a flagpole about 30 yards from me.  Could feel the damn electricity 

[Brisketexan 104590]

This ain’t looking good in Austin. I expect some power outages might start soon.

[Homercles 10205]

29 minutes ago, Continental Op said:

The broads I know bitch regardless of what the schools wind up doing.  

Yeah it’s all ladies.  My wife’s school is title and thus has a very significant proportion of parents who do not have the ways/means to just keep their kids home...hell she has to run food pantries to ensure kids can anonymously get enough to eat everyday.  I’ve got a very flexible, white collar job so for me it’s just an inconvenience but there are real economic impacts for people when they close a school.  
 

I get the impression many taking to social media calling the district negligent are SAHMs who fly the virtue flag under the umbrella of having excessive free time.  

[MoJames 8241]

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I'd give y'all advice for driving on ice, but here's the thing:  it doesn't matter how used to it you are, it fucking sucks and you should probably avoid it at all costs.

If you can't, the main thing to remember is don't just slam on your brakes.  It's going to make things worse.  Let off the gas, and gently pump them.

Look at these Texans worried about some winter.

[T-shirt Sip 2097]

1 hour ago, Message Board User said:

5 confirmed dead on that I 35west 100 car accident in FW.

Ugh.

A couple of those semis had to have been responsible. Just fucking awful. Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/100003153511071/posts/3697402730374808/?d=w

 

[Shaggybevo 353]

1 minute ago, T-shirt Sip said:

A couple of those semis had to have been responsible. Just fucking awful. Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/100003153511071/posts/3697402730374808/?d=w

 

Thomas J. Henry is probably parachuting in a battalion of lawyers as I write this.

[Al_4_ISU 12409]

7 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Look at these Texans worried about some winter.

It reminds me of when my family in Virginia was freaking out about possible tornadoes once.  They were asking the Iowa folks "what do you do?" and were annoyed when the universal response was something along the lines of "grab a lawn chair, a 6 pack, and watch it".

That being said, I can see why people unfamiliar with this shit would be terrified.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Al_4_ISU

[MoJames 8241]

1 minute ago, Al_4_ISU said:

That being said, I can see why people unfamiliar with this shit would be terrified.

With the Ice/Snow/Cold in Texas it's fucking easy tho.

[Native Horn 3491]

2 hours ago, Post Oak said:

Thunder sleet in Waco.  So we've got that going for us, which is nice.  

Fixed.