Texas deep freeze carnage thread

[Hpara759 1783]

6 minutes ago, Ten Bears said:

Anyone notice how bright it was outside late last night?  It was like 10 full moons bright.  Beautiful.  

 

[NeverMarryAStripper 22058]

I lost power four hours ago.  I made some camp coffee on the gas stove so I could enjoy surly.  I have my iPad charging in the garage inside the car for when the phone dies.  The ex texted me and said she still has power and invited me over.  I guess I’ll be drinking camp coffee and surfing surly until I freeze to death.  It’s been nice knowing y’all,

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

The ex texted me and said she still has power and invited me over.

just proof that in this bitter cold... there is something colder.

[BradInATX 9208]

@phdhorn and @Eastwood's avatars confused the hell out of me. I thought the same person responded twice with all the quotes. 

[pops 7044]

11 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I lost power four hours ago.  I made some camp coffee on the gas stove so I could enjoy surly.  I have my iPad charging in the garage inside the car for when the phone dies.  The ex texted me and said she still has power and invited me over.  I guess I’ll be drinking camp coffee and surfing surly until I freeze to death.  It’s been nice knowing y’all,

Defeated? 

[C-Man 27413]

Anyone notice how bright it was outside late last night?  It was like 10 full moons bright.  Beautiful.  My lack of hot water upstairs?  Not beautiful.

That was wild!

[mchookem 16593]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

Bro-in-law's mom in NW Hills had her power go off and pool pipes freeze and burst.  Flooding her house right now.  God damn.

i'm terrified of the pool impact 😫 holy shit. we lost power at 2am as well...pool itself is literally frozen, equipment covered in snow. 

we are so screwed 😧 at this point we're just going to shut down the main power switch, assuming there's ice in all the piping i don't want the pumps coming back on until it warms up and we can see assess damage.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8921]

Open blinds, make sure you don’t feel any air drafting in through cracks, cover with tape if you feel it

[Steel Shank 9440]

18 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I lost power four hours ago.  I made some camp coffee on the gas stove so I could enjoy surly.  I have my iPad charging in the garage inside the car for when the phone dies.  The ex texted me and said she still has power and invited me over.  I guess I’ll be drinking camp coffee and surfing surly until I freeze to death.  It’s been nice knowing y’all,

I've enjoyed having you on Surly and TOS. You've given far more than you have taken. For that, we all thank you. I will take your words to heart and never marry a stripper.

God bless you, NMAS.

[Tailgate 3027]

3 minutes ago, mchookem said:

i'm terrified of the pool impact 😫 holy shit. we lost power at 2am as well...pool itself is literally frozen, equipment covered in snow. 

we are so screwed 😧 at this point we're just going to shut down the main power switch, assuming there's ice in all the piping i don't want the pumps coming back on until it warms up and we can see assess damage.

Same situation. Cut breakers to all pool equipment and hour after power went out. I haven’t seen this type of weather since I lived in Michigan 40 years ago.

[FizzleFish 137]

Lake Travis this morning. Pretty cool sight. 
 

[DonkeyCigars 143]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

From what I can gather, the power generation is much less than what they anticipated. From some wind power and natural gas being unable to operate or without supplies. Agree that it's troubling but its also costly to be fully prepared for a 1 in 50 year storm.

And I get that some areas, even in Texas get this more frequently but it's the entire state that is the issue.

Reason for the blackouts is that 23% of electricity is wind and the turbines are all frozen. Solar also not producing at capacity. 

[Knoxtnhorn 6180]

So this is crazy.  I'm switching out hand warmers every 6 hours per my outside pipes.  Each time, the ones being replaced had frozen.  Ok.  Maybe they're dying earlier than the 10 hours advertised on the package.  Nope.  After a few mins inside, they're warming back up.  I didn't think that was possible.

[RPM 26433]

Just now, Knoxtnhorn said:

So this is crazy.  I'm switching out hand warmers every 6 hours per my outside pipes.  Each time, the ones being replaced had frozen.  Ok.  Maybe they're dying earlier than the 10 hours advertised on the package.  Nope.  After a few mins inside, they're warming back up.  I didn't think that was possible.

They operate on a chemical reaction with oxygen. If they are wrapped up they don't get any.

[Armybrat 41041]

18 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Open blinds, make sure you don’t feel any air drafting in through cracks, cover with tape if you feel it

Very toasty in our breakfast nook with the sun streaming through the double pane windows. Mrs. Brat has a pile of bread crust crumbs ready to put out on the now dried patio table so the Bluejays can shit all over it.

 

[SubliminalHorn 6845]

9 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Reason for the blackouts is that 23% of electricity is wind and the turbines are all frozen. Solar also not producing at capacity. 

Sounds like the inability to deliver natural gas is the main reason 

[BillyBadAss 189]

3 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

So this is crazy.  I'm switching out hand warmers every 6 hours per my outside pipes.  Each time, the ones being replaced had frozen.  Ok.  Maybe they're dying earlier than the 10 hours advertised on the package.  Nope.  After a few mins inside, they're warming back up.  I didn't think that was possible.

Could they be using all the O2 and going dormant? 

[miguelito 11347]

I have noticed the birds are pretty hungry today.  They are getting along with each other more than normal, and they even let me get pretty close before flying away. 

[TexArcher 38449]

I haven't been able to find snowfall totals yet, but in 78750 it was up to the top of my workboots, so maybe 6 inches?

[Hefeweizen 5362]

This feels like end days shit.  And then in the middle of it I am going to have a business conference call where everything is normal as ever.  I plan on drinking alcohol as soon as it's over though.

[RPM 26433]

Time for a csb / my old man was a badass story. Waaay back in 1960something we lived in a trailer Rockford Files style on the parking lot of the trucking company my Dad worked for along with 3 other trailers. All the other trailers were underpinned, ours wasn't and we were the Northernmost one. When the other families had to come to our house to get water they always asked why theirs froze and ours didn't. My Dad sitting at the kitchen table with no shirt and a bottle of whiskey said "I owe it all to good, clean, Christian living."

Never understood why we weren't struck dead by lightning.

[Biff Tannen 45786]

1 minute ago, miguelito said:

I have noticed the birds are pretty hungry today.  They are getting along with each other more than normal, and they even let me get pretty close before flying away. 

Well tomorrow's gonna be rough.  For them.  Lots of hungry people without power.

[Anastasis 23520]

5 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

This feels like end days shit.  And then in the middle of it I am going to have a business conference call where everything is normal as ever.  I plan on drinking alcohol as soon as it's over though.

I got one more call and then I am going outside to play. 

[RexWilson 1469]

An upstairs bathroom is not getting hot water. It gets cold water and hot water flows everywhere else.

I don't have access to any pipes besides what is under the sink. Anything I should try to resolve this or am I just going to have to wait it out?

[Player 4578]

Same situation. Cut breakers to all pool equipment and hour after power went out. I haven’t seen this type of weather since I lived in Michigan 40 years ago.

Same here. After cutting the breakers I also opened up the lids to the pumps and cracked the relief valve on the filter. Not sure what else to do.

[Skipper 6340]

Just now, Player said:

Same here. After cutting the breakers I also opened up the lids to the pumps and cracked the relief valve on the filter. Not sure what else to do.

Was texting with my pool guy.  He said if power goes out do all of that plus throw some inflatables in the pool to take ice pressure off tiles to try to prevent damage?  Not sure I follow but sure, why not.

[texhorn 351]

Same here. After cutting the breakers I also opened up the lids to the pumps and cracked the relief valve on the filter. Not sure what else to do.

I’d be trying to drain the equipment above ground. At least, get as much water out of the pumps and filters as possible so there’s room for expansion when whatever is left freezes.

[Knoxtnhorn 6180]

Ok. So wrap pipes, place warmers on outside of wrap, put cover over both.  Got it.

[TexArcher 38449]

25 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I haven't been able to find snowfall totals yet, but in 78750 it was up to the top of my workboots, so maybe 6 inches?

Found this on the Statesman website (article is free, so quoting shouldn't be a problem).

The National Weather Service has received reports from around Central Texas of snowfall totals as high as half a foot. Trained spotters observed:

• 7.5 inches near Lakeway in western Travis County
• 7 inches in Round Rock in southern Williamson County
• 6.5 inches near Sunset Valley in central Travis County
• 5.9 inches near Briarcliff in western Travis County
• 5.8 inches near Jollyville in northern Travis County
• 5.1 inches in Northwest Austin in northern Travis County
• 5 inches near Brushy Creek in southern Williamson County
• 4 inches east of Wyldwood in Bastrop County
• 4 inches near Wimberley in Hays County
• 4 inches near Anderson Mill neighborhood in Northwest Austin
• 3.5 inches near Lockhart in Caldwell Cou

 

[BillyBadAss 189]

I'd always heard to put a log in the pool if it starts to freeze. Can't vouch for the effectiveness. 

[SubliminalHorn 6845]

 

I'd always heard to put a log in the pool if it starts to freeze. Can't vouch for the effectiveness. 

Like, take a shit in your pool?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, BillyBadAss said:

I'd always heard to put a log in the pool if it starts to freeze. Can't vouch for the effectiveness. 

[South Austin 52766]

2 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Like, take a shit in your pool?

[Captainant 28004]

If you have black trash bags, try putting a layer of them on top of the ice in your pools, it'll help to absorb the sunlight and put warmth into the pool

[RPM 26433]

Just tested my cold water temp, 52°.  I think I might survive this if the temps don't go any lower.

[Radical Larry 28685]

Well tomorrow's gonna be rough.  For them.  Lots of hungry people without power.

Well, tomorrow is Tuesday. We can actually have snow coffee and eat birds.

[pops 7044]

23 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Ok. So wrap pipes, place warmers on outside of wrap, put cover over both.  Got it.

They need to move around. Don't think that will work. 

[TwiceHorn 31705]

32 minutes ago, Skipper said:

Was texting with my pool guy.  He said if power goes out do all of that plus throw some inflatables in the pool to take ice pressure off tiles to try to prevent damage?  Not sure I follow but sure, why not.

If it is an uninterrupted sheet of ice, expansion wikl bear on the tiles.  If you interrupt ir with some compliant things in the middle , it will take some of the load off. 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19246]

My folks are in Belton.  They have about 6 inches of snow.  So far, they have yet to lose power at all, though their internet was down this AM (back up).  Looks like about 25% of Bell County is without power at the moment, so that is fun.  So far, the water at their house is all ok as well.  

Just saw that Motiva shut down the Port Arthur refinery.

On the rolling blackouts, there are two issues, first is the wind energy.  All those turbines in West Texas cannot run in the extreme cold.  We saw this back in 2011 as well.  Also, pipelines are having trouble moving gas.  We saw this happen in the Polar Vortex in 2014 in the NE and Midwest.  In a lot of ways, this is a great day to be an energy trader as the volatility will make some people a shitload of money.

[Biff Tannen 45786]

26 minutes ago, RPM said:

I think I might survive this if the temps don't go any lower.

Who wants to tell him?

[South Austin 52766]

1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

Who wants to tell him?

I don’t have the heart.

[Atxracer 798]

Apparently the pool “freeze mode” just circulated pool water back to the pool and didn’t involve the hot tub and it’s overflow.  Consequently, the hot tub is now frozen. Anything I should do or just wait until everything thaws out?

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

All's good here except my T-Mobile service is dead.

[utee94 15903]

1 minute ago, Atxracer said:

Apparently the pool “freeze mode” just circulated pool water back to the pool and didn’t involve the hot tub and it’s overflow.  Consequently, the hot tub is now frozen. Anything I should do or just wait until everything thaws out?

I've been manually alternating from spa mode to pool mode.  Not sure what you can do if the spa pipes are already frozen though, that's a bummer.

 

 

[SA-KC_Horn 1296]

I never thought my water lines would freeze in SATX, this weather is ridiculous. I gotta take shit and can't even flush. Gonna need gas masks soon.

[BigDHornfan 6599]

Our master shower isn't working. Water in the fridge door wasn't flowing either.  Fridge is flowing again..  Hopefully the shower does too without issue.  

[Atxracer 798]

I would assume insurance covers this shit?  Any personal lines people here?  This could get ugly. 

[Ten Bears 2489]

1 hour ago, RexWilson said:

An upstairs bathroom is not getting hot water. It gets cold water and hot water flows everywhere else.

I don't have access to any pipes besides what is under the sink. Anything I should try to resolve this or am I just going to have to wait it out?

I'm in the exact same situation.  I don't have a clue as what to do.

[Captainant 28004]

Starting to get failure to deliver text messages on ATT in Houston 

[Eastwood 4394]

Flow Inside/No Flow Outside Gang reporting: all faucets, tubs, and toilets never lost hot or cold water. Front in-wall spigot never froze, outdoor pipe back yard spigot that I threw two layers of insulation on was frozen this morning, but is flowing now. One hard freeze night down, one hard freeze night to go.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Eastwood
I english good