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2022-2023 Winter Weather Thread

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The Dog
The Dog

This was a big tree in the park behind our house: Same tree today:

GhostOfTomJoad
GhostOfTomJoad

The "chain saw" my wife ordered for me on Amazon the other day. Should make short work of the live oaks

HenryJames
HenryJames

I might go for a jog and see if I end up governor.

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Hate

Hate 20157

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Here is the latest from Jeff Lindner.  It is for SE Tex, but the message could be for CenTex as well, just a little earlier and maybe a little colder.  This is bullshit.  I miss the blastfurnace.


 

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Arctic Air Event:
Impressive arctic high pressure system over NW Canada will move SSE toward the Montana border and then into the US over the next 24-48 hours. Surface pressures in the 1055-1060mb range will be positioned just north of the Montana border by tomorrow and Tuesday and then dump southward into the high plains. Very cold and dense arctic air mass will be unleashed down the plains and arrive into N TX late Wednesday and off the TX coast by Thursday evening.

Will continue to side with the fastest of the guidance on the arrival of the arctic front with mid afternoon most likely across SE TX….this may need to be sped up some as these types of air masses tend to move south faster than expected given their extreme density. Temperatures will warm into the 60’s ahead of this front and then the bottom is going to fall out with temperatures falling 20-30 degrees in a few hours post front and howling north winds. Freeze line will quickly advance into the region Thursday early evening and all the way to the coast by midnight. Impressive cold air advection will be in place with north winds of 25-30mph and gust of 40-45mph across the region. This will result in wind chills falling into the 10’s and 1’s over the entire region by late evening Thursday. I cannot stress enough how abrupt this change will be Thursday evening. Wind chills by Friday AM may fall below 0 for areas north of I-10…wind chill advisories/warnings will almost certainly be required along with hard freeze warnings and likely a wind advisory and gale warning for the Gulf waters.

Strong cold air advection will drive temperatures well below freezing for the entire area by late evening Thursday and below hard freeze criteria by Friday morning (24 or lower for 2 hours or longer). Have trended lows a bit colder into the upper 10’s/near 20 to the coast, mid 10’s to I-10 and low 10’s north of HWY 105. Temperatures of this magnitude will be capable of causing damage to unprotected infrastructure and vegetation.

Cold arctic high sinks into Texas on Friday and temperatures will only rebound to near freezing for most areas…many areas will likely remain in the 20’s for much of the day and then another hard freeze for much of the area Friday night/Sat AM.

No precipitation is expected with this cold air event and there will NOT be any travel related concerns on roadways. However, it should be understood that a lack of snow/ice does not reduce the threat of the potentially damaging impacts of the cold air

Duration:
Many areas north of I-10 will likely experience 30-40 hours below freezing from late Thursday through midday Saturday. Areas south of I-10 have a slightly better chance or reaching 32-34 Friday afternoon, but this may be optimistic and many of those areas may also stay below freezing for an extended period of time as well.

Preparations:
Maximum cold weather actions will be needed for this upcoming cold air outbreak to help mitigate property damage. Additionally, with wind chills falling to dangerous levels, it will be important to limit outdoor exposure as much as possible. All preparations for this cold air outbreak should be completed by Thursday midday.

Proper winterization of any exposed pipes/plumbing will be needed to prevent damage. Sprinkler systems must be shut off and properly drained. If leaving out of town for the upcoming holidays, shut off the main water supply and drain pipes to prevent damage should they burst. Pipes/plumbing on elevated homes must be protected from the ground to the entry point of the structure.

Pets/livestock will require proper shelter to protect from the cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills. Prolonged exposure to the forecasted temperatures and wind may be fatal to unprotected livestock and pets. Monitor water sources as typical sources may freeze over.

Tropical plants/vegetation will require maximum freeze protection. Unprotected tropical vegetation will be killed and even protect vegetation will likely suffer heavy damage given the advective nature of the freeze and reduction is usefulness of the “greenhouse effect” of covering sensitive vegetation.

Persons should limit outdoor exposure during the cold as wind chills will fall to dangerous levels. Utilize heating sources properly to reduce the risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15380

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1 hour ago, Post Oak said:

Already stocked up on firewood.  Gonna wait till Thursday AM to give all my plants a good watering.

Well, the soaking rain today didn’t hurt on watering.  Hopefully my onions make it.  They’re doing really well right now.   Got 1/2 a cord on Saturday morning to get ready.  About 1/3 of that is in the garage.   

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Deej

Deej 77164

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2 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Picked up a pair of facet "socks" from Amazon.  Those stupid styrofoam covers are worthless.  Then cover with a towel just to be sure

image.png.0b5876a5d0bd86e483f32786e4be62d5.png

I've got news for you about those socks. Be ready to thaw your spigot out. 

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23498

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3 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Picked up a pair of facet "socks" from Amazon.  Those stupid styrofoam covers are worthless.  Then cover with a towel just to be sure

image.png.0b5876a5d0bd86e483f32786e4be62d5.png

I use these and then put the foam domes over the top of that and then wrap in a towel if necessary over that.  When the shit really hits the fan, the last ditch is turning the water off at the street. During snowpocalypse we had neighbors with waterfalls coming out of their houses. Only thing that I had to navigate was bitching and moaning from teh wife. 

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19453

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I endorse your faucet coverage.  I think we're only gonna be below freezing for about 48 hours, backflows should be okay if you're south of Waco, but can never be too careful but that'll be the last thing I get to Wednesday night.  

and also so begins my latest attempt to remember how to calculate a hypotenuse.  As the pipe lays, it's the upstairs back toilet, not the master which seems further but is on the first floor.  If you have to shut off your water at the curb...remember not to snap that valve piece off.  It's tempting to be extra forceful when it's so cold and rigid, but it's a finesse job.  Ask South Austin's Mom, she'll tell ya'.  

At least it looks precip won't be an issue.  I need to flush the furnace line, and pump the tankless sometime this week too.    

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105569

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Have our key to turn off water at the street if necessary, but with the exception of last year's freakish event (and no additional heat being provided to our house's water system by the internal heat of the house, which was lost because power went out), we've weathered even hard freezes with:

1) good cover of ALL outside faucets.  First, covered with pieces of foam pipe insulation.  Then, wrapped in small towels/cloth.  Then, foam faucet cover over that whole setup.

2) drip the two sinks that are fed by pipes that run near exterior walls, especially our kitchen sink, which is fed by a pipe that busted in the last freeze.  We also open all cabinets under our faucets, to let the warm air from the house get to them.

3) and now that we've changed the setup for the line that runs in the ceiling of our garage to an outside faucet (it busted in 4 places in 2021), I can just shut that line off completely, drain the faucet, and it's free and clear of any water to freeze.

And, you know....hope that the power stays on.  Heat transfer from the house to the plumbing is a thing, and I think it's saved our bacon before.

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Born to Run

Born to Run 6582

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Also, if you have a backflow preventer don't forget to drain the system of water, including the backflow device. 
I did this last go round, and used a compressor to blow out my irrigation lines. Turns out my shut off valve leaked ever so slightly and slowly recharged the whole system which caused my RPZ and some other areas to freeze and break. Make sure the shutoff valve actually works 100%. It was about 10 years old.

$10 part would have save a couple grand and much pain

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Post Oak

Post Oak 20327

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3 hours ago, Trey3216 said:

Well, the soaking rain today didn’t hurt on watering.  Hopefully my onions make it.  They’re doing really well right now.   Got 1/2 a cord on Saturday morning to get ready.  About 1/3 of that is in the garage.   

Sounds like you're ok.  I've got some oak saplings I'm going to bring into the garage and we planted some landscape plants that I want to give a good drench.

 

 

 

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1568

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First opportunity to check the freeze tolerance of the new house.  I'm extremely happy that I ran a separate loop for water to the hose bibs.  Turn a valve, let them drain, and I'm done.  No more spigot covers.  

I just need to hang a heat lamp next to my water pump and softener, and I should be good to go.  Hopefully...

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19453

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NSIAP, also remember to turn off your sprinkler system and blow out each zone for 2-3 minutes per.  Some people blast compressed air through each line/zone, but 2-3 running minutes moves 95% of the water through.  I don't have the time or patience to air them out.  I will use a compressor at times though on the backflow.  

It still amuses me, in a non-judgey way, how we have to take freeze protection so seriously here.  We're all tripping over each other for advice, equipment, and gear.  Stuff that 2/3rds of the country already has done year to year with no nervousness.  Then again, they come to Austin to visit in August 2011 and some of them just up and burst into flames.  What can you do?  

I really should go pick up some more water though.  I posted a couple weeks ago that I just have a bad, bad feeling that Austin Water is due for another fuckup.  

"Sir, sir!  Millions of zebra mussels froze to death.  Their lifeless corpses formed a giant flotilla that's headed right for the main intakes!  And the backup system to reverse that pump so we can breakup the flotilla by boat is down on power!  and the storage tanks are only at 10% because we spent all that money on Adler's hotels!  And the one guy from 2021 who knows where the switch is to fix all this is home sick with RSV and Monkeypox!  Think of the elderly and children, sir!"

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TXLNGHRN10

TXLNGHRN10 341

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2 hours ago, YGIFS said:

NSIAP, also remember to turn off your sprinkler system and blow out each zone for 2-3 minutes per.  Some people blast compressed air through each line/zone, but 2-3 running minutes moves 95% of the water through.  I don't have the time or patience to air them out.  I will use a compressor at times though on the backflow.  

It still amuses me, in a non-judgey way, how we have to take freeze protection so seriously here.  We're all tripping over each other for advice, equipment, and gear.  Stuff that 2/3rds of the country already has done year to year with no nervousness.  Then again, they come to Austin to visit in August 2011 and some of them just up and burst into flames.  What can you do?  

I really should go pick up some more water though.  I posted a couple weeks ago that I just have a bad, bad feeling that Austin Water is due for another fuckup.  

"Sir, sir!  Millions of zebra mussels froze to death.  Their lifeless corpses formed a giant flotilla that's headed right for the main intakes!  And the backup system to reverse that pump so we can breakup the flotilla by boat is down on power!  and the storage tanks are only at 10% because we spent all that money on Adler's hotels!  And the one guy from 2021 who knows where the switch is to fix all this is home sick with RSV and Monkeypox!  Think of the elderly and children, sir!"

I don't have access to a compressor, so I shut the water off and then started to run my zones, but they are not coming up, I guess due to lack of water pressure? 

Am I furcked?

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Surly Bevo

Surly Bevo 25504

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It's crazy the PTSD Feb 2021 has caused.  It's going to be in the 50s/60s today across the vast majority of the "grid"  A somewhat similar forecast for tomorrow.  Get pretty fucking cold Thursday night/Friday morning rebounding to above freezing by Sunday and back into 40s/50s by Monday and people are blowing out sprinkler systems.   This kind of 36-48 hour cold snap, where maybe 24 of it is really fucking cold by Texas standards, is a completely normal event and people going full apocalypse mode. 

Now all that said, if that's the path you choose, I don't find fault with you at all based on the repeated incompetence we have seen.

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