2022-2023 Winter Weather Thread

[Pato del Muerto 52460]

Looks like my area might have around 15 hours above freezing today, but none of it with sunshine. I hope thats enough to melt it all but I’m not optimistic. 
 

can you see the flex in this power pole across the street?

Edited February 2, 2023 by Pato del Muerto

[KaiserSoze 997]

Coming up on 24 hours without power (78704), good times. The outage status has  been updated to "One or more crews have been assigned" but I suppose that can still mean sometime tomorrow before they get to it.

[HenryJames 65969]

Rain combined with above freezing temps, and all the trees in my hood like fine. Still got some ice, but they ain't trying to touch their toes.

[Handcruser 2805]

Just drove from Georgetown to cedar park. Roads are just fine. Not a problem anywhere.

[RPM 26305]

2 hours ago, Your Mom said:

You should be fine. I drove Houston to Austin last night and got in at midnight.  Took it slow from Bastrop on and never felt any slipping at all.  Temp was right at 32 and it’s only getting warmer today. 

There were a couple sketchy bridges and overpasses, but for the most part things were clearing up. There were clear tracks to follow through the worst parts. Things are warming, warm rain expected today should melt the rest of it. Just watch for the refreeze overnight. At least I get to sleep in my own bed for a few hours before I have to be back at 6 this afternoon for a 12 hour shift.

[JesusSweatDuck 17780]

15 minutes ago, texhorn said:

My trees were looking bad yesterday, but they got just absolutely shredded last night. And it's still just below freezing. 

Same

[South Austin 52373]

Still at a friend’s house, but AE map indicates power remains out in my Brentwood neighborhood. I’m guessing it won’t be on until tomorrow.

[Enemy07 288]

Wow, people running generators in their garages and poisoning their families (accidentally).  Which surly person is that?

Edited February 2, 2023 by Enemy07

[Brisketexan 104914]

Number of affected customers has gone UP. Don’t be surprised if major outages last into Saturday. Stayed at my dad’s last night as a lifeboat. Figure we’ll have to do it again tonight.
Panic. Two winter disasters. All in the last 3 yrs. I’d like a boring 10 yr stretch or so, thank you.

[HenryJames 65969]

20 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

can you see the flex in this power pole across the street?

 

[TexArcher 37744]

2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Number of affected customers has gone UP. Don’t be surprised if major outages last into Saturday. Stayed at my dad’s last night as a lifeboat. Figure we’ll have to do it again tonight.
Panic. Two winter disasters. All in the last 3 yrs. I’d like a boring 10 yr stretch or so, thank you.

And everyone forgets that we had a freeze and snow about three weeks before the big one in 2021.  Plus, we had the hard freeze before Christmas this winter, but we got lucky with no precip.  And didn't we have one of those last winter, too?

So, we're at 4 or 5 hard freezes in the last 3 years.

And it's not some fluke.  This is how it is here now, and it's almost certainly going to get worse.

[South Austin 52373]

9 hours ago, Hate said:

You mean nature?  Who voted for nature?

Hey, take that shit to Cloak Room.

[Pato del Muerto 52460]

11 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Number of affected customers has gone UP. Don’t be surprised if major outages last into Saturday. Stayed at my dad’s last night as a lifeboat. Figure we’ll have to do it again tonight.
Panic. Two winter disasters. All in the last 3 yrs. I’d like a boring 10 yr stretch or so, thank you.

Need new issues to stop happening so they can even begin to catch up. 

[TexArcher 37744]

Just now, Pato del Muerto said:

Need new issues to stop happening so they can even begin to catch up. 

Yeah, I heard 4 more limbs come down this morning while I was lying in bed.  I suspect the outages will continue to get worse before they get better.

[YGIFS 19449]

So I’m guessing council orders AE to spend the summer not pruning trees near lines en masse, but rather installing solar panels to the bike rental stations.  

[Biff Tannen 45645]

At least we aren’t having the team drip vs no drip wars and freaking out about pipes this time. Yay?

[Gap03 3298]

19 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

Same

Same here. Woke up to find our 35' Monterey Oak split down the middle, half completely blocking my driveway and half blocking the neighbor's driveway.  Spent an hour + this morning with a chainsaw clearing a path for both of us.  I guess I should be glad I don't have anything falling through the roof yet, but fuck this. 

[Buzzrock 14890]

This was my chinquapin oak. I loved it.

Damn. The accumulation must be tremendous in order to split an oak like that. T&P

Silver lining: you’re set for firewood!

[Biff Tannen 45645]

I think what this ultimately shows us, again, is that we are just dumb monkeys that don’t really have things figured out as much as we would like to pretend.  I don’t know if there’s actually a way to prevent this, but if there is, we won’t do it. 

[Hate 20105]

Prevent what? Ice storms ??

[MissingInAction 24970]

I blame the C.H.U.Ds.

Edited February 2, 2023 by MissingInAction

[Biff Tannen 45645]

2 minutes ago, Hate said:

Prevent what? Ice storms ??

Yes Hate. Ice storms. That makes sense. 

[South Austin 52373]

2 minutes ago, Hate said:

Prevent what? Ice storms ??

With more education and awareness, we can do this.

[HenryJames 65969]

History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man. 

 

[Gap03 3298]

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

[utee94 15777]

2 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

I have a buddy that runs a company that does this, if you're interested.

[Gap03 3298]

11 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Damn. The accumulation must be tremendous in order to split an oak like that. T&P

Silver lining: you’re set for firewood!

It's fucking amazing how heavy those branches get when each limb is coated with 1/4"+ of ice.  I was cutting up our downed oak this morning and was shocked at the heft when I was dragging the branches around.    

[PantsTent 2002]

6 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

This is what my wife has been saying...why bother fixing this shit. The holly hedges I planted along the fence after 2021 are starting to get big but 2 got clobbered by a giant limb falling on them. 

[TornACL 7694]

I'm always shocked by the heft when I am dragging my branch around.

[RPM 26305]

1 minute ago, TornACL said:

I'm always shocked by the heft when I am dragging my branch around.

username fits

[dieucla98 2942]

Last night was rough. Big cedar elm in our yard had half it's top knocked down. 

Also, in the 2nd pic, is that oak branch saveable or do I need to cut it down?

[Radical Larry 28539]

With more education and awareness, we can do this.

Knowing is half the battle.

[Pato del Muerto 52460]

27 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Damn. The accumulation must be tremendous in order to split an oak like that. T&P

Silver lining: you’re set for firewood!

Yeah I had a pic up here yesterday of a live oak limb that was bent to the ground, and each little leaf was completely encased in a clear spheroid of ice like it was an acrylic paperweight. Multiply that by thousands of leaves. 

[HenryJames 65969]

Mayor is having a press conference. Talking about how this is personally affecting @Brisketexan.

[Podrick's Magic Cock 191]

19 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

Burr Oak is the only tree I would plant at this point, but it needs to be far away from any structures.  Mine hasn't lost a live branch in a wind storm, ice, snow, drought, etc.  I'm floored.  I'm with you, though.  I'm done with live oaks and elms. 

[Ghost of LL 15530]

27 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

I'm sorry about that Monterey Oak, but damned if that isn't the perfect tree for Austin.  It does just fine in the heat, and it doesn't really mind the cold.  I lost two branches off one of mine (there are four on my property), but for the most part they're hanging in there.  They are oaks, after all.

 

And the best part is that if you replace it, they grow so goddamned fast that it'll be huge in just a few years.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Ghost of LL

[BrickHorn 18207]

28 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man. 

 

[Newdoc 3439]

32 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

All those who laughed at the 70 year old guy who river rocked his whole yard in the early 90's, well who's laughing now?...

[UTPhil2006 3799]

1 hour ago, SurlyGator said:

Dude.  Unless you feel the elephant sitting on your chest, don't even think about making that appointment.

Plus doesn’t seem like the best time to have a heart test 

[Newdoc 3439]

19 minutes ago, dieucla98 said:

Big cedar elm in our yard had half it's top knocked down. 

Cedar elms don't do well with damage. Thankfully I had one close to the house debulked last year.

[dieucla98 2942]

2 minutes ago, Newdoc said:

Cedar elms don't do well with damage. Thankfully I had one close to the house debulked last year.

So I should knock the whole thing down at this point?

[Armybrat 40798]

6 minutes ago, Newdoc said:

All those who laughed at the 70 year old guy who river rocked his whole yard in the early 90's, well who's laughing now?...

My HOA made me remove half my gravel front yard after it had been xeriscaped 7 years before….without any complaints.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Armybrat

[Newdoc 3439]

Just now, dieucla98 said:

So I should knock the whole thing down at this point?

According to a arborist, tree guy I use, 50% of canopy loss on a mature tree is usually a death sentence. I wouldn't imagine the tree is at anymore risk of falling immediately unless it split into the trunk. Cedar elms will often hollow on the inside so be careful.

This is when you get a good tree company to assess and give a hopefully honest opinion. That unfortunately means no low bid guys who hang out their shingle on nextdoor, unless you just cut your losses and take it down.

[4th&Five 41499]

The most dangerous thing I saw driving to work was people treating traffic lights with no power like they have a green light. Not even slowing down. 

[utee94 15777]

1 minute ago, 4th&Five said:

The most dangerous thing I saw driving to work was people treating traffic lights with no power like they have a green light. Not even slowing down. 

Yeah lights being out, and downed limbs all over, are the major problems for driving in Austin right now.  The road conditions are okay. 

[Wally Pryor 5260]

As feared, shitastic overnight. Every other hour - crack, one or two seconds, and small boom.  Fence damaged, not sure about minor roof damage.  Can hardly walk in our backyard as it's littered with limbs, and big ones. Thankfully, nothing went through the roof. 

I'm surprised the weather guys aren't getting hit with this a bit more. As late as Saturday evening / Sunday morning, it was just going to a cold rain mid week. Next thing you know, city's down for almost a week.  We've got really good local guys. I think there was a whiff in this instance.  Oh well. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Wally Pryor

[JesusSweatDuck 17780]

46 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

It's fucking amazing how heavy those branches get when each limb is coated with 1/4"+ of ice.  I was cutting up our downed oak this morning and was shocked at the heft when I was dragging the branches around.    

Corgis for scale

[MissingInAction 24970]

KXAN is skewering Watson right now.

Edited February 2, 2023 by MissingInAction
Fuml

[JesusSweatDuck 17780]

1 minute ago, MissingInAction said:

KVUE is skewering Watson right now.

[GreenspointTexas 9590]

Why the fuck would anyone plant anything non-native in their yard?