2022-2023 Winter Weather Thread

[burntorangebongos 10710]

I threw my cedar branch and mesquite branches in the empty treed lot across the street like an ugly American. 

I don't know who owns it but they never clean it up....sooooo. Now, I just have to find someone who can cut down a leggy mountain laurel who lost most of it's limbs. I don't know that it is worth saving. But I can wait until the tree dudes don't charge an arm and a leg for their work. Sorry neighbors who give a shit. There is a cute road runner that likes hanging around it for some reason so I'm just gonna let him do his thing for a while.

[Homercles 10205]

On the social media angle I’m glad it appears RRISD deleted a few comments on their Facebook page, when they announced school is open tomorrow.  Within five minutes of the announcement there were 3 people griping about how can they send their kids to school when there’s no power or what are the plans to get rid of the dangerous hanging limbs.  

90% of the time it’s women who seem to never want their kids in school.  If our house didn’t have power I’d be itching to get the kids into a warm environment with some mental stimulation beyond Roblox or riding their bikes.  

Pisses me off.  Home school them if you need 24/7 control or have them take another day off…a couple unexcused absences won’t keep them out of A&M.  Either way, whining on Facebook isn’t going to influence an entire district. 

[smoky 840]

Crews appeared a few streets over a couple of hours ago. They were accompanied by at least five trucks of A&M Forest Service folks to help clear trees and branches.

Hoping they don't pack up when it gets dark because what they're working on now won't fix our street.

We'll be fine another night, but I'd really like to dress in the morning with lights.

[burntorangebongos 10710]

 I did put a cooler together of stuff that I salvaged from the fridge/freezer and threw away the rest. I saved the Christmas tamales and that is all I have to eat right now. Fuck.

Oh well, the Oaxacan style ones are the bomb and I have Herdez guacamole salsa so I'm good. 

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2662]

Got our power back around 4pm today. So excited to see the truck and then a couple hours later, woohoo. People running around like they won the lottery.

Feels good man 

We have a generator arriving Tuesday lol 

[burntorangebongos 10710]

What did you buy? Thinking of getting one too.

[Brisketexan 104906]

 I did put a cooler together of stuff that I salvaged from the fridge/freezer and threw away the rest. I saved the Christmas tamales and that is all I have to eat right now. Fuck.
Oh well, the Oaxacan style ones are the bomb and I have Herdez guacamole salsa so I'm good. 

Where’d you get real-deal Oaxacan tamales? I love those, but don’t know of a hookup in Austin.
Also, no power here. And no prospects. The photo below, which is a few blocks from our house, may explain why:




Nothing has been done other than someone (wisely) putting up the caution tape around the shattered pole and limbs.
What we’re dealing with in Austin is functionally a lot of the effects of a Cat 2 hurricane….with ZERO of the planning or resources to handle it. Again, we should have crews here from out of state, like we do when a hurricane comes through. But nada. We’ll just handle it locally. So, sorry that some of you won’t get power back till summer.
Shit, at this point, my “generator and a heater” plan may need to start moving towards a “generator and a window unit” plan.

[Pato del Muerto 52458]

Find a nice mini split system 

[burntorangebongos 10710]

My sister married a dude whose mom was from Oaxaca and it was her Christmas gift to me. Yay. 

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

12 minutes ago, burntorangebongos said:

My sister married a dude whose mom was from Oaxaca and it was her Christmas gift to me. Yay. 

You got the plug on Oaxaca

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Grade of D as in David
Gif

[UTexasFight 9421]

1 hour ago, burntorangebongos said:

What did you buy? Thinking of getting one too.

https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?q=Champion+generator&searcharea=deals&searchin=first
 

I monitored this for quite a while and finally pulled the trigger on one in December.

highly recommend dual fuel so you don’t have to use gas. (I ended up with Champion model 100231).

I went through about 3 15 lb propane tanks over the course of 2 days we were out. With the price of gas over $3, the cost of fuel was practically a wash.

definitely pay a little extra and have someone install a transfer switch. I wasn’t comfortable doing it on my own but after watching a buddy do it, it’s not complicated and well worth the extra $300 to have it hard wired in to the house (and most of that cost was due to needing a 50’ cord to be able to put the generator under a covered structure out of the weather)

[Brisketexan 104906]

Rumor mill: wife’s colleague is also out of power. Walked the dog, bumped into a neighbor whose husband works for AE. Word is that AE has extended hotel stays for out of town crews through next Saturday.
That’s stupid. It’s going to take longer than that at the glacial pace they’re on.

[Wally Pryor 5260]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Where’d you get real-deal Oaxacan tamales? I love those, but don’t know of a hookup in Austin.
Also, no power here. And no prospects. The photo below, which is a few blocks from our house, may explain why:




What we’re dealing with in Austin is functionally a lot of the effects of a Cat 2 hurricane….with ZERO of the planning or resources to handle it. 

So pathetic to hear that some of you are relying on candles for a 6th night in a city of this size. In a situation where we saw a massive ice storm on the horizon, 3 days in advance, on shitty web sites like Surly Horns. It really sucks and is sad. But it's no surprise. 

Maybe this brings about some internal changes within the COA and how we focus on and we be reprioritize things.

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Wally Pryor

[Pato del Muerto 52458]

I’ve just learned of a farming technique called forcing rhubarb where you grow it in the dark and it grows long stalks that are sweet. 
maybe a viable side hustle for some of you energy deficient folks. 

[Armybrat 40795]

Hard to believe we were freezing our butts off just three days ago with no power….

…73f on the patio this afternoon at Ztejas Avery Ranch.

 

[texasdago 7554]

4 hours ago, Hate said:

After Ike in 2008, we were without power for 15 days. The houses across the street had power back after 3 days. We had a one month old baby, so we left after 5 days to stay at the MIL’s house. It was freaking miserable. I feel for those of you still without power. I have an aunt that lives off Far West that is still without power.

LOL dude this is so similar to us... 2 1/2 weeks without power while neighbors across from us got it back after a few days.  We had an extension cord running from their house to ours.  Ended up spending a lot of time at my parents.

[Updawg 2263]

So pathetic to hear that some of you are relying on candles for a 6th night in a city of this size. In a situation where we saw a massive ice storm on the horizon, 3 days in advance, on shitty web sites like Surly Horns. It really sucks and is sad. But it's no surprise. 
Maybe this brings about some internal changes within the COA and how we focus on and we be reprioritize things.
 
 

To be fair, slorch interpreted the models for us

Fuck that guy

[Updawg 2263]

I didn’t get shit near as bad as a lot of y’all but I ain’t fucking around anymore and need to prepare for the worst


Need to be more serious anywhere in Texas

[Eskimohorn 5626]

So pathetic to hear that some of you are relying on candles for a 6th night in a city of this size. In a situation where we saw a massive ice storm on the horizon, 3 days in advance, on shitty web sites like Surly Horns. It really sucks and is sad. But it's no surprise. 
Maybe this brings about some internal changes within the COA and how we focus on and we be reprioritize things.
 
 

We either bury lines or butcher trees. Neither one of those things are gonna happen. But homeowners who regularly trimmed trees fared better.

[smoky 840]

"Austin Energy: Outage Update-We are still tracking outages in your area. Crews are now focusing on the most complicated and time-consuming restorations. Forecasted wind and rain this week could further complicate these efforts. Based on current info, we expect to restore power to nearly all remaining customers by Sunday, Feb 12. We expect many of our remaining affected customers will have electricity before Sunday. We will reassess the situation midweek. Reply STOP to cancel."

This is fine.

[Updawg 2263]

We either bury lines or butcher trees. Neither one of those things are gonna happen. But homeowners who regularly trimmed trees fared better.

Yes and no. I get a crew out every 2-3 years but some of my oaks broke way up high where there was nothing that could be done. That ice was just brutal. It sucks.

[Updawg 2263]

"Austin Energy: Outage Update-We are still tracking outages in your area. Crews are now focusing on the most complicated and time-consuming restorations. Forecasted wind and rain this week could further complicate these efforts. Based on current info, we expect to restore power to nearly all remaining customers by Sunday, Feb 12. We expect many of our remaining affected customers will have electricity before Sunday. We will reassess the situation midweek. Reply STOP to cancel."

This is fine.




Is that real? Fuck

[swraith 345]

I got the same text.  Sucks ass. 

[yoladu 4089]

18 minutes ago, Updawg said:

 

 

 

 

This is fine.




Is that real? Fuck

 

 

 

 

It’s very real. Got the same text. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by yoladu

[Updawg 2263]

"Austin Energy: Outage Update-We are still tracking outages in your area. Crews are now focusing on the most complicated and time-consuming restorations. Forecasted wind and rain this week could further complicate these efforts. Based on current info, we expect to restore power to nearly all remaining customers by Sunday, Feb 12. We expect many of our remaining affected customers will have electricity before Sunday. We will reassess the situation midweek. Reply STOP to cancel."

This is fine.

This is fine.

Dp. Fuck

[Texas Jeff 1939]

The generator noise is getting to me. If it’s freezing cold then ok, keep your furnace on to keep your house warm. It’s a mild night it Austin but the generators just keep blazing away…

Imagine the sound if we all had them.

[Hate 20105]

Nobody would notice them if everyone had them.

[jimmyjazz 45819]

Man, the last thing I care about is generator noise.  Good for anyone who bought one.

[mchookem 16301]

7 hours ago, swraith said:

Nextdoor is equally off its rocker. Posts asking for neighbors to turn off their generators because the sound of the generators are too annoying. 

 

[HenryJames 65967]

5 hours ago, Updawg said:

 

 

 

 

This is fine.




Is that real? Fuck

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Updawg said:

To be fair, slorch interpreted the models for us

Fuck that guy

LOL.

20 inches of snow, bro.  The flakes were 20" apart.

Ice storm wasn't in that discussion, but West Texas has solved for that situation- just don't have trees.

Edited February 6, 2023 by slorch

[Wally Pryor 5260]

45 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

 

"...expect to restore power to nearly all remaining customers by Feb 12."

Ouch.

[Jiggy-Z 3432]

2 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

"...expect to restore power to nearly all remaining customers by Feb 12."

Ouch.

...of 2024.

[SubliminalHorn 6767]

Can not believe they’re saying another week or so. Heads should roll for this. We get ice storms EVERY YEAR, how are we not a little more prepared for them?

[hornian 5209]

9 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Can not believe they’re saying another week or so. Heads should roll for this. We get ice storms EVERY YEAR, how are we not a little more prepared for them?

In one of the news conferences last week, Elton Richards said that a previous city council made the decision to scale back tree trimming. I wonder which council/councils are responsible, and if any of the members are still there.

[swraith 345]

Outage map shows many crews assigned to outages around Hill elementary.  Maybe that area gets resolved today.  Still waiting to see signs of crews for 78757 - Allandale.  

[Wally Pryor 5260]

7 minutes ago, hornian said:

In one of the news conferences last week, Elton Richards said that a previous city council made the decision to scale back tree trimming. I wonder which council/councils are responsible, and if any of the members are still there.

That's correct on the tree trimming, or reticence to do so. 

Is Austin Energy solely doing the repairs? Or are other cities involved? Seems like when there are hurricanes, tornadoes or whatever, you'll see trucks coming in from outside the affected city. 

[YGIFS 19449]

Last council and mayor really did repeal the FERC guidelines.  That's not made up.  Only two ways around this:  bury the lines or prune the fuck outta the trees near them.  After 2021 snowpocalypse...lotsa limbs died and just fell onto limbs, understandably.  They lost most of their weight due to being dead so didn't effect our power supply, especially during freezes because they had no water inside.  But this freeze brought precip with it, and a lot.  So those limbs became little ice trays.  A dozen don't make a shit but tens of thousands of them citywide, plus the actual living vegetation with substantial water inside+frozen leaves became a metric fuckton.  

The last council wanted another win in the environmental category so they repealed a lot of the FERC guidelines plus allowed residents to say "get off my lawn" to proactive pruning measures by AE in terms of living vegetation.  That's why tens and tens of thousands of bill-paying Austinites will have to live for two weeks this winter with no power or hot water.  Because some of you would suck Steve Adler's dick for free if I offered you the chance.  

This is the leadership you chose.  Fucking live with it.  

[SubliminalHorn 6767]

Yeah I read in the Texas Tribune how much flak the city gets when they try to prune trees with the tree huggers/residents protesting it. The city should be more prepared for the damage, but residents who prevent the city from doing their jobs are also at fault. 

[WBT 20548]

37 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Can not believe they’re saying another week or so. Heads should roll for this. We get ice storms EVERY YEAR, how are we not a little more prepared for them?

Not like that one

[Wally Pryor 5260]

40 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Can not believe they’re saying another week or so. Heads should roll for this. We get ice storms EVERY YEAR, how are we not a little more prepared for them?

Jackie Sargent is as good as gone. 

The really interesting part will be to see if Cronk gets the axe. He's had other issues so this may be the icing on the cake for him. Poor choice of words, oh well. 

[texasdago 7554]

I don't know what y'all's trees looked like but with 1" of ice on some of our limbs, the devastation was so widespread in Austin that I think they're just dealing with so much to fix.  Its like Harvey... there was sooooooo much damage... it wasn't like the typical flood.  I think they're trying to keep up.  Yeah, for sure we should plan better and try to build for resilience but people don't like investing in resilience unfortunately.  Just look at Houston... Harvey decimated the city and do you think they're doing much to account for the next big flooding event?  Nope.  Austin is no different.  "Wait, I have to pay for this?  Nope" but then people will complain afterwards. 

[YGIFS 19449]

10 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Yeah I read in the Texas Tribune how much flak the city gets when they try to prune trees with the tree huggers/residents protesting it. The city should be more prepared for the damage, but residents who prevent the city from doing their jobs are also at fault. 

Because many Austinites are fucking dumb.  You can prune a tree without killing it.  Yes, many species can self-prune over time.  But sometimes we don't have that luxury, you can responsibly prune and cut trees and they'll still thrive, produce fruit, provide shade, give us oxygen, look beautiful, and not harm power lines.  It's not fucking binary.  I have 30 trees along my back fenceline with the powerlines.  And I take care of my shit.  One day it will be fault, but not this time.  And when I'm older and cant' do it myself, I'll just call the AE tree guys and get on the list.  Ain't fucking rocket science.  Until we bury the lines, we gotta protect 'em.  

Just like Covid, I wore the mask to protect the physically vulnerable.  I prune my trees to protect the flow of power to my neighbors with medicine in the fridge

[jimmyjazz 45819]

I want to see a map of Austin showing outages as well as areas with buried power lines.

[Brisketexan 104906]

10 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

The generator noise is getting to me. If it’s freezing cold then ok, keep your furnace on to keep your house warm. It’s a mild night it Austin but the generators just keep blazing away…

Imagine the sound if we all had them.

So, you are cordially invited to fuck yourself up your fucking ass with a fully electrified nail-studded baseball bat, you fucking piece of shit.

I run a generator - at night only - to power a small radiant heater to keep my fucking bedroom livable.  "It's a mild night."  52 degrees is pretty fucking chilly in your goddamn bedroom.  It also powers a lamp, and outlets to charge our phones and laptop.  When it's really cold, we plug in a second space heater.  You know, so we can sleep.  In our own fucking house.

Fuck you, asshole.  I tell you what, you come sleep at my house, and turn the generator off, and I'll stay at yours, with power.  Deal?  You fucking open sore of a human being.

9 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Man, the last thing I care about is generator noise.  Good for anyone who bought one.

This is the correct answer.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Brisketexan

[yoladu 4089]

38 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

That's correct on the tree trimming, or reticence to do so. 

Is Austin Energy solely doing the repairs? Or are other cities involved? Seems like when there are hurricanes, tornadoes or whatever, you'll see trucks coming in from outside the affected city. 

 

17 minutes ago, texasdago said:

I don't know what y'all's trees looked like but with 1" of ice on some of our limbs, the devastation was so widespread in Austin that I think they're just dealing with so much to fix.  Its like Harvey... there was sooooooo much damage... it wasn't like the typical flood.  I think they're trying to keep up.  Yeah, for sure we should plan better and try to build for resilience but people don't like investing in resilience unfortunately.  Just look at Houston... Harvey decimated the city and do you think they're doing much to account for the next big flooding event?  Nope.  Austin is no different.  "Wait, I have to pay for this?  Nope" but then people will complain afterwards. 

i am sympathetic to the crews working the issue, but the scale of the response to the problem is pathetic. They should have resources from the rest of the state and/or neighboring states helping out, pitching in.

its been 3 days since i have even seen a utility truck roll through my neighborhood. With the lack of communication, you feel forgotten. You look around and wonder: "Are we even on AE's radar?" Of course without power and internet service, the ability to communicate is difficult.

Further, it is made a bit more difficult as you see the rest of the city moving on. i guess i am having abandonment issues! 

The response makes one feel like they don't care. (Oh, they say they do, but they ain't doing shit about it)

**5 days, 7 hours and counting.

Edited February 6, 2023 by yoladu

[jimmyjazz 45819]

In related news, at least one family in NW Hills (78731) had their generator stolen this weekend, while the generator was running.  There's a special place in hell for assholes who would do that.

 

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

What we’re dealing with in Austin is functionally a lot of the effects of a Cat 2 hurricane….with ZERO of the planning or resources to handle it. Again, we should have crews here from out of state, like we do when a hurricane comes through. But nada. We’ll just handle it locally. So, sorry that some of you won’t get power back till summer.

 

10 minutes ago, texasdago said:

I don't know what y'all's trees looked like but with 1" of ice on some of our limbs, the devastation was so widespread in Austin that I think they're just dealing with so much to fix.  Its like Harvey... there was sooooooo much damage... it wasn't like the typical flood.  I think they're trying to keep up.  Yeah, for sure we should plan better and try to build for resilience but people don't like investing in resilience unfortunately.  

These two. I'll admit, I'm not that pissed at AE (though had the luxury of only losing power for six hours instead of six days). I think they are doing all they can. For the trees and electric system, this was a hurricane. Didn't have the damage to homes like you'd see (thank god) but the cleanup of trees is on a hurricane level.

Any city would be struggling to get the power back on. I do think it's weird we aren't seeing more crews coming in to help, but the damage area also seems smaller than a major hurricane where it's all hands on deck.

On the plus side, the weather is warmer already compared to '21. I'm wondering about supplies. My first thought was will they even have enough transformers, lines, poles, etc. to restore power given how heavy the damage is.

[Brisketexan 104906]

6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

In related news, at least one family in NW Hills (78731) had their generator stolen this weekend, while the generator was running.  There's a special place in hell for assholes who would do that.

 

Yep.  We saw that.  We've placed ours where it's harder to get to, but still, don't have a perfect place to put it.  I'm thinking of buying a good heavy duty lock and chain, I can at least chain it to my trailer smoker, so you can't just tote it off.

[jimmyjazz 45819]

Just put it in the spare bedroom.