2023-2024 Winter Weather

Orange&White · January 11

Just heard an NWS guy on a conference call say they are increasing their chance of ice for this area to 30%.

UTexasFight · January 11

The 40 lb propane tank I bought out for delivery to Home Depot today better not get “lost”

January 11

15 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

That sounds right to me. I'm mainly team no drip because I live out in the sticks and our rural water district has said that if most everyone on the system drips their faucets then it will have a material impact on the pressure available to everyone. These poor guys are constantly playing whack-a-mole with leaks across the entire system and I tend to believe them that the system can't really handle it.

If we lose power I'll shut off water with the main key at the road and try to drain everything out of the pipes in my house. That worked for me during the last shit show.

That would do it. Just anything to keep the pipes less full so that if there is a freeze, it has room to expand.

TexasHooch · January 11

I'm long since removed from being a resident of Texas, but can't imagine actually having to make contingency plans for the electric to go off for days in a cold snap. Wrapping/covering/dripping pipes, sure. But no electricity? Man, that sucks.

January 11

4 minutes ago, TexasHooch said:

I'm long since removed from being a resident of Texas, but can't imagine actually having to make contingency plans for the electric to go off for days in a cold snap. Wrapping/covering/dripping pipes, sure. But no electricity? Man, that sucks.

Well, it's been two historic winter storms in three years. The first one was ERCOT/grid because of being ill-prepared statewide. The second one was an insane ice storm that put branches on lines all over the city.

If it's just a cold snap for 48 hours, then everything should be fine. If it's ice accumulations, it gets super messy.

crash_davis · January 11

For the 2021 and last year's Icepocalypses, I wrapped the dolly partons and no dripped. No issues from either time. Will do the same on Sunday.

BrickHorn · January 11

25 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

If we lose power I'll shut off water with the main key at the road and try to drain everything out of the pipes in my house. That worked for me during the last shit show.

That’s what I did for the first big freeze when we lost power for a week a few years ago. We successfully avoided the plague of burst pipes in our neighborhood. Just remember to drain your water heater, too.

UTexasFight · January 11

I know not everyone has the means, but for those that do, there really is no excuse, just flat laziness/stubbornness, for every homeowner in this state that doesn’t have a generator/transfer switch.

for the price of a mid-level TV you’ve insured you’ll be fine the next time one of these events happens. (And you’ve got a cool generator to do other stuff with if you need to)

The Royal We · January 11

10 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

That’s what I did for the first big freeze when we lost power for a week a few years ago. We successfully avoided the plague of burst pipes in our neighborhood. Just remember to drain your water heater, too.

I don't think it ever got cold enough inside my house that I was concerned about a full water heater freezing. Were you concerned about that? I guess if the power is out long enough then anything is possible.

miguelito · January 11

Get some freeze misers. They drip when it gets down to 35.

The Royal We · January 11

4 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

for the price of a mid-level TV you’ve insured you’ll be fine the next time one of these events happens. (And you’ve got a cool generator to do other stuff with if you need to)

Has it been a while since you priced these out? A 200 amp transfer switch alone is ~$500, and you haven't paid anyone to come hook it up or bought the generator yet.

I agree that everyone who can afford it should look at it, but the whole thing costs much more than a TV. Depending on how big your home is and how much stuff you want to run when the shit goes down you're probably looking at $5,000+ all-in.

Anastasis · January 11

22 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

That’s what I did for the first big freeze when we lost power for a week a few years ago. We successfully avoided the plague of burst pipes in our neighborhood. Just remember to drain your water heater, too.

And a reminder to turn off the water heater too. You dont want the burner running on an empty tank. #teamturnoffatthestreet

wildcat09 · January 11

20 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

I know not everyone has the means, but for those that do, there really is no excuse, just flat laziness/stubbornness, for every homeowner in this state that doesn’t have a generator/transfer switch.

for the price of a mid-level TV you’ve insured you’ll be fine the next time one of these events happens. (And you’ve got a cool generator to do other stuff with if you need to)

Mid-level TVs are a lot cheaper than you think these days.

UTexasFight · January 11

39 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Has it been a while since you priced these out? A 200 amp transfer switch alone is ~$500, and you haven't paid anyone to come hook it up or bought the generator yet.

I agree that everyone who can afford it should look at it, but the whole thing costs much more than a TV. Depending on how big your home is and how much stuff you want to run when the shit goes down you're probably looking at $5,000+ all-in.

I’m botching the terminology. And I’m modest in what I’m trying to power.

I’m talking about wiring this into a 30 amp breaker in the electrical panel and hooking it up to a generator:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Reliance-Controls-30-Amp-Power-Inlet-Box-PB30/202213702

And had a friend spend less than an hour helping hook it up so didn’t have labor costs, but I was $930 all-in on parts/materials with a 5,500 watt champion generator driving $730 of that. This was a year ago. (About a month before the ice storm)

yes, you have to get out in the cold and flip all of the breakers and hook/start up the generator. Felt that was worth it vs the exponentially higher cost of a more automatic solution.

I have a ~1,500 sq ft home. That size generator won’t completely power the entire house, but will handle just about everything on at once other than the oven and microwave (range and water heater are gas)

Edited January 11 by UTexasFight
Edit: My biggest regret was buying the generator in December and not end of April or whenever the annual storm-preparedness sales tax holiday is which would have saved me 8%

BrickHorn · January 11

1 hour ago, The Royal We said:

I don't think it ever got cold enough inside my house that I was concerned about a full water heater freezing. Were you concerned about that? I guess if the power is out long enough then anything is possible.

A lot of flooding during the 2021 storm was due to water heaters cracking. It was substantially below freezing for, what, four days straight? A water heater in an attic or garage could definitely freeze up during that time.

January 11

8 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

A lot of flooding during the 2021 storm was due to water heaters cracking. It was substantially below freezing for, what, four days straight? A water heater in an attic or garage could definitely freeze up during that time.

A lot of them were instant water heaters on the outside of the house.

Looks like freezing hits Sunday night and stays there for 60 hours until Wednesday morning.

South Austin · January 11

Man, you guys are a bunch of weather pussies.

Edited January 11 by South Austin
Any of you have an extra generator you can loan me?

Judge Roybeanbag · January 11

1 hour ago, UTexasFight said:

I know not everyone has the means, but for those that do, there really is no excuse, just flat laziness/stubbornness, for every homeowner in this state that doesn’t have a generator/transfer switch.

for the price of a mid-level TV you’ve insured you’ll be fine the next time one of these events happens. (And you’ve got a cool generator to do other stuff with if you need to)

You sir, are assuming the majority of the 35 million people that comprise this state have a functioning brain. I can assure you, they do not.

MNLonghornFUKM · January 11

Looks lovely.

MissingInAction · January 11

4 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

You sir, are assuming the majority of the 35 million people that comprise this state have a functioning brain. I can assure you, they do not.

People in my complex were starting fires in their sinks.

SHOOTER12 · January 11

On 1/5/2024 at 4:03 PM, FartingMonk said:

We are supposed to see 8-10 inches in Omaha on Monday

Hell I see 8-10 inches here every time I take a leak.

MissingInAction · January 11

1 minute ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Hell I see 8-10 inches here every time I take a leak.

Why are you in my bathroom, perv?

SHOOTER12 · January 11

On 1/9/2024 at 8:19 AM, atomheartbevo said:

So forecast has Austin down to 17 next week, and around 36 hours of freezing or near-freezing weather. My first thought is will the power hold up.

Depending on the weather app, it's calling for 8°-11° here in Nastydouches with 36-48 hours below freezing. I started getting ready this morning as it's going to be hell getting it done with a destroyed shoulder.

SHOOTER12 · January 11

8 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

Why are you in my bathroom, perv?

Hell you sent the invitation cutie, lololol

SHOOTER12 · January 11

On 1/9/2024 at 8:19 AM, atomheartbevo said:

So forecast has Austin down to 17 next week, and around 36 hours of freezing or near-freezing weather. My first thought is will the power hold up.

News here said we have a 50% chance of losing power....fark!

South Austin · January 11

16 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

News here said we have a 50% chance of losing power....fark!

See, I look at it as your glass is half full.

Judge Roybeanbag · January 11

34 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

People in my complex were starting fires in their sinks.

Hope you have a large reserve of piss. That should smell fantastic.

SHOOTER12 · January 11

19 minutes ago, South Austin said:

See, I look at it as your glass is half full.

...and that's fair.

SHOOTER12 · January 11

SHOOTER12 · January 11

Just now, SHOOTER12 said:

Forecast is changing every hour or so.

Anastasis · January 12

prepare the anus.

Wilcox Cummingtonite · January 12

Edited January 12 by Wilcox Cummingtonite

Firemans4Horn · January 12

Wind and hail just came in with a vengeance the last 10 minutes in East Dallas.

RPM · January 12

Front just hit North Tarrant County.

South Austin · January 12

Windy as fuck out in Brentwood.

Grimas · January 12

17 hours ago, The Royal We said:

Has it been a while since you priced these out? A 200 amp transfer switch alone is ~$500, and you haven't paid anyone to come hook it up or bought the generator yet.

I agree that everyone who can afford it should look at it, but the whole thing costs much more than a TV. Depending on how big your home is and how much stuff you want to run when the shit goes down you're probably looking at $5,000+ all-in.

See my old post #394 from a few years ago- my whole setup was $2000 to power a 4000sqft house:

Edited January 12 by Grimas

Hawndoh · January 12

Hey, it's cold out there y'all.

TexArcher · January 12

18 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Well, it's been two historic winter storms in three years. The first one was ERCOT/grid because of being ill-prepared statewide. The second one was an insane ice storm that put branches on lines all over the city.

True, but they're only "historic" in the same way that the dramatically worsening hurricanes and hottest-summer-on-record are. It might take a few more years of this for people to admit that weather events of all types are worse here now than they've ever been, and likely to continue getting worse. But that's how it is.

Climate scientist out front 30 years ago shoulda told us. Wait, he did.

Edited January 12 by TexArcher

Mrs Whiggins · January 12

Team #NoDrip here. On the subject of generators, I guess our family would be labeled as stubborn. If I'm to pay higher energy prices for a company policy of mismangement and profits (in order to fix the issue that may or may not be fixed) so that I'm now considered 'self-reliant' because I've spent more money (on a generator) then something seems a little backwards.

However, it's not only cold out there, it's incredibly windy and is messing with my plans to mow the last of the leaves into the lawn. However, they seem to be blowing down the street into the neighbor's yard so I'm passing the buck. Hey! There's a moral to this story!

Txangel9910 · January 12

29 degrees and windy in Irving.....wind chill is 16 🥶🥶

Trey3216 · January 12

Line of storms hit around 12:30. Hailed pretty bad for 10-15 minutes. Mega fucking windy. Naturally woke up me, the wife, the dog, and the kids. I’m about to eat a 15mg gummy and do fuck all at work.

here’s some model runs I saw for precip

Edited January 12 by Trey3216

Brisketexan · January 12

Right now, the wind is blowing harder than my ass on refried beans and chicken wing night.

Pato del Muerto · January 12

6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Right now, the wind is blowing harder than my ass on refried beans and chicken wing night.

Don’t you have company this morning?

utee94 · January 12

Spent an hour this morning ensuring all 3 of my generators are functioning properly. We've been lucky enough to retain power and water at our house over both of the past 2 big events, but most of the rest of my family in town, not so much. Last time, I spent a half-day distributing generators and firewood to all of my less fortunate family and friends.

I don't really expect this time to be a similar event, but ya never know.

Brisketexan · January 12

15 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Don’t you have company this morning?

I do. You have any idea how hard it's been to hold in all my gas for an hour and a half? Brutal.

Brisketexan · January 12

12 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Spent an hour this morning ensuring all 3 of my generators are functioning properly. We've been lucky enough to retain power and water at our house over both of the past 2 big events, but most of the rest of my family in town, not so much. Last time, I spent a half-day distributing generators and firewood to all of my less fortunate family and friends.

I don't really expect this time to be a similar event, but ya never know.

Just want to note here that I've lived in Texas for a half century, a good bit of that time in hurricane country. There was always talk of generators, getting one, knowing people who had one . . . but it was ALWAYS in the context of a hurricane, which is a localized thing that comes through, takes out trees and powerlines because that's what "nature, damn, you scary!" does.

We went through brutal cold snaps in 1983 and 1989. Loss of power wasn't a concern. Maybe it happened in a place or two, but nothing that imprinted on the culture. That's not true anymore. We have generators and backup power plans because of cold snaps now. That's messed up. But, here we are. As for me, part of my job tomorrow is to flush all the old gas out of the generator, change the oil, and get it ready to go. It's just a little 3500, but it can power a good room heater, a light, and provide charging for devices, so we can at least stay in our house. All of which is fucking messed up. I grew up looking forward to cold snaps. Not anymore.

TexArcher · January 12

10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I do. You have any idea how hard it's been to hold in all my gas for an hour and a half? Brutal.

Is it your house?

utee94 · January 12

Yeah I have two 3500s that I use for my RV, and one 2200 that we used to use to run the tailgate party. They're all powerful enough to run a space heater and a couple of room lights, and charge devices. The 3500s will also run a refrigerator for you at the same time if you so desire (last time everyone I know just put their food outside or in the garage to keep it cold...)

Brisketexan · January 12

5 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Yeah I have two 3500s that I use for my RV, and one 2200 that we used to use to run the tailgate party. They're all powerful enough to run a space heater and a couple of room lights, and charge devices. The 3500s will also run a refrigerator for you at the same time if you so desire (last time everyone I know just put their food outside or in the garage to keep it cold...)

yep - during the 2021 Hoth event, we just put our food outside, it all kept just fine (shit, had to put the refrigerated stuff in actual ice chests to keep it from freezing). During the Austin ice storm 2022, my old man had power, and the roads became passable pretty quickly, so we just transferred anything valuable from our fridge/freezer to their garage fridge/freezer. Was a PITA, but it worked.

Seriously. This PTSD shit is real, and annoying.

HornOnTheBayou · January 12

Alright, tell me if this is something I should worry about. A few weeks ago, the water main in front of my house started leaking. The city fixed it and everything was fine. When they were done, they just threw a bunch of dirt on it and left. They said someone would come fill it in better later. Well, of course being Austin city government, that hasn't happened yet. It didn't bother me, because I knew it wouldn't get fixed right away, but now I'm worried that our water pipes are too exposed. Should I put some more dirt on this before Sunday? Is there a better option to insulate these pipes? We didn't have any water problems during the last two storms, but now I'm a little worried.

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