2023-2024 Winter Weather

[Updawg 2266]

In my district, absolutely. Local campuses don't even have local control of our HVAC. If my classroom is hot or cold my office manager has to put in a request to district to try and get it adjusted. If you want to go work in your room on a day that is normally not a school day you will not have AC.
We (Plano) pay millions back to the State in recapture, so they pinch every penny they can.

Yep. Bowie hs barely has heat or ac. But aisd puts back tons of money in recapture. Complete bullshit and pisses me off

[Surly Bevo 24908]

11 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I hope it's not too obvious to state this:  a lot of folks in Texas are on natural gas or propane.  ERCOT isn't speaking to you.  The electrical demand to push heat through your house is minimal when your source is gas.  While I don't think the grid will crash this time around, there is a small chance of rolling blackouts, so I'm soaking my house with BTUs -- I'm running the thermostats at 72 F.  It's toasty, I'm not stressing the grid but rather just burning more gas (which I'm happy to pay for) and if we get another grid-a-geddon it's that much more stored heat to dissipate.  It matters a day or two down the road.  Do what you do, though.

Getting folks off electric resistance method of heating would be ideal. Read that’s still the way something like 60% of Texas homes are heated.  Expensive though. 

Edited January 15 by Surly Bevo

[Willfully Horn 8002]

56 minutes ago, Chopper said:

A reporter skeeted on bluesky about this earlier.

here's the linked article -

Houston Public Works warns residents to not drip faucets during freeze. The same question arises during every Houston freeze. To drip or not to drip? The answer remains the same.

https://www.lmtonline.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-freeze-drip-faucets-18602388.php

The City of Houston's water is run through pump stations on the ground, not water towers. City officials are urging Houston residents to not drip their faucets because it could put pressure on the water system, potentially shutting it down.

Running faucets "has a huge negative impact on our water pressure," Erin Jones, a spokesperson for Houston Public Works, told Chron. "If water pressure gets too low, then you get a burn water notice. And you don't want that in the middle of a freeze."

Instead, the city recommends that residents open the cabinet doors under the sink next to outside walls to let heat in, shut off water to washing machines in unheated garages and monitor pipes that have been frozen in the past. Houstonians who expect to be out of town during the arctic freeze should prepare their homes beforehand by draining their outside faucets or leaving their home heating system on a low temperature.

 

 

Aquasource’s system wide email asked customers to locate the interior faucet furthest from the source, and drip.

[dittohead 92]

So, my 9:00 flight from Dallas to Austin that boarded at 9:30. .. we are still sitting on the tarmac … in Dallas.

 

[InkaUtexas 25875]

1 minute ago, dittohead said:

So, my 9:00 flight from Dallas to Austin that boarded at 9:30. .. we are still sitting on the tarmac … in Dallas.

 

just rip one and look at the person next to you.

[dittohead 92]

I’m pretty sure the entire plane has done that 2 or 3 times at this point.  

[Chet Steadman 940]

2 minutes ago, dittohead said:

So, my 9:00 flight from Dallas to Austin that boarded at 9:30. .. we are still sitting on the tarmac … in Dallas.

 

Assuming this is AA, they offered me $1200 to switch to this flight.  It was the first time I was actually tempted to do so but the thought of something just like this occurring seemed way to likely.  

Didn’t really matter though as we departed nearly an hour late and then sat on the ground at ABIA afterward while the blizzard rolled in and they scrambled the de-icing trucks. 

[dittohead 92]

1 minute ago, Chet Steadman said:

Assuming this is AA, they offered me $1200 to switch to this flight.  It was the first time I was actually tempted to do so but the thought of something just like this occurring seemed way to likely.  

Didn’t really matter though as we departed nearly an hour late and then sat on the ground at ABIA afterward while the blizzard rolled in and they scrambled the de-icing trucks. 

It’s the AA flight.  They offered a small window for people to get off about 1.5 hours ago. Maybe 5 people left.   Finally our turn to de ice here.  So, this 40 minute flight will end up being 4 hours in the tube.  

[jimmyjazz 45893]

My favorite AA flight was when NYC->DFW got rerouted to OKC.  Overnight.  Hey, if you're gonna dump me off in some shithole, how about Denver?  36 hours later, voila! we made it to Austin.  Gah, I hate American.

[dittohead 92]

The people next to me are trying to get to Manchester.  They said they are going on 14 hours of delay so far today, so they got that going for them.  

[InkaUtexas 25875]

3 minutes ago, dittohead said:

The people next to me are trying to get to Manchester.  They said they are going on 14 hours of delay so far today, so they got that going for them.  

Ask if City or United fans. Then start a riot.

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2937]

 

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2937]

 

[InkaUtexas 25875]

14 minutes ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

 

Nice to see we are the overnight crew.

 

[ballrific 215]

night crew checking in. Can confirm its cold in nw austin. Just outside re-wrapping dead plants and my fingers were throbbing from the cold. Its balls cold even without wind.

[InkaUtexas 25875]

6 minutes ago, ballrific said:

night crew checking in. Can confirm its cold in nw austin. Just outside re-wrapping dead plants and my fingers were throbbing from the cold. Its balls cold even without wind.

So damn cold my pretty good dogs, short hairs, said fuck it and pissed on the plants inside.

[atomheartbevo 89630]

27 minutes ago, ballrific said:

night crew checking in. Can confirm its cold in nw austin. Just outside re-wrapping dead plants and my fingers were throbbing from the cold. Its balls cold even without wind.

51 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Nice to see we are the overnight crew.

[InkaUtexas 25875]

Yep, now can someone other than Jade send me a good Chili recipe?

[GhostOfTomJoad 9323]

Just drove from Domain area to CP via 183 from Braker to 620. Light traffic & no real issues, but be careful out there. If things pick up over the next few hours it's gonna get dicey. The ground is definitely cold enough for this shit to accumulate.

[HenryJames 66038]

[Jersey Man10 3528]

Went for a 40 minute swim in the Comal this afternoon. It was just me and the cormorants trying to stay underwater. The water felt great until I got out and then I yelped all the way to the car. 

[Deej 76755]

13 hours ago, dogbreath said:

Went for a 40 minute swim in the Comal this afternoon. It was just me and the cormorants trying to stay underwater. The water felt great until I got out and then I yelped all the way to the car. 

Cormorants…

 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

Aquasource’s system wide email asked customers to locate the interior faucet furthest from the source, and drip.

Most of the time it wasn't cold enough to really freeze the pipes in Houston, but I was amazed one warmer morning after consecutive days of temps in the high teens/ low 20's and our neighbor's water supply to sprinkler system(?) burst just outside the house.  That shit looked like a frozen mini-Niagara explosion outside their house, and then we had to go let them know it had happened( they were very shitty neighbors and inattentive to things.)

I tend to drip the faucets as the thaw occurs.  Per @Chopper's article, that's probably not that effective either.

Edited January 15 by slorch

[immamac 42838]

I just went outside. It’s cold. That’s the update. 

[HenryJames 66038]

I went for a walk at 4:30. Can confirm.

[Bevo&Pevo 5122]

^^^ this.

[Biff Tannen 45665]

So now there is debate about Team Drip INSIDE?!?!

[Rockwell Torrey 1280]

31 minutes ago, immamac said:

I just went outside. It’s cold. That’s the update. 

Thanks Ollie!

[UnivTex34 1763]

So I’m in Vegas, at the airport, waiting on my 10 am Central time flight back to Austin. Lands at 12:50. What are my chances of actually getting home?

[HenryJames 66038]

Should be fine. 

[Jiggy-Z 3432]

45 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Should be fine. 

.. if you lived in Reno.

[Fudge Nuggets 19189]

10 hours ago, utee94 said:

I have another 57 bottles of red wine and plenty of bourbon.  I will survive!

Alcoholics thread is that way ---->

[Stringer 1438]

So I’m in Vegas, at the airport, waiting on my 10 am Central time flight back to Austin. Lands at 12:50. What are my chances of actually getting home?

Depends, are you on a Boeing?

[Fudge Nuggets 19189]

1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

I went for a walk at 4:30. Can confirm.

Dumbass

[mdmost 43001]

Light dusting of snow here in Dallas. Enough to make you smile and not worry that your power may go off at any minute and all your water pipes freeze up again. Had a doctor's appointment scheduled for today and they already texted me that the office is closed due to the weather. Normally that would annoy me but I'm fine missing out on weather in the teens. It's cold enough when I let the dog out to pee. 

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

Postponed the morning perambulation. Sidewalks are slick and that's a sure way to end up in a viral cell phone video of suburban moms who think they can skate.

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2937]

Drove into work on 46/281 from Smithson Valley to Hollywood Park. Roads were fine- airmass was too dry to cause too many issues down here.

[Brisketexan 105080]

Sigh. Shit, one of our hot water lines is frozen. When we did a kitchen remodel this year, it ran a line from the hot water downstairs up to the kitchen upstairs. Along the NW corner of the house. Didn’t think to drip that one.

Am gonna go downstairs and run the hot water for some taps down there, see what happens. If I have to shut it off, then that’s what I’ll do. Thankfully, it runs over open patio, so even if it bursts, damage should be minimal.

And now we know about that.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

This weekend I believed the Wunderground's prediction that the temp at my house wouldn't get below 34 in Houston overnight. Woke up to them saying it was 28. I also have been believing that they claimed that tonight and Tuesday night won't get below 24 and that the below-32 wouldn't last more than 12 hours. 

[Biff Tannen 45665]

Just now, Nice Guy Eddie said:

This weekend I believed the Wunderground's prediction that the temp at my house wouldn't get below 34 in Houston overnight. Woke up to them saying it was 28. I also have been believing that they claimed that tonight and Tuesday night won't get below 24 and that the below-32 wouldn't last more than 12 hours. 

I use Wunderground because it is supposedly the most accurate at around 80%.  Why is weather prediction just so bad?  I feel like it's gotten worse over the past decade or so.  Not sure if that's just my frustration or if it's real.

[texasdago 7568]

1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

I use Wunderground because it is supposedly the most accurate at around 80%.  Why is weather prediction just so bad?  I feel like it's gotten worse over the past decade or so.  Not sure if that's just my frustration or if it's real.

Because weather does WTF it wants

[Paco 1934]

Sigh. Shit, one of our hot water lines is frozen. When we did a kitchen remodel this year, it ran a line from the hot water downstairs up to the kitchen upstairs. Along the NW corner of the house. Didn’t think to drip that one.

Am gonna go downstairs and run the hot water for some taps down there, see what happens. If I have to shut it off, then that’s what I’ll do. Thankfully, it runs over open patio, so even if it bursts, damage should be minimal.

And now we know about that.

Is it PEX?

[dogbreath 434]

Cormorant this morning at the river. 

[Armybrat 40824]

4 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Because weather does WTF it wants

NSIAP

 

[jimmyjazz 45893]

4 minutes ago, Paco said:

Is it PEX?

Or muledick?

[Armybrat 40824]

Grid looks ok so far - even without much wind & solar input.

 

[texasdago 7568]

We're hosed tomorrow morning.  

Kthxbye

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

14 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I use Wunderground because it is supposedly the most accurate at around 80%.  Why is weather prediction just so bad?  I feel like it's gotten worse over the past decade or so.  Not sure if that's just my frustration or if it's real.

Go straight to the taxpayer supported source? I use NWS

For Example, here is the austin area weather discussion. You can check out their precip and temp and wind graphs and such directly on the website and it's quite useful IMO. Just plug in your location in the search bar and it's got everything I need.

https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=EWX&issuedby=EWX&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1

[Biff Tannen 45665]

Just now, Mrs Whiggins said:

Go straight to the taxpayer supported source? I use NWS

For Example, here is the austin area weather discussion. You can check out their precip and temp and wind graphs and such directly on the website and it's quite useful IMO. Just plug in your location in the search bar and it's got everything I need.

https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=EWX&issuedby=EWX&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1

Yeah, I use NOAA for planning camping and backpacking trips.  Their app is shit though.

[tx 3 putt 76874]