Low 40's with rain off and on all day. Miserable. I'd rather have snow!

Winter storm warning in effect for several days.
Thousands without power in the Texas hill country.
Road closures in Austin.
No light at the end of the tunnel till next weekend.
First time in my life I have seen it this bad this long here.
I put my arctic coat and gear on yesterday and went outside.
The stuff I wore in Alaska.
I started to get hot and took it off.

We are set to get about 36 continuous hours or more beginning late Sunday evening of sub-freezing temperatures and that’s way better than 90% of Texas, where many places will be single digits and sub-freezing for days. Low Tuesday morning here is forecast to be 13F or -11C. Monday morning will be below freezing with rain moving in overnight Sunday, lots of freezing rain likely and that being the worst possible outcome, way worse than snow or sleet. Snow is a breeze compared to heavy freezing rain. Give me 8” of snow over 1/4” or more freezing rain.

Roads will be treacherous and impassable to say the least. Widespread power outages are expected with the heavy ice coating trees and power lines. Pipes will burst. Many Buildings and homes in general here aren’t designed for these extreme extended cold events, since this type of cold happens every 50 or 100 years, if even then.

Feels a lot like preparing for the much more common hurricanes. It will be costly. Hope people won’t be driving, but sometimes driving can’t be avoided. My wife’s office is closed Monday, maybe also Tuesday. I’m stocking up on fire wood. Parents next door have a whole house natural gas fired generator. We’ll go over there if power goes out here. I’m on electric heat so no power no heat.

[mention]karstopography[/mention]
The big freeze of 1989 on the coast of Texas in Freeport got me into the line of work I'm into now.

Being the proactive person i am I sent out a group text to our group telling of the hazards come Monday morning.
Many of the sites have no heat and most if not all of the workers we have don't have gear to keep warm in this extreme cold.
Predicted 9F on Monday plus snow and ice and roads closed.

Drive carefully, remember the tortoise and the hare fable....

I won't be driving on ice or snow.
I can but many can't and it isn't worth it.

We're in the middle of a seemingly endless cold streak. Right now its 0 degrees. Tonight's low will be -13. Snow everywhere.

our snow total at the end of january was a paltry 55 inches. that has now doubled since february rolled around.
there has been a number of accidents over the past several days resulting in a number injuries, and one death.
snow mobilers are happy with the additional snow. the americinn in town is looking busy outside our pharmacy
drive up window. having a drive up window makes for a cold pharmacy when the outside temp is in the zero range
even with a space heater by the window. still snowing every day. one to three, two to four inches isn't a lot, but it adds
up day after day. we may get up to the mid teens by tuesday for a welcome break. mostly hunkered down here, and
feeding the wood stove.


keith

[mention]worth1[/mention] I remember all the burst fire fighting pipes out at the plants after the 1989 freeze. What a disaster. I wonder if they are better protected for freezes out there now?

We had a copper water pipe burst above our ceiling in the 1983 event, water came pouring down in the kitchen all over Christmas dinner. That morning it was 11 degrees and had been below freezing for three straight days.

Basically, it’s been three big deep freeze events I remember, one in December 1983, one in December 1989 and now this one currently. Decades before and after with nothing quite like it.

Valentine’s day, 1895, Houston got 20 inches of snow. Even Brownsville on the border got 3 inches. https://nickelblock.com/revisiting-the- ... att-lanza/

[mention]karstopography[/mention]
They were better freeze protected right after I showed up in late January of 1990.
The problem was they didn't have fire protection even before the freeze.
All the pipe was rusted out and falling apart.
The big Clayton valves were inoperable.
This is a result of letting the plants take care of their own equipment.
At DOW it was a constant battle between us and the union as far as repairs were made.
The union in some of the blocks didn't want us to do it and they wouldn't do it.
I personally had a very good reputation and relationship with the block superintendents and had an open ticket to fix anything that needed fixing.
I spent 10 years fixing deluge systems and installing fire alarm systems.
Unsupervised.
I would get to the office in the morning and they would line everyone out.
They didn't bother with me because I made my own work.
After 10 years of working with the DOW higher ups it was a sad day when I announced I was moving away.
The same with the other plants too.
I designed much of my work and ordered all the parts and did the paperwork.
Plus put it in.
Some times I would turn in tickets that had nothing to do with fire protection but they knew I could do it.
When one of the guys that got the job of running the office found out I was making way more than him as my boss he was furious.
They honestly thought it was one of my practical jokes when I said I was leaving.
They had a big going away dinner for me at the Wursthouse that Bernie used to own.
So to answer your question I hope they kept the systems protected.
The streets look slick outside.

Got the truck warmed up and slowly ever so slowly tried to go up the hill.
I mean not even registering on the speedometer.
Got about 50 yards or less and it went sideways.
Found turnaround and went back to the house.

Supposed to get around 10 inches here in our area. We don't need a thing & are snug as that bug you heard about.

I looked at the jet stream map, and it's easy to see that the arctic air is all over North America and dipped way down. Hope you guys don't lose any tender perennials. And glad to hear you staying home during the ice. Hope you can stay warm and comfortable enough.
We're staying cold here for now but the wind has stopped howling thank goodness and we had some lovely sunshine yesterday and today.
February sunshine is so welcome, even if enjoyed from indoors (It was nice out shoveling yesterday too).

One meteorologist said that all of Canada was below freezing. Not something that happens all that often. Our one day of snow is turning into three but it is over a long weekend so, good timing. No one's going anywhere anyway. Kids sliding down hills is what Family Day will be about here this year.

I'm worried about the fruit trees with the extended freeze, the fig trees are stating to bud up and the Loquats are loaded with small fruit. My seedlings I started using the mass planting technique needed to be transplanted a few days ago but I don't have room in the house for 10 10/20 trays.

I made a trip to the store and loaded up for at least a week, it was almost as busy as hurricane prep.

Just got the word no work tomorrow.
I forgot coffee and down to two days worth but have plenty of black tea.
Heard the store was picked clean.
Do people not plan ahead.
I was just talking to the young ones last week about how we are on a delicate balance between supply and demand.
And how we should be prepared.
At least if the power goes out the food will still stay frozen.

It's here and coming down harder by the minute.
Temperature 23 and dropping.
There's a layer of ice under the snow.

It's the coldest day of the year. The renters have frozen pipes, and there are no job site heaters in stores right now, because that is a seasonal item. What kind of idiot expects to buy a heater on the coldest day of the year?

I am going to lose a lot of plants, and there is nothing I can do about it. Covering plants does nothing when the temps are going to be in the mid- teens. What I could bring into the house I did. The garage will get too cold on Monday night to be of much help.

This is historic cold for me.