Weather

[lizkat]

I prefer French Creek Freddie.

I just like the ritual aspect of it... it kinda goes with the ritual of ordering seed catalogs. No matter if spring's right around the corner or six weeks (or eight or ten?!), the season will be changing soon and we'll have something new to complain about.

 

[Pumbaa]

Windy.

 

[Herdfan]

If the Euro is correct, the Ohio Valley is going to get hammered this week with ICE.

 

[lizkat]

If the Euro is correct, the Ohio Valley is going to get hammered this week with ICE.

Man. Ice storms are part of the potential nightmares of winter. Power outages in winter can be deadly, and out in the boondocks all the wires are overhead. One of my bros recently spent the night sitting with a friend who depends on an oygen machine and for emergency backups just has six or eight of those two-hour bottles stashed away.

The guy didn't want to leave the house because on the mobile app for the utility they kept saying the estimate time of power restore would be a couple hours.. so my bro decided to stay there in case that was way off the mark. And sure enough in a couple hours it still said a couple hours and etc., and meanwhile there was no heat in the place and it was getting cold.

But the guy didn't want to risk going out to the local hospital ER (where the power was still on) because of covid transmission possibilities, even though he is vaxxed and boosted. By time the power came back on the guy was down about four bottles of oxygen and it was like 55º in the living room. Happy ending there, but it sure gives you pause thinking on it.

 

[Herdfan]

Man. Ice storms are part of the potential nightmares of winter. Power outages in winter can be deadly, and out in the boondocks all the wires are overhead.

We have all these McMansion dwellers who can barely add washer fluid to their cars that don't understand why they lose power when they live in a neighborhood with underground utilities.

Maybe it is because the power getting to their neighborhood is overhead right up to the point it goes underground at the entrance.

Our power comes up a hill though a stand of spindly pines. Ice or heavy wet snow never fails to bring the lines down. We have a whole-home generator so no worries there and our internet comes from a different direction just off the main trunk line so it gets fixed pretty quickly.

But I will have a new chain on the chainsaw just in case.

 

[Alli]

We made an offer on a house yesterday. My husband liked it because it needed no changes…except to add a whole house generator.

 

[Herdfan]

We made an offer on a house yesterday. My husband liked it because it needed no changes…except to add a whole house generator.

I would think those are becoming a standard feature like HVAC, especially where you are.

We were planning on taking the one at my mom's house out and keeping it for a new home in AZ. Realtor said it would add double its value to the sale. So we are leaving it.

 

[Alli]

I would think those are becoming a standard feature like HVAC, especially where you are.

We were planning on taking the one at my mom's house out and keeping it for a new home in AZ. Realtor said it would add double its value to the sale. So we are leaving it.

We never even considered moving ours. Easier to buy a new one. But it is a necessity.

 

[lizkat]

So January 2022's a wrap. Record-setting only in the sense it's been a real rollercoaster. Thanks Canada and Gulf of Mexico!


0 days with both high and low in normal range

24 days with low in the below-normal range
2 days with low in the above-normal range

11 days with high in the above-normal range
4 days with high in the below-normal range

4 days with high in above-normal and low in below normal range


All observations at Binghamton regional station of NOAA's national weather service. Subtract 6 to 12 degrees for where I live...

​

 

[Thomas Veil]

Well, it's still raining, it hasn't turned to ice yet, and the snow is still hours away...and the power is already out in large sections of town.

Gonna be a long night.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Turns out it was a transformer that blew out. Kinda random thing to happen considering we were expecting the cause to be ice.

But it's still early.

 

[Yoused]

Turns out it was a transformer that blew out. Kinda random thing to happen considering we were expecting the cause to be ice.

But it's still early.

I remember a storm that laid a half inch of ice on the whole city. I was walking home in the eerie silence of the glistening night and seeing rainbow lightning on the edges of the sky. I believe that was electric utility components like transformers dying in dramatic form.

 

[Runs For Fun]

We’re about to get blasted with 9-12“ of snow tonight through tomorrow.

 

[lizkat]

We’re about to get blasted with 9-12“ of snow tonight through tomorrow.

Looks like a lot of us are going to have a piece of that party....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1489022511874547712/

 

[Alli]

Pouring here, but it’s unlikely to change to snow as it’s 70 degrees.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I remember a storm that laid a half inch of ice on the whole city. I was walking home in the eerie silence of the glistening night and seeing rainbow lightning on the edges of the sky. I believe that was electric utility components like transformers dying in dramatic form.

Oh yeah. Once, years ago, I was driving down a main street and I just happened to be looking in the right direction as lightning hit a transformer. The sparks that flew from that thing (I'm assuming magnesium?) looked like a little 4th of July explosion.

 

[Huntn]

Looks like a lot of us are going to have a piece of that party....

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1489022511874547712/

See some ignoramuses will say, it’s not warming, it’s cold! 28F this morning here. I’m just happy we are on the tale end of this. And it’s going to freeze again tonight and Saturday night. There are some greatful plants throwing a breakfast party In our kitchen. And my guess/hope is the lemon tree/bush wrapped in the shed with the 250w heat lamp although missing the party is relatively comfortable. I’m realizing now the chink in the heat lamp plan would be if we lost electricity.

Reports yesterday were that the Texas Electrical grid independent from the National grid, had about 20% reserve over usage. This is the first year, I’ve heard of Texans buying generators for Winter. You know we already have them for Hurricane season. Since I went with a gas generator, I’m keeping my gasoline stockpile from Hurricane season until the end of Feb just in case. Then zi burn it in the cars.

 

[lizkat]

We've dodged the icing bullet right around here, looks like. No power outages so far and not even much snow. Right on that dividing line between a whole lot of snow north of here and hardly any to the south. No complaints! -- saving those for subzero temps over weekend.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I’m told we got a foot of snow.

I was plowing my driveway Wednesday night. And Thursday morning before I went to work. And Thursday afternoon. And Thursday evening just before I went to bed. And this morning again just before I went to work.

It wasn’t just the accumulation, it was the drifts. Those mini-canyons I carve out in my driveway start to fill in pretty quick.

Thank god it’s finally stopped…for now.

Just realized. With my balaclava, parka and safety glasses on, I looked pretty much like The Riddler.

 

[Herdfan]

We've dodged the icing bullet right around here, looks like. No power outages so far and not even much snow. Right on that dividing line between a whole lot of snow north of here and hardly any to the south. No complaints! -- saving those for subzero temps over weekend.

Same here. It is like the cold couldn't cross the Ohio River.

So today it is cold, wet and dreary. Yay!