Hang in there

[Kevin Peacocke]

Looks like our friends in the USA and Canada are getting well and truly pummeled by the weather. I am reading some real horror stories, take this seriously guys and hunker down. The AH airwaves are dead, probably due to the power outages. Here too due to a thunder storm, but at least I didn't have to get into an Arctic suit to go and start the generator.
So clock in if you can and let us know that you are ok.

 

[BRICKBURN]

The -41C sucks.
You know it's cold when the snow crunches under your boots with every step and the snow is actually a very small ice crystal, not a flake.

I just looked up the temp./humidity level in Otavi. It is sitting 23C and at 55%.
Out my back door it is -18C and 37% max.


The local cold snap is ending here today. 10 days of this all to chilly weather.
Today, nearly T-shirt Weather.
It will be T-shirt weather on Saturday +10C BBQ time.


I feel for the folks who do not get this cold on an annual basis and have no time and or the ability to prepare properly. Stay safe everyone.

 

[Catahoula]

We are hanging in there in central Tennessee. Everything has been covered in ice for a couple of days, but so far power has remained intact both at home and at work. We are however seeing a roughly 90% absenteeism rate at work, as we are telling our employees to prioritize safety over getting to work. It looks like Texas is having the roughest go of it.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I do not envy that Ice Storm aftermath.

 

[cpr0312]

Looks like our friends in TX, OK, LA, MO, KS, NB and up the midwest into Canada are hurting the most with power outages and very very cold temps! On the east coast we are either cold and rainy or cold and snowy!

 

[BourbonTrail]

It was supposed to snow a foot last night(30cm) in Kentucky but instead we got 3 inches of bullet shaped ice beads. Its a balmy 15F though...

 

[baxterb]

I drove from Seattle back to Boise last night. Took 3 hours to get over the first pass and 12 hours to get home. Usually it’s under 8 hours. Pass was closing when we were on it and we kept going as I knew we’d be stuck another day or two. The pass is still closed 24 hours later. It was not a fun drive, getting home at 1:45am, but I had my daughter as a driving companion and it’ll be something we remember a long damn time.
I gained a huge amount of respect for the truckers of this country. They put on and take off chains before and after every snow zone. I can’t imagine having to do that all night. Luckily we have 4WD and studded tires so we were in good shape.

these storms are good reminders that we are just passengers on this planet. Mother Nature is rather indifferent to us at the end of the day...

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

For those with no power, how do they stay warm?

 

[BourbonTrail]

For those with no power, how do they stay warm?

Blankets or fireplace or backup generator

 

[BourbonTrail]

In ‘04 we lost power for a week due to an ice storm...my dad sent me outside to split firewood (it warms twice) for our normally unused fireplace. Luckily I was 17 and stupid...didn’t feel so cold.

 

[gbflyer]

I drove from Seattle back to Boise last night. Took 3 hours to get over the first pass and 12 hours to get home. Usually it’s under 8 hours. Pass was closing when we were on it and we kept going as I knew we’d be stuck another day or two. The pass is still closed 24 hours later. It was not a fun drive, getting home at 1:45am, but I had my daughter as a driving companion and it’ll be something we remember a long damn time.
I gained a huge amount of respect for the truckers of this country. They put on and take off chains before and after every snow zone. I can’t imagine having to do that all night. Luckily we have 4WD and studded tires so we were in good shape.

these storms are good reminders that we are just passengers on this planet. Mother Nature is rather indifferent to us at the end of the day...

A person gets pretty fast at it with enough practice. The trick to chains is putting them on before you need them.

 

[spike.t]

For those with no power, how do they stay warm?

Well kevin we dont have power..ever.. so I have my hot little...hot water bottle and yeah some times you get allowed to be close and warm...other times as most know its....#@%₩¥......and as we had 2 days without rain I have a feeling...and temp tonight is looking pretty cold...16c....but we got big duvet so ..that nearest place to us I could find...but its really nice to know you care about us people further north than you

 

[Pheroze]

To be honest it's not so terrible in my neck of the woods. The volume of snow means that travelling is tough going. But, it gives me a chance to drive my truck with an air of piousness usually reserved for the electric vehicle crowd.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Me I like warm and dry, like my dog. After a lifetime in Africa one gets an itch to go somewhere else, Scotland looked so idyllic. Then I spent a month there on a project, nearly died of cold, and that was before the cold cold. So Harare it is forever.

 

[Bos en Dal SAFARIS]

Good luck to you all experiencing this, we keep you all in our thoughts, at least now some of you know what our country call load shedding is like. The only difference is you have a natural disaster causing your power outages. Ours are caused by our incompetent Government

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Good luck to you all experiencing this, we keep you all in our thoughts, at least now some of you know what our country call load shedding is like. The only difference is you have a natural disaster causing your power outages. Ours are caused by our incompetent Government

I think that can also be described as a natural disaster....

 

[BourbonTrail]

California and New York get those incompetence based rolling blackouts...

 

[Bos en Dal SAFARIS]

I like that @Kevin Peacocke i think you are right

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I think that can also be described as a natural disaster....

The last time municipal water came out of the taps at my house was 14 years ago. So obviously one has a borehole , and a special generator circuit to power that. And then in September the borehole runs dry and you buy in a tanker of water weekly that comes from who knows where. But hey, there are buffalo here!

 

[Bos en Dal SAFARIS]

But hey, there are buffalo here!

That mitigates a lot of things