Winter Storm Prep

[Memorymakerfor4]

My dad is in KC and work called to tell him to stay home today. Ice under the snow. We're further south, but many in our area are still twitchy from some bad storms over the last few years. To be honest, those storms, plus covid, turned me into a minor pepper. Not to where people call me crazy, just "wow, what a pantry" level.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My dad is in KC and work called to tell him to stay home today. Ice under the snow. We're further south, but many in our area are still twitchy from some bad storms over the last few years. To be honest, those storms, plus covid, turned me into a minor pepper. Not to where people call me crazy, just "wow, what a pantry" level.

That's where I'm at and there's probably a lot of people who are staying home, schools are closed (both due to temperatures and snow), libraries are closed (which act as warming centers too). My sister-in-law's husband works for a food distributor for restaurants and stores and they cancelled all deliveries for day. The airport is a disaster, basically nothing came in and out of KCI yesterday and Saturday had a lot of disruptions, early morning flights today were cancelled.

The ice under the snow isn't as big of an issue at the moment, that was Saturday's mess. Right now it's getting the streets cleared and it was a blizzard warning for quite a while yesterday so all the blowing snow piled up in areas, the plows would rather there be less people on the road at the moment so they can effectively get through the places.

Now the main issue will be the extreme cold because nothing is going to melt effectively even with the sun out, that might create some slippery spots on the plowed streets as the snow turns hard.

 

[sam_gordon]

And there's another storm scheduled for the weekend?

 

[soccerdad72]

I also remember building "snow caves" out of the piles at the corners of the drive way though. lol Ah, to be a kid again.

We did that all the time too as a kid. Granted, I grew up in one of the snowiest cities in the country, so we often had multiple feet of snow at times, but there were winters where we had caves and tunnels and full on fortresses.

Then, as an adult, I realize that was a really dangerous thing to do - every winter you'd hear a story about a kid getting trapped when the plow comes by and fills in the cave with more snow.

I think we're up to like 18 inches now - after a couple more today. We're only getting a small piece of the major storm though - I think our biggest snow this weekend was a lake effect storm, not the one that's hitting much of the country.

 

[sam_gordon]

We did that all the time too as a kid. Granted, I grew up in one of the snowiest cities in the country, so we often had multiple feet of snow at times, but there were winters where we had caves and tunnels and full on fortresses.

Then, as an adult, I realize that was a really dangerous thing to do - every winter you'd hear a story about a kid getting trapped when the plow comes by and fills in the cave with more snow.

I think we're up to like 18 inches now - after a couple more today. We're only getting a small piece of the major storm though - I think our biggest snow this weekend was a lake effect storm, not the one that's hitting much of the country.

Didn't have enough for tunnels. Just enough for a cave to crawl into. Although once you were in, not a lot to do. lol

We got just over 5" yesterday. What REALLY sucks is all the kids are out of the house, so I'm solely responsible for shoveling again.

 

[weewuvvdisney]

DH received cross country skies for Christmas. We are hoping for snow. A bit forecasted this week but really not much. Guess our snow is going everywhere else.

 

[barkley]

positive thoughts for everyone!

 

[sam_gordon]

We bailed out of our house. Lost power a little before 4. At first they said it would be restored at 730, then at 7, changed it to 1p tomorrow.

House temp had dropped 5 degrees in less than four hours and its supposed to get to the teens overnight. Decided to pack up the cat and get a hotel. Its on points, so thats free at least.

 

[texaslover]

Our forecast keeps getting crazier and crazier. Right now they are saying average snowfall of 8" in the area on Thursday with double digits in some areas. For Texas that is huge! Expecting to have cities shut down Thursday and Friday. Hopefully grid will hold. If not we had spotty power for a week during Icepocolypse and survived, the house just got really cold. I feel awful for our homeless population, I fear many won't make it through the 2 or 3 days.

 

[mylilnikita]

Well it’s a second day of snow ( yesterday accumulation got rained away earlier today) then later we had some snow and will freeze overnight.

 

[mrs. magoo]

These threads are so interesting to me - just how other parts of the country deal with snow. I live in the northeast on Lake Ontario and we have been living in a giant snow globe for the past week but not alot on the ground. I would love a good snowstorm but the past few years we have not been getting the snow here while Buffalo has been getting clobbered. I miss the snow even when it is a pain in the butt to drive but ice is a whole other story. I have lived through ice storms and they are never fun. Hope everyone is able to stay warm and safe.

 

[bdrex28]

I disagree. There are SOME cross over tips.

We're in the path of the upcoming storm, but on the snow/ice line. So we can get a mixture of snow/ice or just ice. The amount of each can vary with the track of the storm.

So, we have the following possibilities...
* No effect. Maybe some slick road, but nothing major. In which case, situation normal. This would be similar to a hurricane headed to Florida that moves and doesn't hit an area at all.
* Minor effect. Snow/ice that makes travel hazardous. But we retain power. A hurricane that the outer bands "graze".
* Moderate effect. Snow/ice that makes travel all but impossible. Maybe the power goes out for a couple of hours, so can work, cook, browse the internet, etc. Slightly more inside the hurricane.
* Extreme effect. Loss of power, possibly for days if not weeks. Can't travel once the storm hits until the streets are clear. Possible home damage. Hurricane makes a direct hit.

The "one size fits all" is when you plan for the moderate to extreme effect and plan to just "ride it out". Not everyone evacuates for a hurricane and not everyone will leave before this storm.

It doesn't matter how far from the stores you are if A) you can't travel and B) the store doesn't open because the workers can't get there or it's out of power.

So, you stock up on food/drink because you don't know when you'll be able to resupply.
You have some kind of plan to stay warm in case power goes out for a while. (Side note: this is where DW and I are struggling. At least our house is well insulated).

Portable generators were still available to purchase yesterday. But that's (IMO) a major "insurance" cost. You need the cost of the generator, cost of gas, extension cords to run power to places (if you don't already have a transfer switch system), and you may not need it. So after the storm, you need to run the generator regularly, find somewhere to keep the gas (and hope it doesn't go bad before you need it).

 

[bdrex28]

I disagree. There are SOME cross over tips.

We're in the path of the upcoming storm, but on the snow/ice line. So we can get a mixture of snow/ice or just ice. The amount of each can vary with the track of the storm.

So, we have the following possibilities...
* No effect. Maybe some slick road, but nothing major. In which case, situation normal. This would be similar to a hurricane headed to Florida that moves and doesn't hit an area at all.
* Minor effect. Snow/ice that makes travel hazardous. But we retain power. A hurricane that the outer bands "graze".
* Moderate effect. Snow/ice that makes travel all but impossible. Maybe the power goes out for a couple of hours, so can work, cook, browse the internet, etc. Slightly more inside the hurricane.
* Extreme effect. Loss of power, possibly for days if not weeks. Can't travel once the storm hits until the streets are clear. Possible home damage. Hurricane makes a direct hit.

The "one size fits all" is when you plan for the moderate to extreme effect and plan to just "ride it out". Not everyone evacuates for a hurricane and not everyone will leave before this storm.

It doesn't matter how far from the stores you are if A) you can't travel and B) the store doesn't open because the workers can't get there or it's out of power.

So, you stock up on food/drink because you don't know when you'll be able to resupply.
You have some kind of plan to stay warm in case power goes out for a while. (Side note: this is where DW and I are struggling. At least our house is well insulated).

Portable generators were still available to purchase yesterday. But that's (IMO) a major "insurance" cost. You need the cost of the generator, cost of gas, extension cords to run power to places (if you don't already have a transfer switch system), and you may not need it. So after the storm, you need to run the generator regularly, find somewhere to keep the gas (and hope it doesn't go bad before you need it).

I think you are both saying the same thing.

The point being that a lot of different factors contribute.

It's true that an area like Buffalo or Chicago is better prepared, both government services and individuals, to manage a winter storm vs say Dallas Fort Worth. I've lived all over the country and three inches of snow will shut down DFW but Chicago they give it very little thought.

 

[rajak73]