Chill Factor of -13 in Dallas

[Shotgun]

Day three.

It's a cold 21 degrees. It snowed again last night and seems to be snowing a little now. But I can't tell if the little blowing around in the air is off rooftops. There is two or three inches of snow ON TOP OF THE POOL. I may never see that again-not counting tomorrow and the next few days.

Drove around looking for an IHOP last night for Fat Tuesday. IHOP and surrounding neighborhood was completely without power. A little eery to see a huge area like that without power. It was at least one mile wide, but we turned around before seeing any lights on the other side.

Everything was closed, and I mean everything, except McDonalds, Burger King and the 7-11. Line at McDonalds may have been 40 cars long; I have never seen anything like that. Burger King had about 20. Gas lines at the 7-11 were a good 15 to 20 cars long. My guess is that they are people without power who were filling up to sleep in their cars for the night.

There is no rhyme or reason to the blackouts. I have one friend who has not had power since Sunday night. Some have not lost power at all. I have "discovered" that I have one pipe in an exterior wall; it supplies water to my toilet. You can guess how I found out.

I have one friend who has not burned a fire in his fireplace ever. He is rethinking that obviously with him being in the group that has only had spotty power since blackouts began.

We have a fire going and enough wood, just, to get to the other side of this. We do have power now so I am going to go make coffee.

Edit: I have put on bluejeans very stiff from the cold on hunting trips. I never expected to do that in my own house.

[RoyGBiv]

I'm guessing we didn't lose power because we're on the same grid as a nat-gas pumping station a few hundred yards from here.
The only working traffic light in the immediate area is between here and there as well.
Still going to be below freezing, but 20's is better than single digits. Looking forward to defrosting over the next few days.

[Shotgun]

I'll buy one. You taking orders?

[holmes168]

it sucks for the people of Texas- even though my wife and i have moved- our kids/grandkids are still there.

at the same time- why aren't more people prepped up? my boys had food, water, blankets, candles, generator, etc on hand just in case.

i was very deliberate in my prepping while living in Texas- from a months worth of water/food. plenty of snivel gear if i needed it.

trust me- all of the PF'ers who live in Texas, i feel for you and am not deliberately trying to put salt in the wound....

i found the Mormon prepping guide was the easiest book to follow- and is completely doable. never too late to start....

[SouthNarc]

I drove home to MS from Austin yesterday. What's normally an 8 hour drive took 13. My route was 71 south to I10 and then east to MS.

71 was shit show. I probably counted 30 cars in the ditch.

I pulled over between Houston and Beaumont for gas and had to piss in the bushes beside the empty gas station because there was no running water.

I10 eastbound from Lafayette to Baton Rouge was completely closed and they had traffic directed to LA190.

I never thought MS would invoke a sense of normalcy but I sure was glad to cross the state line and not see any snow, sludge, or ice.

[HeavyDuty]

it sucks for the people of Texas- even though my wife and i have moved- our kids/grandkids are still there.

at the same time- why aren't more people prepped up? my boys had food, water, blankets, candles, generator, etc on hand just in case.

i was very deliberate in my prepping while living in Texas- from a months worth of water/food. plenty of snivel gear if i needed it.

trust me- all of the PF'ers who live in Texas, i feel for you and am not deliberately trying to put salt in the wound....

i found the Mormon prepping guide was the easiest book to follow- and is completely doable. never too late to start....

My Austin friend already asked me for emergency kit research resources, and she’s talking a generator may be in her future - even if it’s just a Honda type to run the furnace and a few other things.

[revchuck38]

@SouthNarc - You mean the Buckee's just east of Houston was closed?

[SouthNarc]

@SouthNarc - You mean the Buckee's just east of Houston was closed?

I didn't stop there but the three other places I did stop at didn't have running water. I found a place that had a big clump of bushes on the side of the gas station.

[TheNewbie]

it sucks for the people of Texas- even though my wife and i have moved- our kids/grandkids are still there.

at the same time- why aren't more people prepped up? my boys had food, water, blankets, candles, generator, etc on hand just in case.

i was very deliberate in my prepping while living in Texas- from a months worth of water/food. plenty of snivel gear if i needed it.

trust me- all of the PF'ers who live in Texas, i feel for you and am not deliberately trying to put salt in the wound....

i found the Mormon prepping guide was the easiest book to follow- and is completely doable. never too late to start....

I am actually well prepared, overall. Still, there is nothing like a bad event to reveal weaknesses in your plans.

Where did I fail?

Communications. Cell phone service, internet and data has been non existent for hours at a time. Need alternative.

More weight for the bed of my truck. Have an ok amount, but need more.

Wash my clothes at any chance I get. This is more an OCD thing. I’ve got plenty of spare clothes and I did an b+/a- job of having clothes ready, but I hate having any dirty clothes.


Water proof and well insulated shoes. Feet are cold!


I’m sure there is more I could do, but overall I feel pretty good about my prep.

[Shotgun]

it sucks for the people of Texas- even though my wife and i have moved- our kids/grandkids are still there.

at the same time- why aren't more people prepped up? my boys had food, water, blankets, candles, generator, etc on hand just in case.

i was very deliberate in my prepping while living in Texas- from a months worth of water/food. plenty of snivel gear if i needed it.

trust me- all of the PF'ers who live in Texas, i feel for you and am not deliberately trying to put salt in the wound....

i found the Mormon prepping guide was the easiest book to follow- and is completely doable. never too late to start....

No salt here. I have enough food to last much longer than a month if counting feathered and hoofed animals in the freezer. I am no Mormon with a year's worth of canned food, but we generally have 50 to 60 cans of food on hand. Anything from Spam (I like it), vegetables, to soup.

I generally buy a 1/2 cord of wood in late January to replenish the supply. Most of this is green and can season through the summer, whatever isn't used in the remaining cold season which often isn't much here. I like having plenty of wood on hand for the next year. At least here, 95% of those with fireplaces don't seem to think about buying wood until the first cold spell. I like avoiding that buying frenzy and the delay associated with it. However, I have questioned myself on that practice over the years because the wood stack collects all sorts of spiders, bugs, lizards, and the occasional mouse and snake over the summer, not to mention the huge cockroaches which I hate. That delivery arrived a couple of weeks ago, and I am glad it did. It looks like I will have enough to keep a fire going.

@SouthNarc - You mean the Buckee's just east of Houston was closed?

If Buckee's is closed, it is a sign of the end times. The last two businesses that will be open, even at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse, are Whataburger and Buckee's.