Chill Factor of -13 in Dallas

[RoyGBiv]

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.

And Waffle House.

[Shotgun]

Water proof and well insulated shoes. Feet are cold!

There is absolutely no reason for this! It's time to visit the Redwing and Danner stores and see what you like best. Every man and woman needs a pair of boots for cold and/or wet weather. I always loved the smell of the Redwing store in my hometown.

And Waffle House.

That will never close. People have to have a place to smoke, inside an already smoke filled closet of a space, drink coffee, and perhaps eat a one dollar egg and a waffle to try to sober up and fend off the coming hangover after a night at the strip club.

[awp_101]

With all due respect- you are in North TX - while this is a once ever 8-10 year event in North TX, what is unprecedented is getting this in all parts of TX all at once. Normally such an event in one or two regions can be mitigated via help from other regions of TX. In Houston San Antonio and the RGV this is, in fact, unprecedented.

Bah, let me have my outrage! I've already gotten out my torch and my pitchfork is all polished up. Phrasing damn it, phrasing...

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.

I mentioned in a family text that if we ever hit the lottery I'm buying out everyone on our block and building a fire station and small hospital. Roll your blackout through here now bitches! So far no one has mentioned just wiring up a whole house generator would be much cheaper and (probably) not require playing the lottery.

Attachment 67702

I'll buy one. You taking orders?

Ditto.

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.

Same here. We did ok but there's certainly improvements to be made. 1A is a generator and battery pack like I posted upthread and 1B is getting the washing machine drain properly repaired so it's no longer outside (long story that started 40+ years ago) and the hassle that entails when it's cold.

[HCM]

And Waffle House.

Waffle House in Houston was closed during the 2017 hurricane.

In fact the Waffle House index is a real thing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index

[gringop]

City power was restored at 5:15 pm Tues. That makes about 38 hours of constantly running the generator to keep my house going and I ran some cords both side neighbors. The houses across the street never lost power.

One neighbor had a fireplace and was burning wood in it. I gave them my little pile of 2-3" thick tree branches. The other neighbor was getting some heat from the gas stove. They didn't die so I guess the were smart about it. Both neighbors were running their cars to charge cell phones. Both neighbors declined offers of me running power cords to them until later on in this crisis. They believed that Austin Energy was going to do "rolling" blackouts until it was apparent that it wasn't going to happen.

Since I had 4WD, I took one neighbor to try to get some food. Drove around for 40 min before we found one HEB that let her in line before ending the line. So they got food.

Looking at my networks graphs, we lost power from 5 to 6 am today. I slept through it. Water pressure is low. Austin Water website says no boil water notice at this time. I've got plenty in Homer buckets and a 5 gal cooler.

The Husky 5500W generator ran with just one issue, it stumbled once and burned out 2 100W incandescent bulbs on my faucet heating drop lights. May have been a neighbor putting a big load on it. Replaced them with one last incandescent and one Cree LED bulb. Both are doing their jobs. Since incandescents are hard to find I my look at some heat lamp bulbs for next time.

I lost one cheap power strip and my ASA network FW. Both were connected to a little battery UPS. I guess it only protects against loss of power, not dirty power.

Yesterday I saw a peregrine falcon in my oak tree out front, enjoying his dinner. Made me smile. Just another day in our Texas based Jack London story.

Gringop


“Dat Buck two devils,”

[HeavyDuty]

City power was restored at 5:15 pm Tues. That makes about 38 hours of constantly running the generator to keep my house going and I ran some cords both side neighbors. The houses across the street never lost power.

One neighbor had a fireplace and was burning wood in it. I gave them my little pile of 2-3" thick tree branches. The other neighbor was getting some heat from the gas stove. They didn't die so I guess the were smart about it. Both neighbors were running their cars to charge cell phones. Both neighbors declined offers of me running power cords to them until later on in this crisis. They believed that Austin Energy was going to do "rolling" blackouts until it was apparent that it wasn't going to happen.

Since I had 4WD, I took one neighbor to try to get some food. Drove around for 40 min before we found one HEB that let her in line before ending the line. So they got food.

Looking at my networks graphs, we lost power from 5 to 6 am today. I slept through it. Water pressure is low. Austin Water website says no boil water notice at this time. I've got plenty in Homer buckets and a 5 gal cooler.

The Husky 5500W generator ran with just one issue, it stumbled once and burned out 2 100W incandescent bulbs on my faucet heating drop lights. May have been a neighbor putting a big load on it. Replaced them with one last incandescent and one Cree LED bulb. Both are doing their jobs. Since incandescents are hard to find I my look at some heat lamp bulbs for next time.

I lost one cheap power strip and my ASA network FW. Both were connected to a little battery UPS. I guess it only protects against loss of power, not dirty power.

Yesterday I saw a peregrine falcon in my oak tree out front, enjoying his dinner. Made me smile. Just another day in our Texas based Jack London story.

Gringop


“Dat Buck two devils,”

My friend is still dark, and she is under a boil order, too. They were smart enough to draw a considerable amount of water early on and keep it topped, and now they filled both tubs for flushing.

[RoyGBiv]

Water came back on late yesterday, only about 6-7 hours without. Boil order still in effect. Now the process is reversed. Instead of using hand sanitizer until you can get home to wash your hands, we're using hand sanitizer after we wash our hands. Or, in my case, a spray bottle of white lightning.

We NEVER use our tub. Found out yesterday that the tub stopper doesn't seal perfectly and our stored water was leaking out. I grabbed a few feet of plastic wrap, folded it twice, set it over the stopper and cracked it open just a bit. It sucked the plastic in enough to seal the drain. It's still holding. Figured I'd pass along the hack.

[David S.]

Insulated portion of pipe above a spare bedroom. Wife happened to be standing right there when it burst, so only a few minutes of water. Could have been much worse.

Electricity is still intermittent.

We know several others, including a neighbor, who has a burst pipe. According to our city emergency info, there’s enough burst pipes that they are concerned about water shortages. At least one local city is on a boil advisory.

[Shotgun]

Plumbers are going to be busy on the other side of this.

[HCM]

Plumbers are going to be busy on the other side of this.

Governor Abbot just needs to waive the licensing requirements for plumbers .... Al pues si es neccesario.