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Thread: Chill Factor of -13 in Dallas

  1. #21
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
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    Plenty of people are hurting, in SE Texas, without power. It seems to be a minor miracle that we still have electric power, as we are in a mid-Fifties bungalow, which is poorly insulated. Most people that we are texting are without electric power. It is tempting to try to drive to my mother’s place, and bring her here, but we could lose power, making the hazardous 60-mile round trip a wasted effort.

    We had preemptively gotten a hotel room, located nearer a power sub-station, to serve as a “lifeboat,” which is something we started doing with predicted flood events, several years ago, but, alas, that hotel lost power last night, and though it is a modern building, and so nicely insulated, sooner or later, cold is cold. My wife is at the hotel, but may end up coming back to the house.

    To be clear, I about not cry-baby-ing. We are in no physical danger. This is nothing, compared to Hurricanes Ike or Harvey. We have adequate supplies, adequate warm clothing, and adequate sleeping bags. We do not have a hard-wired, whole-house-capable generator, but have two Honda generators, that we can fire-up, if needed. We have solar “generators” that have substantial storage, and, the sun is now shining. We have power supplies for recharging phones and tablets, making the generators unnecessary, unless power remains off-line for days. We are retired, and have nowhere that we “need to be.” I have commuted through worse, when I had to drive from near my mother’s present location, into my police duty station, which is not far from where we now live. My chief concern, in this old house, is a dead-end pipe, that leads to a capped-off terminal end, so, it could freeze, if power fails, long enough, and not make its status known, until it thaws. I have the tools and supplies to to quickly cut-away, and/or cap-it off, if necessary.
    Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.

    Don’t tread on volcanos!

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by David S. View Post
    Yep. It’s the lack of infrastructure to support these temps. I just read an article that 20% of Austin’s power come from west Texas windmill farms. I assume DFW is similar. Apparently the windmills are covered in ice and operating at a significantly reduced capacity.

    Rolling black outs started about 1am. Duration has been variable, but currently seem to be about 45 min off / 45min on.
    Jeez, My family lives in Arlington, and they've told me they're purposefully shutting down power in some areas to prevent worse blackouts or something.

    That 6 fatality 135 car pileup that they just had on 35W is ample evidence that there was no real plan for what to do if there was ice on the road or a deep freeze.

    I mean...there is, it's just the plan is "this is Texas, we never get much snow lol"

    Add this to the fact that the roads/highway system in the DFW area is ridiculous (my least favorite highway system), the people aren't as familiar with how to drive (there are some genuinely terrible drivers in TX, and I drive to and from downtown Chicago regularly) and almost certainly the poor driving habits are punishing when they don't know how to handle a vehicle on ice.

    As an aside, with the shortage of ammo, it's never a bad idea to take a class in driving, especially one that emphasizes how to handle a car in a skid or inclement conditions.

    But even if the people of Texas were the best drivers in the country, it doesn't matter because there's something like 37 snow plows for all of northeast Texas.

    Anyways, we're expecting about another foot of snow on top of the foot we already got. The roads will be back to normal probably by tomorrow night and I'll be driving my subcompact car through the blizzard to get to the hospital tomorrow morning.

    Looking forward to doing some skiing this weekend with the fiancee though.

    Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

  3. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by 45dotACP View Post
    Jeez, My family lives in Arlington, and they've told me they're purposefully shutting down power in some areas to prevent worse blackouts or something.

    That 6 fatality 135 car pileup that they just had on 35W is ample evidence that there was no real plan for what to do if there was ice on the road or a deep freeze.

    I mean...there is, it's just the plan is "this is Texas, we never get much snow lol"

    Add this to the fact that the roads/highway system in the DFW area is ridiculous (my least favorite highway system), the people aren't as familiar with how to drive (there are some genuinely terrible drivers in TX, and I drive to and from downtown Chicago regularly) and almost certainly the poor driving habits are punishing when they don't know how to handle a vehicle on ice.

    As an aside, with the shortage of ammo, it's never a bad idea to take a class in driving, especially one that emphasizes how to handle a car in a skid or inclement conditions.

    But even if the people of Texas were the best drivers in the country, it doesn't matter because there's something like 37 snow plows for all of northeast Texas.

    Anyways, we're expecting about another foot of snow on top of the foot we already got. The roads will be back to normal probably by tomorrow night and I'll be driving my subcompact car through the blizzard to get to the hospital tomorrow morning.

    Looking forward to doing some skiing this weekend with the fiancee though.

    Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk
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  4. #24
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by holmes168 View Post
    unfortunately- my wife is stuck in the security line at DFW right now and has no chance of making her flight.

    Texas needs to grow up- and i am saying this as someone who spent 20 years in the state.

    The storm was NOT a surprise- and the state can respond better. The fact that Texas goes thru this constantly is old.

    If my wife misses this flight- not sure how long she will be stuck in the airport, but probably over 24 hours.

    It doesn't help that airlines can give horrid customer service and get away with it- so the airline won't go out of their way to help.

    Like my brother-in-law who is a pilot likes to say-"if you don't like it, take a bus."
    My “Like” was to show support, and agreement; not to indicate that I “like” your wife’s situation. Texas’ state and local govt entities do need to grow up.
    Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.

    Don’t tread on volcanos!

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by David S. View Post
    Yep. It’s the lack of infrastructure to support these temps. I just read an article that 20% of Austin’s power come from west Texas windmill farms. I assume DFW is similar. Apparently the windmills are covered in ice and operating at a significantly reduced capacity.

    Rolling black outs started about 1am. Duration has been variable, but currently seem to be about 45 min off / 45min on.
    This.

    I’m from “up North” so I’m no stranger to weather like this and can drive in ice and snow. However, neither the power grid nor most peoples home heating (mostly electric) are design for these conditions. The issues with reduced supply are compounded by the “rolling blackouts” not being “rolling” due to infrastructure issues. My power has been out since 2am and has only come back on for a few 5 minute intervals since. Last one was 3 minutes.

    Roads are a mess because there are no plows, and only a handful of salt and sand spreaders.

  6. #26
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    Did an outside workout yesterday. Temps were very low with windchill close to zero or below.

    Had my shorts on, no shirt, gloves and cap. Thought, “I can tough this out and get a decent workout in.”

    Ran about 250 yards with a 45 lb plate above my head or in front of me. A few sets of pushups and jumping jacks and I was done. Wimped out and was done in 5-10 minutes. The cold just shuts me down and I become a total coward.

    100 degrees? I’ll be outside working or hiking all day. Pushing my body in the heat is one of those weird crazy joys I have. The Cold? I’m done before I leave the house.

  7. #27
    Site Supporter SeriousStudent's Avatar
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    A little perspective, if I may?

    Regarding Texas' electrical generating capacity, please do some digging into the Federal EPA orders that required us to shut down our lignite coal-fired generating plants. We have an over 200-year supply of relatively low-sulfur coal. We built plants that could burn locally-mined coal, and use particulate scrubbers to remove the ash particles. The exhaust never left the boundaries of the state in any measurable quantity. That didn't stop the EPA from ordering their shutdown.

    We HAD a lot of generating capacity. We have also had a tremendous influx of people fleeing other states - that jobs thing you may have heard about. Binge-watching Game of Thrones does take electricity. So do folks fleeing their states when they cannot find a job, or are taxed out of their minds.

    I'm over 60 and a native Texan. This is a once in a lifetime event. I have never seen a hard freeze warning for every one of the 254 counties in the state before. Ever.

    I agree with you folks. We're a horrible state, with terrible drivers and piss-poor planning. No one should ever move here, and the folks who can't stand it should definitely leave. You would have to be out of your mind to even think about visiting.

    If only someone would build a wall......

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeriousStudent View Post
    A little perspective, if I may?

    Regarding Texas' electrical generating capacity, please do some digging into the Federal EPA orders that required us to shut down our lignite coal-fired generating plants. We have an over 200-year supply of relatively low-sulfur coal. We built plants that could burn locally-mined coal, and use particulate scrubbers to remove the ash particles. The exhaust never left the boundaries of the state in any measurable quantity. That didn't stop the EPA from ordering their shutdown.

    We HAD a lot of generating capacity. We have also had a tremendous influx of people fleeing other states - that jobs thing you may have heard about. Binge-watching Game of Thrones does take electricity. So do folks fleeing their states when they cannot find a job, or are taxed out of their minds.

    I'm over 60 and a native Texan. This is a once in a lifetime event. I have never seen a hard freeze warning for every one of the 254 counties in the state before. Ever.

    I agree with you folks. We're a horrible state, with terrible drivers and piss-poor planning. No one should ever move here, and the folks who can't stand it should definitely leave. You would have to be out of your mind to even think about visiting.

    If only someone would build a wall......

    This X100000000000000

  9. #29
    Member Shotgun's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeriousStudent View Post
    A little perspective, if I may?

    Regarding Texas' electrical generating capacity, please do some digging into the Federal EPA orders that required us to shut down our lignite coal-fired generating plants. We have an over 200-year supply of relatively low-sulfur coal. We built plants that could burn locally-mined coal, and use particulate scrubbers to remove the ash particles. The exhaust never left the boundaries of the state in any measurable quantity. That didn't stop the EPA from ordering their shutdown.

    We HAD a lot of generating capacity. We have also had a tremendous influx of people fleeing other states - that jobs thing you may have heard about. Binge-watching Game of Thrones does take electricity. So do folks fleeing their states when they cannot find a job, or are taxed out of their minds.

    I'm over 60 and a native Texan. This is a once in a lifetime event. I have never seen a hard freeze warning for every one of the 254 counties in the state before. Ever.

    I agree with you folks. We're a horrible state, with terrible drivers and piss-poor planning. No one should ever move here, and the folks who can't stand it should definitely leave. You would have to be out of your mind to even think about visiting.

    If only someone would build a wall......
    I could like this only once, so I am quoting.

    It is unprecedented. North Texas has had its first ever wind chill warning. Who would have ever thought of you spend too much time in the cold you could get frostbite.
    "Rich," the Old Man said dreamily, "is a little whiskey to drink and some food to eat and a roof over your head and a fish pole and a boat and a gun and a dollar for a box of shells." Robert Ruark

  10. #30
    Site Supporter ST911's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeriousStudent View Post
    I agree with you folks. We're a horrible state, with terrible drivers and piss-poor planning. No one should ever move here, and the folks who can't stand it should definitely leave. You would have to be out of your mind to even think about visiting. If only someone would build a wall......
    I see what you did there.
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