Snow tonight!

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

It's supposed to start after midnight here...maybe a couple of inches. Huzzah! It's cocoa and Sky Captain night at the Beechler-Simpson home!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

As I type these words, outside my window it is snowing... big, wet, sloppy flakes, falling like slow-motion rain. The last time 1 inch or more of snow fell at DFW was March 5, 2015 when 1 inch fell. the day before, 2.5 inches occurred. Since those two days in 2015, DFW has had a whopping four-tenths of an inch of snow. that is considered a snow drought. I used to like snow, before I had to drive in it. Since moving to Texas, I haven't really missed it... or so I thought. One day about 15 years ago I was back in St. Louis and witnessed it really coming down (not like this pathetic little bit that, so far, hasn't even stuck). It made me feel nostalgic, the way some folks feel about Christmas. I suspect "white" (as in snow) and "Christmas" go hand-in-hand... at least they do for me.

[doc photo]

In the Fall of 2019 my wife and I moved from Michigan to southern Ohio. Typical snowfall in the Detroit area was 36" - 48" per winter, in the Cincinnati area it is 11" per winter. After years of driving in snow storms and navigating nearly impassable roadways, I do not miss the snow one tiny bit.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Although it's been snowing steadily since I posted, it still hasn't covered the gress comnpletely, and is not sticking t the roads at all. The temperature is just above freezing. The snow is supposed to turn to rain by two o'clock (another hour or so).

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

The snow Jeff is getting now is supposed to reach our area around midnight, but it may swing south and not hit us until 9am, which means the kids at school, or those who are at school, will be greatly distracted.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

I see the snow, but no accumulation in my part of Dallas. If I wasn't already working from home, this would make me sad.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

Haven't seen any snow in my neck of the woods since the first of the year but since early November, every day barely gets into the mid to upper 30s with each night back into the 20s or lower.

BRRRRR!

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

It's snowing north and south of us, but we're getting nothing.

[ClarkKent_DC]

To our friends in Texas, stay safe. Yesterday, I was watching the local 11 a.m. news, and the anchor -- who is from Dallas -- was marveling at the snow. 

And last night, I read a long thread on Twitter with advice on how to cope when you're at home and the power and heat are out. Among the suggestions:

• Pick one room in your house for everyone to stay in, and that includes the pets and your plants.
• Move the furniture against the walls.
• Make your sleeping area in the center of the room.
• Don't sleep directly on the floor; put a blanket or comforter under you. Use a sleeping bag if you've got one.
• Pitch a tent inside if you've got one. If not, make a blanket fort.
• Cover the windows with blankets, and with bubble wrap if you've got it.
• Put bowls of snow in your refrigerator and freezer to help keep the food fresh.
• Put your food in coolers or plastic bags and bury them in the snow outside.
• Cook your expensive food like meats, so you can eat it as the days go by -- as opposed to having to throw it out after the power comes back.
• Turn off the lights and appliances in the rooms you're not in, to prevent a power surge when the electricity comes back on.
• Fill two-liter bottles with hot (not boiling) water, wrap them in towels, and cuddle with them.
• Do NOT use a barbeque grill or your stove for heat.
• Wear one set of thick socks, not two. (Why not? The inner sock keeps your body heat in, but the outer sock keeps the cold against the inner sock.)
• When your clothes get wet or sweaty, it's impossible to keep warm, so change to dry ones.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Thanks for the well wished, CK. I myself have been very, very fortunate. (there may not be enough "very"s). As of yet, I haven't lost power or water. I don't have to drive anywhere so I don't have to worry about gas shortages yet. I actually listened to the weatherman, and went to the grocery store last Wednesday in preparation.

I have at least one co-worker who hasn't had power since 2AM Monday morning. Other people I know are being told to conserve water (since we have to have our faucets drip) as well as boil any drinking water now.

I've just hunkered down, and am waiting for the weekend when this all gets "better"

[ClarkKent_DC]

Watching MSNBC this morning. There are reports of people in Texas burning their furniture to stay warm. COVID-19 protocols are out the window, as are any efforts to vaccinate people; the vaccines can't be delivered and people can't get to the vaccination sites anyway.

The most oddball thing I heard? You're often told to turn your faucets open to a trickle to keep the pipes from freezing and bursting - which a lot of people are having to deal with. But the fire department is telling people DON'T do that. Why not? Because they might not have enough water pressure when they go out on calls.

It doesn't help when you have one dumbass politician take the opportunity to blame his constituents for expecting services during a disaster.

Or the former governor and former Energy secretary claiming Texans would rather remain in the cold than follow federal standards.

Or that one of the senators went to Cancun.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

Said senator should be put on a no-fly list quickly. Or detained at the airport for two weeks upon his return.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Said senator is back in the States. True to his well-earned reputation as a weasel, he threw his children under the bus, saying the jaunt to Mexico was their idea.