The Big Chill is a Comin'

@edgarblythe,

I hope I would have thought of that.

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

You boys need to get a Yankee friend to FedEx some heat tape to yahs . . .

We did order some Ice Melt, when they feared sleet and rain. That's something the locals also never stock.

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@edgarblythe,

edgarblythe wrote:

OmSigDAVID wrote:

Rockhead wrote:

If I was to write a travel guide, rule #1 would be...

If there is ice on the roads in Texas, take a snow day and DO NOT DRIVE.

(seen some wild hairy **** from my truck down there I did...)

they follow each other into the ditch.

i swear.

How 's Ed gonna get in his swimming lessons in that kinda weather ?

The property owner will be on the job site Sunday.
I told the manager to suggest he bring his skates to use on the pool.
It is predicted to be 20 degrees at that time.

U r gonna have to cut a hole in the ice, to get in your practice!

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Ain't no polar bear club around here.

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@OmSigDAVID,

Just a couple of years ago same thing happened to me. I was driving around 20 mph no more with my little ones in the car - it was an unexpected snow fall and the round had not been plowed yet. I came around a curve and hit some black ice (couldn't see it any way as the snow fall had covered it).

I spun - nothing I could do and it happened so quick - the kids screaming and I'm trying to stay calm and telling them don't worry and smack right into a tree - fortunately it hit the one spot no one was sitting - the front passenger side and fortunately we were going so slow. I was able to drive the car to get the kids to school and then had to drop it off as the side mirror was torn off and the passenger door was a jar.

Mean stuff that black ice. Hubby hit it once in Montana (before knowing him) in a truck - flipped his truck right off the road. Incredible no injuries.

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

I was in Texas once and as we are driving from the airport I see all these cars off the road - even saw one slide right off the road on the exit ramp. Damn Texans can't drive in bad weather.

1 Reply

@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

Just a couple of years ago same thing happened to me. I was driving around 20 mph no more with my little ones in the car - it was an unexpected snow fall and the round had not been plowed yet. I came around a curve and hit some black ice (couldn't see it any way as the snow fall had covered it).

I spun - nothing I could do and it happened so quick - the kids screaming and I'm trying to stay calm and telling them don't worry and smack right into a tree - fortunately it hit the one spot no one was sitting - the front passenger side and fortunately we were going so slow. I was able to drive the car to get the kids to school and then had to drop it off as the side mirror was torn off and the passenger door was a jar.

Mean stuff that black ice. Hubby hit it once in Montana (before knowing him) in a truck - flipped his truck right off the road. Incredible no injuries.

About 50 years ago, I was driving a DeSoto (heavy car)
on Long Island, leaving a parking lot, very slowly going around
a gentle turn (maybe 60 degrees of arc) with about a quarter inch
of falling snow on the ground. The back of the car spun out badly,
with fairly decent tires on it; snow tires.

I also had that happen from oil spread on the asphalt road in Arizona in summer.

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18 degrees this morning, but it will get up to about 40. That's when I will know how successfully I protected the plumbing. The water in the inside runs normally, but there are a couple of pipes with outside faucets.

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Central Florida: Snow last night! Our deck this morning:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4259986706_5d42ebc58e.jpg

They're predicting nightly wind chills to a low of 7 degrees for the next 3 nights!

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@edgarblythe,

edgarblythe wrote:

18 degrees this morning, but it will get up to about 40. That's when I will know how successfully
I protected the plumbing. The water in the inside runs normally,
but there are a couple of pipes with outside faucets.

How do u protect them ?

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@OmSigDAVID,

OmSigDAVID wrote:

edgarblythe wrote:

18 degrees this morning, but it will get up to about 40. That's when I will know how successfully
I protected the plumbing. The water in the inside runs normally,
but there are a couple of pipes with outside faucets.
How do u protect them ?

With firearms.

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@OmSigDAVID,

OmSigDAVID wrote:

edgarblythe wrote:

18 degrees this morning, but it will get up to about 40. That's when I will know how successfully
I protected the plumbing. The water in the inside runs normally,
but there are a couple of pipes with outside faucets.
How do u protect them ?

Insulate them, close holes in the skirting, run water all night.

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@edgarblythe,

40 is not quite here in Central Texas. Bird baths have been frozen for three days now. We keep pouring hot water over the cement one until it thaws, it freezes and we start again. That wind yesterday was terrible. So, we're on our way out to buy more oilers and a heating unit.

Edgar, when we lived in the northern states we put a foam bag over each faucet. Did the trick.

Can't believe it, but I miss the snow. Snow ice cream. Deep snow we'd pile all around the foundation. Snow is so doggone pretty.

This should be our last frozen tundra day in Texas, no? The two dogs wear their jackets all day, in or out.

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@Pemerson,

eastern lake ontario
-------------------------
4 p.m. and it is 12 C BELOW going to about 20 BELOW overnight - decided to plug in the car overnight to make starting in the morning a little easier .

temp in the house is set at 21 C during the daytime - quite comfortable but furnace has to work at it .

" my bones " don't enjoy the cold anymore .

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@Pemerson,

Pemerson wrote:

40 is not quite here in Central Texas. Bird baths have been frozen for three days now. We keep pouring hot water over the cement one until it thaws, it freezes and we start again. That wind yesterday was terrible. So, we're on our way out to buy more oilers and a heating unit.

Edgar, when we lived in the northern states we put a foam bag over each faucet. Did the trick.

Can't believe it, but I miss the snow. Snow ice cream. Deep snow we'd pile all around the foundation. Snow is so doggone pretty.

This should be our last frozen tundra day in Texas, no? The two dogs wear their jackets all day, in or out.

It's pretty nice here, but we expect about the same low temp tonight and possibly Monday. I feel confident we are going to get through this in good shape. Ecxept of course for the heating bill. Ouch.

We bought the insulated covers and other neat stuff to protect the apartments, where I work. Last night a news show had a story of a plumber making a killing because persons with automatic sprinklers were forgetting to cover the vacuum. The tops were blowing off. Right away, I called the lead maintenance, who lives on property. Yup. You guessed it. We had forgotten to cover ours. But, he took care of it without needing my help.

The owner will come to dialog (dictate) and tour the place tomorrow, in the twenty degree morning. Just what I want to be doing on my Sunday.

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@hamburgboy,

Not many years back, I spent the summer anticipating winter. No more. I prefer to be a bit warm these days.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

same here , edgar !
looking out the west-facing window , i see a beautiful susnset ... and the chimneys puffing away .
... and the furnace comes on again ... oil-tank is still half-filled ... about 100 gallons ... good for the rest of the month , i hope .

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Here's to an early spring.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

edgarblythe wrote:

Here's to an early spring.

Yeah; TOMORROW !

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HOUSTON - Plenty of people found out on Saturday that their plumbing just couldn’t take Friday night’s freezing temperatures. But for some, it was a delayed reaction.

The overnight dip into the teens stopped water in its tracks. Frozen water expands, of course, sometimes enough to burst pipes.

And as the Saturday sun melted all the ice, the waterworks began.

In northwest Houston, it wasn’t until early afternoon that the “backflow preventer” on one resident’s irrigation system popped off with a loud “bang,” followed by a spray of water high in the air.

Lucky for him, a Roto Rooter plumber was already making repairs a few houses down. The plumber turned off the water but a repair will be impossible until local plumbing supply stores can restock their backflow assemblies, says Ken Hrebec with Roto Rooter.

Parts aren’t the only problem. Hrebec says his plumbers are already spread thin. “We've got more calls than we can take. Right now we're having to book calls out 24 hours in advance and we're hoping to be able to get to those because the problems we're finding are pretty extensive.”

For the Grgas family, just down the street from the exploding backflow, it was a hairline crack in a two valves that took out the sprinkler system. Water dribbled onto the ground until the valves were replaced by a plumber.

The family hopes the shiny new valves will survive Saturday night’s forecast lows.

From a local TV website.

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The Big Chill is a Comin'

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