Sure looks different the the 22" we got in a day a couple of weeks ago...


Stock pic for reference

Well, crap. Lost power here about 30 minutes ago. I have a feeling it’s going to be off until tomorrow. The power never even flickered since this mess started, so I was hoping I’d’make it’ without issue.

Guess not.

And the inside temp has dropped 5 degrees already.

No more posts until the power comes back on.

People here invert their wiper arms straight up when it starts showing hard so they don't get frozen to the windshield. At some point it does not matter, like your picture for example.

My neighbors do that - to me it makes it harder to broom the car off.

I took that pic in 2006, we actually got 4" more than that in the recent storm. I still drive that Saturn buried on the right every day, it just turns 333,333 miles

I see it as egging mother nature on - as in can you snow deep enough to bury these here wiper blades?

Kinda surprised it took as long as it did to suggest roof top solar for charging yer EV. What's the plan if ya live in an apartment or condo? Slight tangent: years ago I had some window replacement company calling me on the phone persistently. Finally gave up and invited them to come give me an estimate because my windows sucked. Yes, was living in an apartment and no, never heard from them again.

A winter related reason to hate new cars: Apparently if you buy almost anything built this century with frameless side windows (aka hard top), it's tiny little brain also controls the window. Ya know the bit how it cracks the window when you grab the door handle, then closes it when ya shut the door. It's all great and entirely pointless until ya get a thin coating of ice similar to the OP. It really doesn't take that much ice between glass and door felt to glue the window shut. This also prevents the door from opening because the top of the glass is stuck in the weather strip. Ya know, the reason for the trick power window motor in the first place. First few times I encountered this, the internal debate was just how hard can I yank on this door handle with breaking the glass or something else. Ya know, stupid snap together cars. The bonus fun is when you finally get the door open, it won't close again until ya heat up the car enough to melt the ice. As for the whole objective of creating a better window to door seal: my 75 hardtop with the original weather strip seals just fine. Her 2012 has a annoying whistle at speed.

This was 2014. I think it was April before I got my truck out of that garage.

Yup, solar is just about useless in the winter as the sun is so far away you get almost nothing out of it. Saw a guy on youtube get rid of it and went with a dc to dc charger so the alternator charges the big lithium battery between trips, said you'd need so much solar it would weigh too much and defeat the purpose. No idea what you're supposed to do with a solar set up for a house aside from a generator that would be running all winter lol

Oh man!!! LOL!

The biggest problem with the grid is this a perfect storm. First record cold across entire area. Everybody and their brother are finding out their heat pumps aren't up to the task and use much more amps than ac in extreme weather. Most pumps can't do much under 20 and even the northern units can only go to 0. People are buying and using portable heaters to try and help both exceeding the grids capacity. Ice and wind has taken down lines and other circuits are overloaded so they can't add any load.

I've worked as a lineman for over 40 years all over the country and it doesn't matter source of fuel used to generate the lines have to big enough to handle it. The strain caused by this storm would be like trying to run a 572 on a factory 5/16 fuel line. It just won't provide the needed volume.

Just for fun.... You transplants that are new to Texas, are about to experience “Texas Winter”. This is 6 or 7 days of cold, maybe some ice and snow. The weatherman will threaten snow. It may snow, it may not and if the weatherman says 2 inches it could be 10 or it could be 1/2”. It doesn’t matter how much snow it is, we’ll all freak out because we don’t see snow often.

The threat of snow (or ice) from the weatherman is your prompt to head to the grocery store and buy milk, eggs and bread. It doesn’t matter if you need these items. It’s just what we do. Everyone in town will be there.

You’ll also need to make a mad dash for faucet covers and finding them and getting out of the store will be like an episode of the hunger games. You’re in the redneck district.

Don’t look for a sled. You won’t find one. In the rare chance we get enough ice or snow to sled grab some cardboard or a trash can lid and go find the nearest hill. Yes, we know it’s not a hill. You live in the flatland, just go with it. You’ll be alarmed by the fact that you’re “sledding” towards a bar ditch, fence or maybe into a farm to market road. Just go with it. You’ll be fine.

We don’t have equipment to handle the winter and weather. The roads will be a mess and even though the state has been telling you for a week they’re ready, they’re not and it won’t work. Just stay home if you can and if you can’t just come to terms with the fact that nobody here knows how to drive in snow and ice.

Whatever you do, DO NOT talk about snow tires.

If you happen to slide off the road or get stuck, turn your flashers on, take a deep breath and wait. Two guys in a four wheel drive truck will be along in no time to offer assistance. Don’t try to help them, they live for this stuff, and will do what they can to get you back on the road. If either one of them screams “hey y’all watch this” just get back and get your phone out and start recording, you’ll probably have a viral video. Also of note, when they offer you beer and deer sticks, don’t be rude, take them and smile.

No matter what you do, don’t talk about how they did it back home in any of these scenarios. Nobody cares. You live in Texas now, Texans know they live in the greatest state in the country and it’s our way or the highway.

When we act like we’re going to die and start to complain about the 7 days of winter just shut up, we’re serious and we don’t care how much you love it. We don’t.

You’ll be back in shorts and flip flops in a week to ten days and it’ll be nice until right around Easter.

Texas “second winter” will be 2 or 3 days and will hit right around Easter, usually the week before or the week after. This will hit right around the time you plant flowers and a garden. We know you’re not from around here when we see you’ve planted flowers before Easter and before the “second winter” has hit.

This is why all the people at the nursery don’t sound like us when you’re shopping for plants. We know better.

During second winter it’ll go from 70 to 25 and you’ll experience all four seasons in one day. This too shall pass, get used to it and when second winter is over you can enjoy the 3-4 weeks of “spring” before summer gets here and it’ll be melt your face off hot until sometime around Halloween.

God bless Texas!

that's a fun read and pretty accurate, I lived in Amarillo for 5 years where the weather is WAY worse than it is in DFW and I saw some Crazy "S" up there

Power outage from space

https://twitter.com/i/status/1362125392883167234

Just did a transport to Florence, AL and through Nashville, TN on the way home and it was insane! On the way south it was dicey until I got over the TN line to AL and then it was truly nuts, no plows, salt, lr anything on the roads! Snow, then ice, then snow again probably 5-6 inches. Thanks goodness I have lived north most of my life, and it was still intense for me. Never seen that many cars, trucks, and semi's in the ditches! Luckily most people stayed home or it would have been armegeddon. After the drop-off in AL I came out a country road and there was a nice early 90's short bed Power Wagon down in a ditch with it's rear wheels completely in the air!

Welcome to California ....or is it like a homecoming for those who moved to Texas from California?