Winter Storm - 90M people under wind chill alerts

[mala]

Its 942pm. 12 hours, to the minute, from when I reported our outage. Still jo power and no return estimate.

[audette]

Dec 23, 2022 21:08:32 GMT -5 minzy said:

audette we had a similar issue with a blinking code on our ecobee about a week ago and my husband shut the circuit breaker off for that particular unit (we also have two) and turned it back on and that somehow fixed the problem. We even had someone double check that unit this week and he said it was fine.

mala fingers crossed for power for you!

I’ve never been more grateful for underground power lines.

Thanks!  We tried that, but...  No fix for us.  Worth trying, though, so I appreciate the info!

[konapoppy]

Dec 23, 2022 19:27:02 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Our power is back after 14 hours. We lost all of our holiday food in the fridge, but otherwise, everything resumes as normal.

I’m glad it’s on but that sucks about the food 😭

[estrellita]

Ugh, I'm sorry to everyone dealing with power outages. We have above ground power lines, which I'm not a fan of, but luckily they haven't been an issue *knocks on wood* I hope everyone is able to stay safe and warm.

I keep checking the 511 app to keep an eye on the roads to decide if we're going to drive down to my parents tomorrow night. Roads are mostly ok where I am, but still tons of spin outs and accidents where we need to go. FX that it gets better enough for us to travel, but I've already told my mom we're potentially not coming. We'll see. The thing getting me though looking at the app is seeing SO MUCH of the state just closed. It happens fairly often in the SW part of the state because it's much more open and rural. One time we drove through that way coming back from my BFFs, and a section of the road had 0 visibility. It wasn't snowing, it was just blowing that much. We had a trooper "escort" us through until we could see better. It was horrible and I imagine that's what most of the area is like right now. I always wonder how people live in those areas! I don't think I could do it!

[mala]

530am. Power is still out. But we finally have an ETR.
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Of 11pm dec 24th.

The house is at 45 degrees and now im womderimg if I need to turn the water off and drain the lines. Fucking hell.

[aprilsails]

Oh mala I am so sorry. What are the temps you are expecting today? When I was a kid we had an ice storm here (inches of freezing rain that crumpled large hydro towers) and we shut off the water and abandoned the house. I lived on blow up mattresses at my uncles for a month since he had a wood stove. I remember bringing all the meat out of the chest freezer and chucking it in coolers in the snowbank outside.

I think I would shut off the water and abandon ship if you have someplace to go safely. That’s too cold.

Our power was out overnight on the 22nd/23rd for 6 hours but came back up in the morning. However, we mostly got rain with the wind. My BIL is a linesman and worked a 16 hour shift yesterday. My Dad did snow clearing for 16 hours too. They will both be back at it today. The wind just hasn’t slowed down at all.

[mala]

Dec 24, 2022 6:30:08 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

Oh mala I am so sorry. What are the temps you are expecting today? When I was a kid we had an ice storm here (inches of freezing rain that crumpled large hydro towers) and we shut off the water and abandoned the house. I lived on blow up mattresses at my uncles for a month since he had a wood stove. I remember bringing all the meat out of the chest freezer and chucking it in coolers in the snowbank outside.

I think I would shut off the water and abandon ship if you have someplace to go safely. That’s too cold.

Our power was out overnight on the 22nd/23rd for 6 hours but came back up in the morning. However, we mostly got rain with the wind. My BIL is a linesman and worked a 16 hour shift yesterday. My Dad did snow clearing for 16 hours too. They will both be back at it today. The wind just hasn’t slowed down at all.

Hous is 45 now, seem to be loosing 10 degrees every 12 hours. Oustide is 5. Yes, 5, with a high today of 19. We were already planning on going to my friends moms house for the day, were still going. So we'll have a warm place to be and I'll get a hot showe. The neighbor is coming to check on the dog aince we were already planning on being gone all day, shell be cold but shes a mountain dog. We're just going to bring the snake with us, the cat will be ok, she'll snuggle in under a blanket. Im hoping the 11pm estimate changes since that just seems like a ahot in the dark, theres not even been a crew or evaualtion on the tracker (no gaurentee thats accurate, of course).

[abs]

Oh man. I'm so sorry to all that are dealing with extended power outages right now. Of all times of the year the storm had to come through now?! We have one more night of a hard freeze here. So far so good but my nerves are about done.

[mrsukyankee]

Just got a message that my brother, SIL and niece got stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes (SIL's mom lives in a condo up about 4 flights) when the power went off in Buffalo yesterday. They have power now but no heat. Sounds like it's very cold in the condo right now. They aren't sure when they'll be able to drive home again (NEPA). Ugh.

[minzy]

mala I don’t know exactly where you are but IIRC it’s not THAT far from me… if you guys find yourself in a jam another night let me know. We just had a change of plans due to my MIL being sick so now will be having a very low key Christmas Eve. We have a spare room, and lots of cookies, mashed potatoes, and alcohol! Haha (but also kind of not joking, please reach out if you need help).

[chickadee77]

Oh, wow. I'm so sorry for everyone dealing with outages and misery.

We have cold temps and only a few inches of snow (it all went north of us), but are remembering the big ice storm in 2009. It facilitated a LOT of changes to our grid and services in the area. Small comfort to those going through it right now, though.

Huge hugs and lots of strength to get through this.

[AAM2012]

I hope everyone stays safe!!

[mala]

Dec 24, 2022 8:50:20 GMT -5 minzy said:

mala I don’t know exactly where you are but IIRC it’s not THAT far from me… if you guys find yourself in a jam another night let me know. We just had a change of plans due to my MIL being sick so now will be having a very low key Christmas Eve. We have a spare room, and lots of cookies, mashed potatoes, and alcohol! Haha (but also kind of not joking, please reach out if you need help).

Thank you! My parents are only an hour away, so we can go there if we need to, but my neighbor said about 30 min ago that power was back on! We're at my friends mom's house for her holiday party, so were warm for now.

[bears]

Hope everyone is weathering this as well as they can. My family in Buffalo only lost power for a little bit last night and someone lent them a space heater so grandma had a space heater and something to run her supplemental oxygen. A handful of friends locally (NC) have lost power and it was 11 this morning which isn't unheard of but highly unusual.

Like everyone else, my problem with the weather is my dog, who hasn't let out her energy and is therefore constantly underfoot. I almost dropped a tray of whole butternut squash from the oven on her before.

[NewOrleans]

So sorry mala. I hope some Christmas cheer reaches you now that the power is back on. 🥰

[NewOrleans]

Can I get an update on the dogs? Maybe with pictures?

[Vespasia]

To update my flooding story from yesterday, we ended up having to walk through knee deep, freezing water to get inside. We were supposed to go out to dinner but there was no way that was happening. Luckily we had cheese and wine at the house!

The water receded overnight but left a sheet of ice on the road. Thankfully it was pretty textured so we were able to walk to the car up the street without falling.

Unfortunately I had only brought one pair of boots and they're still wet so I had to run to the store this morning. Flips flops and socks in 20 degree weather wasn't fun.

[rubytue]

Dec 24, 2022 11:43:15 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

Can I get an update on the dogs? Maybe with pictures?

Oh, I wish I could post a video clip of my dog last year, of taking one look out the door and running away. She didn’t even get outside

Last night, we were joking that her pooper froze solid. She went for a walk, but no action. Luckily, it’s just cold now. So, I’ll give you her holiday photo from the vet. If I knew this was set up, she would have been in Christmas PJs, not unicorn.   Edit - oh snap, those were the gnome/elf PJs

Attachments:

[carmenere]

My whole family was supposed to be gathering for what is likely to be my Grandma’s last Christmas and the storm is ruining it. One of my cousins is currently stranded in Denver, my other cousin in NYC is probably going to have flight delays, and my brother almost got stranded in Chicago (but fortunately got an Amtrak train to STL). So it’s really sad that Grandma won’t get to see everyone.

[cattledogkisses]

The wind broke a window in our barn, but other than that we don’t appear to have any serious damage.

Thoughts to everyone still dealing with power outages. I hope your lights are back on soon!

[Jalapeñomel]

I think my fridge is fucked after the outage…it’s stuck at 39 degrees.

[mala]

Dec 24, 2022 11:42:12 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

So sorry mala. I hope some Christmas cheer reaches you now that the power is back on. 🥰

It didnt last, it's out again.

[mala]

POWER!!!!! Came back around 9:10pm, so almsot exactly 36 hours after it went out. It's now 9:45 so I think it's for good. Came back for about 30 minutes this afternoon, so I was worried it was going to go again. The neighbors and I are SO MAD at our power company. Not the individuals out there fixing it, I know they have a tough job, but the communication from the company was even worse than usual.

[Velar Fricative]

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

[mrsukyankee]

Dec 24, 2022 22:48:10 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

My SIL's sister was sharing photos and it wasn't good. Total whiteout conditions for a long while. They lost power for a while and heat for almost 12 hours. Luckily it's back on. My bro, SIL and kids are meant to come back to NEPA tomorrow but I doubt it will happen.

[mala]

When the power came back on, it was 43 in tbe house. Its 60 now anf it feels weirdly warm. Im pretty sure some of our neighbors are still without power. It's only about half a dozen houses so theyre probably low on the priority list. One family has two really small kids. I feel so bad for them. I might see if I can make them some lunch or something. Nothing is open around here today.

[bears]

Dec 24, 2022 22:48:10 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

I'm so worried about the weather next week
It's supposed to be on the 50s and raining, which probably bad flood conditions.

[NewOrleans]

Dec 24, 2022 16:20:41 GMT -5 mala said:

Dec 24, 2022 11:42:12 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

So sorry mala . I hope some Christmas cheer reaches you now that the power is back on. 🥰

It didnt last, it's out again.

Bah humbug!  

[sweetchix]

Dec 24, 2022 22:48:10 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

I am just north of Buffalo. We got slammed all day Friday and Saturday. Today was calm (it moved into the southtowns), but I spent several hours this morning digging out neighbor’s furnace vents and walkways, but barely made a dent. Several units in my complex have not had heat since early yesterday. We are fortunate, however, that we didn’t lose power so they are able to plug in space heaters and heated blankets. Our parking lot is a mess with many drifts over 5 feet. I doubt we’ll even be out tomorrow. There are many reports of people who’ve been without power going on day 3 and temps in their houses being down into the 30’s. They’ve confirmed 21 deaths so far but expect more once they are able to get to trapped cars and welfare checks. This is the worst I’ve ever seen and I feel so guilty that I slept in a warm bed last night while many were suffering in the cold. I’ve cried about this several times and hope power can be restored soon.

[kadams767]

Dec 24, 2022 22:48:10 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Is anyone here around Buffalo? It sounds horrible up there. I mean, it’s been terrible in many places with so many outages, but it seems like they’ve been hit so hard. Like, way harder than Buffalo is used to.

I’m right in the City.  It’s absolutely terrible.  Thankfully, we only lost power for a few minutes on Friday, but we are totally snowed in between the accumulation of actual snowfall and then the drifts that blew towards our house.  We can’t get the snowblower through the highest parts and it’s too heavy/high to shovel right now.  We are hoping that the plow gets to our street maybe Tuesday.  Just sitting tight for now.  

ETA:  our snow drifts are up to my shoulders in the worst parts, and I’m 5’7”.  It’s supposed to snow a few more inches in my area overnight with some wind again, so that’s nice.  🤣