February 2021: Arctic Outbreak/Warmup Begins

General Weather Discussions and Analysis
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DoctorMu
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The gas fireplace and gas stove have been life savers. I nearly blew myself up lighting the fireplace. Had not been lit in 3-4 years. Lol. Hoping for snow tomorrow to cap things off. Snow and ice still on the ground. Roads were a real mess yesterday. Freezing rain this am became rain and 33 degrees ...streets became kinda passable.
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jasons2k
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I'm so glad we have power now. I almost can't describe it. Talked to my dad up in Allen for an hour and a half tonight - and glad to talk with him with the outages and all that. It's slowly getting better now it seems.
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jasons2k
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DoctorMu wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:28 pm The gas fireplace and gas stove have been life savers. I nearly blew myself up lighting the fireplace. Had not been lit in 3-4 years. Lol. Hoping for snow tomorrow to cap things off. Snow and ice still on the ground. Roads were a real mess yesterday. Freezing rain this am became rain and 33 degrees ...streets became kinda passable.
Gotta run at least once a year - use it or lose it :D
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jasons2k
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31.8 here. So anything that falls, will stick, for now. And the radar looks pretty good (or bad hehe) right now..
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christinac2016
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Yes I read that. Doesn’t explain much. I followed all the rules. Conserved power from the get go. Turned off lights not used. Shut down computers. Kept thermostat between 62-65. What good it did. I will never wish for cold weather or snow again. I just want power again so I can resume

.
jasons2k wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:09 pm
christinac2016 wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:10 pm House is at 58 when I stopped by to check on things. Staying at parents who have power for now. When will this stop? This is ridiculous. Millions without power and/or water. Centerpoint won’t give any update. And more on the way?!
Hi Christina - I found this on their home page - there is a 'latest news' section.' I read it at about 6PM and was hoping the power would be back up soon. It came on about 30 minutes ago here!

https://info.centerpointenergy.com/pdf/ ... -FINAL.pdf
Houston – Feb. 17, 2021 – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has notified
CenterPoint Energy of additional power generation capacity. As more power generation is
available, the company is prepared to re-energize portions of the electric system that have been
without power. During the service restoration process, CenterPoint Energy urges customers who
have electric and/or natural gas service to immediately conserve electricity and natural gas over
the next six hours, until midnight.

“This is an unprecedented situation for our communities in that the demand for electric and
natural gas reached record levels simultaneously,” said Kenny Mercado, CenterPoint Energy’s
Executive Vice President, Electric Utility. “We are ready to restore service to our customers.
Introducing this demand too rapidly could result in additional service interruptions and safety
risks for both electric and natural gas customers.”

“Let’s come together and help our neighbors who have been without power for an extended
period of time,” said Scott Doyle, CenterPoint Energy’s Executive Vice President, Natural Gas
Distribution. “This in an immediate call to action for our customers.”
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christinac2016
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And just checked my power. As of 4 am this morning still not on.
jasons2k wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:09 pm
christinac2016 wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:10 pm House is at 58 when I stopped by to check on things. Staying at parents who have power for now. When will this stop? This is ridiculous. Millions without power and/or water. Centerpoint won’t give any update. And more on the way?!
Hi Christina - I found this on their home page - there is a 'latest news' section.' I read it at about 6PM and was hoping the power would be back up soon. It came on about 30 minutes ago here!

https://info.centerpointenergy.com/pdf/ ... -FINAL.pdf
Houston – Feb. 17, 2021 – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has notified
CenterPoint Energy of additional power generation capacity. As more power generation is
available, the company is prepared to re-energize portions of the electric system that have been
without power. During the service restoration process, CenterPoint Energy urges customers who
have electric and/or natural gas service to immediately conserve electricity and natural gas over
the next six hours, until midnight.

“This is an unprecedented situation for our communities in that the demand for electric and
natural gas reached record levels simultaneously,” said Kenny Mercado, CenterPoint Energy’s
Executive Vice President, Electric Utility. “We are ready to restore service to our customers.
Introducing this demand too rapidly could result in additional service interruptions and safety
risks for both electric and natural gas customers.”

“Let’s come together and help our neighbors who have been without power for an extended
period of time,” said Scott Doyle, CenterPoint Energy’s Executive Vice President, Natural Gas
Distribution. “This in an immediate call to action for our customers.”
Snakeswx
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Just noticed they updated the NWS website to mention heavy snow del rio - rock springs - uvalde.. 3-8 inches expected.. so what have we here?
davidiowx
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Sheesh.. I am not sure how much of that heavy snow around SA makes it here, but if it does, this is going to be crazy.

Edit: Just looked at some meso models, looks to die out before getting here. Don't know if that is a good or bad thing at this point lol. I wouldn't mind one last event that is pure snow. Just as long as it does not cause additional power/water issues.
Cromagnum
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After this event, I'll travel where snow is when I want to see it. It's painfully clear we can't handle it down here.
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tireman4
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From Jeff....

Centerpoint outages down to 36,000 and there will be no additional rotating outages
Generation is now sufficient to meet demand
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srainhoutx
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One more night of bitter cold and then the thaw begins. Just a reminder that The Weather Channel predicted a Warm February... ;)
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TxLady
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Starting to Snow, again...let's hope it remains snow. We really lucked out with the Ice. All of the pine trees were very "frosted" and just starting to droop, then the sun came out and temps warmed slightly. I only lost power yesterday, from about 8:00 am till right at 8:00 pm. I have a whole house generator, and wood burning/propane fireplace. So, stayed warm. I took in a few "strays" (Family members) and we made some great "snow storm" memories.
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tireman4
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TxLady wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:13 am Starting to Snow, again...let's hope it remains snow. We really lucked out with the Ice. All of the pine trees were very "frosted" and just starting to droop, then the sun came out and temps warmed slightly. I only lost power yesterday, from about 8:00 am till right at 8:00 pm. I have a whole house generator, and wood burning/propane fireplace. So, stayed warm. I took in a few "strays" (Family members) and we made some great "snow storm" memories.


Did you lose power with a whole house generator? We are thinking of purchasing one.
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TxLady
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Did you lose power with a whole house generator? We are thinking of purchasing one.
No, mine automatically switches over to running on propane. Because we are "rural", we don't have city utilities (water, natural gas, etc). So, ours is Propane. Honestly, one of the best investments, ever.
BlueJay
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jasons2k wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:32 pm
djmike wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:32 pm Finally at 36 in Beaumont. Im exhausted. Haven’t been back to work since Friday. Things should be melting now. Thank goodness no pipe issues at my home but plenty of neighbors were affected unfortunately. Went and assisted with two neighbors. Prayers for all that had to endure worse than me. This is usually when I say, yay that was fun, exciting and ready for the next one! .....ummmm no. Im done. Exhausted checking the house and making preventative measures. Been a lot of sleepless night. Goodnight! God bless! And on to SPRING!
I am glad you made it through OK. You need a much-deserved break!

I was going to post something very similar but you nailed it, man. After a week now of preparations, helping neighbors, constantly having to check certain things, shutting the water off and on...I am just completely and totally exhausted. My god the snow, ice or whatever and a few hours of fun and weather geekiness just isn't worth it. Not here, anyway. I loved the snow up in Lubbock. That was different. I'd much rather be up in Angel Fire or Taos where you can enjoy the snow and not have to be worried about power outages and busted pipes. Especially for someone with two kids, it's. just. exhausting, both mentally and physically. It's hard to totally cut loose and have fun in the snow when you are worried if at any moment the heat is getting shut off, or if your next door neighbor's pipes are going to hold because they didn't do much. Roughly half the people I know in Imperial Oaks had busted pipes, even with wrapped pipes and dripping faucets. Stuff happens - like that one pipe going along the garage out to a faucet.

I wouldn't wish this exhausting hell on anyone. Anyway, rant over. :)

One great "forever" moment out of this though -- having my youngest destroy all of us at Yahtzee earlier today. That was priceless.

Good luck to those of you still getting through this without power or with water issues. I wish I could just make it all 'normal' again for everyone.

Thanks for this post Jason! Your story about your son's Yahtzee success made me smile! :)
willut72
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Thanks for all of the information throughout this event, the board has been a huge resource for us to inform employees the past week! The precipitation to the west looks fairly impressive will that system push through Houston or stay north?
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DoctorMu
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srainhoutx wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:11 am One more night of bitter cold and then the thaw begins. Just a reminder that The Weather Channel predicted a Warm February... ;)
lol Yeah, they've been saying that every month since October.

Next time we might want to winterize the power grid before 5 days of Great Smoky or even occasional Winston-Salem winter weather.

Hope everyone is getting power and water restored!

Going to venture out again this afternoon. PIpes froze and broke at work. Teaching labs are in bad shape, but research stuff on the top floor appears spared. Insufficient insulation in the walls I suspect.
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snowman65
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Has anyone in the C.S. area heard of any gas shortages?
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DoctorMu
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TxLady wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:30 am
Did you lose power with a whole house generator? We are thinking of purchasing one.
No, mine automatically switches over to running on propane. Because we are "rural", we don't have city utilities (water, natural gas, etc). So, ours is Propane. Honestly, one of the best investments, ever.
Now seriously thinking about a natural gas or propane generator. Am worried about the cost but...
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TxLady
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Now seriously thinking about a natural gas or propane generator. Am worried about the cost but...
Mine was about $9k...in 2008. Because, we are on a well, when the electricity goes out...we also lose water. After suffering through several Hurricane aftermaths, I took the plunge and got one installed. It has served me (and family) well, over the years! And, I am extremely thankful to have had it during this winter mess. I only thought it would be good to have in the summer time, with no AC! This cold was no joke!

Edited to Add: If you have the capability of using a propane tank, and a propane generator, I think that would be a good option. I'm seeing where people are now losing natural gas pressure, in their homes. I have a 250 gallon propane tank. So, no need to worry about natural gas pressure, or city supplied interruptions.
Last edited by TxLady on Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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