Historic winter storm ENZO

[Complete Turf Care]

We are starting to recover. I got water back on at my house late morning. I had one minor leak at my shop, and a trip to the hardware store for a fitting and it's fixed.
Temps will drop below freezing soon after sundown and I'm afraid that all the melted snow will now turn back to ice and make travel dangerous. But, it is supposed to warm into the mid 40s tomorrow.

Our water system has issued a 'boil water' advisory because pressure in the system has dropped below a certain level. I expect lots of people (including me) will let their water run again tonight, which will cause pressure to be very low again.

Overall, we faired pretty well. The worst thing about this whole event is lost work time.

 

[dodge man]

When I see records listed, I always wonder how long have we been accurately keeping track of the weather? 120 years? The reason I bring it up I’ve seen stats on the fact we are 1.56 degrees warmer than 300 years ago(I made that number up). When pressed they will say they are scientifically estimating that number from 300 years ago. In the scheme of things any trend of even the last 50 years is a very short period of time.

 

[ponytug]

We are starting to recover. I got water back on at my house late morning. I had one minor leak at my shop, and a trip to the hardware store for a fitting and it's fixed.
Temps will drop below freezing soon after sundown and I'm afraid that all the melted snow will now turn back to ice and make travel dangerous. But, it is supposed to warm into the mid 40s tomorrow.

Our water system has issued a 'boil water' advisory because pressure in the system has dropped below a certain level. I expect lots of people (including me) will let their water run again tonight, which will cause pressure to be very low again.

Overall, we faired pretty well. The worst thing about this whole event is lost work time.

I would consider myself lucky if I got through that storm with just one broken fitting and a boil advisory.

I try very hard not to be on roads that are at risk of black ice. It is mostly that all it takes is one driver with poor skills and we are all in the soup.

Lost work time is better than time in a hospital in my book.

Stay safe, and I am glad that you made through in such great shape.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ponytug]

@Complete Turf Care thanks for the great hoots and the opportunity for the rest of us to experience the storm vicariously!

All the best, Peter

 

[BackRoad]

Seeing the deep south with snow is kind of like seeing your brother get a spanking...

You were supposed to get a spanking too, but didn't get caught...this time!!!

 

[ericm979]

When I see records listed, I always wonder how long have we been accurately keeping track of the weather? 120 years? The reason I bring it up I’ve seen stats on the fact we are 1.56 degrees warmer than 300 years ago(I made that number up). When pressed they will say they are scientifically estimating that number from 300 years ago. In the scheme of things any trend of even the last 50 years is a very short period of time.

Here's a great explanation of how we know what past climates were like: Here's How Scientists Reconstruct Earth's Past Climates

This is an interesting graphic from that article:

Note the time is on a reverse log scale. The colors show different methods of measuring past climate. Also the shading around the lines represents the uncertainty. Methods that measure farther ago are less certain.

It's pretty clear that we have been heating the planet significantly in very recent times. The added heat is causing the jet stream to behave less predictably (among other things). The jet stream is a major factor for keeping cold polar air up there and not down here.

 

[not2old]

I try very hard not to be on roads that are at risk of black ice. It is mostly that all it takes is one driver with poor skills and we are all in the soup.

We get lots of black ice here. I've "saved it" numerous times but two years ago it put me in the ditch. I would expect that I've lost some skills at 77 years old but after that experience I believe that even a very good driver would have trouble. Once you've lost traction, you will not get it back unless you're at parking lot speeds.

 

[ponytug]

We get lots of black ice here. I've "saved it" numerous times but two years ago it put me in the ditch. I would expect that I've lost some skills at 77 years old but after that experience I believe that even a very good driver would have trouble. Once you've lost traction, you will not get it back unless you're at parking lot speeds.

I'm glad that you have stayed out of the ditch numerous times.

I've lost control at less than parking lot speeds. I think that all it takes is some black ice, perhaps a little slope, and an attempt to change direction or speed. I once hit black ice on a bicycle at night. I don't know how I stayed upright but I can tell you it woke me right up and got my adrenaline running.

I've had the chance to skate a few times on a some lakes that froze without wind to create super smooth black lake ice. That was a treat.

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

We are starting to recover. I got water back on at my house late morning. I had one minor leak at my shop, and a trip to the hardware store for a fitting and it's fixed.
Temps will drop below freezing soon after sundown and I'm afraid that all the melted snow will now turn back to ice and make travel dangerous. But, it is supposed to warm into the mid 40s tomorrow.

Our water system has issued a 'boil water' advisory because pressure in the system has dropped below a certain level. I expect lots of people (including me) will let their water run again tonight, which will cause pressure to be very low again.

Overall, we faired pretty well. The worst thing about this whole event is lost work time.

Plumbing must be handled differently there... Here we have multiple days where it is 0f and below... And we don't run water to keep it from freezing.

 

[Eagle1]

Plumbing must be handled differently there... Here we have multiple days where it is 0f and below... And we don't run water to keep it from freezing.

Yup and they may have below 10 F once a decade of less. Code and procedures are way different. Many houses are up on stilts and not on or in the ground. Many old houses in the south have little to no insulation.

 

[ericm979]

Where I am in California it's rare to get below freezing and when it does it's only a few degrees. At least that's true so far. The plumbing is done with no thought for freezing- pipes left exposed, regular hose bibs instead of freeze proof hydrants or bibs with the valve inside the building.

At my place in Oregon it does get below freezing pretty regularly. Plumbing there is more complex as a result, and probably more like what you're used to. For example I wanted hose bibs on the outside of the unheated garage. The plumber said I can't, they'll freeze. We compromised with an extra valve in the heater apartment above the garage that I can use to shut off water to the bibs, and I'll have to remember to drain them. I'll have to keep the shop heated to keep the pipes there from freezing.

 

[ponytug]

Where I am in California it's rare to get below freezing and when it does it's only a few degrees. At least that's true so far. The plumbing is done with no thought for freezing- pipes left exposed, regular hose bibs instead of freeze proof hydrants or bibs with the valve inside the building.

At my place in Oregon it does get below freezing pretty regularly. Plumbing there is more complex as a result, and probably more like what you're used to. For example I wanted hose bibs on the outside of the unheated garage. The plumber said I can't, they'll freeze. We compromised with an extra valve in the heater apartment above the garage that I can use to shut off water to the bibs, and I'll have to remember to drain them. I'll have to keep the shop heated to keep the pipes there from freezing.

I would add automatic frost tape on the bib piping. I think that it is human nature to forget, or be out of town, when a sudden cold snap happens.

All the best,

Peter

 

[groundcover]

We use these, water is shut off in the heated area of the house.

 

[mjonesnh]

We use these, water is shut off in the heated area of the house.
View attachment 2336832

Use these on my house. 12" shut off from where it goes through foundation, has 1/2" drop from shutoff valve to clear pipe.Unhook garden hose from bib and no problems with freezing

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Plumbing must be handled differently there... Here we have multiple days where it is 0f and below... And we don't run water to keep it from freezing.

You are correct. Anything below the surface does not need freezing protection. We usually do something to protect pipes that are above ground.

About once or twice a year, we will get temps down in the 20's when pipes and citrus trees need protection. About once every 10 years or so, we get down into the teens.

On January 22, at 5:53 am, the National Weather Service recorded at temp of 5* F about 15 miles east of me in Lafayette, La. That is the coldest ever recorded. I do remember a temp of 9* in 1989 just before Christmas.

 

[ponytug]

We use these, water is shut off in the heated area of the house.
View attachment 2336832

They are great when the inside end is in a heated space, which might work for some, but isn't likely to work when the inside is in an unheated garage up north.

Speaking from personal experience they also aren't infallible when you get even farther north below -10F or so, as the inner end can get down to below 32F. In one house we had to put on outside styrofoam caps on ours to keep them warm enough to prevent the inside pipe from getting damaged, and another got indoor heat tape.

I prefer to have spigots/faucets like these to have an indoor shutoffs so that they can be completely drained when the outside drops to near or below 32F. That may sound belt and suspenders, but I have experienced these freezing, and the home builder didn't always ensure that inner end is readily accessible.

All the best,

Peter

 

[John_Mc]

They are great when the inside end is in a heated space, which might work for some, but isn't likely to work when the inside is in an unheated garage up north.

Speaking from personal experience they also aren't infallible when you get even farther north below -10F or so, as the inner end can get down to below 32F. In one house we had to put on outside styrofoam caps on ours to keep them warm enough to prevent the inside pipe from getting damaged, and another got indoor heat tape.

I prefer to have spigots/faucets like these to have an indoor shutoffs so that they can be completely drained when the outside drops to near or below 32F. That may sound belt and suspenders, but I have experienced these freezing, and the home builder didn't always ensure that inner end is readily accessible.

All the best,

Peter

If you've got a water line in an unheated garage up here, you've got a bigger issue than just what kind of spigot you have. That line needs to be shut off and drained for the winter. We have an internal heater in the line feeding the upstairs room in our garage. It runs inside the pipe from the second floor down to several feet underground. Even with that, we drain the line for the winter. The last thing I want to deal with if we get a power outage in the winter is draining that line, or wasting generator capacity and fuel keeping it heated.

 

[tallyho8]

In our area, people insulate their homes to keep them cooler in the summer, not to keep them warmer in the winter. Some years it never gets under 32 degrees and when it does it will usually only break pvc pipes and not copper pipes. I have never seen a snow blower or a snow plow and I don't know anyone who wants to get one for an event that only happens every 150 years.

We don't fortify our roofs to handle heavy snow loads but just to hurricane proof them. I would need someone from up north to teach me how to make a snowman. In exchange I will teach them how to prepare for a hurricane. Northerners who come to New Orleans think a Hurricane is something you buy at Pat O'Briens to drink. And we call a snowball a crushed ice treat topped with delicious syrups. A snowman is a fictitious creature like the abominable snowman.

An 8 inch rain occurs at least once yearly but a 1/2 inch snow only comes about every 15 years. I don't know what an overcoat is. What are snowboots? I have been to Alaska between May and September, at least the southern part of Alaska, 5 times but never seen as much snow as we have had this week. Only once when we crossed the continental divide in Colorado have I seen this much snow.

You Yankees can have the blizzards but give me a hurricane anyday.

 

[ultrarunner]

Old cabin in snow company with galvanized pipe never an issue.

The newer homes with copper in the area not so trouble free.

Some have added heat tape which works... when the tape is on.

 

[t1kilo]

So, I’m about 20 miles north of Lafayette, and it was 2 degrees yesterday morning. We didn’t get above 30 degrees all day, but it was tolerable from my home office looking out.