Weather Chat Megathread

[tater]

 

[Silavite]

15 hours ago, XB-70A said:

The latest NAM forecast gave a central pressure of 897 hPa on Wednesday at 16:00Z, which would make Laura the fifth most intense tropical cyclone in Northern Atlantic. 

The NAM should never be used to forecast tropical systems. It's ill-suited to the task.

 

 

[Lewie]

It’s hot here in South Dakota....so hot....

and the last swimming pool just closed 

[tater]

 

[tater]

Yikes.

 

[GDJ]

Necro-post.

The weather today: Cold, with a slice of COLD.

As of this posting, -43C (-45F), with the windchill added, -47C (-53F).


Gotta love this polar vortex we get every year, eh?

EDIT: Yes the vehicles are plugged in.  At this temperature the average car battery has maybe 1/3 of it's rated output, if it's not frozen. Cranes and lifting devices are derated 50%.

Edited February 7, 2021 by GDJ

[YNM]

16 hours ago, GDJ said:

Gotta love this polar vortex we get every year, eh?

I have to say, seems like this year we've got 3 circulations rather than just 1 or 2 ?

I mean I'm both sorry that you guys have to endure the cold but I also have to say sorry that that cold is sign that things really are changing.

 

Down here we've got record floods all around as well : in Kalimantan and Central Java. Meanwhile Australia is seeing bushfires again.

Edited February 8, 2021 by YNM

[StrandedonEarth]

On 2/7/2021 at 6:34 AM, GDJ said:

Necro-post.

The weather today: Cold, with a slice of COLD.

As of this posting, -43C (-45F), with the windchill added, -47C (-53F).


Gotta love this polar vortex we get every year, eh?

EDIT: Yes the vehicles are plugged in.  At this temperature the average car battery has maybe 1/3 of it's rated output, if it's not frozen. Cranes and lifting devices are derated 50%.

Yeah, Vancouver is slated to dip below -10C for a couple nights this week, which is rare. Yellowknife (Northwest  Territory) reported-57C with the wind chill!

[Cydonian Monk]

Fun times. 16 °F in Houston this morning, predicted to get down to 8 °F tonight. (Remarkably _not_ a record.) No electric here at the casa since 2AM, and everything is frozen over. Most of my house is in the 60s right now, but temperature is dropping both inside and out. 

This "vortex" has the very real potential to be more deadly than any of the hurricanes I've been through here in Houston. 

[AlamoVampire]

Im west of @Cydonian Monk and where im at im coming up on 7 hours no power. Sure snows pretty, but i want my power back... over 200k ppl in my town w/out power, 7800 or so alone in my zip... 

111702152021

[tater]

Was 0F here last night.

[TheSaint]

[AlamoVampire]

Can it stop being nasty weather in texas please? Other day I was with out power 11 hours 20 minutes at the longest. It was cold and very uncomfortable. Tonight it is warmer (in the mid to upper 30s) and around 830 or so pm my water pressure dropped. 3 or so hours later it was gone. Pipes are likely not frozen as my neighbor has no water either. Fine i can manage. But as of about 10 minutes ago as i write now my power is out too! This has passed beyond curious through irritating right into infuriating.

025502172021

update.... 1 hour into loss of power. So no water or power... this stinks.

034502172021

update.... i honestly feel like i am stuck in a farce. In 1 minutes time my power will have been down for 2 hours and my water for about 4-5 hours. Please i beg make this situation end...

044402172021

Update the third.... it is 0540 as i start typing this. It is 31 degrees outside. I hear freezing rain or rain (not sure which but most likely freezing given its 31F) and I am nearing 3 hours w/out power and 5-6 hours w/out any water to my house. I am certain that this has to be either a cosmic joke or a farce. They say it will reach into the low 40s today. I know my little saga isnt gripping reading but it helps to have some place I can vent my frustration at my helplessness in this situation. As I near the end of this update I want to thank you for reading and following along. There we go, 3 hours no power, 5-6 no water. Please make this end, i just want power and water back.

05402172021

update the fourth 0635 in 10 minutes power will have been down for 4 hours. This is not fun. I am not pleased. ERCOT which is the power grid and company that runs said grid is doing a miserable job keeping the power on. I am sick of this. Whats worse is I can step out my front door and see power on down just 1.5 blocks from me in 1 direction (my left as i stand on my front porch) and power on 1 block directly in front of me. My question is: why is it I never see those houses with out power? Why always the circuit powering my block? I live in a simple neighborhood. There is no reason my block has to suffer like this, why not share this load onto those homes? Id get it if a hospital or a police station shared their circuits but the nearest hospital is several miles away and the police sub station nearest me is easily twice as far as the hospital. Heck even the closest fire station is 4-5 miles away... well as i close this update the 4 hour mark is less than 3 minutes away. Im giving up and going to sleep. Thanks for reading and letting me vent.

064202172021

update the fifth at 0715 power came back. 4 hours 30 minutes. Water however is still mia.

072002172021

Edited February 17, 2021 by AlamoVampire

[Spaceman.Spiff]

The outside is cold, but my space heater is not.

[Sky Kerman]

1 hour ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

The outside is cold, but my space heater is not.

me too

[JIMMY_the_DOG]

Lots of cirrus clouds out here in Virginia, other than that it's a beautiful day. Cirrus means rain, however it's forecasted to snow tomorrow!

[Sky Kerman]

Its snowing.

[Stormpilot]

Nice sunny day here in Vancouver (west coast of Canada land).

[Dan Kerman]

On 2/15/2021 at 8:55 AM, Cydonian Monk said:

Fun times. 16 °F in Houston this morning, predicted to get down to 8 °F tonight. (Remarkably _not_ a record.) No electric here at the casa since 2AM, and everything is frozen over. Most of my house is in the 60s right now, but temperature is dropping both inside and out. 

This "vortex" has the very real potential to be more deadly than any of the hurricanes I've been through here in Houston. 

I'm north of you...  one of the lucky few as we never lost power... probably because were near two large hospitals and several medical centers. Haven't been in cold like this since I left NY. Happy to set home, ride the exercise bike and play Kerbal.

[Cydonian Monk]

13 minutes ago, Dan Kerman said:

I'm north of you...  one of the lucky few as we never lost power... probably because were near two large hospitals and several medical centers. Haven't been in cold like this since I left NY. Happy to set home, ride the exercise bike and play Kerbal.

I've been on the "1 hour on / 2 hours off" electric plan for most of today. That's after having been off the grid for 38 hours and a dozen or so intermittent hours before and after. At least that allows me to get the temperature up to livable levels and recharge some batteries. Indoor temperatures had somewhat stabilized in the 40-45 °F range before the power came back, but that's really tough to sleep in.  Thankfully had lots of cloth masks lying about for some reason..... 

Water is kind of back on, but sketchy. No burst pipes here yet, but it did get down to 13 °F Tuesday morning and we've got more in store here real soon now. I full well expect some "hairline" fractures to work their way into becoming indoor waterfalls, but who knows. Maybe I get lucky on that front. Some of my friends have not been so lucky.

This is the worst hurricane I've lived through.  All the misery, all of the disrupted utilities, all the political finger pointing, and none of the exciting winds. I want a refund. Lol. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Cydonian Monk

[AlamoVampire]

I honestly feel like I am living in some surreal nightmare. I have not had running water for 36 hours almost (nor has my neighborhood) and my power has been less than stable. But oh it gets better. It is 29 degrees F outside (looking at about a high of 35-36F in a few hours) and it is snowing again. I live in south texas. It. Does. Not. Snow. Here. And in the span of less than a week I see about half a foot of snow, power and water failures and now its snowing again. I just want my normal texas weather back. Id settle right now just to have power (still on as i write this) and running water, fast food places to be open and a cessation of this infernal snow. I can live with 29 degree weather but take away the snow please, its lost its charm. Sorry to rant but holy cow this weather is beyond irritating.

083402182021

update: minimal water pressure has returned. Snow is falling still. No real hope of normal life returning at this point. I never thought I would hate snow. I now hate snow. I just want to stop living in fear of never knowing when my power will fail, of not knowing just how long my power will be off when it fails or now, thanks to how bad this week has been of not knowing when potable safe water (city wide boil water notice in effect) will be a thing again. Can it be over and can my regular worries please return? This isnt fun any more. Again guys, I know it isnt gripping or thrilling reading but you cannot know just how cathartic it is to be able to share my front line experiences of the worst winter weather texas has seen. Wish me luck.

125702182021

Edited February 18, 2021 by AlamoVampire

[kerbiloid]

On 2/17/2021 at 11:55 AM, AlamoVampire said:

around 830 or so pm my water pressure dropped. 3 or so hours later it was gone. Pipes are likely not frozen as my neighbor has no water either. Fine i can manage. But as of about 10 minutes ago as i write now my power is out too!

 

On 2/17/2021 at 11:55 AM, AlamoVampire said:

3 hours w/out power and 5-6 hours w/out any water to my house

Do you see the picture?
The electricity disappears ~3 hours after water.

Got it. Your outlets are powered from a water wheel powered by waterfall from the water tower on top.
It takes 3 hours for it to get empty.

On 2/17/2021 at 11:55 AM, AlamoVampire said:

Whats worse is I can step out my front door and see power on down just 1.5 blocks from me in 1 direction (my left as i stand on my front porch) and power on 1 block directly in front of me. My question is: why is it I never see those houses with out power?

They hide a turbine in the street sewer pipe.

On 2/18/2021 at 5:34 PM, AlamoVampire said:

I live in south texas. It. Does. Not. Snow. Here. And in the span of less than a week I see about half a foot of snow, power and water failures and now its snowing again.

Just imagine, how the gators are shocked.

[TheKosanianMethod]

On 2/17/2021 at 2:28 PM, JIMMY_the_DOG said:

Lots of cirrus clouds out here in Virginia, other than that it's a beautiful day. Cirrus means rain, however it's forecasted to snow tomorrow!

And the snow was... meh. We got a bunch of sleet and ice. I woke up at around 8:30 yesterday and thought it was raining, but no it was just my roof getting pelted by ice. It was entertaining watching the plows try and scrape ice off the roads all day, but you really couldn't do much other than shove ice around. The roads weren't totally clear near me until the ice started melting.

[AlamoVampire]

This whole weather disaster in texas has been a nightmare. North of 40F at my house and power went out like 15 minutes ago. This is a NIGHTMARE. Sooner things return to normal the better. 171702192021

Update power was out for about 30 min.

191502192021

Edited February 20, 2021 by AlamoVampire

[YNM]

On 2/15/2021 at 9:55 PM, Cydonian Monk said:

This "vortex" has the very real potential to be more deadly than any of the hurricanes I've been through here in Houston. 

I hope you guys have enough things to burn to heat things up or something. I have relatives over there too.

But yeah, TX knows that hurricanes are a thing, but cold snaps are not something in your imagination, that's why it's so much worse.