It Is SNOWING In San Antonio!

[YellowRose]

Being located in South Central Texas, we normally do not see much of this...

It is 16 degrees and SNOWING in San Antonio. I have about an inch on my lawn and driveway so far. It rarely snows here, and the last BIG snow we had was years ago when Johnny Carson hosted the Tonight Show. We had 14 1/2" of snow one weekend and it took us several days to clear the city. We are not equipped for snow removal like northern cities are. At 16 degrees there are neighbors out playing in the snow and setting off fireworks! It is predicted to snow until about 2-3am and then let up. I know this is nothing like many of you get to the North of us, but there are people who live here that have never seen snow on their lawns til now. Here is a picture.

[YellowRose]

At this time, the snow has stopped, and cleared off to the east of us about an hour ago. Temp is about 10 degrees, with about 3" of snow on my lawn... Under all that snow on the streets is ice! The City has been closing down freeways, sanding roads, and I guess trying to plow the snow off the roads. And encouraging everyone to stay home, stay warm and stay off the roads. We have had several fairly short duration power outages since around midnight, as CPS struggles to keep the power on across the city. Me, I have been snoozing on the couch in between all this, staying under covers to keep warm when the AC is off. But for us, it appears that the big snow storm has swept through us and all we have left is extreme cold temps. We will not get above freezing today, and will not get above freezing at night until next Saturday! These are the coldest temps I have seen here for about the last 20 or more years, maybe 30 or so. The lowest temp I have ever seen here has been 9 degrees. I can only hope that this will be the last big Cold Front that we will see this Winter... Hopefully, I can get some more sleep and the power will stay on. Here are a couple more pix taken just a few minutes ago from my front door... I hope I can get this out before we lose power again... I am aware that what we are having is nothing compared to what a good part of the northern areas in this country are experiencing. Ya have to realize that we don't normally get this kind of cold weather in South Central Texas! North and West Texas, yes! DFW is really snowed in from what I hear.. This is the kind of weather I was used to in PA and Colorado!

[Pat in Ma]

Thanks for the pics Ray, Hope you can stay safe and warm and enjoy the snow for a VERY short time
and then get back to normal there. Hope those who have never had the chance, enjoy your rare snow
fall and appreciate the nice weather you normally have.

[YellowRose]

As of 2am this morning, I had 3" of snow in my yard. About 3am it had all moved east and it is clear now. But we are still at 10 degrees, nearly unheard of temp for here. It will not get above freezing today, though the sun is shining well. Many of our major freeways and roads are ice over and closed, schools closed, and other businesses. We will not see daytime temps above freezing until Wednesday and will be in the night freezing zone until this Saturday. I have had about 9 power failures so far. Our CPS is dropping the power about every 15-20 minutes, across the city, trying to conserve power. So it has been 15-20 minutes of power, and then 15-20 no power. Something that we have not experienced before that I am aware of. We usually do not have many power outages here. Only if we have big storms, or snow and ice, the former we get much more of rather than the snow and ice. Some climatologists have been predicting the beginning of a new Ice Age, and that might be the reason for this. Here is a picture of my front yard about 3am this morning. BTW, Tweety 2 is sitting warm in her garage and not out in the snow...

[Dan Leavens]

Ray as I mentioned to you in my email earlier here in Calgary, Alberta Canada ( and most of the Northeast USA) we call 3" of snow a light dusting

[bird 60]

I feel for you and everyone else there Ray. Especially when the power gets turned off. Quite the opposite here in Adelaide S.A. Yesterday was 86F, today 92, followed by 95, 97, 94, then 77F for the next 3 days. The last thing we need is another ice age, but then again.

Chris.....From OZ.

[simplyconnected]

Wait, WHAT??? Ice age? Nooooo, we were told that 'global warming' is a problem and that's why we re-entered the Paris Climate Accord. Which is it?

I'm in Detroit (born in Chicago) and we see LOTS of snow. Well, not as much as Dan sees in Alberta Canada. He gets 'SERIOUS SNOW' which is why their moose have such long legs but here is how it goes in Detroit: The first time it gets to 0°F (-17.7C) kids stay home from school. If zero persists they go back, because now we're used to it. Our city has snow removal/salt spreader equipment (The Great Lakes have salt mines under them). Whenever 4" of snow is forecast or if it falls, all the cars must be off the streets, or you get a ticket AND your car gets plowed-in. Both are bad. Cities like Washington DC have NO snow equipment so they simply shut down.

Our power lines are well used to ice so they rarely come down. That doesn't stop some idiot from taking a utility pole down with his out-of-control car. I have a 5,000-watt portable generator. It features electric start because that 11- HP rope is a lot harder to pull now that I'm a senior. If power is out too long our pipes freeze. That's REAL bad once the ice thaws. Some years, for maybe as long as a decade, I never need to start my generator. Other years I have used it a few times OR my immediate family or neighbors have used it. It's CHEAP insurance at the cost of storing and maintaining it, which I don't mind at all.

New drivers have an excuse but it seems ALL Michigan drivers forget how to control their car when the first snow/ice cover the roads. I have re-educated my family by taking them to a large parking lot (like a bowling alley) so they could slide out of control, know how to get out of it and what to expect. Our law says we MUST have control of our car at all times. Sometimes 2-mph is too fast so speed is no excuse. It's all about braking skills and defensive driving.

I'm going outside again to shovel some more. 10" is forecast and I don't want to shovel it all at once. Robin constantly tells me 'You're not allowed to shovel at your age."

• The snow needs to be removed from my walk and driveway.
• I'm not getting any younger.
• Nobody else volunteered to do it, so I'm on my own.
• I NEED EXERCISE. <--This should be the number one reason.

If I absolutely can not shovel, I do have a snowblower in the garage with electric start. Looks like my Boy Scout (yep, I was a 'scout) training kicked in because I believe in being prepared. BTW, my dogs LOVE snow but they don't understand snow this deep because we don't get huge snowstorms very often. It's usually spread out over many weeks. We get our snow from Dan Leavens then we trickle it down to Ray Clark in Texas. Most of the time the warm-hearted Southerners melt all the snow before it gets near San Antonio, Texas. HEY RAY, freezing temperatures will pare the Diamondback Rattle Snake herd, so that's a good thing. It's also why we don't have poisonous critters in Michigan. For that, I'm more than happy to tollerate a little cold and I enjoy the change of all four seasons. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

It was 17°F (-8.3C) but I got it done, mine and my nextdoor neighbor's. My hands are cold but thank God my shovel has a wooden handle. Most of them are aluminum. It's nearly 3am and all's quiet out there. I say we've seen the last for awhile but Robin disagrees. We'll see. Anything goes in Michigan.

[OX1]

Crazy down there. Time to get snow tires for the stang?? LOL!!
Heard the windmill power generators froze up a lot.

[jopizz]

Until further notice please do not try and email Ray Clark. His power has been going up and down due to the weather situation in Texas and is currently down. If you need immediate assistance regarding the forum please contact me. Thank You.

John Pizzi
jopizz@squarebirds.org
(856)779-9695

[YellowRose]

I am shocked that nearly 12 hours later, the power is still on here at my place. This is far from over though. It is just below freezing now, going on 1am, and is supposed to rain, sleet, and snow over the rest of the night. The temps will not get above freezing here until around 2pm today they say with snow showers til 4pm! Then, another night of below freezing temps, and finally on Saturday afternoon they say we will all be clear of it as it moves East.. So it is entirely possible that I will lose my power again over night or off and on over the next couple of days. But the house is nice and warm now in the mid 70's, so I am gonna try sleeping in my bed tonight instead of on the couch... G'Night, Mates!

[Dan Leavens]

Ray stay safe and above all warm until this storm clears.

[Dan Leavens]

Ray stay safe and above all warm until this storm clears.

[simplyconnected]

Our German Shorthaired Pointer dogs can only hop in the back yard because snow is so deep. These are field dogs, bred to flush birds in tall grass. I like to remind myself about what summertime is like with these pictures... DSCN2396.JPG 2017-3-20a_Gracie.jpg
Gracie doesn't want to come inside, she just wants to know what I'm doing...

In a couple hours Detroit will see -4°F (-20C). Salt simply doesn't work below 10°F. At these temperatures the air has nearly zero moisture so it is unlikely to snow. It's times like this when Robin really appreciates her 'remote start'. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

SNOW Ray Clark.jpg


2021FEB17Snowfall-A.jpg
Yep, been busy. That's Robin's Escape on the right. - Dave

[YellowRose]

Thanks to John ~ jopizz for merging the thread I had in General Discussion with this one I started in Anything Goes. Now everything regarding this is in one place. I got to bed around 2am, and in my bed this time, and off the couch, and I did not get out of bed until after 09:30! I guess I needed the sleep. The power has stayed on for nearly 24 hours now, but overnight there is about an inch of new snow on my yard! As Dano sez, "A light dusting" for them in Canada! Lol... With snow predicted til this afternoon, and then again tonight. It looks like they MAY have the power stabilized, but for all I know, it could go off before I finish typing this! So hold the emails, and if you need assistance, continue to contact John ~ jopizz or Dave. I enjoyed the cartoon, and the pix of the dogs, Dave. So I am hanging in here, and in two more days, we may be clear of all this, but John tells me now they are starting to get what we got, as it moves more into the northeast of the country.

[YellowRose]

I just went outside to check my water faucet in front and found that it is still snowing! I thought it had stopped, but once outside I found it was snowing on me while I checked my faucet drip. I turned it on a bit more to let more water drip out of it so it does not freeze. Temps MIGHT get slightly above freezing around 3pm, but the snow is not expected to stop and then clear out of here until 6pm. However, over night, the next two nights, we will be down to freezing again, around 22 for a low, but tomorrow we should be in the 40's for a high, and on Saturday. After Saturday, we should be ranging between 40-nearly 80 degrees and no over night freezing! I kid you NOT!. So much for South Texas Weather! In the meantime, my power is still on, but they are saying not to expect it to stay on, as they continue to stabilize the power grid. Many people across Texas are without power AND water, because of bursting pipes. Firefighting personnel are having problems finding unfrozen fire hydrants to pump water from, because some of those lines are bursting. There are homes that caught fire due to faulty fire places, or improperly used electric heaters that have caught homes on fire. There are 21 deaths in Texas that I know of so far due to one reason or another. People going into their garage, turning on the car, getting into it to warm up, and failing to open the garage door, or back the car out of the garage so that carbon monoxide does not kill them.. There have been several deaths due to that. Fires, auto accidents, are other causes, along with people with health issues unable to get to a hospital. Hospitals are struggling to maintain operation due to shortages of power and also water.... It ain't over yet, but by the weekend, it should be...

[simplyconnected]

Ray, maybe I'm ignorant about a lot of things but I have concerns:

• We get sub-zero temps in Michigan and we have livestock. We put our animals in UNheated barns and they survive without incident. Frozen water is a big issue if livestock can't drink but electricity isn't the only source of heat. As long as you have snow and any source of heat you also have water.
• Our fire engines carry their own water. They rarely hook up to a hydrant. Many of our towns (and hospitals) have water towers in case of water failure. Our zoo has one too.
• Our hospitals have their own emergency generators. They have to. They're huge and driven by diesel engines.
• I wonder why your grid is so fragile! In the north (where it's REALLY cold) we have power, only because our lines get a freeze-workout every year.
• Michigan has wood. We also get propane and kerosene at just about every busy corner gas station. Texas must have these fuels including natural gas.

I reckon Texas depends on high temperatures as a lifeline otherwise you're in deep trouble. I can't believe Texans are running their cars in closed garages...
I gather your place is heated with natural gas. You may want to purchase an inverter large enough to run your furnace motor. Your car battery may not sustain it for long periods of time without starting your engine but you will have heat from your furnace. - Dave