I'm stuck in Austin. We have power but the pipes are frozen. No amount of running the faucets will help a pair and beam house when it's 8.
In Houston the rest of the family has been without power since this morning. My house has absurd amounts of thermal mass (yay concrete walls) so they're not too cold, but lots aren't so lucky. If the weather forecast is right we should have a solid 6 hour window of sun and above freezing temperatures to make it back home tomorrow. Jt'z supposed to ice again Wednesday.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
I'm right off 35 just south of round rock, let me know if you need anything. I know we're under a boil water notice to, so be careful when water comes back on. Hopefully you have full tank, only 2 stores open yesterday were out.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as soon as it thaws you will be facing a flood. Shut off the water supply before it thaws if possible (try to get a friend or neighbor to do it if you are away). That will at least limit the amount of water. Then because everyone has busted pipes the only way to repair in a reasonable time is DIY if you can find materials...and weeks before insurance adjuster show up to see if they will actually cover anything.
mazdeuce - Seth said:
I'm stuck in Austin. We have power but the pipes are frozen. No amount of running the faucets will help a pair and beam house when it's 8.
In Houston the rest of the family has been without power since this morning. My house has absurd amounts of thermal mass (yay concrete walls) so they're not too cold, but lots aren't so lucky. If the weather forecast is right we should have a solid 6 hour window of sun and above freezing temperatures to make it back home tomorrow. Jt'z supposed to ice again Wednesday.
Heat the shutoff valve up enough to turn it off or the mess is going to be even worse when thing warm up.
In reply to yupididit :
Somewhere on your local circuit there was enough damage to cross one of the 3phase hot legs onto your neutral. Common ice storm occurence. Also can happen from a metalized mylar party balloon tangled in the wires.
We hit a low of -16F this morning in KS, windchill of -27F with about 5" of dry snow. The coldest I've ever experienced. We've had frozen pipes 2 of the last 3 mornings, but thawed them out with no damage done. They are saying to expect rolling blackouts, but haven't hit us yet, thankfully.
Attempted a trip to heb, our big local grocery store. Line was literally over half mile long, found a corner store open thankfully. We're okay on food(have mre's) if thing get too desperate, but under a boil water notice for now.
Made it home. Followed a window of sun and nearly 30 degree temperatures across the state. Worked great. Snowy roads in Austin and icy ones in Houston turned a 3 hour drive into four and a half, but we made it safe and sound. My house is fine, power back on. I got to take a shower and drink coffee. The friends house is going to have broken pipes. We may be headed back in another three days to fix them once it thaws. Assuming we can get plumbing supplies.......
mazdeuce - Seth said:
Made it home. Followed a window of sun and nearly 30 degree temperatures across the state. Worked great. Snowy roads in Austin and icy ones in Houston turned a 3 hour drive into four and a half, but we made it safe and sound. My house is fine, power back on. I got to take a shower and drink coffee. The friends house is going to have broken pipes. We may be headed back in another three days to fix them once it thaws. Assuming we can get plumbing supplies.......
Glad you were able to make it home. I heard the roads are bad, but not horrible. Apparently in Austin, the dryness of the snow helped, but some melted today and with freezing rain tonight I'm afraid tomorrow will be worse.
I expect lots of busted pipes in Austin. If you head back up, you might try to buy supplies in Houston (although there are lots of busted pipes there) or somewhere along the way. I've got employees in Houston and Austin and many of them have no water and have had no electricity since Sunday night/Monday morning. Going to be a long couple of days.
-Rob
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Happy you made it back safely. My FIL, SIL hub and kids drove to our house today. They're from Victoria area and have been without power/water since mon am. 2021 trying to outdo 2020 already..
I mean this snow we just got closed down factories and doctors offices and I'm in Ohio. It's so cold it's a fine powder and 30mph winds are blowing it everywhere. A friend got off work Friday night at 7pm because his work closed and got stuck on a highway. I can't imagine this weather in places without plow trucks, being most townships here couldn't keep up
In reply to dropstep :
That's worst part here in central/south Texas. We can deal with some cold. But we simply aren't prepared for "real winter" and sadly it's a huge reality check
It was cold enough for long enough in Austin that the snow was blowing into drifts across the roads. This is not what snow does in this part of Texas and with no snow removal equipment of any sort the roads can't be any kind of clear until it warms up. Combine that with houses built on piers with the plumbing underneath in a space that is not only uninsulated, but purposely ventilated to let air move through to cool the house. And then you have all the modern houses on slabs where the plumbing is just hanging out above the insulation in an otherwise uninsulated attic. Several million without power, still. At least most of the snow and ice will finally be melting in the next few days. And the pipes will thaw, the breaks will be found and the fixing can start. It's going to be a mess.
Watching this play out over the past few days has been nuts. I have lived in New England all my life, so snow in winter is just part of the deal. People still freak out every time we get a storm, but it's something we expect as part of living up here. The infrastructure is built for it, and municipalities (mostly) know how to deal with it. People move down south to get away from this stuff because historically it doesn't really snow there. But it seems that in recent years, especially in Texas, snow has become part of winter.
First off, welcome to the club! Now you can be miserable like the rest of us! 
All joking aside, the reality is that it's much more dangerous when this type of weather happens there. Cities and towns don't have stockpiles of salt/sand, sander trucks to treat them, and plows to clear them. The infrastructure itself is not designed to handle it. People don't have the means to clear their driveways and sidewalks the way we do. And most dangerously, the power grid has become problematic with a good portion of the state due to the weather. Seeing that this type of weather is more common these days, changes need to happen. I've seen a lot of finger pointing and blame gaming on the news lately; I'm hoping those running the show down there can get over themselves and fix this for the future, because this is increasingly looking like the norm.
For future winter reference:
-Ariens makes a great snowblower. They are like "The Answer" when it comes to snow removal. Metal adjustable angle chutes, cast iron gear boxes, and decent engines give them an edge over some of the others.
-Get multiple shovels. The "backsaver" ones are nice.
-Winter driving can be fun, but be prepared. Winter tires really do make a difference on just about everything. And don't forget winter windshield de-icer fluid and a good snow brush for the car, along with a blanket, water, and some snacks like granola bars/trail mix in case you find yourself broken down. And clear the snow off the roof before you drive!
Hoping all of my friends down there stay safe (and warm) in the coming days.
Had to sacrifice a shower curtain last night to block the rain from completely turn my ac unit into a popsicle.
What's been most interesting is seeing how the power grid is managed in Texas. And how "different" Texas does it. Which seems to have bite us in the ass at the expense of millions of people freezing without electricity.
I think that more than snow removal, it's a matter of keeping their homes warm enough to stay liveable. If the houses aren't insulated properly then that becomes more the matter of life and death. A simple kerosene heater or generator would help immensely in these situations. A gas fireplace has heated our house for 3 days here in PA when the furnace took a crap last year. When we built the house I made sure that we had a 22k generator, a 1000 gallon propane tank. Since then I added a 500 gallon propane tank and linked them together. If the power goes out, the generator takes care of most of the house. I also keep 2 kerosene heaters in the garage and a 5-gallon jug of kerosene in the garage "a just in case" or if any friends need to borrow them. Both were CraigsList buys and all I did was buy new wicks for them.
Even a small generator can be used to power a heater to keep the house liveable. Those Small unvented wall mount heaters used in garages can be fitted inside the house as well. A small 100 gallon propane tank outside could provide enough supply for a week + of continuous use and require no electricity. I know it's a little late to pontificate, but for fellow forum members, for as little as $3-400, you can avoid these issues. I hope everyone is doing well through this.
Be careful with unvented heaters, carbon monoxide poisoning is a very real possibility.
This is bananas, and I'm sad to see you guys all in the poop of it... Another new englander here, but again because we have to deal with this crap all the time, we know of the inconvenience it can bring...
I will say this for once you guys are out of this and able to do some post-mortem planning- a 4000w generator, a couple good extension cords and power strips, and a few electric element heaters will run you about $700, but will instantly pay for themselves the next time something like this happens... In our situation, it gave us a heatsource, a fridge to prevent spoilage, light, and an entertainment source for the kiddos. Just an absolute game changer. Cook on the bbq grill and your inconvenience factor is strictly limited to water availability, which can also be planned ahead for to some extent.
And i fear that the talks of 'once in a century' storms like this will be happening much more than once in a century. Believe what you want, but storms are happening more frequently and with more polarizing intensity than ever before.
Meanwhile in Lubbock (Northwest Texas, at the base of the Panhandle, 3200' ASL) ... It's been cold, some single digit days and below 0F a night or two. Freezing fog, snow, etc. I don't think my truck has touched bare pavement in a couple of days. I haven't missed any work because of weather. We have postponed some field service work and deliveries out of caution. Liberal leave policy in effect for those who don't think they can get in safely.
We had rolling blackouts in some parts of town yesterday, but nothing prolonged. My shop was never without power. Lubbock is not on ERCOT yet, so that may have been a factor.
So, the Valiant Villa is coping well enough.
I had the generator and the power cords ready but the power hasn't gone out yet here. Reports of people in the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning along with warnings not start or run your generator inside the house. 
I once was without power for 11 days in CT due to a massive storm..... But we had a generator and used it to power the pellet stove.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Halloween_nor%27easter
My heart goes out to you guys.. not fun to live through.
Still haven't seen anybody drive down our street since this mess started. No tire tracks. Nobody is driving.
In reply to Subscriber-unavailabile :
your AC will be fine. I never cover mine in minnesota..
