OT: Good Luck To Everyone During the Storm

[Brady_to_Moss]

I guess you haven't heard the good news...inch or more of rain coming Monday afternoon... Going to be around 38-40 most of the week, not enough to melt a lot but just enough for water content on rooves to become an issue.

Hope you're having a wonderful time in FLA...

inch of rain? Going to cause serious flooding issues down our street then....bad news for a lot of people

 

[DaBruinz]

Mo - You forgot to mention that, even though it is supposed to rain, it's also supposed to freeze up over-night.. So, good luck with that.. it's going to make the current situation even worse, not better.

 

[PatsDeb]

Official tally for Portland 31.8 inches and I bet we got about that where I live south of there. And the street plow guy is the devil, 4 foot + bankings to get rid of.

On a serious note, make sure all vent pipes are clear if you have propane or K-1, stoves. Also the vent for the clothes dryer. I make it a habit of checking those and for the first time they were both close to being covered.

Very true, especially after that tragedy with the kid in the car. We lost our hot water earlier in the day, and I now know from experience that it is because the exhaust pipe is blocked and the unit has an automatic shut-off if that happens. The things you learn as a northern New Englander!

 

[Joker]

Just got cable back....looks like everybody's favorite or least favorite (depending on your taste) misanthrope survived this monster.

So..Deus...new snow thrower huh?..me too!! mid size Toro and it throws this heavy wet stuff just fine...boy, am I glad...uh oh...scratch that....oak tree just flattened the Toro and my deck in the driveway. Nice....oh, there goes the pine tree on the other side of the house..beautiful...hit the roof just right... I'm ecstatic.

I'm very happy that our members seem to have weathered this event without too much difficulty.Still no power down here in South County but having the sense (yeah, where did THAT come from?) to hard wire a generator this summer has really paid off. I wholeheartedly endorse taking this precaution, especially if you live in outlying areas.

 

[Deus Irae]

Just got cable back....looks like everybody's favorite or least favorite (depending on your taste) misanthrope survived this monster.

So..Deus...new snow thrower huh?..me too!! mid size Toro and it throws this heavy wet stuff just fine...boy, am I glad...uh oh...scratch that....oak tree just flattened the Toro and my deck in the driveway. Nice....oh, there goes the pine tree on the other side of the house..beautiful...hit the roof just right... I'm ecstatic.

I'm very happy that our members seem to have weathered this event without too much difficulty.Still no power down here in South County but having the sense (yeah, where did THAT come from?) to hard wire a generator this summer has really paid off. I wholeheartedly endorse taking this precaution, especially if you live in outlying areas.

Sucks about the Toro and the deck. Are they both total losses?

 

[Joker]

I have great insurance on everything, thank God. Now as far as response time, THAT is a question I cannot answer. The entire town of Charlestown is without power and there are literally thousands of downed old growth oaks that have collapsed power lines all over.

Pretty bad year for catastrophic weather events I'd say....I'm just happy that the rest of you people seem to have made it out of the woods, so to speak.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I have great insurance on everything, thank God. Now as far as response time, THAT is a question I cannot answer. The entire town of Charlestown is without power and there are literally thousands of downed old growth oaks that have collapsed power lines all over.

Pretty bad year for catastrophic weather events I'd say....I'm just happy that the rest of you people seem to have made it out of the woods, so to speak.

Sorry about that!

 

[Angry Man]

Some of the pics I've seen today have looked really nasty for you folks. Good luck and stay safe out there. We're expecting a nasty storm to pass through us starting tonight-ish/tomorrow that's predicted at least one foot of snow. I'm already getting stuff such as batteries (both AA/AAA and my several backup packs for my devices), bottles of water, and other stuff ready in case I lose power.

 

[Ian]

I have great insurance on everything, thank God. Now as far as response time, THAT is a question I cannot answer. The entire town of Charlestown is without power and there are literally thousands of downed old growth oaks that have collapsed power lines all over.

Pretty bad year for catastrophic weather events I'd say....I'm just happy that the rest of you people seem to have made it out of the woods, so to speak.

That sucks man, I'm sorry to hear. That's a heck of a thing for you to have to deal with and hope it gets resolved in a timely manner.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

snowthrower? Are you not originally from around here? Everyone i know in MA/NE calls it a snowblower. But some out west call it snowthrower. just wondering. like pop/soda.

And a big x2 on setting up a generator into your fuse box/panel. Our gen will run almost the entire house with it bypassed into out breaker. We are ready for zombies people

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Pretty good summation in this article. Thing that paid off in MA was Patrick having the stones announce he was going to to shut the T down at 3:30 and the roads down at 4 on Friday which forced private companies and some school districts who were hedging to send everyone who hadn't just opted to stay home home by early afternoon. Other good thing it left two days to dig out as the plows and guys driving them were running out of gas literally and figuratively by Saturday afternoon and many neighborhood streets are barely passable 1 lanes but due to be revisited in full force today.

Saw something I haven't seen in years. Three industrious teenage brothers walking the neighborhood with shovels on their shoulders knocking on doors. Hoping I don't regret declining because the teenage wuss on retainer says he's waiting to get a snowblower today... I hope he meant waiting as in it's a done deal...

Also heard a heartwarming story from friends down in Weymouth, a couple in their 70's both of whom have medical problems, whose neighbors showed up en mass yesterday afternoon after dealing with their own messes to shovel them out. Restores your faith in human nature just a bit.

New England, NY still digging from storm that dropped up to 3 feet; thousands without power | Fox News

 

[patsinthesnow]

(Ignorant comment incoming regarding power outages)

The storm stopped around 1pm yesterday. It is 7:40am, its been 16 hours that the power companies have had to restore power. If they work "non-stop" why does it take days? Can someone explain the process?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Simple answer divide 400,000 by 16. I know it always sucks when you're down on the list but they had to dig out trucks and reposition crews that were staged farther west and are still dealing with things like downed trees and impassible local roads...especially on the south shore. Most of the outages this time around seem to be NStar customers. NY is sending in crews today since they lucked out compared to MA. There are whole towns without power on the south shore and those will warrant priority.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Simple answer divide 400,000 by 16. I know it always sucks when you're down on the list but they had to dig out trucks and reposition crews that were staged farther west and are still dealing with things like downed trees and impassible local roads...especially on the south shore. Most of the outages this time around seem to be NStar customers. NY is sending in crews today since they lucked out compared to MA. There are whole towns without power on the south shore and those will warrant priority.

Understandable, and true, our town has 80% without power in the southshore, hope they get to it.

 

[Nikolai]

I have a family member who works for Northeast Utilities and once he finally got out of the driveway (11am), it took him a while to get to work, where the crews were being staged. By the time they got everyone there, the trucks ready, and the gameplan disseminated, it was 4-5pm. Then they hit the highway, which was still littered with abandoned and wrecked cars. It supposedly took a few hours just to go 50 miles. It's going to be a process.

Not only that, but usually, they'll tackle the most important and most affected lines. So if you're on a major line that serves a hospital, you'll probably be back on quickly. If you live at the end of a rural cul-de-sac, it could be a while. It's just the way it goes.

As for us, I've got a little amatuer weather station and I measured 36" here on the Hartford/Litchfield county line. It's crazy. At midnight Friday/Saturday, it was only at 15" and by the time I got up to shovel and snowblow at 5am, it was pretty much at 35-36". That's 4" an hour! The drifts weren't that bad here, as the highest wind gust I saw here was 55mph, but they were usually in the 35-45mph range with sustained winds not much above 20-25mph.

It still took seven hours to clear out though between snowblowing the driveway and handling areas around the car and house with the shovel. I headed out in my truck to clear my grandmother's driveway, and most secondary roads here are cleared about the width of one car if they're cleared at all. Thankful I've got a bit of a lift on the truck. I just wish I would have invested in a plow. I'd make a mint this weekend.

As for the historic nature of the storm, it's definitely historic. I lived in Canada for five years and I've only ever seen one other storm that had more snow, but it fell over a 60 hour period. This thing dumped 36" of snow in less than 24 hours. Ridiculous!

And while New England's power grid does sometimes leave something to be desired, I had power go out on me twice in less than a year in Sweden. It happens everywhere.

Hope everyone else got through this ok. For those without power, stay warm and safe.

Good luck y'all.

 

[Frezo]

I went out to survey the driveway this morning. My plow guy didn't do anything. I called and there was no answer. Hopefully he's OK. So here's my 57 year old bad back and a snow shovel starting on 30"+ of snow. My new neighbor who moved in a month ago from across the street that I never met comes over with his snow blower and clears the driveway in about 20 minutes! What a great guy! I'm blown away. I offered money, he wouldn't take it. There's a pot of chili in his future though. eace:

 

[Joker]

I have to go up to Cranston to do my mom's house....snow blower will do the work...my back is shot from yesterday...plus, I woke up screaming in agony with muscle spasms in both my legs this morning...??????...lack of electrolytes??...maybe just age...I still think I'm in my twenties

 

[Ian]

I have to go up to Cranston to do my mom's house....snow blower will do the work...my back is shot from yesterday...plus, I woke up screaming in agony with muscle spasms in both my legs this morning...??????...lack of electrolytes??...maybe just age...I still think I'm in my twenties

I shoveled quite a bit before we got plowed out. Although after he came and left I went inside and after a bit realized I pulled something in my lower back. It got worse and I couldn't move last night and am only slightly better this morning, so now I'll be spending the afternoon in this chair with a heating pad on my back. I'm only 37 - and my wife was joking about this being a "preview" of things to come

 

[Frezo]

I shoveled quite a bit before we got plowed out. Although after he came and left I went inside and after a bit realized I pulled something in my lower back. It got worse and I couldn't move last night and am only slightly better this morning, so now I'll be spending the afternoon in this chair with a heating pad on my back. I'm only 37 - and my wife was joking about this being a "preview" of things to come

I sure hope you feel better. Don't mess with the back though. If it doesn't go away have it looked at. Also stand in front of a mirror and see if one shoulder is lower than the other. That could be an indication of a herniated disc. Don't end up like me. The disc between L4 and L5 vertebra in my back is disintegrated. Kinda sucks.

 

[Ian]

I sure hope you feel better. Don't mess with the back though. If it doesn't go away have it looked at. Also stand in front of a mirror and see if one shoulder is lower than the other. That could be an indication of a herniated disc. Don't end up like me. The disc between L4 and L5 vertebra in my back is disintegrated. Kinda sucks.

Thanks. As for you, that definitely sucks, sorry to hear that. I did this years ago and it went away but this is the first time it's happened where it's really hurt this bad. The good news is it's definitely a little better than last night so I'm hoping by tomorrow it comes around. It's basically right at the center of my lower back. Took 3 Advil and it didn't make much of a difference so I'm just forcing myself to take it easy today and have no intention of going anywhere. We'll see how it goes.