Major SHTF winter storm for Texas 2-11 till 2-17, maybe longer

[91CavGT]

This is not good folks. The TV weathermen are just now starting to give hints at what is coming, but it is too little too late.

So what is so bad? Well, it is multiple things all happening at once. This is what they are;

1. Most of the state is going to be below freezing from Saturday till Wednesday. Typically, in the southern half of the state, it only drops below freezing for maybe 18-24 hours at a time.

2. Not only is most of the state going to be below 32 degrees, but a VERY large part of the state is going to see single digit temps, or lower!!

3. Starting today, some parts of the state are already having ice on the roads due to freezing mist/fog/rain. This is the first round of winter weather. Another, much larger round will be coming through on Monday and into Tuesday. This round is projected to cause close to blizzard conditions SOUTH of Dallas, and to dump several inches of snow in many other large areas.

4. If those weren’t bad enough, the last strain on the power grid was in February of 2011 when a relatively minor cold snap came through and froze up cooling tunnels to 2 of the generating power plants in Texas. This caused rolling blackouts to occur. Well, that was 10 years ago. The population of Texas has grown a lot since then and no more power plants have been built. When I asked my power supplier contact about this, he nervously stated that he is going to be busy trying to prevent a complete meltdown of the grid. For a bit of context, he never jokes around about work.



Texas is ill prepared to deal with a major winter storm like this. Unlike states in the mountains or up north, we don’t have snow plows. The state has a few and some cities in the pan handle have some but that’s it. We don’t have enough sand/salt to treat all roads, just major interstates.

This cold snap is going to break records, but not just daily records. It appears as though it will break all time records. I know this all sounds alarmist but that is only because the media is not relaying how major this is going to be.


Prep now my Texas friends, this could be a rough one.

[flock6]

I guess TN could come to y'alls conceited asses rescue yet again.

[Winni]

Sounds like a normal winter day in the north east. NTL, good luck to all.

[91CavGT]

And there in lies the big problem. Northern and/or colder climate states are used to this kind of weather, but we aren’t. However, it is not just the people that are ill prepared, but the infrastructure too. My water lines are buried just 24” underground as per code. Everywhere you look there are water spigots coming out of the walls on almost every house and building(my house has 3). We don’t have enough snow plows to go around the state. VERY few people have winter tires much less chains for their vehicles. The salt/sand trucks are just dump trucks with a spreader adapted to the back of them. When the electricity goes out, people freak out in their all-to-common all electric homes and they have no way to keep warm. I’ve got 2 people in my family that fall into this category.


It’s gonna be bad, and has the potential to be epically bad.

[bambam]

And there in lies the big problem. Northern and/or colder climate states are used to this kind of weather, but we aren’t. However, it is not just the people that are ill prepared, but the infrastructure too. My water lines are buried just 24” underground as per code. Everywhere you look there are water spigots coming out of the walls on almost every house and building(my house has 3). We don’t have enough snow plows to go around the state. VERY few people have winter tires much less chains for their vehicles. The salt/sand trucks are just dump trucks with a spreader adapted to the back of them. When the electricity goes out, people freak out in their all-to-common all electric homes and they have no way to keep warm. I’ve got 2 people in my family that fall into this category.


It’s gonna be bad, and has the potential to be epically bad.

I have outside spigots too Cav, but have cut-off valves to them for cold weather. Got my generator ready and plenty of gas. People here were buying milk and bread like it was gold. I bought 3 cases of beer and walked out laughing.

[91CavGT]

We don’t have shut off valves for the spigots. The only way to stop the water flow going to them is to go to the edge of the street and raise a flimsy plastic cover(non insulated I might add) and shut off water to the whole house.

[bambam]

We don’t have shut off valves for the spigots. The only way to stop the water flow going to them is to go to the edge of the street and raise a flimsy plastic cover(non insulated I might add) and shut off water to the whole house.

Only option I can think of is heat tape them, or let them drip so they don't freeze.

[flock6]

Our frost line here is only 6" . Most all service water lines here are less than 24", more like 16-18" I'm confident you will be fine. They make little styrofoam dome to cover outside spigots. If not available wrap a towel or similar around it. Leave an inside faucet running at a quick drip. Simply stay home as much as possible. Winter Sucks.

[ak474u]

European model shows us getting 10-12" snow on Monday. It's a little early for that to be 100% correct, but we're gonna get something. Biggest issue we have is everyone forgets how to drive. It's been icy all day here but the ground is too warm still. We're gonna have 84 hours of sub freezing before the precip shows up.

North TX

[TheCitizenPatriot]

Jim Cantori on TWC summed it up nicely - "Texas, you're gonna have a very interesting week." Prayers for all my friends and family down yonder.