Power Outages Across the US/Winter Storm - Please pray people stay warm!

[DuckieLady]

We're snowed in in Washington State. Looks like it might actually go up to 16 inches here. Probably 12 inches or so. Power outages everywhere.

We're fine. Power just came back on so I'm preparing ahead of time in case it happens again with a soup in the instant pot (will stay warm for hours if the power goes out) and starting up an extra loaf of bread just to be safe. I have a little hand crank solar, emergency radio/flashlight/phone charger thing and backup flashlights. Bathtub is full of water. It stayed plenty warm inside this morning. My little flip phone charges quickly with the little generator - and has internet. (OOooOOOo )

Other people probably not doing so well so please keep them in prayer! It's cold out there and so please pray that shelters are able to take in more than enough and that family's have enough food and stay warm, and for protection on the roads. Warnings about possible flooding in some areas.

 

[amadeus]

@FluffyYellowDuck
Joining you in prayer here.

Record snowfalls expected here in Oklahoma with a record number of days expected where the thermometer never rises above the freezing mark. My wife and I in our snug little apartment are good. We'll take one day at the time and give God the glory!

 

[April_Rose]

Yeah we're about to get a horrible snow storm starting tonight as well. I sure hope and pray that everybody stays safe and warm.

 

[DuckieLady]

Yeah we're about to get a horrible snow storm starting tonight as well. I sure hope and pray that everybody stays safe and warm.

Sorry I missed this! Did it end up being bad?

Still praying for you as well, @amadeus The snow is melting here, finally, but still pretty cold for people who don't have anywhere to go. Hope you and yours are doing well.

Unfortunately the homeless population in our area is pretty significant. Not a lot of places available and the landlords are very choosey. Last time I called for a trailer space they said it was a waiting list of 27. Here in Washington, even our state capitol is littered with trailers on the sides of the roads and homeless camps everywhere.

Such a shame, it used to be a beautiful place to venture around during the summer or hangout by the lake and watch the birds, but places like Amazon and Netflix took all the malls and small shops out of business. Now a lot of people are left with nowhere to go.

 

[April_Rose]

Sorry I missed this! Did it end up being bad?

From what I can tell (since I never go out anywhere right now I can't tell for sure) no. There's snow out there and it's really cold and it was really windy last night,.. but it doesn't look like a major storm thankfully for all the people I know that work and do go out around here are safe. The change in barometer pressure really got to me last night though as I wound up pretty sick with a migraine. Thankfully I'm doing a whole lot better today though.

 

[amadeus]

Sorry I missed this! Did it end up being bad?

Still praying for you as well, @amadeus The snow is melting here, finally, but still pretty cold for people who don't have anywhere to go. Hope you and yours are doing well.

Unfortunately the homeless population in our area is pretty significant. Not a lot of places available and the landlords are very choosey. Last time I called for a trailer space they said it was a waiting list of 27. Here in Washington, even our state capitol is littered with trailers on the sides of the roads and homeless camps everywhere.

Such a shame, it used to be a beautiful place to venture around during the summer or hangout by the lake and watch the birds, but places like Amazon and Netflix took all the malls and small shops out of business. Now a lot of people are left with nowhere to go.

Yes I remember Washington state favorably. In addition to the time I spent at Ft Lewis on active military duty, when I was a little boy, my older brother and I went one summer to Yakima where my paternal grandmother's brother [Doctor (his name, not an MD) B Walker born in about 1884]lived with all of his offspring. Undoubtedly I have lots of cousins still in that area. I remember her brother [my great-uncle] owned a large apple orchard that was all around their home except the side facing the highway... The ones I knew, my grandmother, my great uncle and my own father are all long ago gone away. It is likely a much different Washington now than the one I remember.

I was planning to attend college when I got of the army in August of 1966, so to get it started I to enrolled for two night classes at the University of Puget Sound at the army's expense. They were my first courses for credit toward my degree which I would complete later in California.

 

[amadeus]

Another snow storm is expected later today and a third one [last one?] on Wednesday. It has been miserably cold outside with wind chills well below zero. I did not check it but they said actual temperature dropped to about -15F with a wind chill factor between -25 & -30F. It made it up into the low teens today. Definitely weather for anyone to stay inside...

 

[JohnDB]

Here's a site that shows the power grid issues...

PowerOutage.US.

It pinpoints exactly who does or doesn't have power... just gotta click on the state.

And those stored vaccines had to be distributed quick when the power went out.

Some people are going to be without for a minute yet. Takes time to re-string lines and replace poles. Transmission lines first and then distribution lines.

 

[mailmandan]

Has anyone else been experiencing rolling black outs/power outages? We lost power for 1 hour at our home yesterday morning and at the Post Office for almost an hour. Evergy has been implementing controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions. While delivering mail yesterday I noticed businesses without power and traffic lights at multiple intersections lost power and it caused a wreck right in front of my eyes at one particular intersection! The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) has increased their alert level to Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 as extended cold temperatures continue to strain the regional power grid. Current conditions make additional controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions a strong possibility from around midnight through 11 am Wednesday morning. As a result, Evergy remains on standby in the event that the SPP calls for additional emergency power outages. So what is the root cause behind all this?

https://www.argusleader.com/story/n...ight-concerns-biden-energy-policy/6769858002/

 

[JohnDB]

Has anyone else been experiencing rolling black outs/power outages? We lost power for 1 hour at our home yesterday morning and at the Post Office for almost an hour. Evergy has been implementing controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions. While delivering mail yesterday I noticed businesses without power and traffic lights at multiple intersections lost power and it caused a wreck right in front of my eyes at one particular intersection! The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) has increased their alert level to Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 as extended cold temperatures continue to strain the regional power grid. Current conditions make additional controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions a strong possibility from around midnight through 11 am Wednesday morning. As a result, Evergy remains on standby in the event that the SPP calls for additional emergency power outages. So what is the root cause behind all this?

https://www.argusleader.com/story/n...ight-concerns-biden-energy-policy/6769858002/

The ice and snow has caused a few wind farms and solar farms to freeze up and stop producing power. This causes a drain on the system...and then the lines are down as well... causing a cascade effect in power outages.

 

[Mayflower]

We're snowed in in Washington State. Looks like it might actually go up to 16 inches here. Probably 12 inches or so. Power outages everywhere.

We're fine. Power just came back on so I'm preparing ahead of time in case it happens again with a soup in the instant pot (will stay warm for hours if the power goes out) and starting up an extra loaf of bread just to be safe. I have a little hand crank solar, emergency radio/flashlight/phone charger thing and backup flashlights. Bathtub is full of water. It stayed plenty warm inside this morning. My little flip phone charges quickly with the little generator - and has internet. (OOooOOOo )

Other people probably not doing so well so please keep them in prayer! It's cold out there and so please pray that shelters are able to take in more than enough and that family's have enough food and stay warm, and for protection on the roads. Warnings about possible flooding in some areas.

Praying for everyone effected. Texas is really bad with the ice. My brother and sister are down there, and my sister said she was like the only one in the neighborhood with power. They got like an inch, but Texas just isnt set up for a winter like this.

16 inches is amazing.Ill keep you in prayer for warmth and safety during this time. My part of Indiana got like 12 inches. School was cancelled yesterday and we got a snow day. (work. Lol) That is a big storm, since the preschool here hasn't closed since 2014.

 

[Mayflower]

From what I can tell (since I never go out anywhere right now I can't tell for sure) no. There's snow out there and it's really cold and it was really windy last night,.. but it doesn't look like a major storm thankfully for all the people I know that work and do go out around here are safe. The change in barometer pressure really got to me last night though as I wound up pretty sick with a migraine. Thankfully I'm doing a whole lot better today though.

Prayers for healing, April. Feel better soon.

 

[April_Rose]

Prayers for healing, April. Feel better soon.

Aww,.. thanks so much hon but I already am. *Hugs*

 

[Grailhunter]

Here in Farmington Missouri...ice and snow. About a foot on the ground with 3 foot snow drifts. Teens during the day and near zero at night. Side roads are packed ice and snow. Main roads cleared everyday. About half the town is on PMT's (underground electrical cables running off of Pad Mounted Transformers.) We have only had short power outages caused by pole mounted transformers that give up the ghost. Cold weather and snow still in the extended forecast. My house is setup for low power consumption...gas heating and cooking and high efficiency lighting, so I can run the whole house off of a generator connection.

I have been giving away and delivering dinners all winter and between me and my son we still have three freezers stuffed with food. So praise the Lord. On top of all that I won half a pig. lol I forgot what country bacon tasted like. lol I travel to several churches and leave my number on the bulletin boards. The VFW and two other organizations give away boxes of food that I deliver to those that need it. I hope all of you are doing well.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I feel awful for the homeless and people without electricity, cuz I have heat and we are STILL cold. Running out of firewood, too, which doesn't make matters better, LoL.

Was just screaming to my wife, "This is SOUTH LOUISIANA! We're not supposed to look outside and see frozen tundra out there every day for Heaven's sakes!!"

Praying for everyone effected. Texas is really bad with the ice. My brother and sister are down there, and my sister said she was like the only one in the neighborhood with power. They got like an inch, but Texas just isnt set up for a winter like this.

Exactly, LoL.

Has anyone else been experiencing rolling black outs/power outages? We lost power for 1 hour at our home yesterday morning and at the Post Office for almost an hour. Evergy has been implementing controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions.

Yes. It's what they're supposedly doing here as of yesterday, although I'm not sure if we were included in the one last night or not. I'm in the same block with a Hospital, so that may have spared us from being included.

 

[Mayflower]

Aww,.. thanks so much hon but I already am. *Hugs*

I saw this late. that is awesome though!

 

[Mayflower]

This was outside my work on monday night. Everything getting back to normal today though. Supposed to be getting more snow though I think.

 

[DuckieLady]

Has anyone else been experiencing rolling black outs/power outages? We lost power for 1 hour at our home yesterday morning and at the Post Office for almost an hour. Evergy has been implementing controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions. While delivering mail yesterday I noticed businesses without power and traffic lights at multiple intersections lost power and it caused a wreck right in front of my eyes at one particular intersection! The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) has increased their alert level to Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 as extended cold temperatures continue to strain the regional power grid. Current conditions make additional controlled, temporary emergency electricity reductions a strong possibility from around midnight through 11 am Wednesday morning. As a result, Evergy remains on standby in the event that the SPP calls for additional emergency power outages. So what is the root cause behind all this?

https://www.argusleader.com/story/n...ight-concerns-biden-energy-policy/6769858002/

Are you in Texas?

I saw a screenshot of an alert in Texas that they were rotating power outages because of high demand.

Think this might be it...
POWER OUTAGES: Rotating outages expected due to high energy demand, ERCOT says (msn.com)]

 

[DuckieLady]

Just as an idea...

Bottles of hot water (not too hot... or maybe just hot water bottles) might be a good in an emergency. Back in Victorian times, sleeping in the kitchen where the stove was being used was the ideal place to sleep, but another option for staying warm was their little bed warmers filled with hot water. Different variations but I'll post one.

There are instructions for tea light/clay pot heaters, but I remember listening on YouTube to a guy talking about them exploding on his houseboat. So not sure I would recommend that. Always studying history and looking into these things "just in case."

Okay honestly I'm probably paranoid but I think the grid will fall under attack someday. I don't trust it. So I try to prepare to live without.

I think the soda can rocket stoves are pretty cool, too.

 

[DuckieLady]

I remember having some storms, but this is the first time that I can remember of literally everybody going through a storm at once.

Did Bill Gates officially block the sun?