Are you guys prepare for snow storms this winter?

Environment Canada reports that the Lina cool wave front from South America will travel up to Canada. It will create much colder weather than the past 15yrs.

I read news reports that this storm has already hit the US.


Do you guys store extra winter clothing in the car besides your office attire?

Yes, here in northernmost NH (just a few miles from the border with Canada) winter storms and blizzards happen every year. I keep extra clothing, wool blankets, candles and food in the car, and plenty of stuff at home where I also work.

I've heard that forecast too. I've already got ice tires on the cars and a fat wood pile. But that's standard operating procedure for me. I like having critical resouces close at hand.

Can't be worse than the weather when I was a kid. I remember the year when they used D-9 Cats to clear a single driving lane down the rural roads. The snow was that deep. Probably unusual, but not unheard of.

My DW and I also have an understanding: turn back if the roads are too horrible to travel safely. We can afford a night or two in a hotel if the commute is impossible. And no-one will perish if we don't get to work for a day or two. So make the judgement call, phone home, and settle in with a good book. Everything else will work itself out.

Extra gear? Absolutely. Enough for a crude overnight winter camp, spare hats, mitts, coat, tarp and rope, candles, blankets, cooking can/pot, and an old sleeping bag too. Guess I got into the habit when I drove those old clunkers as a starving student. Got rid of the clunkers; kept the habit. DW now reports that she feels vaguely uneasy travelling in somebody else's vehicle; most people still don't carry anything more than a latte and a cell phone.

Is it useful to keep a candle with winter kit?
Candle use up oxygen supply in the tightly closed car.

I do not envy you guys at all. We were in Wyoming, the dreaded white stuff arrived, and we boogied on down to Arizona for the winter. Being retired is soooo nice...

What snow? I am stuck here in Florida. It was in the mid 80s this weekend and 100% humidity. Walked through neighborhood doing roving Xmas party wearing T-shirt and shorts, sweating my butt off.

When will summer ever end?

I think a good supply of candles is essential. It helps break the chill a surprising amount. There's also the psychological 'glow' that encourages people to stay put when stranded (when the unprepared try to walk out, tragedy often strikes).

I don't think cars are sealed tightly enough for one or two candles to cause a carbon monoxide problem. At least not the ones I drive :-). However, I would crack one window open just a little to ensure fresh air, and simultaneously to vent a little moisture so it doesn't kill my insulation.

"What snow?"

I'm lobbing a flurry of snowballs in your direction. FedEx has specific instructions on how to 'deliver' them when you open your front door.

;-)

Guess I'm as ready as I can be.
Fuel for the generator and oil lamps
Fuel for the Kerosene heater
Extra food for the main pantry


Still looking for some of those blue 55gal drums.


Preped the Truck and SUV for winter


Rechecked all doors and windows for good weather seals

Ready as I can be, I hope

Yukon winterized, new winter wiper blades
Gas tank full, kept at least 1/2 full at all times
Added lock deicer, winter windshield fluid and dry gas to the Yukon
Chains and cat litter are in the Yukon
Expandable Snow brush and steel square tip "D" handle shovel are in the Yukon
Sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, parka, extra hat, extra gloves, extra socks, extra boots, fleece sweeter and pants are in the Yukon.
2 Candle lanterns with 6 extra candles, 2 boxes REI matches, 1/2" firesteel and tinder quik, chem warmers, 2 BIC lighters, Trangia alcohol stove, cook pot and extra fuel in small ammo can.
12 road flares in a dry box
Vehicle PSK remade for winter
Bark River Bravo-1 and PSK knife are in the console
Cell Phone Charger in the Yukon
All MAG lights, 2-5 cell, and 4 AA mini-mags have LED bulbs and fresh Lithium batteries. Extra lithium batters in console
Flagging tape (for door and antenna streamers), replaced and fresh.
8 "Humanitarian" meals in metal ammo can with extra coffee and tea packets.

Water gets loaded every day, as it will freeze over night.

It's been -20C and snowing for days here in Edmonton...it's the first winter in a LONG time that I'd consider normal. It's not that winter will be bad this year it's that the last 4 or 5 have been very mild and nobody is used to it.

Here on the North end it is snowing quite heavy right now. If it keeps snowing like this I will be breaking out the old snowshoes for this weekends fuzzy bunnie hunting.

Well bring em on. My blender has about had it and I need something other than a hammer and a plastic bag full of ice cubes to make my margaritas with.

Ahh, now that'd be a great idea for a snowcone flavor...

Does this mean that global warming is over

Is there long burning candle? most candle burn up very quickly.

Nuwick makes a 44 hour and 120 hour candle. I just bought the 120 hour candle but I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet.

Yes. I moved down to Florida in the late 70s.

In that light I have been preparing for this blizzard for better than three decades. It will be tough (I'm typing this with my shirt off, windows open and heat off) but I will try to hang on.

Y'all stay warm and safe. I'll see what I can do to send some southern sunshine and coconut breezes up your way.

Ready!

We look forward to working and training the dogs in the snow because they seem to love it. The dogs always have much more energy to work when it is colder outside. They tend to get lazier as the temperatures go up.

Teaching the dogs to track in the snow is also easier when you can see the footsteps your dog is following.

http://www.jolietschutzhund.com/Slideshows/slideshow2_17_2007.htm

Well I guess I was ready, our power went out last night, actually it was out from 8:45 pm till 4:45 am and it was 15 degrees last night. I have a two story home with basement, I used the kerosene heater to heat the house until I hooked up the generator to the furnace and water well, we then used the oil lamps for light. Everything worked flawlessly.

I heard yesterday that there might be rolling blackouts for the first time in forever here this winter...bad time to live in a condo...good time to own a generator?

Are you aloud to own and operate a generator in a Condo, I always wondered about that, if not would a good deep cycle marine or golf cart battery with an inverter and solar charger be an option? The rolling blackouts you mentioned are they just where you live or are they predicted for the US as well.

Do condo owners allowed to have generators? I am curious.

Getting the gear in the cars - food, shovel, sleeping bags, etc.

Technically no. But it's a very small inverter model (850W/950W peak) so I doubt anybody would even notice it while it was running.

Most condo associations set crazy rules for the people who live there. Only one vehicle per parking space (which my motorcycle violates daily), can't hang anything in the windows that isn't pleasing to look at, etc etc etc.

I also keep the 60Ah/1000W inverter power pack in the house and fully charged at all times just in case.

This isn't very likely to happen.

We're having a cold snap up here, so demand goes up too. Mostly, it's nitwit consumers who are turning on their electric dryers, ovens, dishwashers, and plugging in block heaters in their cars ... all at 6 PM when they get home from work. That's what all the fuss is about.

The Alberta grid is tied in with several U.S. states. If we have a shortage, we'll be buying any available surplus from you. (And we sell surplus to you folks when you're running short.) Rolling blackouts would be local affairs, and shouldn't affect your grid.

Big industrial customers up here would get rolling blackouts first. They sign up for this in order to get lower power rates.

Several generating units in our area would have to go down at the same time to cause rolling blackouts for residential customers.

Mostly, people need to smarten up and spread out the load.

It's true. My load on the grid is so small (yet my power bill keeps going up...odd), it's literally a drop in the bucket compared to the big business buildings in downtown Edmonton where I live.

Short of the freezer thawing, it would take very little power to keep things going in my place...I even keep a couple of electric space heaters around in case there's a problem with the natural gas.

would Home Depot sell power inverter at cheaper price than Canadian Tire?

I noticed that the prices at Canadian Tire seem quite high.

What do you guys think of the rechargeable spot light sold at Canadian Tire?
Are these lights durable / tough?

Here's what I found from Home Depot

They have 100 watt for as little as 29.99 all the way up to 3000 watt for 499.97

As far as the boom box style it looks like they only have 400 watt for 39.86 and 750 watt which is the one I have for 79.86 I call them boom box because of the handles.

This might depend on where your located at also, sometimes prices vary by location, and then don't forget you have to figure in shipping if there isn't a store close to you.

Hope this helps.


Also I mentioned in my earlier post that we had a power outtage last night, I read the paper today and they still can't figure out what caused it, is it just me or is that odd?