Simply Prepared

I'm sitting here in Southeast PA, and friends from around the USA are asking me via IM if I'm ready for the "snow hurricane" that's supposedly coming.

First of all, I cringe at the term "snow hurricane" as it's such a deeply wrong definition of something (it's about as sensible as the term "meat fountain") but also, I'm looking at the actual forecast and observations, and yeah, the weather is going to suck for a few days. There's nothing that incredible in the forecast. It's winter! Winter sucks.

But then I recalled a phone call with my parents a couple of weeks ago, when they had a LOT of snow where they live and the power went out. They are fairly new to rural-ish living, so they didn't really get the implications of a long-term power outage. With no generator, the house was losing heat, and they have no fireplace or woodstove. I explained that if they were without heat for long they risked pipes freezing and then explained that without power, they would be out of water. So they were melting snow on the gas stove, and eventually they had to leave the house (after draining the pipes) and stay elsewhere. Oh, and they should not flush the toilet unless they are sure their septic field isn't a pump-up system (like mine). Oh, and if you put food outside to keep it cold, you'll need to container-ize it because critters will snack on it all night long. Oh, and the fire department won't be able to get to your house, so be careful with candles and have a fire extinguisher visible and handy. Oh and (this) and (that).

And that's why I think about the upcoming "snow hurricane" and the ensuing panic it's causing. Being prepared is making my life simpler. A lot simpler. Yes, I have some added stuff to manage - auxiliary power, fuel supply, water supply, food supply - but as I sat here in the basement typing this, I turned on some streaming video from a local station and it's utter PANIC at the stores. They have theme music for the storm on the news. And the paranoid conspiracy theorist in me thinks that the whole thing is theater to drive unnecessary consumption, nothing more. Anyway, I hope that the storm does not drop any trees on my house because I don't really want to be out in the weather with a chainsaw and The Big Tarp which I keep for just such an emergency. And that's it. That's my only worry. It's easier to be simply prepared than to be reacting to the machinations of those who are trying to convince you the world is ending.

I believe your "snow hurricane" is what my brother in Bemidji, Minnesota, calls "winter." When I visit him (usually in the summer) I am impressed with the adaptations to his situation. He is about twelve miles out of town, but self-sufficiency is built into the place - a self contained gas system with a large fireplace (and many cords of firewood available), to say nothing of good insulation and a house built partially into a hill which shelters them from the occasional "snow hurricane."

There are the skis and snowshoes sitting handy in the garage (heated) and lots of implements for moving snow about, as well as a wardrobe somewhat different from what I usually sport in SoCal. He gets through winters quite handily.

My bro retired to Minnesota to escape the Houston heat and to enjoy the bass fishing. I think he succeeded.

I read "hurricane like conditions" were possible here in CT, and I think by that they just mean "really rainy and windy."

Please keep me posted on the development of this "meat fountain" it sounds both convenient and delicious.

In terms of preparedness, as it turns out growing up in a family that owns and runs a small construction company and duck hunts keeps you pretty well prepared. Generators, chain saws, tarps, plow trucks, but most importantly, a little bit of know-how. I think farmers are probably in a similar situation. These things combined have resulted in every weather situation we've (my family and I) encountered being non-events.

Nothing personal hikermor, but your brother is a nut!

-Blast, who moved to Houston to escape Minnesota winters

I think the news just likes to try to sensationalize anything when there is no good story for them to cover so they make up things and make them seem way worse or better than they are which can cause some serious problems!

Sounds like he's got it setup good!
When you need to get out for work, or resources you`ll start acquiring more snow handling tools.

We've only been up here a little where it snows and I've been constantly adding to my collection of snow tools, toys, and the like. I don't have to go for work but the wife does, and making sure she can get out and back in easily and safely is pretty important to me.

Luckily I get to enjoy it when she has to drive through it at 15mph lol.

Blast, we were raised in Big D, so even Houston was a better place for my brother. The thing is there was a long family tradition of Minnesota vacations, so obviously my bro, on retirement, headed for vacation land. He loves it.

My escape from Dallas involved moving west, where the snow is in the mountains, and homes are in the valleys. You visit the snow and, when it isn't fun any more, you go home. What a wonderful arrangement!

I understand the individual words...but together they don't make sense.

-Blast, who likes it HOT

The reason Blast likes it hot may be related to his spending his youth on the northern plains of dakota and in the Boreal Forests of upstate NY. Maybe all those explosions were an attempt to warm things up in those northern wastes.

Nursemike, who would prefer it warmer-

Snow belongs on the television, immediately following The Star Spangled Banner.
I know: I'm dating myself.

I suspect that we all flee the settings in which we were raised and we seek something, anything that is just different.

Blast, snow is really great stuff. You can make igloos out of it, slide downhill on it using long boardlike thingies, compact it into spherical projectiles. Packing a heatstroke victim in snow is a recognized first aid measure.....

Oh, wait, you would probably be interested in avalanche clearance using mountain howitzers....

I agree, the walleye fishing is better than bass fishing there!

Accuweather snow hurricane hyperbole may well be justified

Sub zero snow storm with gusts over 60+mph and possible sustained 50mph winds, with the consequent wind chill. Sounds like the the white out conditions you get on the Cairngorm Artic plateau in the winter. Yep that could definitely be considered a 'Snow Hurricane' and a lot of folks are gonna be in for a tough time in the next 48 hours. In fact most folks will probably won't have seen anything like it before. Brrrr a hurricane but without the all the nice warm rain....

There were forecasts that some areas would see hurricane-force winds. If so that's a bit much even by Minnesota standards and worthy of the "snow hurricane" label due to the damage and mayhem such winds can cause if preparations aren't made.

And if such high winds cover a large enough area it's like the problem hurricanes cause: damages, outages and emergency needs over an area of tens of thousands of square miles, with *no* unaffected resources nearby to draw on.

Martin,

I tend to lean in the same direction as you regarding the sensationalizing of winter. Hurricane is such an emotive word. It is only winter.

Thanks for adding a voice of reason.

"Snow hurricane"... what an ugly combination of words!

Sue

I'm jealous.

Looks like we're going to get high winds out of the storm (50 mph gusts) but not much snow.

I've savored every snowflake this winter. And generally much prefer winters to our humid summers.

Being fairly well prepared 365 days a year, I never feel compelled to run to the grocery in a panic.

My gas tank is still topped off from before the first of our February blizzards. And since our power lines are underground, outages are rare. I haven't experienced a weather-related outage since 1994.

Surely some who were not in the habit of preparedness before these kinds of storms hit, take steps to be more prepared in the future. I wonder how many.

The '94 blackouts we experienced because of ice storms and widespread extremely low temperatures, got me into high gear on Preparedness Road.

Best wishes to all affected by whatever storms are raging around the nation, and the world.

From the recent weather reports of snow in Houston you might want to move a little further south!

I'm thinking Key Largo might be nice as I contemplate another 6-12" of snow over the next 36 hours.

I must be a bit slow, I thought we called conditions like the "snow hurricane" by another name, you know, a blizzard? I think the NWS uses winds over 35 mph and/or snow w/visibility below 1/4 mile as the basic criteria. Growing up in the midwest most the blizzards I recall also seem to involve pretty cold temperatures (single digits or below zero) and winds over 60 mph are not uncommon. Gotta love media hype.

- Eric

Right. Isn't this the country where you could lose your way between the barn and the house and not be found until the spring thaw? I understand a long rope strung between the buildings was recommended.

I don't think it's unfair. Saying "blizzard" doesn't imply much in terms of wind risks: saying "hurricane-force winds" is much more specific in terms of preparations needed. There's over 4x the force involved..

LOL
It took me a good 5 seconds to get that reference. And I'm nowhere near old enough to know that bit of trivia!

Well played, UncleGoo!

MDinana, who grew up in SoCal (thus driving to winter), and now in VA where there's not really winter either. But still yuckier.

I remember. Back when rabbit ears were all the rage.

Believe it or not, there was a time that I can recall when TV shows were all in black and white.

To paraphrase Woody Allen, that makes it easier to get a date on Friday nights!

<ducking and running>

Well....so far, just really extraordinarily heavy snow on everything.

I started up the backhoe and the power steering pump just blew two quarts of fluid all over the place, some seal somewhere under the cowling (which is a PITA to get off) blew out, so my self-digging option is effectively gone, can't run with bad leak in the hydraulic system...grrr...too snowy to work on it, it won't fit in my garage and I don't have the parts I need anyway.

If they are even close to right about the wind....well, based on the coating of snow on the trees now, I hope that the wind knocks it off first and then blows harder, otherwise I'm gonna be cutting firewood for hours on end from all the trees that are going to come down.

Sounds like it's time for some hot chocolate and baileys