Not Happy About Weather In The South This Weekend

[PayrollNerd]

Here in SE AL it’s 74*. We are under a tornado watch. The wind is roaring and blowing hard. After this front finishes blowing through temps will begin dropping quickly for a low in the 20s tonight and for the rest of the upcoming week.

My oldest and her boyfriend are almost back in Dothan after attending a wedding on the east coast of south FL. She texted the wind was blowing hard and they expect to get drench when they get to the house.

She is planning to telework from Dothan tomorrow because she knows it isn’t safe to drive home to Panama City Beach tonight.

I’m wondering how the army base will do because her boyfriend is a helicopter pilot. I’m guessing no training tomorrow!

 

[killarney rose]

The bad stuff is gone and we were spared here but there were small tornadoes to the south and east of us. But it’s about to get cold.

 

[killarney rose]

@PayrollNerd ive not heard anything about Ft Rucker getting hit but the damage reports are just coming in. I did see a picture of a sign down on Daleville Ave right outside the gate. Most of the damage seems centered on Headland, north of Dothan and Geneva, west of Dothan.

 

[angelainwi]

Im settled in and waiting with a stash of junkfood.

That this was posted at 4:20 just gave me a slight giggle.

 

[worm]

It's a nasty cold mess that we dont see often with no end in sight. This kind of weather brings us to a screeching halt tho im sure that people further north wouldn't freak out over.

 

[musicaljoke]

It's a nasty cold mess that we dont see often with no end in sight. This kind of weather brings us to a screeching halt tho im sure that people further north wouldn't freak out over.

It's -33 here and we've had 36" of snow in the last 48 hours. You are right that no one is freaking out, and no one is rushing to empty shelves at the grocery store. The most drama we get is that someone might complain that it is a wee bit nippy.

But, you are in my heart. I understand the danger that this brings. Our homes are built for this, but homes in the south can suffer real damage. We have proper clothing to withstand a winter hike in this weather so frostbite isn't a big concern. Our trees are kept away from power lines which get a regular beating so usually anything that comes down is managed quickly. Vehicles have snow tires with studs. The snow plows are strong, fierce machines that put down sand at the same time that they plow snow. I saw photos of a community in SC where guys were spreading sand on the roads with a shovel from the back of a pick up. It just makes the storm so much more difficult and dangerous when the entire infrastructure is not designed to deal with it.

Stay safe. This shall surely pass.

 

[musicaljoke]

That this was posted at 4:20 just gave me a slight giggle.

I actually bought a bag of chips to commiserate with those who are enduring this cold spell, but I forgot about them until your reminder. Off I go to fetch some junk food.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

We weren’t spared here on the central east coast. Nearly a foot of what started as snow. Then it kept packing itself, with weight and settling. Then light ice and heavy snow later. It fell from early this am, from ~5 am until this late afternoon EST.

Hope all are ok, and that power sustains through this evening.

I have a couple of tips, regarding a fuel driven snowblower. Which worked for me finally with my snowblower…… finally!

I’ve had a snow blower since circa 2011. A nice one. Bought it new. Key recommendation…… run good fuel, run it dry after each use….. and don’t allow fuel to sit in it! (No matter what others might suggest.) Surely not the alcohol based fuels on the east coast. And from my experience, some of the fuel stabilizers didn’t help. So plan B…….. (read on if still interested).

I wasn’t able to get it started back about 6 or 8 years ago, circa 2017 from new actually. So I tore the carburetor down. Cleaned it fully. Took the entire linkages apart and fuel inlets apart and renewed them. New fuel hose. And installed a fuel tolerant 1/4 turn shut off in line from the tank to the carburetor. (Did that in about 2-1-1/2” of inlet fuel hose…… it is not easy but can be done.) Just enough room to twist it the needed 1/4 turn to on or off with a pair of needle nose ora screwdriver.

And….. the key recommendation…. I only use pure fuel. There is a gray colored one for 4-cycle engines as is this one. I pulled the snowblower out this morning. Turned the shutoff to open (the fuel was long dry…….evalorated and gone). Filled it about 1/3 tank. And it fired on the second pull.

Plowed the entire driveway. The heavy snow was so thick, could only auger about 1/3 width at full power. Did it in about 40 minutes. Thankfully. Then laced it in the garage with an oil filled heater to melt the remaining snow and ice to dry. Heat gun carefully to finish. I hope these thoughts might help someone else too.

I hope all weather this well. And best to all… MOO

 

[Gators North]

I think we got about a foot of snow here in NW NJ, and it looks like the snow is going to stop in a few hours. We’ve also had sleet and freezing rain. #DoneWithWinter

 

[mickey2942]

I am watching a news guy on tv in Boston, huge blizzard. Looks like wind chill. I guess kids will be out of school for a few days.

 

[acutename]

still have power. plowing has been sporadic. thought the snow was going to stop at 6 p.m. but noooo.
tried to shovel at one point however it was futile since I could not keep up and there was drifting. Took the dog out 2x ...was kind of brutal. 15F so double digits but not a nice day- no kids sledding... just kind of nasty and there were sleet needles flying in my eyes.

 

[lonetraveler]

I am watching a news guy on tv in Boston, huge blizzard. Looks like wind chill. I guess kids will be out of school for a few days.

I don't do "cold". If it gets below 70 degrees, I'm cold.

 

[browneyes]

Freezing cold here, 7 inches of snow with 4 inches of ice on top. Still sleeting. I did not buy enough junk food. Hoping to not lose power. I have a pet so couldn’t leave.

 

[Mr. Nordstrom]

We got about eight inches where I live. I didn't watch cable today, but I did watch my neighbors get stuck on the road when trying to run up their driveway. About as entertaining.

(There were three other people helping them out when I saw them get stuck, so that's why I didn't go over there.)

 

[Gators North]

I don't do "cold". If it gets below 70 degrees, I'm cold.

Me too! I wear fleece and flannel until late May/early June!

 

[PayrollNerd]

My 2 brothers and all my cousins in south east Maine are expecting 18”-22” but from the looks of the radar, I’d say that’s a low estimate. Nobody is going anywhere until Tuesday.

 

[tarabull]

...speechless.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/25/us/bangor-maine-plane-crash

snipped...
...Minutes before the crash, controllers and pilots at Bangor Airport can be heard talking about low visibility and deicing, though it is not immediately clear who is talking to whom, according to audio obtained from LiveATC.net.

A controller clears the pilot for takeoff on Bangor’s Runway 33.

Nearly two minutes later, a controller loudly radios: “All traffic is stopped on the field! All traffic is stopped on the field!”

Moments later, another controller is heard saying, “Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down.”

The airport is then closed, and emergency vehicles are allowed to drive on the airfield.

A controller later states they are aware of “three crew and possibly five passengers” on board.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

at least you are not a poor tourist with vaca plans in FL, who thought you could escape the cold, and you need to wear mittens

I am thankful that we moved from the Fort Worth area to Florida last year. It was 86 degrees today. Monday will be about 67 during the day and then drop overnight and may get as low as 27 degrees. Then, I believe for the next four days, it will be in the 30's during the day. I guess that we will have to cover our little palm tree sometime during the day on Monday. The rest of the plants will have to fend for themselves. We need to replace several of them, anyway.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

My 2 brothers and all my cousins in south east Maine are expecting 18”-22” but from the looks of the radar, I’d say that’s a low estimate. Nobody is going anywhere until Tuesday.

We have family in Maine. I have no idea why they moved there. They bought 300 acres and live off their land like pioneers. They had a log cabin and now are in the process of building their dream home by themselves! I admire people like this. We could never do it!

 

[airportwoman]

Why are folks buying frozen food if there is a chance of a power outage?

They'll set it outside, I guess?

Anyway, folks, if your power goes out, with this storm or any other time, never assume that someone else called the utility company. Don't worry about bothering the call center people; that's what they are there for and they would rather have you make an unnecessary call than the other way around.

After the 2020 Midwestern derecho, my power was out for 3 days. That didn't really bother me until I found out that nobody from two buildings in my apartment complex had called, probably assuming that the rental office would call (and they did, for their own building) and one of the occupants was on home dialysis. Had the utility company known this, they would have prioritized this neighborhood.