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Entirely non-political here.

The US is being hammered, brutally so, by mother nature, right now.

I'm hoping you all are ok, and a lot might not even be able to read this until power is back.

It's rare (I don't recall seeing it much), where the entire country, or close to it, is being smack around by the same weather event.

I'm in the capital of Nevada and it's mild and almost warm. Winter has almost not been winter, high desert is that way a lot. A weather thread should get a lot of replies. So...

I’m in Miami. It was 85 today.. Wish y’all could enjoy it

I am reminded of Russian soldiers whom,
after winning the battle of Stalingrad,
would gather the bodies of defeated foes
frozen stiff from the brutal winter cold.

They would artfully pose these bodies into static
displays. A wrestling match here, a foot race
there, a circle of singing carolers.

This stagecraft was not much different than
playing with Barbie Dolls, other than the
ghoulish aspect of using cadavers as playthings.

Anyway, my point is when things are bad,
there is usually a way to imagine things
being far far worse and thereby feel buoyed
that events have not reached that nadir.

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

Entirely non-political here.

The US is being hammered, brutally so, by mother nature, right now.

I'm hoping you all are ok, and a lot might not even be able to read this until power is back.

It's rare (I don't recall seeing it much), where the entire country, or close to it, is being smack around by the same weather event.

Not all of Texas is suffering. The parts that joined the national power grid are doing quite well. Unfortunately the majority of Texas is not part of the national power grid. I can't even begin to imagine why.

ORIGINAL: Delaware

I’m in Miami. It was 85 today.. Wish y’all could enjoy it

Tampa Bay kicking Kansas City's arse warmed me up quite well thank you. [;)]

ORIGINAL: Lobster

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

Entirely non-political here.

The US is being hammered, brutally so, by mother nature, right now.

I'm hoping you all are ok, and a lot might not even be able to read this until power is back.

It's rare (I don't recall seeing it much), where the entire country, or close to it, is being smack around by the same weather event.

Not all of Texas is suffering. The parts that joined the national power grid are doing quite well. Unfortunately the majority of Texas is not part of the national power grid. I can't even begin to imagine why.

Good point. If you are connected to a larger grid it provides a lot of stability and redundancy. There will be generators / wind farms / solar nearby that could supply the loads. (Speaking as the husband of an electrical engineer who knows stuff)

I did read about why most of Texas is stand-alone. It goes back to the 1930's and fear of federal control apparently.
You can Google it, I find this stuff interesting, but I'm a "bit" of a nerd.....[:o]

I have up to 3 feet of snow in places (granted from me blowing snow), but we have at least 18 inches with more snow to come up through Sunday. It’s warmed up to 12 degrees.

[Deleted by Admins]

What is weird (I call it weird), I live in Canada (the so-called Great White North), but because of the lay of the land (Lake Simcoe influences weather dynamics), the weather here in my town is uniquely dissimilar to anything 30 miles from here in any direction.

It is snowing today, it snowed yesterday, it has been chilly recently as well. But it is best described as 'half-hearted' and not overly impressive. It would take only one day of warming to kick the teeth out of the accumulation. It sure isn't Alberta cold here or Maritimes snow levels. Buffalo isn't much of a drive south, and if I wanted to go skiing, I'd take my skis there if I wanted to enjoy the experience. But the Appalachians are great at generating snow. It's all about the geography.

What is paradoxical, is the frozen portions today, likely will be experiencing brutal heat this summer. And then pounded by hurricanes. If I could live anywhere in the US, it would not be Texas because of the climate. I might consider northern WI MI or NY state. Based entirely on geography. And probably as usual, I'd refuse to live in a city. I don't really know these states though, aside from looking at a map on Google, I'm just guessing.

[Deleted by Admins]

ORIGINAL: Grognerd_INC

Before I retired the wife and I looked around at where would be a great place to retire. We lived in central CA, we took trips to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona , Nevada and Florida.

We choose FL over the others. I did factor in global warming increasing the hurricane strength and at every other location for major changes to climate. We looked at:

The local economy - I had 10 years to go b4 retirement. needed to find work. FL scored highest and TX second (My field is Aerospace engineering)

Existing climate and possible scenarios for the future

Medical facilities and costs (Aging is a bummer)

Housing market - How easy is it to sell a house or do we rent

Cost of insurance, food, utilities etc.

Fun factor - self explanatory

Florida won - What do I regret? Not much, I underestimated the increasing strength of hurricanes, we have had a couple of 5's miss our area (total devastation if you get caught in the eyewall). We have gone through 5 cat 3 hurricanes. We survived. We are used to the 90's and humidity of the summer 3 1/2 months. The rest of the year is pretty nice. It's much cheaper to live here than CA.

We made the same decision based on the same factors, other than the economic factor was for my daughter, moving to an area with a big arts scene. 71 and sunny here today with a nice breeze off the bay, and its way cheaper than the NYC area as well.

ORIGINAL: Zovs

I have up to 3 feet of snow in places (granted from me blowing snow), but we have at least 18 inches with more snow to come up through Sunday. It’s warmed up to 12 degrees.

That sounds like FUN! [:D] But I know of places where they get even more snow than that!

Be on the second sled behind a snowmobile on a frozen lake when the driver of the snowmobile decides to play "crack the whip" and you go fast - sideways![:D] That would be real fun!

For all that seems to make CA a destination (to some), I'd be avoiding it mainly for the cost. I think water is going to be a problem sooner than later.

I hear Portland Oregon is so awesome. And yet the news seems to make one scratch their head. All my romance novels seem to be focused on the Seattle environs. But I don't care much for trends. And it just seems to be massively expensive. If you haven't got work that makes you very valuable. I know too many that are finding living there too hard regardless of the social angles.

It takes more than politics or job options to interest me. But I'm used to living in a small town (all of my life basically). I'm used to small-town dynamics.

I'd rather live in the small town Maritimes and make it happen with low-cost value property and a need to create work out of thin air than pretend that Toronto was ever going to be doable for me. Way too expensive even if it is where the work is. But the climate can be more aggressive.

My life has rendered me unresponsive to a lot of normally perceived perks.
Actually, truth be told, if I had the money to build it, I'd be living in a tiny home towed by a decent truck. And I wouldn't have to pick any place in particular.

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Zovs

I have up to 3 feet of snow in places (granted from me blowing snow), but we have at least 18 inches with more snow to come up through Sunday. It’s warmed up to 12 degrees.

That sounds like FUN! [:D] But I know of places where they get even more snow than that!

Be on the second sled behind a snowmobile on a frozen lake when the driver of the snowmobile decides to play "crack the whip" and you go fast - sideways![:D] That would be real fun!

It is fun in a way, I do have a $1,500 snow blower, and I help the old ladies around here and do their driveways and sidewalks. But it does get tiring. But it's cool to watch the snow flying out and into the road...

ORIGINAL: Zovs

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Zovs

I have up to 3 feet of snow in places (granted from me blowing snow), but we have at least 18 inches with more snow to come up through Sunday. It’s warmed up to 12 degrees.

That sounds like FUN! [:D] But I know of places where they get even more snow than that!

Be on the second sled behind a snowmobile on a frozen lake when the driver of the snowmobile decides to play "crack the whip" and you go fast - sideways![:D] That would be real fun!

It is fun in a way, I do have a $1,500 snow blower, and I help the old ladies around here and do their driveways and sidewalks. But it does get tiring. But it's cool to watch the snow flying out and into the road...

Yes, a good snowblower is worth every penny. They are also good for blowing snow up against the basement of a house, banking the house as it were and helping to keep it warmer. Just don't cover up any gas meters with the relief valve nor any intake and exhaust pipes.

They are also useful to make a larger snowpile with a relative nice slide area for little children to safely slide where they will not end up on a public roadway.

Good points all.

Did not realize the 'banking up of a basement' to keep it warmer.

You lose less heat that way, the snow is a good insulator. It really works good if you have a wood stove in the basement. As the snow melts away from the building, you may have to redo it.

ORIGINAL: Grognerd_INC

Before I retired the wife and I looked around at where would be a great place to retire. We lived in central CA, we took trips to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona , Nevada and Florida.

We choose FL over the others. I did factor in global warming increasing the hurricane strength and at every other location for major changes to climate. We looked at:

The local economy - I had 10 years to go b4 retirement. needed to find work. FL scored highest and TX second (My field is Aerospace engineering)

Existing climate and possible scenarios for the future

Medical facilities and costs (Aging is a bummer)

Housing market - How easy is it to sell a house or do we rent

Cost of insurance, food, utilities etc.

Fun factor - self explanatory

Florida won - What do I regret? Not much, I underestimated the increasing strength of hurricanes, we have had a couple of 5's miss our area (total devastation if you get caught in the eyewall). We have gone through 5 cat 3 hurricanes. We survived. We are used to the 90's and humidity of the summer 3 1/2 months. The rest of the year is pretty nice. It's much cheaper to live here than CA.

When we were looking to move out of Maryland we also looked at Texas and Florida (my company has a big presence in both), deciding on Texas. It does get hot in the summer, but relatively low humidity unless you are by the coast. Texas is a big state; only a small percent will ever be affected by a Hurricane. This freeze was unprecedented and hopefully lessons will be learned.

[Deleted by Admins]