Full Version: Emerging from the storm
No question to debate. This is posted in Casual Conversation as opposed to a lengthy PM to a few friends who might feel obligated to respond. Just a heads up to anyone interested that we weathered a prolonged power outage.
It had been a mild winter. I have shoveled the driveway twice. Temperatures have remained mostly in the mid 30's to mid 40's. This morning, the temperature has risen to 7 degrees.
It was a strange reality to lose power for a prolonged period of time. I've never lived more than a few miles from a power plant, walking distance from a substation. I'm accustomed to the occasional blink as a relay kicks out and another kicks in and I need to reset the clocks on the stove, the microwave, the VCR, etc.
Late Thursday night, we lost our Cable TV. At 4:00 AM Friday, we lost electric power. The batteries in our radio were dead. We called the utility's 800 number and got a recording that thousands were without power and that we could expect the power in our area to be restored by 11:59 AM Sunday. As the day progressed, and the temperatures dropped, that time was pushed back another 12 hours to 11:59 PM Sunday.
We watched the internal temperature in the house drop at a steady 1 degree per hour, and we reviewed the possible impact. I have been ignoring my wife's wishes for a standby generator for 18 years. A few phone calls found no generators for rent, and located only a single generator for sale. (circa $2,000) Our house has a heating system somewhat unique in the area. The floors have copper pipes embedded, we learned when the kitchen caught fire, in concrete. There is a tremendous thermal mass and it kept us warm for 20 hours. PE's call to our insurance agency told us there was not much we could do to protect that system, but if the pipes froze, broke, and buckled our floors...we were covered for the damage.
A newspaper story last night was headlined,Storm leaves thousands in dark. Over a 36 hour period, we learned:
We were one of 11,500 customers in our county without Electric Power, I learned from the evening paper and 185,000 in the state, We spent the day making calls, as the utility requested, every 2 hours to check on the progress. We eventually found some friends who had power, and spent the evening playing cards. We got home at 11:00 PM and called the utility for an update. We were told that our power had been on since 3:00 PM. The woman wanted to tell me how to check a circuit breaker, and I handed the phone to PE. As I emerged from the garage ready to explode that in my professional opinion, not a single breaker had tripped, and we still were completely without electric power, the doorbell rang, and the lights started to flicker...
This morning, I was able to fire up my computer, log on to the Internet, and learn Thousands Lose Power After Storm Hits N.E.:
As I said, our cable TV was still out of service the last time that I checked, and our morning paper has yet to arrive. I don't know how much coverage this storm has had nationally, but I know that when we hear of earthquakes, landslides, firestorms and other phenomena that we haven't experienced first hand, we think of our friends on AD. A Grand Rapids (40 miles as the crow flies) TV station, I was told at the grocery store, had reported this as the worst winter storm to hit the area since 1914. Locally, it was a lot of ice, wind, and about 3/4" of snow. It was the 40 degree overnight drop in temperature that really hit us the hardest. It was ice, high winds, and downed trees that the utility was reporting as causing the most damage.
It feels so good this morning to be warm, and able to sit down and communicate with our friends on AD.
It had been a mild winter. I have shoveled the driveway twice. Temperatures have remained mostly in the mid 30's to mid 40's. This morning, the temperature has risen to 7 degrees.
It was a strange reality to lose power for a prolonged period of time. I've never lived more than a few miles from a power plant, walking distance from a substation. I'm accustomed to the occasional blink as a relay kicks out and another kicks in and I need to reset the clocks on the stove, the microwave, the VCR, etc.
Late Thursday night, we lost our Cable TV. At 4:00 AM Friday, we lost electric power. The batteries in our radio were dead. We called the utility's 800 number and got a recording that thousands were without power and that we could expect the power in our area to be restored by 11:59 AM Sunday. As the day progressed, and the temperatures dropped, that time was pushed back another 12 hours to 11:59 PM Sunday.
We watched the internal temperature in the house drop at a steady 1 degree per hour, and we reviewed the possible impact. I have been ignoring my wife's wishes for a standby generator for 18 years. A few phone calls found no generators for rent, and located only a single generator for sale. (circa $2,000) Our house has a heating system somewhat unique in the area. The floors have copper pipes embedded, we learned when the kitchen caught fire, in concrete. There is a tremendous thermal mass and it kept us warm for 20 hours. PE's call to our insurance agency told us there was not much we could do to protect that system, but if the pipes froze, broke, and buckled our floors...we were covered for the damage.
A newspaper story last night was headlined,Storm leaves thousands in dark. Over a 36 hour period, we learned:
QUOTE
West Michigan had National Weather Service warnings for thunderstorms, flash floods, an ice storm, lightning, high winds, a winter storm, a lake-effect snow advisory and even a tornado watch.
"We had just about every weather phenomenon known to man yesterday," said National Weather Service meteorologist George Wetzel.
"We had just about every weather phenomenon known to man yesterday," said National Weather Service meteorologist George Wetzel.
We were one of 11,500 customers in our county without Electric Power, I learned from the evening paper and 185,000 in the state, We spent the day making calls, as the utility requested, every 2 hours to check on the progress. We eventually found some friends who had power, and spent the evening playing cards. We got home at 11:00 PM and called the utility for an update. We were told that our power had been on since 3:00 PM. The woman wanted to tell me how to check a circuit breaker, and I handed the phone to PE. As I emerged from the garage ready to explode that in my professional opinion, not a single breaker had tripped, and we still were completely without electric power, the doorbell rang, and the lights started to flicker...
This morning, I was able to fire up my computer, log on to the Internet, and learn Thousands Lose Power After Storm Hits N.E.:
QUOTE
In Michigan, about 100,000 customers were still without power Friday after 60-mph winds blew through the Lower Peninsula. Some homes and businesses were expected to remain blacked out until Monday.
As I said, our cable TV was still out of service the last time that I checked, and our morning paper has yet to arrive. I don't know how much coverage this storm has had nationally, but I know that when we hear of earthquakes, landslides, firestorms and other phenomena that we haven't experienced first hand, we think of our friends on AD. A Grand Rapids (40 miles as the crow flies) TV station, I was told at the grocery store, had reported this as the worst winter storm to hit the area since 1914. Locally, it was a lot of ice, wind, and about 3/4" of snow. It was the 40 degree overnight drop in temperature that really hit us the hardest. It was ice, high winds, and downed trees that the utility was reporting as causing the most damage.
It feels so good this morning to be warm, and able to sit down and communicate with our friends on AD.
Is it possible to have a windmill in the USA? Over here many people have their own windmills which contribute to the common energy pool. If you had a windmill then you wouldn't need an emergency generator... right?
I often hear about power cuts in the states and it surprises me every time how vulnerable your grid seems to be. I can't remember the last time we had a power cut
I suppose it must have something to do with the sheer size of the system.
I'm glad you all came out of it alright though. I can't imagine how frustrating it must have felt. No AD for three whole days!
I often hear about power cuts in the states and it surprises me every time how vulnerable your grid seems to be. I can't remember the last time we had a power cut
I suppose it must have something to do with the sheer size of the system.I'm glad you all came out of it alright though. I can't imagine how frustrating it must have felt. No AD for three whole days!
We lose power in my neighborhood all the time. Most of my neighbors have generators. I guess because we are considered rural, I had to sign some special rural delivery thing for the post office, that this occurs. I have also read it is because of the lax approach to tree trimming, we do have gobs of trees.
The big snow storm knocked power out in my neighborhood for over 4 days. I was so so so so lucky to not have bean effected (our power only went out for a few hours) as many houses on my street further down from me were. The country had to open up shelters for residents so they could be warm, shower and eat.
The big snow storm knocked power out in my neighborhood for over 4 days. I was so so so so lucky to not have bean effected (our power only went out for a few hours) as many houses on my street further down from me were. The country had to open up shelters for residents so they could be warm, shower and eat.
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