Nor'Easter & Bomb Cyclone

I have said this many times before, but I do not know why anyone lives in New England, including me.

Got up this morning and the outdoor thermometer read 3F/-16C degrees. It has been pretty cold for a few days as a prelude, I suppose, to the major weather event predicted for this weekend. The forecast is for a Nor'Easter on Saturday that has the possibility of turning into a "Bomb Cyclone" which involves some meteorological metrics, but basically means we could get really hammered with snow and winds. If the snow and heavy winds last longer than three hours (likely), it will also be classified as a blizzard. Currently the snowfall forecasts range from a minimum of 6 inches (15cm) to as much as 24 inches (61cm.) Winds around here are predicted to be up to 50mph/80kph. Ugly.

No one will be on the roads, for the most part, however, the real problems come when the snow, ice and winds start bringing down power lines. Yes, when the snow comes, the temperature usually rises up to around 32F/0C, but that is plenty cold enough to hurt if you are sitting in a house without power or heat, especially at night. These outages tend to last fairly long as the power line repairmen are not allowed to get started repairing lines until the winds stop.

We are pretty much set with food and supplies for the weekend, but if we were not, I would be hitting the grocery store today (Thursday.) Tomorrow, the mass panic will set in and the grocery stores will be absolutely mobbed with shoppers frantically trying to stock up for the weekend. Another big "benefit" of living in New England.

Anyway, I need to talk to @qwikad.com about visiting him in Florida this weekend.

 

The old neighborhood we lived in never lost power even during the hurricane seasons. This new neighborhood we're in any little storm takes the distribution transformer out. Not sure where it's located exactly, but when it goes out it goes out with a boom. I am this close to buying a generator. Two of my neighbors have them. Have you considered installing one? Or is it not feasible in your neck of the woods because of how cold it is?

 

Generators absolutely work up here. For years, I have looked at getting a backup generator. Do not want the gasoline powered ones as they require multiple trips to the gas station (for a long-ish outage), require frequent tending to, and emit toxic fumes that you do not want in your house and garage. They generally also do not supply much power. We have a natural gas line and that would be the type of generator I would want: an outdoor system linked to the gas line that comes on automatically when power goes out and will basically stay on indefinitely (unless the natural gas company runs out, which has never happened in my experience.) I really was trying to hold out for a solar generation system with back up batteries for when the sun is not out and power is down. Unfortunately, the technology is not really there and I hear of many complaints and problems with having a bunch of solar panels installed on your roof. To top that off, corrupt Rhode Island has a crazy law that says you can have solar power but cannot store it for emergencies in batteries. Any solar power you generate in excess of what you use has to be sent back to the power grid to be "purchased" by the power company. Makes no sense, but some industry lobbyists are undoubtedly very happy with this crazy law.

Now, if I am going to have a backup generator, I want it to be a full-house generator with power to spare. I often say that I want to be able to run everything all day long, including Christmas lights. Looking into a set up for a natural gas generator with that much power and factoring in the cost of pouring a small concrete slab next to the house to provide the correct surface, getting gas lines and electrical lines connected (two different professionals) and everything else, my "back of the envelope" cost is it would be in the $12 - $15K range. Now, that was before the Great Panic and before the supply chain problems and inflation, so my numbers could be off.

 

@jrbiz gas powered generators is the way to go. We are using gas for our kitchen range and shower heater, so it only makes sense to have a gas powered generator. @Smyrl makes a good point. Maybe waiting out another year will resolve some of the supply and demand issues we're currently facing.

 

The psychology of this purchase is a bit frustrating. Right after a big power outage, we swear that the next extra cash we have to spend on the house will go to the generator. Time passes, other household costs/enhancements absorb the budget as we forget about those infrequent power outages and focus on the here and now. Need to break that cycle.

 

I assume that they are in high demand in Texas after that unbelievable outage you guys had a while back. In that case, I believe, you also lost natural gas in some places, right? So, I suppose that could happen here, as well. One of my thoughts was to have a dual system that ran on natural gas when it was available but could easily be switched to propane tanks if the natural gas went out. I know these systems exist, but I assume that it entails additional costs.

 

I have a couple of colleagues (one of whom is a longtime friend) who are based out of the Dallas area. I recall them being unavailable for Zoom calls for quite some time. When they did get back on, they were still having multiple problems.

We have a "crank" radio (it has a generator that re-charges its battery when you turn a hand crank; takes a minute to crank and then runs for 30 minutes or so) and a number of battery powered lanterns. We have a fireplace, but it is mostly ornamental and does a poor job of heating. My brother-in-law lives the next town over and he is in a housing development that has underground utilities. Almost never loses his power, so he would be a refuge if power was out here for an extended time in the winter.

 

Quick update: the storm started overnight and there have been multiple reports of Thunder Snow in the region. It is pretty rare, but in some powerful snowstorms the conditions are right to have lightning and thunder. I have experienced it twice in my life (once seeing the lightning but not hearing the thunder and once hearing the thunder but not seeing the lightning) so this could be the third time if it heads this way. Storm is expected to get worse and continue through the entire day and evening.

One thing that I do not recall happening since we moved to RI twenty-four years ago: The state has issued a total travel ban beginning in twenty minutes. This means that no vehicles can be on any roads, whatsoever. Of course, this does not include snowplows and public safety vehicles, but it is an unusual move, in my experience.

 

So, here's the wrap up: we did not lose power though the lights blinked menacingly a couple times during the afternoon. A couple towns in our state got 24 in/60 cm of snow. They are saying that my town got 15 in/38cm of snow, but looking outside, it seems like my driveway has significantly less than that which could be due to the strong winds pushing snow drifts around the neighborhood. One of my neighbors may have gotten a few inches of my snow.

This morning, the temperature is 6F/-14C degrees which means two things: it will be very cold out there shoveling, but the snow will be very powdery and light and easier to clean out than the wet sticky stuff.

 

I can't even imagine being where you are at. It's cold in Central Florida too. My phone says it's 28 right now. No snow though. I'd say wait till it's wet and sticky.

 

The trouble with real wet and sticky snow is that it clogs the snowblower, so you have to stop and clean out the clog every few feet, sometimes. The dry and powdery stuff is much quicker to blow out, though sometimes the snow blows back at you (depending on the wind) so you end up getting covered in the stuff. No real fun, either way. I repeat: I don't know why anyone lives in New England.

 

Thanks. We had some pretty strong winds (supposedly hit 60mph/96kph) but because the snow was light and dry, it did not stick to tree branches which would be the additional weight that usually topples them onto power lines with the strong winds. We slid on this one.

 

Dude, your troubles aren't over yet.

 

You are right, though the next forecasted storm for later this week is for rain (temps will be high enough for that.) You don't have to shovel rain.

BTW, I did want to mention that when I had fifteen inches/38 cm of "light and powdery" snow on my shovel as I dug out from the storm, it was not "light." It weighs a TON! And when the street snowplow builds up a berm of 2 feet/61 cm+ high snow at the end of your driveway, it gets ugly.

 

I remember Jim Rohn saying something like (You can always move. It's not like you're a tree.)

 

Funny, though, that "roots" seem to sprout out from us humans, too. My daughter has bought a house in New England and is going to be married soon. That likely means that grandkids could be on the way. My wife, of course, has no intention of "abandoning" her daughter/future grandbabies. So, if I am to move, I have to somehow bring along the whole root system, too. Daughter and son-in-law to be both have jobs located here, of course, which further complicates any actions.

 

I can't disagree. I always thought Jim could've come up with a different reference to make his point.