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Thread: Deep Freeze in the South

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    Deep Freeze in the South

    It's been single digits in Texas for several days, which is well below freezing. People will die during this cold which is extreme for Texas. They have ice, and more snow is coming. Pipes are bursting and fuel runs low for many.

    I'm hearing of record snow in Tennessee.

    The jet stream has a huge dip in it.


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    Senior Member Emil El Zapato's Avatar
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    yeah, we're still having intermittent power outages ... controlled supposedly ... no electricity with gas, no gas, with electricity. People pointing fingers at each other ... typical Texas economics is the root of it.
    “El revolucionario: te meteré la bota en el culo"

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    Europe has also been hit with a bad cold front in the past week, with a strong current coming from the direction of Russia. As the matter of fact, I couldn't even get to the shops on Saturday because my car sleeps outside, and after having spent the better part of an hour scraping the snow and ice off of my car, I couldn't get the engine to start. Or that is to say, the battery was still functioning fine ─ to my surprise, because that battery is 9 years old already, while my original battery already died at only 6 years old ─ and the engine did tick over and made a few revs, but then it immediately stalled again after about a second with each attempt due to the oil in the sump having been frozen to a jelly. That has never happened to me before.

    As of today, the temperatures over here are climbing again ─ I was actually outside earlier tonight, and the engine was purring like a happy cat all along ─ and come next weekend, we're going to be hitting 18°C, which is "I'll just leave my coat at home" weather, albeit that bringing an umbrella might not be a bad idea, because it's kinda rainy now. But so right now, we're getting a current from the South-West, which is notably (and thankfully) warmer.

    Belgium is quite known for its capricious climate, but there's no denying that the global climate change phenomenon is having an impact on our weather. About a month ago, it was even snowing and freezing in Spain, which is at the Mediterranean and thus normally has a very warm climate compared to the rest of Europe. The images in the news were just as surreal then as the ones of Texas that I saw yesterday.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    Lightbulb

    Give me (a -t) for Texas ...

    Texas governor calls for probe into power grid operator ERCOT

    CNBC Television


    Brian Sullivan reports a combination of factors such as a colder-than-expected storm, an industry unprepared for winter weather and a shortage of energy and wind power have created the massive power and water shortage in Texas. Texas also relies on nonprofit, Electric Reliability Council of Texas for its electric power grid, unlike other areas in the U.S., which is problematic. He joins Shep Smith to discuss.

    Feb 16, 2021

    1:44 minutes


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    Beau goes here, too.

    Today we're going to talk about Texas.

    "It's not like they didn't know. It happens every ten years."


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    Quote Originally posted by Aragorn View Post
    As of today, the temperatures over here are climbing again ─ I was actually outside earlier tonight, and the engine was purring like a happy cat all along ─ and come next weekend, we're going to be hitting 18°C
    Man, you are lucky. It's been really cold here lately, so much that I've not even been bothering going out in a while. Even now it's -12 C here, but it feels much colder than that. Actually it does look like the temperature would rise here too during the weekend.

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    That's cold. We have not gotten the worst of any of the weather coming through. A few inches of snow, a small amount of ice, no power outages. There's more snow coming.

    It's really windy now, but it's well above freezing and partly sunny.

    Last week it was nearly 20 degrees colder just a couple hours drive from us up in Pennsylvania. Normally, they would be close in temperature to us. The worst weather seems to be going around us.

    For now.

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    Quote Originally posted by Wind View Post
    Man, you are lucky. It's been really cold here lately, so much that I've not even been bothering going out in a while. Even now it's -12 C here, but it feels much colder than that. Actually it does look like the temperature would rise here too during the weekend.
    That doesn't sound too cold for Finland. My friends from Jyvaskyla tell me that it regularly dips below -30c in central Finland.

    As a matter of fact we just had record low temperatures in Hungary last week, one place in a mountain valley in northern Hungary went as low as -35,5 c. However, in my city it was not that bad, went below -12 a few nights, but today was like 12 above, really quite warm.

    The issue with Texas and the Southern US is the lack of proper heating, I can't imagine dealing with that kind of cold with no heat.

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    Super Moderator Wind's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Chris View Post
    That doesn't sound too cold for Finland. My friends from Jyvaskyla tell me that it regularly dips below -30c in central Finland.
    Not too cold for Finland, but it's still cold enough for me as I don't do well in cold so I sometimes wonder why I chose to incarnate to one of the most Northern countries in the world. Thank God I live in the capitol which is in the most southern part of Finland. Jyväskylä is a bit further to the north and that's why it's so cold there. A couple of nights ago it was -20 C here and it feels like -25 C or maybe even -30 C.

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    You really don't fit the Finnish mold very well, my friend

    Which reminds me of this old joke about Finland and Winters:

    +15°C / 59°F
    This is as warm as it gets in Finland, so we'll start here.
    People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves.
    The Finns are out in the sun,getting a tan.

    +10°C / 50°F
    The French are trying in vain to start their central heating.
    The Finns plant flowers in their gardens.

    +5°C / 41°F
    Italian cars won't start.
    The Finns are cruising in cabriolets.

    0°C / 32°F
    Distilled water freezes.
    The water in Vantaa river (in Finland) gets a little thicker.

    -5°C / 23°F
    People in California almost freeze to death.
    The Finns have their final barbecue before winter.

    -10°C / 14°F
    The Brits start the heat in their houses.
    The Finns start using long sleeves.

    -20°C / -4°F
    The Aussies flee from Mallorca.
    The Finns end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.

    -30°C / -22°F
    People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth.
    The Finns start drying their laundry indoors.

    -40°C / -40°F
    Paris start cracking in the cold.
    The Finns stand in line at the hotdog stands.

    -50°C / -58°F
    Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole.
    The Finnish army postpones their winter survival training awaiting real
    winter weather.

    -60°C / -76°F
    Korvatunturi (the home for Santa Claus) freezes.
    The Finns rent a movie and stay indoors.

    -70°C / -94°F
    The false Santa moves south.
    The Finns get frustrated since they can't store their Kossu (Koskenkorva
    vodka) outdoors.
    The Finnish army goes out on winter survival training.

    -183°C / -297.4°F
    Microbes in food don't survive.
    The Finnish cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.

    -273°C / -459.4°F
    ALL atom-based movent halts.
    The Finns start saying "Perkele, it's cold outside today."

    -300°C / -508°F
    Hell freezes over.
    Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest

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    Question

    ♪ Deep in the heart of Texas ♪ ...

    TheDailyWoo ...


    Stuck In The Ice & Snow of Winter Texas Storm -
    Road Trip Day 4 / San Antonio To Houston Conditions


    Feb 17, 2021

    25:20 minutes


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    Those are some funny Finnish jokes.

    It's really bad and getting worse. These are the times when I learn things like the fact that Texas operates its own power grid with no federal assistance.

    They get deep freezes now and again. This one is long lasting.

    I worry for those people and animals who may be freezing.

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    Quote Originally posted by Dreamtimer View Post
    Those are some funny Finnish jokes.

    It's really bad and getting worse. These are the times when I learn things like the fact that Texas operates its own power grid with no federal assistance.

    They get deep freezes now and again. This one is long lasting.

    I worry for those people and animals who may be freezing.
    Yeah, but the problem is, you can't really use electricity to stay warm, at least not en masse and on a long-term basis. There is a reason colder countries and states burn stuff to keep warm, that's the only thing that actually works on a large scale.

    So, it seems that this polar vortex thing will be a regular occurrence from now on, due to climate change, so ironically, Southerners will have to invest in some proper heating to be able to survive cold winter spells, which can last for weeks.

    Another irony here is that the Texas power grid failed partly because they closed down so many coal-fired power plants and tried to replace them with renewables, such as solar and wind. Trouble is, when it's really cold, neither produce much electricity, so you need to burn something to keep warm.

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    They screwed up with the wind mills because they didn't weatherproof them. They cut corners which always comes back to bite the butt.

    They'll learn.

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