Are you in the US Southern states dealing with the frigid weather?

Nope. I’m in the frozen northlands. The winters suck here, but we at least know how to deal with them.

One of my stepfather’s relatives lives in Round Rock TX and she was here (NY) for a short stay. Her husband was home in TX without power for three days and the interior of the house was 45 degrees. He had to go stay with friends who live near a hospital (apparently those within a mile of the hospital are on the hospital power grid, all others are screwed).

It’s not a matter of knowing how to deal with it, it’s a matter of not having power, no heat for days with freezing temperatures, pipes bursting, and no remedy in sight. Even here in NY where we’re accustomed to freezing temps for weeks on end, if the power went out, we’d be suffering and miserable.

I just saw on a FB post, someone posted about the people in TX and a snarky person wrote that she was from the Mid West and she said something about being used to dealing with this. People on the post had to explain to her how it’s different for TX because TX has major power issues combined with temps in the single digits, so it’s a bit different than knowing how to deal with it.

When I left work yesterday about an hour north of NYC, it was 50 degrees at 1 pm. In TX, it was 7.

I have friend in Baton Rouge. The water line to their house comes out of the ground about a foot from the foundation and goes into the house about 1 foot above the surface. The pipe is totally exposed to the elements. I recommended that he wrap it with heat tape and hope the power does not go out.
Our water line is buried 54 inches below the surface.

Here is a message from Tim Boyd, (now former) mayor of Colorado City:

”No one owes you or your family anything; nor is it the local governments responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim, it’s your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn hand out! If you don’t have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal with out and think outside of the box to survive and supply water to your family. If you were sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your lazy is direct result of your raising! Only the strong will survive and the week will perish. Folks, God Has given us the tools to support ourselves in times like this. This is sadly a product of a socialist government where they feed people to believe that the FEW work and others will become dependent for handouts. Am I sorry that you have been dealing without electricity and water; yes! But I’ll be damned if I’m going to provide for anyone that is capable of doing it themselves! We have lost sight of those in need and those that take advantage of the system and mesh them into one group!! Bottom line, quit crying and looking for a handout! Get off your ass and take care of your own family!

Bottom line – DON’T BE A PART OF A PROBLEM, BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!”

My parents didn’t get snow, so that’s good.

@jca2 I agree that it can be bad anywhere, it’s not just about being accustomed to cold weather. I remember after Sandy my aunt and sister had no heat, no electricity, and no water. My sister had to carry gallon water up 8 flights of stairs for my aunt and also do the same for herself. At that time they lived about 8 blocks apart.

My aunt was fairly disabled and freezing cold in her apartment. I think it was in the 40’s and 50’s outside, so not cold like this current situation, but the city has its own challenges. I was so upset the national guard wasn’t helping disabled people. Why weren’t there strong young people being organized to make sure people had water? Even within a building?

The thing is, the South cannot remove all of the snow and ice. It is incredibly inadequate at doing it. The South gets paralyzed more readily and longer than a state like Michigan. They don’t have the equipment or the budget for that matter.

Plus, you would be shocked how many Southerners need advice about how to stay warm (although I find this to be more of a thing among Floridians than anyone). They don’t know to have a layer of clothing right against their skin as the first layer like long Johns or any clothing that mimics long underwear, and then layer of course. They put on a sweatshirt and think it will keep them warm. I had one online friend in Texas say she doesn’t have any gloves. Not one pair. It does get chilly in her part of Texas sometimes.

@ragingloli OMG. That is horrific.

@jca2

You misunderstand me. When I say “we” I mean in the collective sense – the local municipalities and state governments, etc and the people who keep voting for their short-sighted policies. “We” do not hamstring our own ability to keep the power on and the water flowing. Texas isn’t the only state dealing with this weather. They are, however, the only state that voted to remove themselves from the national power grid so they could deregulate their energy production and delivery. The predictable consequences of this are now coming to fruition.

@Darth_Algar: Oh, ok, my apologies. I did misunderstand what you wrote.

@jca2

In fairness, looking at the post now, I probably could have been a bit clearer in the first place.