). Then I was gone.
A childhood friend of mine, who was of the "I'm tougher than you, and I'll prove it!" variety rode in the winter here in Illinois. He had a Ninja 250 at one point and low sided it trying to stop at a red light on ice, sliding under the back of a Ford Crown Victoria. Luckily, he lagged the bike and didn't have anything more than some bruises, and the 250 just suffered broken turn signals and plastic.
When we lived in Macon, we only saw snow once. There was enough for a couple of snowballs if you cleaned off a car. There had been an ice storm that we heard about before we moved there. It made quite the impression on people there. I don't think they enjoyed it much. We had moved from up around Chicago and had gone through the 66 blizzard. Snow up to the gutters of the house. Never forgot that one.
It makes for great video of people trying to drive on it.
I'm ready.Ron, it looks like you're gonna miss the worst part of the storm , but not by much!
I think we'll get, relatively , little snow as most of it will be South of us...like where Bud lives
Didn't realize you guys got that much of the white stuff! I agree with you.
I've heard stories from people that left Illinois. Property taxes are pretty high.
Rather than wrap the entire susceptible pipe I'd suggest getting insulation between the pipe and the exterior wall so heat from the home can warm the pipe. Any air leaks from the outside should be sealed. Heat tapes can fail and start fires - even the newest ones. If it's a cold water line on really cold, windy nights a small drip from a downstream fixture can keep water moving enough to prevent a freeze. Whether you're on city or well water the temperature of the water coming into you home is most likely around 45 degrees.
Well, I'm from southern Cuyahoga County, does that count?
This past weekend marked the 48th anniversary of the blizzard of '78, sorry, no pics, just old 35mm prints of us kids making tunnels through 8ft high drifts, unplowed streets for 4 days, people buried in cars, 10below zero air temps and 80mph winds. The snow on the sides or our driveway after shoveling the snow was 4ft high. School was cancelled for 2 days in a row, that has never happened before or since, well, at least here.
Seriously though, I know south of the Manson-Nixon Line, winter sometimes really throws them a loop, and they are just not prepared as we are not prepared for 100F temps here. I think ice is much worse than any amount of snow I will ever see, much more destructive.
My dad was born in Birmingham AL in 1928 and he recalled jumping off his porch into snow when he was about 3 or 4 and that was the last time he saw snow until he was in Korea courtesy of the U.S. Army in 1951 when they asked him to go over and spend a fun filled time carrying a BAR.
Your suggestion (thanks, BTW) should have worked...
In my youth I had a seasonal job doing maintenance on 50 old rental trailers. These were the old aluminum skinned, flat roof variety with 2" thick exterior walls. I was paid a salary the same dollar amount whether I worked 60 hours or 6 hours. At first many of these trailers froze whenever the temperatures dropped below zero but eventually they were toughened up to withstand up to -30F temperatures. Running water wasn't an option as the park was on well water, plus water trickling in the 3" exposed (underneath) sewer line would freeze that 3" water line solid. Filling the wall cavity with spray in foam will also prevent warm interior air from reaching the plumbing. If this is at ground level snow, plastic stapled up or square hay bales placed against the outside wall in the trouble prone area might help.
You could install a temperature controlled switched outlet that powers a small heater or maybe even a strong old fashioned hot light bulb.
Kind of the same situation here. Coincidentally I placed a remote sensor in the unheated area before the really cold weather started and can monitor the temperature from the living room. Heat rises, but there's also heat that escapes downward as well. When it's below zero and windy the temperature ranges between 26 and 30. I heard a knowledgeable professor explain that any structure - say an unheated barn - that shelters from radiational cooling may drop below 32F but not much further.
That was back when most drivers had some sense. Today, not so much.
I'm thinking that side of the house might be an excellent place for a lean-to shed to store lawn equipment or motorcycle stuff.
Vern, I think it would be a good spot.
And we all thank you for that.72 and sunny yesterday, so I sat on the deck with my shirt off for half hour to catch some rays. No picture
Probably WTH?? Be careful with that. Trying to catch a tipover might ruin your day.
Haha, I call the task of washing my car "my rain dance" because I'm guaranteed to bring rain with 24 hours.
We got it as well.
