Texas ice storm

C

CarolfromTX

Senior Member
Location
Central Texas
Every few years we get an ice storm, which pretty well shuts everything down. Well this year it’s a doozy. We’ve lost a couple big limbs and a whole lotta smaller ones. Live oak trees get hit particularly hard because they keep their leaves all winter (whence the name) and thus collect more ice. Standing outside, I can hear limbs snapping all over the neighborhood. It’s eerie, F32F594E-0790-4775-A752-3B9B60673577.jpegand crazy! DA195CF6-5591-4249-8BA4-B0381D517575.jpegB924ADED-B2D6-41C8-AAAD-91BC1BB2ADD3.jpeg23D75710-4493-4D0A-AFAA-68EF6AB07329.jpegC479C497-8C52-44F0-9D2B-DF423E0573BC.jpeg
 

CarolfromTX said:
Every few years we get an ice storm, which pretty well shuts everything down. Well this year it’s a doozy. We’ve lost a couple big limbs and a whole lotta smaller ones. Live oak trees get hit particularly hard because they keep their leaves all winter (whence the name) and thus collect more ice. Standing outside, I can hear limbs snapping all over the neighborhood. It’s eerie, View attachment 265959and crazy! View attachment 265954View attachment 265955View attachment 265956View attachment 265957
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Ice creates such havoc…….thanks for posting.
 
Plus, there are a lot of power outages due to downed lines. My daughters power has been out most of the day. Ours is ok so far — knock wood. But I looked at the power outage map online and it ain’t pretty. Stay warm, fellow Texans!
 

Ice storms are the worst. Much more destructive than a big snow storm. They can take down not only power lines & the wooden poles but even the metal hydro towers. Those storms are hard to predict in advance too as it's all about a very narrow temperature range and that's usually unknown until it happens.
 
Murrmurr said:
Did Texas make any changes since that massive outage 2 or 3 years ago?
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Theoretically yes? But this is so bad, I can’t honestly blame ERCOT. Dave and I have noticed For some time that the power lines are engulfed in trees. And then an ice storm comes along, trees sag, and power lines go down. My clothes line is covered in an inch of ice. Power lines can only withstand so much, even if they are clear of trees.
 
We lost the top of our cedar elm tree. I was letting the dogs back in from a potty break, holding the back door open, and it came crashing down! Nearly hit my elderly beagle, who was blissfully unaware! I yelled OH MY GOD! Dave kind of made fun of me until I made him take a look, then he said OH MY GOD too!
 
I am in between Dallas and Fort Worth. I have not been out all week. So far, all my trees are fine, no power loss. I still keep the heater down but I wear sweats in the house so I am warm. Have a big pot of chili simmering. I will say it has come in handy to have a full pantry and freezer.

We are supposed to get another heavy round of freezing rain tonight. There could be a lot more without power in the morning. I worry for those that were not prepared. Our meals on wheels has been suspended all week, so there are a few thousand that are not getting fed as normal. Those are the ones I worry about.
 
Years ago in Missouri my neighbor had a pine tree which was about 40 foot tall get taken out from an ice storm. Top branches fell onto the branches under it ... then it was just dominoes. One side of the tree sheared off.
 
CarolfromTX said:
We lost the top of our cedar elm tree. I was letting the dogs back in from a potty break, holding the back door open, and it came crashing down! Nearly hit my elderly beagle, who was blissfully unaware! I yelled OH MY GOD! Dave kind of made fun of me until I made him take a look, then he said OH MY GOD too!
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Carol, that looks like a terrible storm. We don't often have ice storms further north, it's mostly snow. Please stay in and out from under everything if you do have to go out.
 
Myrtle said:
Carol, that looks like a terrible storm. We don't often have ice storms further north, it's mostly snow. Please stay in and out from under everything if you do have to go out.
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My daughter told me I have to stay in, but I’m a rebel, so I ventured out to inspect the damage. Then the wind picked up a bit, and stuff started flying off the roof! I scurried out from under the trees lickety split! The grass crunches underfoot. My little chihuahua is hilarious looking walking on the lawn. She picks her little feet way up, and looks like a marionette with someone pulling at the strings too hard!
 
Hello from Dallas. We've spent 2 days at home due to ice on the roads. I'm going stir-crazy. Some of the ice melted today. Even though it was cloudy and 30 degrees, apparently the solar rays still come through the clouds and warm things up.

My car is AWD with new All Season tires, so I'm venturing out tomorrow to get lunch and go to the gym.
 
My DD & her husband are in their RV in a small town west of San Antonio. Their water lines were frozen on Tuesday and they‘re hauling water from the pool to flush toilets. They do have lots of propane and a generator.

They were supposed to start driving home to Ontario, Canada yesterday. They‘re postponing until Thursday and I sure hope they add another day. I know he’s restless to get on the road.
 
Our snow and ice largely melted today in Dallas and just turned into sludge. I drove to the gym and it was a breeze because there were so few cars on the road. The gym was packed. Everyone had "cabin fever". We will be back up to 71 degrees by Monday.
 


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