Saturday, January 20, 2018

GREAT ICE STORM OF 2018

The storm last week was rare for us.  Monday night the city was preparing.  This was what they were showing on the weather:




And sure enough, we all awoke to rapidly deteriorating conditions.  The North and West of Houston started getting it first.  2nd Man got to work from home, I had to go in.



It was cold in the morning and then starting going downhill. This was the weather at 10:47am.  Snow, ice and 27 degrees.  At about noon, I went out to my car in the parking lot...



...and it looked like this.  Covered in ice.  Everyone always tells me "but your Jeep is 4WD, you don't have to worry...."  Umm, 4WD doesn't give you magic ice ability, it's just four wheels spinning on ice instead of two, ha.  My boss had an ice scraper (none of us do because we never need it, mental note, buy an ice scraper, the weather is changing). He scraped our windows for us and we headed home in the sleet and snow.  I'm so glad I live close and don't have far to drive.  It was a nerve wracking trip home.  



Here is the weather the next morning at the farm.  SIXTEEN degrees. That's a record. And cold. Very cold for us. We're pretty sure the citrus trees didn't make it but we'll see.  

I'm off to the farm today to check on things. We're back up to 70 today!

More later to update on the results at the farm.  




10 comments:

  1. Hopefully we are done with them freezing temperatures.
    The Fort Worth Stock Show was going on and we Always have nasty weather during that time period.
    Got our electric bill yesterday and about had a heart attack when I seen it. :{
    Was looking at my notes from last year and noticed that on the 23rd of Feb. we mowed our yard and just 3 days before that we had just over an inch of rain.
    If you watered your fruit trees really well and with them being under cover; they just might have made it. Will find out in the Spring if they start budding out.
    Enjoy your weekend.

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  2. A credit card works well to scrape windows if you don't have a real scraper. Doesn't ruin the card,either.

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  3. Use an old set of car floor mats to cover your car's windshield in the evening and you won't have any ice to scrape in the morning. Carpet remnants also work.

    When you are ready to park your car for the night, take a few minutes to take a couple pieces of cardboard and slip them under your windshield wipers so that they are held securely and cover your windshield.

    If you go to the fabric store (to the clear plastic section used for tablecloths, etc), get a piece that will cover your windshield and add about 30 inches.
    What you will do is open your car door, put in the end of the plastic and close the door. Take the remaining long end of the plastic and run it across the windshield and under the wipers to the other side, open the passenger door and insert the other end.
    Doing this keeps the plastic in place in high winds and your windshield free of ice and snow.
    When it comes time to drive you just have to open the doors, shake off the snow and ice and roll it all up and put in a grocery bag ( make or use a little draw bag to put the rolled up plastic in out of scrap material).

    Take a pair of old socks and keep over your wipers. Then if it snows or rains the ice won't get stuck on them.


    Side mirrors; cover with plastic bags and secure with rubber band or clothes pins. Remove bags in the morning and mirrors will be ice free.

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  4. Has everyone recovered from the hurricane in Texas? Your weather extremes are mind boggling.

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  5. 4WD don't mean nuthin'. glad you are both safe.

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  6. Good luck.
    And Auntie Toast beat me too it. We use credit/debit cards to scrape the frost off the windshield too. And as we swelter (another day nudging 100) I would love some of your ice.

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  7. I live in Maine and we stay home when there's ice, period.

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  8. Alright, I’m done with winter - we’ve had enough cold already!
    With all that ice on your Jeep, that would have been a hair-raising ride home.
    I uncovered everything today and they all survived. My Meyer lemon tree took a hit and will need dead-branch pruning in the Spring but there is still green showing on a lot of the branches. Thankfully, my garden made it. I was picking lettuce today in shorts and t-shirt - it was so nice to feel some warmth again.
    Hoping everything survived at the Farm!

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  9. Holy moley! Yes, ice is treacherous. Glad all is well. Weird that you're having 70 degree weather today, but I suppose that's TX weather. Never a dull moment!😊🙄

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