Getting ready for a storm....

bgak47 · #21 01/21/05, 04:30 PM

I don't mean to sound like a smart aleck, but it's 74 here & I had to open the windows. It's supposed to cool down some tomorrow. The weather here in central OK has been up & down more than usual this year. Today's high may be a record for this date.We need some moisture, even if it comes in the form of snow & ice. All you folks up north: stay safe & warm!

Hoop · #22 01/21/05, 06:44 PM

My snow storm preparation here in Northern Wisconsin consists of:

NOTHING.....let it snow. A few inches (or feet) of snow doesn't mean the world is coming to an end.

If we get a foot of snow.....so what. The snow plows will have the roads cleared by 8:00 AM to make travel possible. Nobody in there right mind travels during a heavy snow storm. If one does have to drive. one only has to take it easy, rather than drive like Dale Earnhart Jr at Daytona.

green5acres · #23 01/21/05, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandB

We're supposed to get anywhere from 6-12 inches tomorrow. Today is my normal grocery shopping day (the stores will probably be a mess, ten times the usual people

)

I will also go to the feed supply store today, which we usually do on Saturday. That means a lot of driving today, in two different vehicles ! Last night we went and filled the gas cans for the tractor and snowblower. Tonight when DH gets home, we will have to get all the feed unloaded from the truck & put away, since the snow is coming early tomorrow, in addition to the usual chores.

At least it is coming on a weekend, so we won't have to worry about getting to work, and have time to dig out. When we get deep snow, it takes about a whole day to make paths everywhere - around the house for the dogs to walk (we have an elderly dog who can't walk in deep snow anymore), path from house to farm bldgs, paths between the bldgs, sometimes a path for sheep to the water tub (if snow is too deep for them) and of course we have to clear the snow out of the chicken yard, or they won't come out of the coop - the birds don't like frozen tootsies !
We are very thankful that we got a snow-blower last year - it makes the above mentioned jobs SO much easier for us older folks !! This year we have a tractor with a plow for the first time, and I think DH is itching to try it out !

WHERE IS SOUTHERN JERSEY ARE YOU/ IM FROM TOMS RIVER AND MY WHOLE FAMILY IS STILL THERE. MY MOM IS GETTING READY FOR THIS BIG STORM,HER HOUSE IS RIGHT ON THE BAY AND ONE YEAR THEY GOT FLOODED OUT BECAUSE THE TIDES WERE JUST RIGHT.FULL MOON AND ALL. IM IN N.C. NOW AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GET IT TOO, BUT WONT AMOUNT TO MUCH HERE. I REALLY MISS THE SNOW ,BUT NOT THE CONGESTION IN T.R.
TODAY I GOT EXTRA FEED IN THE BARN AND HAY, CLEANED WATER TANK, THE HOSE FINALLY WAS DEFROSTED, SO I WENT FOR IT. GOT MORE WOOD IN AND STOCKED A BUNCH BY BACK DOOR IN CASE WE LOOSE POWER, ICE STORMS HERE ARE MORE OF A PROBLEM THAN THE SNOW AND FILLED EVERYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON WITH WATER JUST IN CASE, AND IF COURSE THE MAKINS OF A BEEF STEW ARE ALL READY TO GO FIRST THING IN THE AM.

boxwoods · #24 01/21/05, 09:05 PM

-8 right now and down right cold.

And lots of snow coming. I just keep pushing the chickens for more eggs. So I won't go hungry

dosthouhavemilk · #25 01/21/05, 10:09 PM

Went shopping today...a day ealier than I had planned is all. Stopped at the mill for filters, grit, and Cal Gluc. Went to the dollar stores for lots of treats. Mostly, though I bedded the younger heifers and the goats more heavily to give them something to burrow into. I will be taking their water down early tomorrow before it gets too bad. Also went and got more straw this evening. Where we buy it is likely to be stuck behind closed roads, so we picked up 15 bales this evening.
Dad generally tries to clean the ditch before bad weather like that moves in in case the spreader freezes, but other than that we don't do much more than normal for colder weather. Everything done on our farm centers around the weather and so we are constantly looking ahead.

Quint · #26 01/22/05, 02:54 AM

Speaking of storms....

I had a small wind anemometer outside and was watching the windspeed out of the NW at around 40-48 MPH. Suddenly there was a louder roar and the meter peaked at 64 and went blank. Turned on the floodlights and looked out at the tower and the little meter was no where to be seen.

You know it is windy when your anemometer unit takes flight.

moosemaniac · #27 01/22/05, 03:41 AM

Piece of cake! We're used to this here. Lake effect snow is our way of life this time of year! Got food, got videos in case the satellite dish is blocked, got newborn kid coats...just in case. Life as usual!

Ruth

HilltopDaisy · #28 01/22/05, 12:21 PM

This is one storm I'd just as soon miss us completely. It's coming down strong right now. I have to drive to work in a few minutes (45 minutes on clean roads) to the hospital where I work. My quit time is 11:45pm, but when we get snow later in the day/evening hours like this, I will not be allowed to leave the facility to go home. We have to make sure enough staff from dayshift shows up in the morning. I will be forced to sleep on a plastic mattress in a no longer used wing of the hospital--that is if enough night shift staff show up tonight. Otherwise I'll end up working a 16 hour shift, and still face the very real possibilty that I won't be allowed to leave. This is a state hospital, and if one were to leave without permission, you would have charges pressed against you for patient abandonment. I live alone, so all I can do is pray the power stays on, so the heat stays on and pipes don't freeze. It's around zero degrees, and extremely windy. I have loads of critters here that I'll be worried sick about the entire time I'm gone. They are now calling for 18" of snow. This sucks....................

BobBoyce · #29 01/22/05, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shagbarkmtcatle

And minivans don't do snow either. They are worthless.
Laura Lynn

I'm sorry to hear you wrecked the minivan, I sure hope you didn't get hurt.

You can get minivans with better winter performance. We bought a used minivan we pretty much only use for the snow and icy roads of winter.

It's a 1996 GMC Safari AWD, so it's more sure-footed than any of our other 2WD only vehicles. It's pretty much the same as a Chevrolet Astro, has 2 rows of seats in the back, and it's good for hauling feed/groceries as well, but it's not as good on gas mileage as our pickup truck or cars.

I was told they are built on a 1/2 ton truck chassis, which is why I searched for months to find a decent used one. It weighs a lot more than most minivans, so I'm not sure if it really qualifies as a minivan to most people. It is smaller than regular full sized vans, and a lot smaller than our 1 ton extended body vans.

They forcast snow for today but all we've had was rain so far. There's still a lot of ice around from the freeze we've had up until a couple of days ago.

Bob

BobBoyce · #30 01/22/05, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

This is a state hospital, and if one were to leave without permission, you would have charges pressed against you for patient abandonment.

They cannot get away with that legally, and it's illegal for them to even threaten that. Morally feeling obligated is one thing, but legally you cannot be forced to work beyond your scheduled hours. Even if the state is trying to claim immunity to federal OSHA, and wage/hour board regulations (which they cannot, federal regulations supercede state powers), they can only request you to volunteer to stay. Any threat of legal action, termination, reprimand, or other repercussions on their part, are illegal.

I went through this exact same type of dispute in 1999, and I ended up quitting my job over it. I didn't stop there however, I reported them to every federal agency I could. After it was over, they were fined, and I was offered my job back, but I refused because the same management was still there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

I live alone, so all I can do is pray the power stays on, so the heat stays on and pipes don't freeze. It's around zero degrees, and extremely windy. I have loads of critters here that I'll be worried sick about the entire time I'm gone. They are now calling for 18" of snow. This sucks....................

I'll be praying along with you. I hope it all works out for you.

Bob

Shagbarkmtcatle · #31 01/22/05, 08:41 PM

Thank you Bob Boyce, you are very kind. I am fine. I was hangining out of the van trying to snag up some rocks that line the driveway so I could chock the tires to keep it from rolling down when it got away from me. I hung on the steering wheel while I had one foot in and dragged the other foot and steered it on purpose into the tree instead of letting it go down the cliff. It only made a little ding next to the license plate. It is a 1993 GMC Safari without allwheel drive. It has plenty of miles on it but I have kept it immaculate and it runs great. Except it didn't pass Emmissions this time and I had to get a waiver. How dumb is that? The vehicle is still putting emmissions out. ANd to top it off, they will make me bring it in again next year to try it again. So I was already planning to get rid of it later this year and get a Kia Sedonna. I have less kids to haul around now.

Laura Lynn

fordy · #32 01/22/05, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HilltopDaisy

This is one storm I'd just as soon miss us completely. It's coming down strong right now. I have to drive to work in a few minutes (45 minutes on clean roads) to the hospital where I work. My quit time is 11:45pm, but when we get snow later in the day/evening hours like this, I will not be allowed to leave the facility to go home. We have to make sure enough staff from dayshift shows up in the morning. I will be forced to sleep on a plastic mattress in a no longer used wing of the hospital--that is if enough night shift staff show up tonight. Otherwise I'll end up working a 16 hour shift, and still face the very real possibilty that I won't be allowed to leave. This is a state hospital, and if one were to leave without permission, you would have charges pressed against you for patient abandonment. I live alone, so all I can do is pray the power stays on, so the heat stays on and pipes don't freeze. It's around zero degrees, and extremely windy. I have loads of critters here that I'll be worried sick about the entire time I'm gone. They are now calling for 18" of snow. This sucks....................

.................HD , you can have a propane powered generator setup at your home place that can be connected to your main breaker box via an Automatic transfer switch , IF your regular power is cut off . The Auto switch will Disconnect your breaker box from the grid and Start the genset which will run until the regular power comes back on . It will also shutdown the genset and transfer your home back onto the grid power . Might be worth looking into given your singular lifestyle . fordy..

Cosmic · #33 01/22/05, 09:37 PM

Snow, we got snow. Coming down nice and regular.

Could this beat the Blizzard of 1978????

Starting to drift in places and it is COLD

mikell · #34 01/23/05, 03:23 AM

STorm here and gone in SW Michigan. Predicted 12" got about 5" and the wind never did kick up.

mikell

Irish Pixie · #35 01/23/05, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobBoyce

They cannot get away with that legally, and it's illegal for them to even threaten that. Morally feeling obligated is one thing, but legally you cannot be forced to work beyond your scheduled hours. Even if the state is trying to claim immunity to federal OSHA, and wage/hour board regulations (which they cannot, federal regulations supercede state powers), they can only request you to volunteer to stay. Any threat of legal action, termination, reprimand, or other repercussions on their part, are illegal.

I went through this exact same type of dispute in 1999, and I ended up quitting my job over it. I didn't stop there however, I reported them to every federal agency I could. After it was over, they were fined, and I was offered my job back, but I refused because the same management was still there.

I'll be praying along with you. I hope it all works out for you.

Bob

It's in the Union contract with New York State, Bob. They can, and do often, require mandatory overtime. My husband did the same type of job for years (he actually did the same job as Hilltop Daisy at first before he tested up), except it was with prison inmates with psychiatric problems. They lock down the facility--no one leaves. It does suck because it leaves someone alone at home. I was left with two small girls in these storms many, many times. There has to be enough bodies to safely guard/watch the clients/inmates if that means locking the doors that's what happens.

Stacy

Irish Pixie · #36 01/23/05, 06:18 AM

We ended up with way more than 10". It's hard to tell how much is out there with the drifting. Now the winds are picking up and the high today is supposed to be 5 with windchills of -20. Wonderful. We're snug inside with lots of wood and food. Horses are snug in the barn buried in hay. We can ride it out.

I'm glad you're OK, Laura. I'm used to this weather (and I don't drive in it unless I have to and then it's with 4WD) but I still don't like driving in it.

Stacy

moosemaniac · #37 01/23/05, 06:28 AM

Wow...went out to feed and I had to force my way through waist high drifts. Came inside and woke up DH to do some snow removal. Turned on the weather channel and had a good laugh when they announced Tennessee had a weather advisory - 1/2 inch of snow! Oooooooooooh. Meanwhile, I have more than that in the chicken coop, poor babies. The garage has 2 inches and the front of the goat shed at the door has about an inch. I could barely open the doors though due to drifting of a couple of feet there. What a mess! Yep, this'll probably be the day Tellie kids!

Ruth