2021-22 Cold Winter

[tortoise]

Farmer's Almanac and rumor say its going to be a long, cold, snowy winter.

But forecast models predict October through December to be above normal temperatures in most of USA.

Interesting! What do you think?

Climate Prediction Center - Seasonal Outlook

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

 

[baymule]

For my next house, I want either a propane wall mounted Vanguard heater, wood burning heater or maybe both. All electric sucks.

 

[Mini Horses]

I live in an area that gets little snow, normally. Seems about every 10 yrs or so, a "major" snow hits us...like a foot of it. It's been 12 yrs now, so I'm just "waiting". A snow of 3-5" is bad here, limited road equipment. Mostly our temps are lowest in Feb. So outside pipes are checked in barns, for coverage on the heat tapes. It does sometimes get pulled off or ripped. It's a normal winter prep check.

Here I have a few kero heaters...and fuel, in case. Big generator for running well, lights, appliances....it plugs in to meter base with special hookup. stock up gas as weather says I should. Have propane stove that needs no electric to run and I can cook on top of it! 😁 for my area, I'm prepared.

The livestock are my concern with water not frozen. Have several heated tanks if weather is extreme for several days...big ones! And some small ones. Expensive to run but needed. If only morning freeze I break ice and add hot water, it's cheaper! I have kept one big heated and dipped from it sometimes.

only time I've had power out for more than 2 days was after a hurricane took out massive power lines, been almost 20 yrs now. That was almost a week. Boo!

 

[baymule]

Still running the AC here.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We experienced the same winter storm that @baymule did. We didn't get into the negative temps, but we did get low single digits. Not much snow accumulation here either - just a dusting. But, we lost power for nearly a week. We are lucky enough to have a big generator (and over 50 gallons of gas) that will run our whole house. We ran the heat to hopefully keep the pipes from freezing. We also left faucets dripping. Unfortunately, one morning by, habit, DH turned the water off in the kitchen faucet and it froze and busted. Crazy times for us but we learned a few lessons. One - I need more insulation in my north wall. Two - my gasoline generator has a big appetite to the tune of about $50 a day (at that time - gasoline prices have risen since then). Three - keep extra plumbing parts on hand! Other than that we were good.
That was the first big test for the generator and I was pleased to be sitting in a warm house during that time. We had neighbors over for warm-up breaks. The only downside of that big generator is that it took a lot of fuel.

I lost 3 lemon trees, a pomegranate tree and a blood orange tree. However, big freezes like that are somewhat beneficial for us. It does help cut down on parasites, and also garden bugs. As much as I am a cold weather wuss - I found that if I was dressed properly (and moving) I can tolerate the cold fairly well.

My crystal ball is pretty dusty right now so I don't have a prediction for the upcoming season. However, we've already had one really nice cool front and are expecting another one in a few days. That's a little early for us.

 

[Hardknockshomestead]

I'm not sure if this winter will be bad, but we're getting heating pellets for our stove, and the propane tank is full.
Also have small propane heaters and fuel for them.
Ever since the 12-hour power outage in January of 2019 when temps here sank to -28, I get concerned.

 

[tortoise]

I'm not sure if this winter will be bad, but we're getting heating pellets for our stove, and the propane tank is full.
Also have small propane heaters and fuel for them.
Ever since the 12-hour power outage in January of 2019 when temps here sank to -28, I get concerned.

Winter power outages are scary. I have a wood furnace- with electric blower 🤦‍♀️

We had a power outage in winter in 2016, I think. DS6 was little. I set up a little tent in the living room, covered it with blankets and put my dog in it to keep it warm. He was comfy. Nothing went wrong, I just remember feeling scared.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Ready for whatever the winter brings.

 

[Hardknockshomestead]

Actually it was -35 that day. Scared me because the power was out for only 12 hours.

 

[baymule]

In February, we had a snow and ice storm here in east Texas and -6F degrees! I never in my life experienced MINUS degrees. We got 2 ice storms and 2 snow storms, totaling 10" of snow. That might be laughable to a lot of you, but for east Texas, that was record breaking. We have no snow equipment for the roads, and the idiots make the auto body shops happy.

I don't want a repeat of that!