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2022-2023 Winter Weather Thread


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2 hours ago, Your Mom said:

You should be fine. I drove Houston to Austin last night and got in at midnight.  Took it slow from Bastrop on and never felt any slipping at all.  Temp was right at 32 and it’s only getting warmer today. 

There were a couple sketchy bridges and overpasses, but for the most part things were clearing up. There were clear tracks to follow through the worst parts. Things are warming, warm rain expected today should melt the rest of it. Just watch for the refreeze overnight. At least I get to sleep in my own bed for a few hours before I have to be back at 6 this afternoon for a 12 hour shift.

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2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Number of affected customers has gone UP. Don’t be surprised if major outages last into Saturday. Stayed at my dad’s last night as a lifeboat. Figure we’ll have to do it again tonight.
Panic. Two winter disasters. All in the last 3 yrs. I’d like a boring 10 yr stretch or so, thank you.

And everyone forgets that we had a freeze and snow about three weeks before the big one in 2021.  Plus, we had the hard freeze before Christmas this winter, but we got lucky with no precip.  And didn't we have one of those last winter, too?

So, we're at 4 or 5 hard freezes in the last 3 years.

And it's not some fluke.  This is how it is here now, and it's almost certainly going to get worse.

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11 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Number of affected customers has gone UP. Don’t be surprised if major outages last into Saturday. Stayed at my dad’s last night as a lifeboat. Figure we’ll have to do it again tonight.
Panic. Two winter disasters. All in the last 3 yrs. I’d like a boring 10 yr stretch or so, thank you.

Need new issues to stop happening so they can even begin to catch up. 

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19 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

Same

Same here. Woke up to find our 35' Monterey Oak split down the middle, half completely blocking my driveway and half blocking the neighbor's driveway.  Spent an hour + this morning with a chainsaw clearing a path for both of us.  I guess I should be glad I don't have anything falling through the roof yet, but fuck this. 

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I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

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2 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

I have a buddy that runs a company that does this, if you're interested.

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11 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:


Damn. The accumulation must be tremendous in order to split an oak like that. T&P

Silver lining: you’re set for firewood!

It's fucking amazing how heavy those branches get when each limb is coated with 1/4"+ of ice.  I was cutting up our downed oak this morning and was shocked at the heft when I was dragging the branches around.    

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6 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

This is what my wife has been saying...why bother fixing this shit. The holly hedges I planted along the fence after 2021 are starting to get big but 2 got clobbered by a giant limb falling on them. 

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27 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:


Damn. The accumulation must be tremendous in order to split an oak like that. T&P

Silver lining: you’re set for firewood!

Yeah I had a pic up here yesterday of a live oak limb that was bent to the ground, and each little leaf was completely encased in a clear spheroid of ice like it was an acrylic paperweight. Multiply that by thousands of leaves. 

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19 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

Burr Oak is the only tree I would plant at this point, but it needs to be far away from any structures.  Mine hasn't lost a live branch in a wind storm, ice, snow, drought, etc.  I'm floored.  I'm with you, though.  I'm done with live oaks and elms. 

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27 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm coming to the conclusion that it may be time to give up on landscaping here in Austin.  Tough to find trees / plants that can survive 110F with no rain for 4 months + ice storms + sub 20F weather for a week at a time + 70 mph windstorms in the spring.  Maybe just synthetic grass the whole damn yard?

I'm sorry about that Monterey Oak, but damned if that isn't the perfect tree for Austin.  It does just fine in the heat, and it doesn't really mind the cold.  I lost two branches off one of mine (there are four on my property), but for the most part they're hanging in there.  They are oaks, after all.

 

And the best part is that if you replace it, they grow so goddamned fast that it'll be huge in just a few years.

Edited by Ghost of LL
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6 minutes ago, Newdoc said:

All those who laughed at the 70 year old guy who river rocked his whole yard in the early 90's, well who's laughing now?...

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My HOA made me remove half my gravel front yard after it had been xeriscaped 7 years before….without any complaints.

 

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Edited by Armybrat
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Just now, dieucla98 said:

So I should knock the whole thing down at this point?

According to a arborist, tree guy I use, 50% of canopy loss on a mature tree is usually a death sentence. I wouldn't imagine the tree is at anymore risk of falling immediately unless it split into the trunk. Cedar elms will often hollow on the inside so be careful.

This is when you get a good tree company to assess and give a hopefully honest opinion. That unfortunately means no low bid guys who hang out their shingle on nextdoor, unless you just cut your losses and take it down.

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1 minute ago, 4th&Five said:

The most dangerous thing I saw driving to work was people treating traffic lights with no power like they have a green light. Not even slowing down. 

Yeah lights being out, and downed limbs all over, are the major problems for driving in Austin right now.  The road conditions are okay. 

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As feared, shitastic overnight. Every other hour - crack, one or two seconds, and small boom.  Fence damaged, not sure about minor roof damage.  Can hardly walk in our backyard as it's littered with limbs, and big ones. Thankfully, nothing went through the roof. 

I'm surprised the weather guys aren't getting hit with this a bit more. As late as Saturday evening / Sunday morning, it was just going to a cold rain mid week. Next thing you know, city's down for almost a week.  We've got really good local guys. I think there was a whiff in this instance.  Oh well. 

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