Bad weather heading in by tomorrow in Missouri.

[Faery_Light]

Missouri is being declared under a state of emergency due to the coming ice storm.
We may lose power for several days.
That is bad as we need electric for the thermostat on the furnace.
Propane heaters are already sold out in our area and no kerosene ones either.
They sealed the flue here to prevent the use of a wood stove...STUPID idea.
We had a great wood stove when we lived in Thayer, MO and used it every winter, even cooked on it when the power went down for two weeks.
I have no idea how we are going to get past this one...damn.
May be off the inet for several days or so.

 

[Alisa]

Stay safe! Hope you don't end up losing power!

 

[Faery_Light]

It will be bad if we do because I just got over Pneumonia and so did my brother, he is still coughing.

 

[FairyFantastic]

stay safe hun i hear alot of areas are getting it bad uk are ment to be getting artic blast coming in it has started snowing but wedont get it really bad like most contries thy come to a standstill here wen thy get just a few inches and go frantic wen other countries get 4/5 feet and cope better thn anything but stay safe wrap up warm u dont want to be ill again and tht goes for any one else who is experiencing this bad weather please be safe and warm only go out wen u need be xx

 

[seachnasaigh]

The thermostat isn't the problem; it is easy to bypass. Your gas furnace won't run without electricity because it has safety interlocks which require the squirrel cage blower fan to be running or it won't open the gas valve. In other words, *both* utilities (gas and electric) must be functional or the conventional gas furnace doesn't work.

For ice storm prep, I recommend a ventless gas heater for each floor of the house. They'll run when the electricity is out, and they don't require a chimney/vent stack.

30,000 BTU ventless gas heater

10,000 BTU ventless gas heater

 

[seachnasaigh]

P.S. In a pinch, I have used a rubber garage workshop air hose to make a quick hookup for one of these heaters, so that I could then work on the permanent black iron plumbing without freezing to death. I had the heater running 15min after taking it out of the box.

 

[Miss B]

Stay safe FL. Here's hoping you don't lose power. That's never a good thing.

 

[Glitterati3D]

I know the feeling! Perhaps you could head out for friends/family before it sets in?

Last week we had this:

And today is was 70 degrees and is 57 at 10 PM.

 

[Miss B]

We've had much warmer weather here today too, certainly a lot warmer than usual for this time of year.

 

[Faery_Light]

The warning cover all this area and most of our state.
I had an emergency stash of money and sent my daughter and her husband off to Walmart to look.
They found enough propane heaters to keep us warm and other things we will need.
If power goes out I imagine the water will as well even though it is city supplied but the big tank must need power to run the pumps.
We have plenty of candles for light and getting extra batteries for flashlights.
So we are going to b okay.

The problem here in Missouri is that folks have not seen how ornery the weather can actually get, too many mild winters.
Back in the fifties and sixties we had the snow and ice from November till March and after.
Even in St. Louis we had either wood , coal or oil heat so we made it through.

I pity folks here if we start getting winters like that again, and I wonder how many would survive if we had weather like those up North or Northwest....

My mind is resting a bit easier now that I know we will have the heaters though.

 

[Mythocentric]

That's a problem here in the UK too Faery_Light. Last year power went out locally for two and a half days when an incoming storm from the Atlantic caused flooding at our local power station (a nuclear one which was a bit worrying) and people just didn't know how to handle it! Over the last few years we've had less and less snow and more flooding in various parts of the country and it STILL takes people by surprise every year together with the usual media hysterics about why 'they' don't do something about it! Nobody seems to have realised, including property developers, that building on flood plains is a rather silly idea. I think I must be one of the few people left who remembers when we had snow every year (including one memorable year when it went on until June back in the 60's!)and we all just went about business as usual rather than panicking. Stay safe!

 

[SndCastie]

hope all is ok there

 

[Pendraia]

Stay safe FL and look after yourself...

@Mytho, I hear you there. Down in the valley where my mum and dad lives is a creek, it only floods once every twenty years or so but they went and built houses down there. I'm wondering how they'll react the first time it floods. My parents are at the top of the valley...they have a great view. In the 54 years I've lived in this area I've seen it flood twice, must be coming due soon...

 

[tparo]

That's a problem here in the UK too Faery_Light. Last year power went out locally for two and a half days when an incoming storm from the Atlantic caused flooding at our local power station (a nuclear one which was a bit worrying) and people just didn't know how to handle it! Over the last few years we've had less and less snow and more flooding in various parts of the country and it STILL takes people by surprise every year together with the usual media hysterics about why 'they' don't do something about it! Nobody seems to have realised, including property developers, that building on flood plains is a rather silly idea. I think I must be one of the few people left who remembers when we had snow every year (including one memorable year when it went on until June back in the 60's!)and we all just went about business as usual rather than panicking. Stay safe!

I remember when we used to have snow each winter in the UK, I have a photo somewhere where there is snow on the ground and daffodils poking their heads through it - would have been taken in the 70's.
We had snow here today (East England) snowed for about 2-3 hours then the rain and wind melted and washed it away. Its tonight they are predicting floods around here, especially on the coast.

 

[Pendraia]

Stay safe tparo and anyone else who is anywhere with extreme weather. It sure is weird this year, we have had the mildest summer ever so far in Melbourne while NSW and Queensland are sweltering.

 

[Alisa]

Yeah, we've had unusually cold weather here and ice and snow that's remained on our street for the last few weeks - temps have only gone a bit above freezing during the day and way below in the evenings. We live quite a bit up from the street with very steep driveways, and hubby took a fall last week at night when he went down to put something in the trash at the bottom of our neighbor's driveway. Smashed his hand with a flashlight on it really hard when he fell, right above his kneecap and is still (over a week later) unable to put much weight on it. Waiting for approval for a MRI. He had a mild case of hypothermia by the time I discovered him trying to crawl up the driveway, and got our neighbors to help get him up the driveway and over to our house. So we learned 2 VERY important things in snowy/icy weather - if you go out 1- make sure you are dressed for the weather (even if it's "just for a minute") and 2- have a cell phone with you so you can call for help.

Stay safe everyone!!

 

[Pendraia]

Sorry to hear this Alisa...I hope he gets his MRI approval soon. It's hard to imagine a system like that as here in Australia when you go to the doctor they refer you to MRI's whenever they are needed and it's covered by Medicare, some places even bulk bill. It's only occasionally if you go private that you might have to pay a gap payment.

 

[Alisa]

Thanks, hoping to hear Monday

 

[Miss B]

Fingers crossed.

 

[Alisa]

Thanks. Wondering how things are going in Missouri and if FL has power!!