HERE IS the Copperas Cove news per my roommate and talking over the fence news.
Broken water pipes EVERYWHERE. &
Please boil your water. That gonna be a little difficult for some people because they don’t know and some don’t have electricity.
My roommate was at Set on Hospital with a bad infection, she went to get her prescriptions refilled and the Walmart pharmacy in Barker Height (the only one open) told her there a large possibility the Walmart in Copperas Cove and HEB ( large chain grocery store) would most likely be moving the drugs to the other Walmarts and HEB.
My roommate said the exit to Set on Hospital was not clear. One minute the service road was fine next second buried up to the very front of her car. I only got stuck three times.
Later today she told me people were parked across 2 different shopping centers to get to HEB. Walmart was closed.
Yesterday all the ATMs were down in Kempner and Coppperas Cove, except my local no recognizable name store similar to what gas station store you use. Mom and Pop store ran everything on generators the same as I’m doing.
I was Informed that my other roommate was the only one around with wood. He was doing tree work for 2 years after all the other storms. All the good wood he saved. He’s been delivering wood and off again. He even has snow chains.
I’m going to gather up some food to send to my friend with a baby no heat… Bring them here later and 2 other friend’s with out heat. We have generators, plenty of fuel, food and wood for the cast iron stove.
And my favorite chicken froze. I hope I don’t loose any more.
Let me know if this is what you want, if it is useful to you, and so forth. It’s a bit time consuming to do these but if they’re useful I’ll make the time.
AUSTIN, starting tonight at 5 pm, all times with LOW precipitation until I say otherwise. SUMMARY: Temps in the middle to high 20’s all night, no precipitation until around 10 pm, changing to freezing rain around midnight and continuing until dawn, but lightening in intensity as time goes on.
DETAIL:
5 pm Temp 26 windchill 18 wind SE at 7 mph
6 pm Temp 24 windchill 18 Wind SE at 7mph
7 pm Temp 23 windchill 18 Wind SE at 4 mph
8 pm Temp 23 windchill 19 Wind ESE at 2 mph
9 pm Temp 23 windchill 18 wind ESE at 4 mph
10 pm Temp 23 windchill 19 wind E at 3mph 30% chance LIGHT SNOW
11 pm Temp 24 windchill 24 wind NE at 2 mph 54% chance LIGHT WINTRY MIX (that’s snow/sleet/freezing rain/rain)
If you’re in a smaller town - Copperas Cove, for example - I can also get you an hourly forecast for that location. Looking at the Austin forecast, if I were you I’d try to get the errands run before 10 pm so I could stay put during the freezing rain, but you’re there, I’m not, so use your best judgement.
City of Copperas Cove Winter Storm Uri Update
•Copperas Cove, Texas – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a Statewide Disaster Declaration for all 254 Counties as a result of the extreme inclement weather brought on by Winter Storm Uri. Earlier today, City of Copperas Cove Mayor Bradi Diaz followed suit and issued a Declaration of Local Disaster. As such, the City’s Emergency Management Plan has been implemented until further notice.
•All City of Copperas Cove facilities will be closed on Tuesday, February 16th. Emergency services will continue to operate without interruption. Essential personnel will also continue to work as they are able to monitor and attempt to ensure essential services are provided.
•The City Council Workshop and Regular Meetings scheduled for Tuesday evening has been cancelled.
•The established temporary Warming Center will remain open at the Public Library, located at 501 S. Main Street, until further notice.
•The City has been in constant communications with Oncor reference the many power outages throughout the City, however an electricity restoration timeline has yet to be provided. More info on the power outages has been posted to the City of Copperas Cove’s Official Facebook page.
•Street conditions will continue to deteriorate overnight, however will be evaluated and addressed as crews are able. Weather conditions continue to be hazardous and freezing temperatures are forecasted for the next 3-4 days. Various streets throughout the City are still marked with barricades and deemed unsafe to traverse; please use caution when driving in these areas. TxDOT and the City encourage all citizens to stay off the streets unless absolutely necessary.
•Solid Waste collections have been halted since late last week and the City’s contracted landfill is currently non-operational. As the weather clears and streets become safer, operations will continue with an altered schedule. At this point we ask for all residential customers to remove any receptacles from curbside for the safety of all motorists. Once safe conditions allow, a notice will be posted with a collection schedule for all areas.
•Water Department operations are still functional, in other words water is still being delivered to all customers however conservation is highly encouraged at this time. Any citizens experiencing water interruptions are likely experiencing frozen pipes on their end and we would encourage they research the internet for specific assistance and guidance to assist with restoration.
•Sewer Department operations are still functional, with some concerns arising due to power outages. Limiting wastewater outflow is highly encourage at this time.
•The Municipal Court will be closed. All scheduled hearings and appearances have been postponed. Anyone having a summons to report should disregard and await further notice.
•Utility Administration will be closed as well. Online and pay by phone options may still be available, as internet and phone lines remain active. There will be no late fees assessed and/or disconnections as a result of late payments.
•Emergency notifications continue to be distributed to our residents via the CodeRED
Emergency Notification System. Citizens not yet registered may enroll at this link: https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BF83F34F056B
Nope, sorry. Those “dirty old fossil fuels” are not so reliable when the temperatures plunge and the plants are not winterized. Many Texas gas- and coal-fired generating plants are offline right now because they froze. Water lines used for steam froze; natural gas pipelines froze. More fossil fuel capacity is offline right now than renewables. (Heck, at the South Texas Project nuclear plant, one of the units is offline because the feedwater froze.)
Speaking as a Texan who is using those dirty fuels. Gas, diesel for those of you who use hospital’s are also using that fuel to keep people alive and from freezing to death. Wood my roommate after working a concrete job 12 hours after the storms and tornadoes touched down helped many people some with NO MONEY, NO ROOFS Their downed trees are what he saved and risked broken bones and in many instances we are delivering to their house to keep them alive and so because they have any electricity to cook with. That same dirty fuel ie WOOD is boiling their water. Fort Hood is less than 18 miles from hete these vets retired the active duty their use that wood to boil water to make their formula for the baby.
Summary for Wednesday: Low 20, high 32. Windchills 11 to 25. Precipitation from midnight to around 7 am, starting as snow, progressing to wintry mix, freezing rain, then freezing drizzle. Low chance of precipitation after 7 am but you could still get some.
12 midnight: Temp 20 windchill 11 wind SE 7 mph 75% chance of SNOW
1 am: Temp 22 windchill 14 wind SE 6 mph 80% chance WINTRY MIX
2 am: Temp 22 windchill 14 wind SE 7 mph 70% chance WINTRY MIX
3 am: Temp 23 windchill 15 wind SE 7 mph 45% chance LIGHT FREEZING RAIN
4 am: Temp 24 windchill 18 wind ESE 5 mph 33% chance of FREEZING DRIZZLE
5 am: Temp 24 windchill 17 wind E 6 mph 33% chance of FREEZING DRIZZLE
6 am: Temp 24 windchill 18 wind ENE 5 mph 30% chance FREEZING DRIZZLE
7 am: Temp 24 windchill 19 wind NE 4 mph 33% chance FREEZING DRIZZLE
8 am: Temp 24 windchill 18 wind NE 5 mph low chance of precipitation until otherwise stated
9 am: Temp 25 windchill 18 wind NE 6mph
10 am: Temp 27 windchill 19 wind NE 6 mph
11 am: Temp 27 windchill 20 wind NE 7 mph
12 noon: Temp 29 windchill 21 wind NE 7mph
1 pm: Temp 30 windchill 23 wind NNE 7 mph
2 pm: Temp 31 windchill 23 wind NNE 8 mph
3 pm: Temp 32 windchill 25 wind NNE 8 mph
4 pm: Temp 32 windchill 25 wind NNE 9 mph
5 pm: Temp 32 windchill 24 wind NNE 9 mph
6 pm: Temp 21 windchill 23 wind NNE 9 mph
7 pm: Temp 29 windchill 21 wind NNE 7 mph
8 pm: Temp 28 windchill 19 wind NNE 8 mph
9 pm: Temp 27 windchill 18 wind NNE 9 mph
10 pm: Temp 26 windchill 17 wind NNE 10 mph
11 pm: Temp 26 windchill 16 wind N 11 mph
The moisture for snow, ice, drizzle, rain, etc. is coming from the Gulf of Mexico. That’s why you’re seeing “S” in the wind direction when that stuff is coming down. Wind from the north brings drier air, that’s why the times with low chance of precipitation often have an “N” in the wind direction. So, in addition to temperature, cloudiness, etc. pay attention to wind direction. South and south-east bring moisture which falls out of the sky either wet or frozen. North brings colder, drier air which means less stuff falling out of the sky. If the wind shifts when you’re out running errands it can help you anticipate a weather change.
Keep in mind all weather forecasts are, at best, educated guesses. At best.
You might want to bring a spare pair of shoes/boots and spare dry socks on your trips. Wet feet are a very very bad thing. Also extra gloves. I’m doing this myself right now and I’m only going about 10 miles from home to work.
Modnote: This out of place (and incorrect) political jab is not acceptable in this thread. Keep Political jabs out of IMHO threads that aren’t political. Do not repeat this please.
This is just a guidance, not a warning. Nothing on your permanent record.
I’m not sure of your situation, but if you still have power you might be able to get the local TV channels on your TV. Most TV’s have a TV tuner to get broadcast stations. If you happen to have an old TV antenna, try hooking it up to your TV. If you don’t have an antenna, I think it’s simple to make a crude antenna from a piece of coax cable. Post if you need to make an antenna and I’m sure we can dig up some instructions.
Anyone else reading this in the same situation - post the name of your town and I’ll see what I can do. I will be signing off around 7 or 8 pm tonight, but I’ll check back in early in the morning.
As a rule of thumb, though, the greater Austin area seems it will have stuff falling out of the sky, either wet or frozen from roughly 10 pm up to around 8 or 9 am tomorrow.
What you have posted and other people posted is Perfect. Personally unless a tornado warning or high above 40 mph winds I’ll be ok. Later I probably won’t have internet. Still I’m sure ‘OTHERS IN TEXAS and OTHER STATES’ will end up here or other php forums that are not infested with ads. I canceled all social media because of privacy issues and their loaded with ads too.
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE posting AND STRAIGHT DOPE for helping all of us through this tragic, wild weather event.
‘‘One for all and all for one. Straight Dope! The new musketeers!”
So far my power outages roll so I’m only out for an hour or a bit more. So I should be ok~I just keep my iPhone and iPad fully charged whenever I do have power. Will throw some ham in the Crockpot to heat and then when the power goes the crock pot will maintain some warmth so I’ll have hot food. Or at least warm food. I’ll fill my quart thermos with a hot beverage when I have power and that’s always comforting in the dark. Plus I’ve stashed big candles about the place so one is always near. They don’t warn us when the blackout is about to start. My phone has a flashlight option so I can find the candles and my way to the bathroom. 3 cats, all glad to cuddle, especially under the covers.
I’m not sure that that particular hack will work anymore, as over-the-air TV signals are now all digital, but my googling indicates that it is possible to make a homemade digital TV antenna.
I’m glad you have a plan @BippityBoppityBoo. I have never in my life ever had to deal with weather conditions like you folks are.
In the other thread, you mentioned that your pipes were frozen. I have never had frozen pipes so this is probably going to sound kinda dumb but can’t you maybe thaw them out with a blow-dryer when you have power? I’m assuming the pipes under your home are insulated by the soil. Oh wait, that’s frozen too, isn’t it. Hmmmm. Nevermind!