Mid Atlantic Snowmegedon

[CTF250]

As a native new englander, Ive become accustom to the effects of winter snowstorms and how they effect the population.  With this giant snow storm barrelling across the mid section of the country, Im wondering how fellow ants are making out.

I thought this would also be a good place us experienced "snowmegedon" survivor's might place some suggestions on how to deal with the aftermath.

A few things that come to my mind include being careful with the shovel out your going to have to do.  I wonder if snow shovels and snow blowers exist in these areas.  Some big mistakes made by people in new england  are trying to shovel too much and experience and over stress themselves into a heart attack.  Best suggestion would be to shovel small amounts and take your time.  Trust me the snow isn't going to go any where fast.  Take your time and pace yourself.

If you do have a snow blower, by all means keep your fingers and hands OUT of the auger and moving parts!  Some many times we hear about people getting hurt after a large snow event unclogging a stuck snow blower with their hands.  you get the picture here, be careful !

Last quick item to remember would be your going to have to think about the snow load of frozen water sitting on your roof.  All that snow on the roof of your house is going to cause damage to your house if it doesn't get off of there. 

Snow and ice dams form at the edge of the roof line if melting snow cant drain off the roof.  Try to broom off the snow around your gutters so snow, as it melts has some where to drain to.  If snow melt doesn't drain to the gutter, it will ice up causing a"ice dam" effect allowing the melting water to seep into the roof shingles causing interior damage.  Also the accumulation of snow and ice will create allot of weight on the roof system itself.  flat roofs are really strained during this event. 

That's all I'm going to put here, hope other experienced "snowmegedon" survivors join in to offer their support and suggestions.

Stay warm and be safe, and good luck in riding it out! 

One last thing to remember, no matter how much snow you might be getting looks, it will melt and go away!

[Darkwinter]

In NE Ohio we saw about 6 inches to a foot, with snow drift areas up to three feet.

Side roads are probably not going to see a plow until sunday night, but the main roads are passable at moderate speeds with caution.

I made it to work this morning after an hour of shoveling.  They say that we may have some more on the horizon.  But we will fair just fine.  I left for work with a shovel, blanket, and a milk jug of water.  Didn't need any of it, but it is a short 3 mile drive.

Many small shops I passed had open signs lit and McDonalds had a nice $1.00 coffee waiting for me.

We have power, heat, and a gorgeous landscape to enjoy for the next 24-72 hours, until the plows can get through to let the compact cars back on the road.

Stay safe everyone!

[Johnny Swampwalker]

Hope everyone is coping well. This is a time your preps really show there value. One of the best things you can do is stay at home (if you can) and watch the show from your livingroom.

I'm in northern Canada, where snow is part of our character. That said, there are still plenty of stupid people doing stupid things. The roads are a dangerous place at the best of times, let alone when people exceed their skill level.

Snow-on-ice driving is like driving on ball bearings. I've seen people panic when sliding and hammer on the brakes, only to slide slowly directly into another car. When your brakes lock, your vehicle continues in a straight line. With ABS and slippery conditions, your vehicle continues in a straight line and makes lots of noise. If you find yourself sliding with the brakes on, put your tranny into neutral - you'd be surprised how much faster you'll slow down.

If you drive into snow that's a little too deep, don't panic - add a little more gas and try maintain your speed. You'll be surprised how much snow you can make it through if you can keep up your momentum. If you start to slide, keep your wheels pointed where you want to go and KEEP PLOWING. If you do get stuck, your probably stuck good. This is because all the snow under the vehicle adds a lot of friction, and with the reduced traction, you can't move. Take your shovel out (of course you have one) and go to town under your vehicle as well as around the wheels.

And for 4-wheel drive newbies that think they can conquer the world, as all the dirt demons will tell you, 4-wheel drive is for getting you out of trouble, not into trouble. I've heard of many people (including my brother) who put their vehicle into 4 wheel drive on the highway when their truck slid a bit and carried on their merry way, thinking they solved the problem. This works fine until they go around a corner and slide into the ditch. This is because when you are in 4-wheel drive and have locking differentials, something has to slip, so you are actually adding slip at a time of poor traction. Not good. Just slow down. Wave at the guys who pass you, you'll meet them later. That's why you have the shovel, if you're nice .

Good luck and take care.

[Rookinde]

Quick Update..... at noon... I would suggest at least 19-21". My DW wife is going to journal how our preps have helped us as a family on her facebook page.

Now back to some great family time.

Rook

[CTF250]

Quick Update..... at noon... I would suggest at least 19-21". My DW wife is going to journal how our preps have helped us as a family on her facebook page.

Now back to some great family time.

Rook

Rook
Add the link to her facebook page so we can follow

Be Safe!

[Artos]

We have had around 36" total this month in Germany.  Im pretty sure Ive hurt my rotator cuff shoveling snow by trying to move to much per shovelful.  Small of my back hurts a lot too.

Slow and steady...

Getting to it before anything walks on it helps too, compression turns it into ice which is twice as hard to get up.

[Mad_Man]

Overheard today: Pittsburg is expecting 3 feet of snow.  I do not know how accurate this prediction it will be.  Even if it is only 18 inches, that is a LOT!

[on the sound]

Snow has stopped here in SWVA,  Roads are already clear.. looks as if it's melting just as fast as it fell. Good stuff, maybe I can actually get out today.

[Darkwinter]

By 14:00 the snow was completely off 90% of the roads.  But funny thing.

I stopped at the gas station on my way home from work and all of the pumps were hooded.  Apparently their shipment didn't get in yesterday due to the storm.  Now keep in mind, this is NE Ohio, we have tons of salt trucks and plows and we are very accustomed to winter weather.

There were no lines and no rush to fill up before the storm hit.  But within 24 hours under fairly normal business circumstances the gas station  was completely OUT of fuel.

That should be a wake up call.  I ask the woman how many shipments per week she gets and she told me that they get a shipment EVERY DAY as about 20:00.  So within a day the pumps were dry, under fairly normal conditions.  If there was an emergency I can guarantee that there would be no gas at this station within 8 hours.

[Nowhere]

SW PA 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.  We have 7 - 12 inches with the road cleared.  I spent the afternoon with the snow blower and the shovel.  Wife and I will be dining out tonight.

[mummert1982]

I live South of DC in Maryland and so far we have about 25 inches of snow. I spent an hour shoveling snow around and off of our cars. While we are for the most part prepared I definitely think we need to get another 4x4. I just got rid of my Grand Cherokee a year ago, and now I'm paying the price, it seems that 2001 Camaro Z28's don't handle quite as well in bad weather...

[Rookinde]

Rook
Add the link to her facebook page so we can follow

Be Safe!

http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=13500.0

Link to the post...

[guitarzan]

A picture of a DC grocery store from the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8502713.stm

Click on over the the 4th picture.

[ModernSurvival]

A picture of a DC grocery store from the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8502713.stm

Click on over the the 4th picture.

I used my evil piracy skills (MS Paint and Print Screen ) to snag that flash image, here it is. 

but remember it is CRAZY to stock up on food, that is for nuts and loons.  Living day to day is a much better rational way to live, 

[AdamCG]

I have a sibling that lives in WV, outside of DC.  She sent me pics of their mega-snow over this past weekend.  I basically told her (in a typical, younger brother manner) that “It sucked to be her!”

She laughed because normally, with us living in NE OH, it’s usually my family receiving the "white death” while she enjoys relatively “balmy” weather. 

P.S.  The stupidest and most dangerous weather-related event that has occurred to my family happened two years ago at Christmas.  I was warming up a frozen water pipe in my attic’s crawl-space using a small, propane torch.  Admittedly, I was in a hurry and STUPIDLY I wasn’t paying absolute attention with the flame.

As you can guess, without realizing it, I’d set parts of the blown-in insulation on fire.  About 10 minutes after “fixing” the pipe, our house filled with smoke.  I ran back to the crawl-space in hopes of removing the smoldering insulation but it “snakes” through the insulation.  I unsuccessfully tried for about 10 minutes but we called the fire department who punched a hole through my dining room ceiling to remove all the burning insulation. 

For me, lesson learned.

[Gif]

I live in Pittsburgh and we got 22 inches of snow and lost power from Friday night to Saturday night.  Many others in the city are still without power currently.  I need TSP help on what to do!  Here is my situation:

I live in a small townhouse community.  Because we lost power the stove, hot water, and heat were all out.  We do not have individual circuit breakers per unit so I can't really buy a generator to keep the heat on or power other things.  This is "temporary" living as well and I don't plan on living here for more than another 2 years.  I have a propane grill so I could cook if I needed to and I just bought a propane Coleman (double burner type) camp stove for further cooking flexibility.  We (girlfriend and I) were cold when we woke up Saturday morning so we bugged out     to her parent's house.  They didn't lose power and they heat their house with wood anyhow and have a gas stove. 

I guess my question is what do I do when the power goes out and it is cold out?  Am I essentially SOL in this type of living environment?  If it was summer this would have been a non issue and we would have just grilled all our food, which I do a lot of year round anyhow.  But being in a house that got down to about 45 was not fun.  I have begun to store food and live the TSP lifestyle but I am new to a lot of this and this was our first test, so to speak.  What do you all suggest for next time, which could be on Tuesday as we are supposed to get another 10 inches ?!!   

[bubtech]

Kerosene heater.
B

[survivininct]

Stock Tip -

Don't buy any stock in the companies selling the stuff that's left on the shelves shown in Jack's post   

Our forecast for tomorrow:

Winter Storm Watch for the state. Snow expected to start in the predawn hours Wednesday and get heavier during the afternoon and evening hours ending around midnight. 8-16" and near blizzard conditions expected.

Glad I got three gallons of milk and six loaves of bread!~

[kimber]

  We got 26" this past Saturday and it's snowing again right now. Another 12-16" expected. And of course, I'm sick.
  The preps have really come in handy. Especially the easy to make dinner preps. I am too sick to even think about cooking. But luckily I had some of those homestyle bakes meals in the pantry and my husband was able to whip up a nice warm meal for the family.
  We haven't lost power yet, but it seems as the rest of South Jersey has.
I have to keep reminding my family to stock up and do simple things, like - Hey - it might be a good idea to bring your snow shovel inside the house instead of out in the back shed..... or - do you have any flashlights ....with batteries that work....LOL!!

[hd45hunt]

Tomorrow, being my day off, looks to be a good day to make a stew and bake some bread.  And shovel and go snowmobiling.

[Dene B.]

Stock Tip -

Don't buy any stock in the companies selling the stuff that's left on the shelves shown in Jack's post   

Our forecast for tomorrow:

Winter Storm Watch for the state. Snow expected to start in the predawn hours Wednesday and get heavier during the afternoon and evening hours ending around midnight. 8-16" and near blizzard conditions expected.

Glad I got three gallons of milk and six loaves of bread!~

I was thinking the same thing!  I guess no one likes vanilla yogurt, or whatever those tubs are on the bottom row.

I have a friend in Virginia who told me that the shelves are bare everywhere.  People were waiting in line at Home Depot for a new shipment of snow shovels to be unloaded from the delivery truck.  I would have thought every soul in Virginia already owned one.. but there I go thinking again.. 

[Pathman]

I stopped at a walmart on my way home yesterday to get a new shovel because I broke mine, they had none.  So I found a bold and nut and fixed the shovel.  Guess you shouldn't use an aluminum snow shovel like a spade.

When out with the kids today and was able to fall backwards off of my deck railing into the snow and not get hurt, it's about 3 ft in the back yard.  We started to dig a snow cave in the plowed up mountain, but I'm not to sure if plowed snow is safe to build one in or not.  Definately harder to dig then in regular snow.

[survivininct]

Our forecast for tomorrow:

Winter Storm Watch for the state. Snow expected to start in the predawn hours Wednesday and get heavier during the afternoon and evening hours ending around midnight. 8-16" and near blizzard conditions expected.

We got 2 inches!  Wow - at least they are sure the earth will warm .5 degrees Celsius over the next 20 years!

[stayfrosty]

I live in Northern Virginia and we got 22 inches and then about 6 more in the second round. Some things that I learned:
1) Get a GOOD snow shovel. I have a tiny one with an expandable handle that works, but is a lot harder than a proper shovel. I waited until the Thursday before the storm to try to get a shovel and missed out. Then I got up at 5:30 twice to try to get a shovel to no avail and waited at Sears for 2 hours to strike out.
2) If all the shovels are gone pre/post snow storm... what will happen to all the generators, tools, guns, and all the other useful items pre/post SHTF? I need to get some other items that I don't have now. i.e. - a crowbar, a good chain and locks, a sledgehammer, gardening tools etc.
3) Snow storms are a great opportunity to meet and get closer to neighbors. On Saturday, I spent 6 hours digging out all the cars of the people in my building and chatting with them. I feel much more comfortable with them now and was even asked to join a family for dinner. That will be very useful after SHTF.
4) More people than you think are unprepared. I went to Safeway three times in the last few days to pick up various little items and to check out the "run." I bought some flowers for my girl and picked up some sour cream for tacos.... etc. Not items that I HAD to have. I observed plenty of panic buyers with overloaded carts and empty shelves because people didn't have the items that they NEEDED.
5) The $20 one-piece snow suit, the $30 steel tipped waterproof boots, and the $1 wool cap that I got at Walmart were worth their weight in gold. I've spent at least 25 hours outside shoveling in the past 5 days and was never cold and never wet because of these three items.

If everyone could just learn from this storm that being prepared for things is better than not... our society would be better off for it. Unfortunately... that won't be the case.

frosty

[Kiko ninau]

Similar to stayfrosty, I figured I'd post my observations and thoughts.

1. Like frosty, I get the distinct impression that this region is worse off than I thought. On the evening that the first round was arriving, I have to admit that I was out of paper towels. So I walked up to the local grocer. The store was packed and the picture that Jack posted is pretty close to what I saw. I was interested to see what people were purchasing: snack foods (wiped out), meat (completely wiped out except for the large hams and large packs of steaks), and bottled water. Notably, the store had put canned foods on rolling displays right up front (canned soups, chef boyardee items, and jarred fruit) - these products didn't look like they were moving. It seemed odd that with a storm bearing down, people were most interested in junk food as well as food that required power + refrigeration.

2. Bizarre attitudes: My wife and I were comparing our discussions with coworkers and we both were scratching our heads over an apparent pride that some people take in living day to day, as if having a pantry is something beneath them.

3. The total reliance on automobiles: holy crap is this evident. The private sector completely shut down except in some walkable locations because people cannot reach their jobs. Additionally, people are just damn lazy and use cars when they don't need to: in my neighborhood (which I consider a bit more sane than other parts of the cesspit of northern Virginia), people were driving on unplowed roads to reach the grocery and restaurants when they opened up two days ago. Driving, despite the fact that the stores are less than a 1/4 mile walk.

4. A silly one: what is the deal with snow shovels? During the past two storms as well as the little snowfall we had two weeks ago, the hardware and grocery stores put out snow shovels and they sold out. Who keeps buying snow shovels? Seriously, who didn't have one? Especially after December's storms?

5. I sure hope things are plowed and safe enough by Saturday. The Dulles gun show is this weekend!