Good morning! Are you up yet? What's your plans for today?

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

black ice = UUfdah... here we go again.

There is plenty of Black Ice where I live... right now.
There were over 800 crashes and spin outs, in Mn, yesterday
White out conditions will prevail on & off today and tomorrow. because the winds are blowing hard at times.
The all roads are getting drifted in, iced up and dangerous to drive on.
I'll be staying close to home today.


Today's forecast: 12/23/2022
Patchy Light Snow with Blowing Snow
-15°F
-26°C
Humidity   70%
Wind Speed   NW 20mph / Gusts to 50 mph
Barometer   29.84 in (1015.4 mb)
Dewpoint   -22°F (-30°C)
Visibility   4.00 mi
Wind Chill   -42°F (-41.4°C)
Last update   23 Dec 5:53 am CST
Local Forecast Office

[Privateer]

-6 with -32 wind chill here.
Level 3 Snow Emergency in effect.
Just another Ohio Winter.

[avator]

Me and Boss went out for a walk about. Rambo still wouldn't go. I found out what the loud thump was. About 40' of a 12" diameter dead standing pine fell off of the neighboring wooded area and landed across our main driveway taking out a section of the fence. About 10' of the top of it busted into manageable pieces but I'll have to get the chainsaw out to deal with the rest. Then I'll have to repair the fence.
I checked all the water faucets and all are good to go, no frozen/busted lines. I was surprised how warm it was in the bar/mancave. It may be just because once inside there is no wind.
Betty Lou was getting up when Boss and I came back in and she got dressed and convince Rambo to go out with her. He was funny trying to drink from the frozen outdoor water dish.
There are still a couple large puddles that were not frozen. The ground is not cold enough to let them freeze. That's a good thing for the water pipes. The mandated freeze line for burying water pipes here is only 18".
All in all, we're in alot better shape than alot of people.

[Hoosier Daddy]

John your pic made me go check again.
Still dropping...

 

That is your outside temperature displayed on your Carrier tstat, I hope!

Yea... if it was interior temp I'd be calling you!
 

[Back_Roads]

 Yup I am living in Tommy Boys snow globe  Plan for today is feed the outdoor wood boiler most likely every 6 hours to keep this 1910 farm house toasty. We run a mini split heat pump up to when the night temps reach below 32 degrees, then switch to natural gas till it is cold enough to switch to wood, was after thanks giving this year, some years early as late October.  -10f ATM BTW

[Insanity]

Work decided yesterday that noone is to come in and work the time sheet today so we have 40 hours. So I stayed in bed till 830. It's pretty cold in my apartment no real insulation.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Yup I am living in Tommy Boys snow globe  Plan for today is feed the outdoor wood boiler most likely every 6 hours to keep this 1910 farm house toasty. We run a mini split heat pump up to when the night temps reach below 32 degrees, then switch to natural gas till it is cold enough to switch to wood, was after thanks giving this year, some years early as late October.  -10f ATM BTW

Yup.....You Sure Are ...James ! . 
So are a whole lot of other folks. 


Best Wishes - Tom

[avator]

Took the Kodiak atv and a strap and cleared the driveway of the fallen tree. It wasn't as heavy as it appeared because the pine beetles were the cause of it's demise in the first place. We just pulled it off to the side and did a temp fix on the fence to keep the dogs in. We'll do a permanent fix and cut the tree into burnable sections when it warms up next week. Several other branches came down from trees at the end of the driveway and had to be moved off to the side as well. The 50' or so remainder of the big tree is wedged between two other trees on the neighboring property and it will clear our fence even if it does come down. Its just about an acre+ of old growth wood and nobody does anything with it. One would have trouble even trying to walk through it. It's home to many of the critters around here. It's the same behind us and across the dirt road from us. We really are nestled in the woods here.
That wind really makes it feel cold in this damp environment.

[Rabbit\Squirrel Killer]

At about 12:20 AM I was about ready to go to bed when our small dog went crazy, barking at me and didn't want anything I offered. 
 Then she routed through my wife's knitting bag when I walked away, making a bed for herself with the contents. This morning my wife told me she has been doing that to her when she wants a lift onto something to lay down, maybe that was it? I also think maybe she heard a mouse but she wasn't acting like she was looking for anything???
 Her old legs and hips are starting to keep her from getting on the couch or in a chair like she is use to doing. We don't know how old she is because we got her as an adult dog in 2015 but she is definitely going downhill slowly but surely. Of our two dogs she is the one that acts old and our old Great Dane acts like a puppy most of the time.

I was talking with a grandson that just moved back to Idaho last night and he was driving across Idaho to go get the fifth wheel trailer full of their belongings that they had left at his sisters in Lava Hot Springs. They just got an apartment and will be moving in today when he gets back with their things. He has a 2017 Ram 4x4 as his tow vehicle.

 His first week up their he made $1500 on his new job as a plumber and says it looks like he will easily make that or more every week at 25% commission. This week there were lots of frozen sewer lines and their frost line is at 31 inches already. 

Here, it's 38°F out and forecast to get to 71°F today, 78°F tomorrow, and 80°F Christmas day, our 10 day shows 6 days of rain starting on the 27th with high daily temps between 58°F-65°F.

[Madd Hatter]

Yup I am living in Tommy Boys snow globe  Plan for today is feed the outdoor wood boiler most likely every 6 hours to keep this 1910 farm house toasty. We run a mini split heat pump up to when the night temps reach below 32 degrees, then switch to natural gas till it is cold enough to switch to wood, was after thanks giving this year, some years early as late October.  -10f ATM BTW

Yup.....You Sure Are ...James ! . 
So are a whole lot of other folks. 


Best Wishes - Tom

Wow it's so cold lake Michigan is dripping.😉

[Sqrl Klr]

I left my pool open and running this winter instead of covering it because I enjoy looking at it even if not using it while leaving it running to help stay above freezing since the pump runs hot. With the cold storm blowing leaves in my pool it's not fun cleaning the skimmers on 11 degree night with the wind trying to frostbite my face is what I found out for the first time after cleaning pools since I was a young teen. Soon as I get a full net of leaves and walk 20yds to dump them into the wood line the net and leaves are frozen and the water dripping from the net froze on the concrete. Weird experience that a warm weather TX guy ain't used to. Wishing I had a screen enclosure over the pool right about now.

[Jshooter71]

I left my pool open and running this winter instead of covering it because I enjoy looking at it even if not using it while leaving it running to help stay above freezing since the pump runs hot. With the cold storm blowing leaves in my pool it's not fun cleaning the skimmers on 11 degree night with the wind trying to frostbite my face is what I found out for the first time after cleaning pools since I was a young teen. Soon as I get a full net of leaves and walk 20yds to dump them into the wood line the net and leaves are frozen and the water dripping from the net froze on the concrete. Weird experience that a warm weather TX guy ain't used to. Wishing I had a screen enclosure over the pool right about now.

My dad had a friend in Florida with a pretty big in-ground pool, screened-in right out the back of the house, with a roof and furniture, lights, music and fans. I thought that was just the greatest thing ever.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Hi All.

I got up at 4:30 this mooring to get a jump on todays work load.
I retired from a full time (paid) job, at age 66 in 2015.
Since then, I have found out that being retired in not for sissies.
The 35 to 45 mph blizzard like winds are supposed to subside this morning.
They have already dropped off quite a bit.
So , soon, I must go out and remove any snow drifts.
Then I will go over to my daughters place and do her snow too.
After I get back, I'll probably go up and start removing the snow on the roof of my house.
I've got between 2 to 3 1/2 feet of snow....up on the roof of the house and garage.
We are getting another major winter storm later on next week.  >Winter Storm Fernando<
I want to get all the snow from winter storm Diez ....and winter storm Elliot... off ...before winter storm Fernando arrives.
At 2:30 pm I must stop my outside work and get ready to go over to my son's place for Christmas dinner & celebration.

Merry Christmas to all.


Best Wishes - Tom


This mornings weather forecast:
Fair
-5°F
-21°C
Humidity   84%
Wind Speed   W 13 G 17 mph
Barometer   30.09 in
Dewpoint   -9°F (-23°C)
Visibility   10.00 mi
Wind Chill   -24°F (-31°C)
Last update   24 Dec 4:35 am CST
More Information:
Local Forecast Office - Hourly Weather Forecast

[Hoosier Daddy]

Be careful up there Tom, I can't imagine getting on the roof today!

[maraudinglizard]

Up and waiting for daylight to access the damage. 20* here with a wind chill of 7*, this will do some serious plant damage around here. More of this freezing mess is predicted all the way into Monday.

Tom be careful cleaning up the snow.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Be careful up there Tom, I can't imagine getting on the roof today!

I will be alright Scott.
I have a set of Yaktrax Diamond Grip Snow & Ice boot chains.
They work... Great... up on the roof.
No Slip or slide....all traction.
With them on, I can move around up there just like on a summer day.
I have a snow peeler that I can take of most of the snow off from the ground.
I then use a big snow pusher that I use to remove the rest of it.
With the snow pusher there is no shoveling just scoop, slide and let the snow go.
There is no getting close to the edge of the roof. 


Best Wishes - Tom

[Bimota]

Not much, todays high is only going to be 36.
Read, Relax and listen to a new CD I got.

This was at  07:00

[Jshooter71]

Good morning GTA! Happy Christmas Eve! I woke up at 0321, checked on the dog and she keeled back over and went to sleep. Slowly, she’s getting trained to the backyard being hers to use… the weather didn’t help- but, she’s getting used to it. She’s also very good with the crate at night. So I went back to bed. I got up at 0600 CST and I’m having my coffee. The wind has significantly dropped here too, it’s 6*, with little to 5mph wind it’s -3*. It’s supposed to get to 28* today and a bit warmer each day from here on. Not much planned today, so I might just set up a bench and shoot a little here & there as it warms up. I really want to go through all my gun cases and ensure there’s at least one tin of their respective pellets in there for each rifle. I also want to go through the garage a little and the attic and put some stuff away to get a jump on getting it a little neater in here. Of course, I always hide and wrap my wife’s Christmas gifts in the garage on Christmas Eve, hence all this connection to the garage today.

[Insanity]

UP late even though I was up at 245 then 330 then 5 then 6 shoulda got out of bed at 6 because the nightmares kicked in. Anyhoo...

I will go pick the kids up at 2 and go to my sisters for out big family Christmas. Once done there we will go back home for our little Christmas. Well then Santa will come and Ill cook Bfast and then the kids will go home and have Christmas with their mom.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I was up at 245 then 330 then 5 then 6 shoulda got out of bed at 6 because the nightmares kicked in. Anyhoo...

I feel your pain Matt. That is my "normal" as well and sums it up to a "T". 
Next, just wait 'till your prostate chimes in. Haven't slept an entire night in years...

Today is our Christmas.
3 of the 4 Daughters families and Mom insist on braving the cold and coming for "Brunch" and Pressies.