Posted on 01/24/2026 12:51:12 PM PST by ealgeone
Hey Freepers in the path of stormagedden 2026....how ya doing?
Power outages? Impacts?
Here in north GA it's just a little chilly as we wait for the storm.
One thing I got this year is an EcoFlow battery backup (I learned about them from watching The 8-Bit Guy’s videos). They’re normally used for converting your house to solar but I’m using it as a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). I have a few things here in my TV room plugged into it and I have mains power charging it.
It means that if power goes out I can still get out of my recliner, for instance. But it also means I can run a cord from a generator to it when power goes out and if the generator runs out of gas, everything doesn’t suddenly go dead or dark. I just go out, put more gas in it and restart it while everything just pulls from the battery. The idea is, in a power outage, I add a lamp and a cord running to the refrigerator to what’s pulling from the EcoFlow. I keep a power strip plugged into it so I can plug whatever I want into it, and I got a decent one that has a fair amount of battery and draw capacity. Right now, I’m hardly utilizing it but I have some ideas on getting more out of it.
This summer I’d like to add a garage-door opener to my garage (after I have an access door put in). My plan is to have the opener plugged into a passthrough outlet in the garage with a companion outlet here in the TV room, then just run a cord from that outlet to the EcoFlow. That way, if power goes out I can still easily open the door even if a car is in the garage. I already have passthrough outlets running from the garage into the house for the purpose of easily getting generator power into the house. I just plug in the generator on the garage side and extension cord(s) at the house side to whatever I need to power (such as the EcoFlow).
Your scenario is exactly what the forecasters are warning about.
When years go by without ice storms, all the older, weakened trees don’t come down as readily. Then an ice storm hits and takes them all out at once.
I hope your power is restored soon, but with more ice on the way, that’s not good. Additionally, the temperatures are supposed to stay cold, so the ice won’t be going anywhere very fast.
We’re at -6 right now, which it’s been all night. We have the wood stove going in addition to the furnace, and it’s keeping up. If it were 30 out, we’d be baking out right now. Thank God for the wood stove.
We’re also forecasted to get at least a foot of snow overnight starting early afternoon today.
It’s 5 am
My dog just woke me up. She vomited. So I thought I’d give an update.
I think we got a few more inches of snow overnight. I’m thinking maybe 6 altogether.much less than the 12-18 they predicted. Not even as much snow as we’ve had in the past few years
Now, I just have to worry about my dog and why is she vomiting. I have theories.
It’s cold. It’s 7 degrees.
I’ve got two cords of wood, and the kitties are purring in front of the wood burning stove. What me worry?
I got my shopping done on Friday. The stores must have been completely clogged with panic buyers yesterday.
I contacted the National Weather Service and their response for the area (New River Valley Va) was “Your guess is as good as mine”. We are in the “Could be this, could be that” zone.
Currently: Windy, snow and sleet, 14F
I’ll be glad when this winter is over. It’s been a tough one so far.
We got a pretty nice little “dusting” here in Bell Co. 16 degrees at 7:00 am. 01/25/2026
Thanks. We’ve been through this many times before, just gets a bit tougher as you age.
Hah! It’s not as hot here in NW Jersey, but we do get our share of 90 degree days and high humidity most summers. “Ivory” will lay on top of an air conditioner grate when coming in from outside.
20 car pileup on Eastbound I-10, exit 470 near Junction last night just before 7 pm. I-10 is closed between Mountain Home and Junction.
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/traffic/article/i10-closed-20-car-pileup-21313814.php
You mean it’s not “HOT Tuna”?
Yikes! The media here continues saying that the roads are really slick from the ice and snow but here it is Sunday morning and the traffic is going by here like it’s early Monday morning and they are late for work.
Its 8:24AM here in Lilburn GA and we are still waiting for the ice storm of the century. 😆
In Roane Co., TN, we have an iced-over driveway, but no snow.
Temps hovered between 32 and 34 overnight.
Generator kicked on at 2:30, and we regained power at 4:30.
Tonight probably will be worse.
No church except via Zoom or FB.
I’d love to have a wood stove. Glad your comfy!
This storm is just about gone from Texas. Very cold though. 16° right now in Central Texas.
Huge farce in central VA.....1” max, but now sleeting and will do so all day. Light sleet, very fine......23 degrees...
Thanks for the update.
Let us know when you get power back, even if it’s days out.
The snow is supposed to start here in the next hour or two. We should just make it hime from church.
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