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Officials: 'prepare for days of power outages' Atlanta metro area

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posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 07:54 PM
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reply to post by soulpowertothendegree
 


Why insult us Northerners? We know a LOT about it.

You, perhaps on the other hand dont realize we have inches of ice, feets of snow, power outages, frozens streets, pipes, closed businesses, blocked streets and closed freeways with stalled cars and dead batteries. EVERY WINTER.

So, youve attempted at showing some humor. But instead, you showed something else all together.

But then again...I digress. What do YOU know about any of this?


edit on 09-22-2013 by mysterioustranger because: splg



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 08:05 PM
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I will never forget the ice storm in 2003. No power for a full month. It was a whole mess. Good luck!










edit on 11-2-2014 by OpinionatedB because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 08:12 PM
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reply to post by mysterioustranger
 


I have been up north plenty, the problem with up there is you DO get it ALL the time, its a part of every day life there. In places where you don't get it very often you simply are not prepared, and neither is nature.

Trees which cull themselves in the north every year, don't get such chances in warmer climates. They get a storm like this once a decade or two and that is it. Road crews and the like, they just don't have the staff because they don't normally need it, so when a big storm hits no matter what they are understaffed.

The list can go on... everyone knows its better to winter a storm up north than it is anywhere in the south, because of these reasons!
edit on 11-2-2014 by OpinionatedB because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 08:24 PM
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I have lived all over the United States, as an army brat, then wanderlust adult. I prefer warm climates, myself. However, my little family now lives in Cheesehead country(I know, OMG, not another one!). To my defense, I am not from here and to their defense, the people in WI are some of the nicest, most genuine, down-to-earth, kind unassuming people you could ever meet. I love my sweet community. Here we have had a very cold winter. The pipes in my house have frozen twice, and now the city is supplementing people keeping their water on at all times because they are afraid the main pipes (way down deep) are freezing.

That happens in cold places. People just deal and prepare. There are snow removal machines and services I have never seen employed here on a regular basis. Just business as usual.

This year a lot of southern climate areas got hit with northern weather. They don't have the equipment, experience, or even infrastructure for it. Why should they? So, chaos.

If it is freezing, and you are without power, close off a smallish room, get a baking pan with a trivit underneath and put in a couple of tea light candles. Cover it with a terra cotta pot, (yes, a clean flower pot), and it should warm up the room pretty quick. Watch your fingers though, it could get really hot.

I really don't know how people are going to have a giant French Toast Party without electricity though. Isn't that what they are planning with all the milk, eggs and bread? I didn't get an invite.



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 08:38 PM
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reply to post by OpinionatedB
 

Yes. I was responding to that poster's attempt at being cute (sarcastic more likely) with Wisconsiners being "cheeseheads' who know nothing about this type weather.

I myself remember living in South Carolina in the 1970's where after a small snowfall, I asked when they were gonna plow the roads. My friend responded with "Plow the roads? We plow fields...we dont HAVE snow plows down here!"

"OK" I said..."Then when will they shovel the walks?"

"Shovel the walks?" he said. "We shovel our gardens...not sidewalks.We dont HAVE any snow shovels down here!".

So, I do get it. And being a Northerner helps as well.



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 08:51 PM
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Funny, we get fined if the sidewalk in front of our house is not shoveled within 24 hrs. Sometimes that is several inches of snow a day. It took me a couple of years to figure the winter stuff out. Dress in layers...ALWAYS..., close off rooms in the house for the entire season, if you can where the wind blows in, and I have to say, to all of the thin people out there, when I put on an extra 10lbs for the winter season, BY GOD IT ACTUALLY WORKED! Hats or hoods are also absolutely needed as well as good boots and thick socks. Home made hot chocolate with home made marshmallows cheer things up too!



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 09:13 PM
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The weatherman on CNN just said that in his opinion, he thinks the power could be out for weeks. Weeks?!?!
The longest I've ever been without power in the winter was one week.
I don't remember how long people were without power during the bad Quebec storm a few years ago.

Weeks! Is there a lack of electricians? And people with chainsaws?
I'm guessing he's probably thinking the whole system will need to be rebuilt.

I hope people have the means for fire, even if it's in the back yard for cooking.



edit on 11-2-2014 by snowspirit because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 10:11 PM
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Just came across the radio while I was out gassing the car. They used the emergency broadcast system, declaring a state of emergency in almost all counties in South Carolina (and a lot over in Georgia).

SCDOT is urging all motorist to stay home if possible. Emergency Management is expecting massive damage to trees, telephone and power lines. Expecting massive power outages across the state due to the huge accumulation of ice.

would have been better if we were getting a foot of snow. Ice is much, much worse.
edit on 11-2-2014 by eriktheawful because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 10:19 PM
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I'm getting a bit freaked out. I have heard the word catastrophic all day.
Heard Gov. Deal say don't worry it wasn't the end of the world.
Why are they using such alarming language?

It's JUST winter.
Winter of 92 was like this - we got through it.

The real catastrophe is when all the very, very poor people in Georgia have no income all week, or those without food that were waiting on food stamps with no food in the house get them loaded but can't get to a store.

We're prepped here and ready. We'll lose Internet but I'll be glad for the forced detox for the family anyway.



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 10:24 PM
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Ahhh, here's the thread. Looked for it and couldn't find it.

Just posted in the snafu thread of last week...

Here we go again...all of the problems two weeks ago were a lesson that I hope we learned, and so far, it seems we did, with all he massive preparations and warnings underway. Atlanta and Georgia are getting the chance to do it right this time, but this time with power lines and trees down.

We've been basically shut down for about a day now with two to go. Snow, sleet, hail, rain, and ice and repeat and add some wind. State of emergency in 91 counties. And it looks like it's getting worse.

"Historic and catastrophic" winter and ice storms on the way, with up to an inch of ice in areas. As they are putting it, we are on our own until at least Thursday afternoon.

Stay put, stay safe, and stay warm, everyone in Atlanta, in Georgia, and in adjoining states .

Streaming news on preperations.


reply to post by hadriana
 

This is a bit more than our normal winter. An inch of ice is a LOT of ice. Especially with wind.
edit on 2/11/2014 by ~Lucidity because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 10:27 PM
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If what is hitting you out there is like what hit South Missouri in 2007, watch for trees...and that'll be 90% of the threat and problem. We lost a measurable % of the trees across the entire city and around this whole area of the state. The was very bad ...but we aren't NEARLY as wooded as the corridor running from Atlanta into the Carolinas. Many more trees. Old, tall trees.

That's what they mean, I believe. I hope it's not that bad. Ice is what I've come to fear most after 2007. We were without for around a week and many for much longer. Some rural areas pushed 2 weeks as I recall.



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 10:39 PM
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reply to post by Wrabbit2000
 


What is hitting us is the same thing that hit us 10 years ago, back in 2003 I believe it was. Massive ice storm with up to 1 inch accumulation.

The result: impassible roads due to ice, downed power lines and trees. Lack of power (for some weeks) due to massive loss of power lines and transformers.

I guess they call it historical based upon the fact that we only get this large of a storm once a decade or so. We do get ice storms and snow, but normally it's a one day thing, with very little accumulation, gone soon.

They learned from the 2003 storm: they cleared the right aways for power big time.

However, here in South Carolina and Georgia, we have these HUGE pine trees (Loblollys I think?), they are very fast growing, and get very tall. But they are a soft wood and freeze easily.

So when ice accumulates on them, they loose their huge branches quite easily. Worse however, is that they can also lean over and snap. Because they get so tall, you can have a lot of them that are not on the rightaway, but tall enough to fall over into the rightaway and take out power lines, roads, etc.

The other problem is transformers: they don't like to be encased in ice. They tend to conduct between the phase connections, and blow. Takes a while to replace one.....and if you have a lot of them go out, it can take days or longer to get to them.

Not to mention that we still have a LOT of those transformers up on wooden poles....which can bend under the weight of the ice, and also break or snap and come down.

It doesn't take much ice to do this. We'd be safer if it dumped a foot of snow, as it weighs a lot less than solid ice.



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 10:41 PM
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Ice storms are serious, especially for those who aren't used to them - have a plan b
edit on 12-2-2014 by LadySkadi because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 11:00 PM
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SubTruth
I understand people do not get this kind of weather and do not understand what to do........... But it really isn't rocket science. We get weather like this every other day up here in Wisconsin and it only causes small problems.

There is always northerners who think that there is something wrong with southerners because we cannot handle this type of weather. The fact is, myself, and many other southerners are originally from the north. We are well aware of how to handle cold weather. As a matter of fact, I come from WAY up north, where we used to spend all summer stockpiling wood for the furnace to use through the winter.

The problem is that there is NO WAY to deal with excessive cold weather in the south unless you went to great expense and prepared for it in advance. It's NOT the same going through freezing weather here as it is in the north.

You cannot simply walk into a Walmart, Target, Lowes, Home depot, etc... and just buy winter rated tires, chains, snow shovels, ice scrappers, road salt, etc... Some items are only available in small quantities, and then only seasonally, such as winter clothing and space heaters.

Just for example, I had to go from Florida to Maryland on a business trip, and went to a dozen stores to get a jacket, hat, and gloves. I only happened to find some by paying top dollar at a small specialty ski shop. I had to order a “tool set” (poker, etc) for my fireplace from amazon, as no one down here sells them. There is only one company in my city that builds or services fireplaces. “All weather” tires are not designed the same down here as they are up north. In the south they are technically rain tires and don't preform in snow or ice. I took my car up north and had all sorts of problems because I assumed "all weather" meant the same in both places.

The real problem and the main danger here is in construction differences. Up north your houses are not designed to be as efficient in the heat, and similarly in the south most houses are not designed at all for the cold. Very few if any houses have gas heaters, we have heat-pumps (the A/C unit run in reverse). They are electric, so if the power goes out you have NO HEAT. Space heaters again are electric, if you are even able to find one for sale. Houses are not built to codes that allow for a “frost line”, and water lines are often exposed to the elements with no thermal protection. Even the insulation here is rated and installed differently then it is up north. Our homes are designed to be cost effective at shunting heat, yours are built to retain it.

There are many other differences, but none of them have anything to do with northerners being tougher, or southerners being idiots.
edit on 2/12/2014 by defcon5 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 11:13 PM
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Wookiep
I'm confused why the power has to go out? They know this in advance? Isn't the power grid in the summer pushed pretty hard with all the A/C and such? How much more power do heaters suck up?

As I said in the above post, it has to do with the way the houses are designed to deal with heat vs cold. A heater in general would have to work harder to keep a southern house warm to begin with, let alone that most are heat-pumps. Running an A/C as a heat-pump is inefficient, and it takes a lot more work from the unit.

When I was young and the heater would kick on up north, it blew hot air. We used to stand on the floor vents as kids to warm up. Down here when my heat-pump kicks in it feels cold to the touch, and you don't want to be anywhere around it. When the pump pushes hot air into the house, the “air handler” outside gets colder. Eventually it freezes up and the unit then has to kick into “Auxiliary heat” to defrost itself while still heating inside the house. If it gets really cold you can go to “emergency heat”, but that is not so good for your unit and is the most costly mode to run on.

So basically unlike a normal A/C or Heater, its running all the time, freezing/defrosting, and it has to run harder as the house is not made to keep the heat in as well.
edit on 2/11/2014 by defcon5 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 11 2014 @ 11:24 PM
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IF anyone missed Nathan Deal's speech today, check out this clip.
This was one of the FUNNIEST political speeches EVER. This is where he assures us it is not the end of the world. Watch this interpreter.


edit on 11-2-2014 by hadriana because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 12 2014 @ 12:45 AM
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hillbilly4rent
reply to post by violet
 





Portable landline phones won't work in a power failure but the old fashioned phones do. (the ones that you stay by the outlet with)




Yes the old corded phones work well, but that goes back to a lot of the infrastructure in the south. The phone lines hang on the pole about 2 feet under the power lines. Usually when one drops they all do.


Oh ok , it's just the cordless run off electrical power unlike the old ones, so when the power is out they're useless.



posted on Feb, 12 2014 @ 01:01 AM
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Best thing to fill up your stomach? Milk and Carnation Instant Breakfast (powder packets). mix with 16oz of Milk, and drink.. it'll keep you full and give you energon for up to 5-6hrs.

DO NOT drink alcohol/beer.. all it does is dehydrate you. Drink water... with low humidity, drinking alcohol will make you dehydrate MUCH faster.. its a no no.... water guys.. and bread.. hotdogs, canned soups.. with pull lids or a can opener.
And a fireplace or a grill.. (gas/charcoal). And you should be good for a while.



posted on Feb, 12 2014 @ 02:02 AM
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Can someone PLEASE explain to me why people raid the milk isle??? It's as if without milk people will NEVER survive such a thing. I'm so confused.




i honestly have no idea. you would think they would go for non perishables but nope, everytime. EVERY darn time. Its bread and milk


Milk=cereal for kiddies (and adults)=quick meal when no power for microwave or electric stove or toaster;
it'll keep in fridge for awhile if you keep kids out of said fridge

Bread=PBJ sandwiches for kiddies = quick meal.......see above

perfect quick solutions for harried parents when they hear that inevitable "mommy I'm hungry" chorus from a passal of bored hungry kids




Yes the old corded phones work well, but that goes back to a lot of the infrastructure in the south. The phone lines hang on the pole about 2 feet under the power lines. Usually when one drops they all do.
Car Cigarette lighter adapter charger for cell phones = check

(btw - best c'mas gift ever!)


Kerosene heater and kerosene = check
remember to crack window for air! = check

Car moved out from under trees = check
from NC 2002 ice storm, and yes that's a power pole with a transformer tangled up in that mess power was out for a week. Source

camp stove and propane = check



And a fireplace or a grill.. (gas/charcoal).
Just remember to do the grill Outside - yeah I know it's a no-brainer to most of us, but believe it or not - back in 2002 there were many, many instances where ppl, some times whole families, had to be taken to the ER for Carbon-monoxide poisoning 'cause they were trying to use the gas grill inside for heat and cooking.




I'm getting a bit freaked out. I have heard the word catastrophic all day.
I've heard historic, record-breaking, catastrophic, epic. Gotta a feeling this isn't gonna be your normal basic ice-storm.



Gee Mom, it's gonna be just like camping out, only inside!! Can we put the tent up in the living room??? Pleeeeeze



posted on Feb, 12 2014 @ 02:46 AM
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reply to post by SCGrits
 

I had to laugh when I saw your camping picture. I've just heard from my folks in the Atlanta area and they are indeed prepared to camp in the living room! They had the luxury of fine-tuning their "survival" plans due to the earlier storm. But this time, the Dad is away at work so it's Mom and two girls, 10 and 12. They are home-schooled but Mom has declared tomorrow a Snow Day!




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