Severe Weather

[CU Tiger]

In the 90s in SC busses had block heaters and they plugged them up.
But that went away as a way to reduce costs on purchasing new buses and to reduce electric usage

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

In the 90s in SC busses had block heaters and they plugged them up.
But that went away as a way to reduce costs on purchasing new buses and to reduce electric usage

Srsly? Adding a block heater to a new car 'build' is like $50. Even if you need something a bit larger for a bus engine, the fact that you'd be getting better pricing than a single car consumer seems like a wash. Shaving something like $50 on the overall cost of a bus would be totally negligible. And you don't have to plug them in unless you actually need to plug them in, so it's not like they are a constant source of electrical drain. Strange decision.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

The biggest thing I remember is that your body can't sense change in temp below about -20. So if it's colder, you can get real damage and frostbite, but not know it's that bad until it's already done. All it knows is that it's really cold, that's part of what makes the temps so dangerous.

I'm not going to say for sure this is untrue, because I don't know the actual science behind that idea, but anecdotally I sure as hell can feel a difference between -20 and -30 or -40 or -50.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Srsly? Adding a block heater to a new car 'build' is like $50. Even if you need something a bit larger for a bus engine, the fact that you'd be getting better pricing than a single car consumer seems like a wash. Shaving something like $50 on the overall cost of a bus would be totally negligible. And you don't have to plug them in unless you actually need to plug them in, so it's not like they are a constant source of electrical drain. Strange decision.

On a large diesel engine its more like $200. But your point is valid.
Counter Point(s)

-SC is (as far as I know, still) the only state to publically own and manage their entire school bus fleet.
-The state owns like 6,000 school buses.
-The buses are replaced every 10-12 years.


That's $1.2million per decade for block heater in a climate that sees a total of 30-50 days per year where the temp ever drops below 32F at any point.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

-SC is (as far as I know, still) the only state to publically own and manage their entire school bus fleet.

Which was something I learned -- which I never had any idea about -- while looking into this further.

By comparison, the state of Georgia contributes a certain amount toward costs (has varied from 46% back in the early 90s to around 25% today) but the bus ownership & maintenance is the responsibility of each local school system.

[JPhillips]

NY is unique in my experience in that school districts contract busing to private companies and private schools are entitled to the same busing as public schools.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I'm not going to say for sure this is untrue, because I don't know the actual science behind that idea, but anecdotally I sure as hell can feel a difference between -20 and -30 or -40 or -50.

Clearly we need an experiment and a dynasty written.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Clearly we need an experiment and a dynasty written.

Phase one of the experiment:
- currently -33c, feels like -42c
- got out of my car and needed to take my mitts off to gather belongings, lock the doors, walk into front door, discover garbage/recycling left on the steps for me to take out, walk it 10ft to the cans, couldn't see which was which, took out phone to use flashlight, drop in the bags, enter the house. Total time, maybe 90 seconds.
- every extra second after the first 30 added pain to both hands.
- currently been inside for 20 minutes, third finger on each hand is still numb, slightly white, and cold to the touch.

[JPhillips]

This is why this board is worth the money.

Be careful out there.

[Thomkal]

Well it must be cold, everybody is posting pictures of the temp on Facebook

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Phase one of the experiment:
- currently -33c, feels like -42c
- got out of my car and needed to take my mitts off to gather belongings, lock the doors, walk into front door, discover garbage/recycling left on the steps for me to take out, walk it 10ft to the cans, couldn't see which was which, took out phone to use flashlight, drop in the bags, enter the house. Total time, maybe 90 seconds.
- every extra second after the first 30 added pain to both hands.
- currently been inside for 20 minutes, third finger on each hand is still numb, slightly white, and cold to the touch.

See that just sounds horendous and torturous. If snakes invaded your house would you stay?


My God man, move away from that shit.


Wait...that means you would likely move somewhere like...here...nevermind.
Thats sounds lovely! Im so jealous

[Kodos]

Makes my 3 feels like -7 seem not so bad.

[RainMaker]

The most unsettling thing is when the house starts making cracking noises. I believe this is normal and just the wood expanding. But hearing your roof crack over and over through the night is not helping with sleep.

Was out for about 10 minutes last night. My short beard was covered in mini icicles and a gust of wind literally took my breath away. The -20 is do-able but those wind gusts are no fun.

[RainMaker]

Couple interesting things I noticed:

- The temperature in my house was almost 100 degrees warmer than the outside.

- Wind chill levels got so low that Celcius was actually higher than Fahrenheit (they break even at -40)

- It's going to be 53 degrees on Monday. A 76 degree swing!

[Thomkal]

Our local meterologist has been posting pictures of the temps in antarctica. The latest was the temp in Hell, Michigan which was -14 and Antarctica -13.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

The most unsettling thing is when the house starts making cracking noises. I believe this is normal and just the wood expanding. But hearing your roof crack over and over through the night is not helping with sleep.

Was out for about 10 minutes last night. My short beard was covered in mini icicles and a gust of wind literally took my breath away. The -20 is do-able but those wind gusts are no fun.

I saw there can also be loud cracks from dirt or rocks exploding or whatever, must be terrifying to think that's possibly a blown pipe. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.60ef5b52f7e5

[cartman]

Supposed to now be in the lows 60s on Saturday over much of the central plains.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

We're going through the driest spell in over a century. The last rainfall in my hometown was 8 weeks ago (at least where I live), which actually was a short and heavy one, with unusual scenes of flooded streets.

Sample size be damned, it's been unfamiliar weather here for the last 12 or so months.

Overhere today was the hottest February day since measurements started over 150 years ago, breaking it by a full degree Celsius. People cheered about the nice weather, but I'm actually worried about it.

[cuervo72]

Maybe some of those cheering will be concerned as well when it happens again next year.

[JPhillips]

The high winds here took down a tree that I had to cut up to get out of my driveway. That chainsaw I got for a Christmas a few years ago has come in handy a few times.

[nilodor]

Well it has been our coldest February on record, the average temp is -19C (~-2F), with lows commonly close to -30 and windchills in the -40's. I had taken a couple of climate courses in university. His comment then (15 years ago) was that recent time (50's onward) were uncommonly stable temperature wise and that history shows that temperatures/precip normally fluctuate a lot more in a given year. I haven't talked to the guy in a while, I wonder if recent years are inline with his thinking.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Overhere today was the hottest February day since measurements started over 150 years ago, breaking it by a full degree Celsius. People cheered about the nice weather, but I'm actually worried about it.

Forget yesterday, today it was 20 Celsius. In February. Wow.

[CrimsonFox]

anyone see the newsstory about the train stuck on the tracks in oregon for 40 hours because a tree hit the engine?

I have a facebook friend on that train. Thing is...she blew up twitter and facebook with the story and got in touch with news agancies. She conducted interviews with most of the passengers and sent that too.

As a result amtrak actually got off their ass and did something to get them a new engine and such to get them moving.

She's been intereviewed all over the country now and also is going on Ellen.

[nilodor]

It's crazy, we're going to have gone through the entirety of february without the temperature getting above freezing. We normally get some respite with warm westerly winds (chinooks), but it has just been bone chilling.

[miami_fan]

Midwest flooding triggered by bomb cyclone: Thousands evacuate

Midwestern FOFC, you guys and gals okay?

[Butter]

An eventful weekend in ol' Dayton.

First, the KKK non-event, where a total of 9 members and 9 sympathizers show up, opposite 600 counter-protesters. An event the city paid over half a million in security to host rather than fight it.

Then multiple tornado touchdowns last night, including one within a mile of an office of the company I currently work for. Surreal seeing places you know quite well as being destroyed this morning.

Lucky for me, I guess, it all stayed north and east of town, and I am south. Lucky for others that it missed Xenia this time, as they've had enough tornadoes to last them.

Hopefully the other small Dayton FOFC contingent is ok, korme and not sure if Warhammer is still in... a neighboring suburb.

[Lathum]

Was thinking about everyone up that way. Saw 5 million without power.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Butter

An eventful weekend in ol' Dayton.

First, the KKK non-event, where a total of 9 members and 9 sympathizers show up, opposite 600 counter-protesters. An event the city paid over half a million in security to host rather than fight it.

Then multiple tornado touchdowns last night, including one within a mile of an office of the company I currently work for. Surreal seeing places you know quite well as being destroyed this morning.

Lucky for me, I guess, it all stayed north and east of town, and I am south. Lucky for others that it missed Xenia this time, as they've had enough tornadoes to last them.

Hopefully the other small Dayton FOFC contingent is ok, korme and not sure if Warhammer is still in... a neighboring suburb.

What part of Dayton are you in? I lived in Centerville for a couple years in high school. Glad you stayed safe! I had a boss at Lexis-Nexis whose house was destroyed in one of the Xenia tornadoes.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Butter

An eventful weekend in ol' Dayton.

First, the KKK non-event, where a total of 9 members and 9 sympathizers show up, opposite 600 counter-protesters. An event the city paid over half a million in security to host rather than fight it.

Then multiple tornado touchdowns last night, including one within a mile of an office of the company I currently work for. Surreal seeing places you know quite well as being destroyed this morning.

Lucky for me, I guess, it all stayed north and east of town, and I am south. Lucky for others that it missed Xenia this time, as they've had enough tornadoes to last them.

Hopefully the other small Dayton FOFC contingent is ok, korme and not sure if Warhammer is still in... a neighboring suburb.

Thanks for checking in. We heard from my wife's family that they were ok, but had no water at the house. Nighttime tornadoes are the worst.

[Scoobz0202]

Yea, that was crazy. I live in downtown Dayton in the Oregon district. Tornado was within a few miles of me. Was very nervously watching the tracking of it last night because every indication showed it was a bad one. Somehow we have power. Oregon district, two blocks away, without power. We are in the boil advisory, though.


Also, I was born and raised an hour and a half north in Celina. The other place that got messed up. My mom still lives there. Was texting her 30 minutes before we got hit when they got their tornado making sure she was in a safe place because she gets terrified with it comes to weather. Then 30 minutes later we got ours.


I THINK Warhammer is in Springboro. Not sure though. Korme may have been close, though. I think from memory he used to live in the Fairborn area, but he may be elsewhere now, and i could be wrong that he was never in Fairborn.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Yea, that was crazy. I live in downtown Dayton in the Oregon district. Tornado was within a few miles of me.

Like 3 miles, man. Glad you're ok. Basically plowed straight over N. Dixie / Wagner Ford, through Eastwood Lake, then on southeast from there.

Also, I was born and raised an hour and a half north in Celina. The other place that got messed up. My mom still lives there. Was texting her 30 minutes before we got hit when they got their tornado making sure she was in a safe place because she gets terrified with it comes to weather. Then 30 minutes later we got ours

Celina had the only fatality reported so far, I believe. Looking at the destruction, it's quite surprising, in a great way. Hopefully sirens and news did their job here.


Warhammer is in Springboro, AFAIK.

I am in Miamisburg / Miami Township, south of Dayton Mall by about a mile, about 12 miles south of tornado.

[henry296]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Was thinking about everyone up that way. Saw 5 million without power.

I later saw a correction. It was only 10s of the thousands without power. The 5 million was the total served by those power companies.

[Warhammer]

Still in Springboro, I flew out to Texas yesterday for work, but kids, dogs, and wife are ok. My wife said you wouldn’t know it had stormed last night unless you sat through it.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Still in Springboro, I flew out to Texas yesterday for work, but kids, dogs, and wife are ok. My wife said you wouldn’t know it had stormed last night unless you sat through it.

Originally Posted by henry296

I later saw a correction. It was only 10s of the thousands without power. The 5 million was the total served by those power companies.

I thought that number seemed really
High.

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Also, I was born and raised an hour and a half north in Celina. The other place that got messed up. My mom still lives there. Was texting her 30 minutes before we got hit when they got their tornado making sure she was in a safe place because she gets terrified with it comes to weather. Then 30 minutes later we got ours.

That had to be a shitty night - glad everyone is ok though. I grew up in Spencerville so I know Celina well. What part of town was hit?

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

That had to be a shitty night - glad everyone is ok though. I grew up in Spencerville so I know Celina well. What part of town was hit?

West side of town near where the Mariners field is. Not sure if htat was a thing when you were in the area. West view park.

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

West side of town near where the Mariners field is. Not sure if htat was a thing when you were in the area. West view park.

I knew the East side and downtown better but we used to go to all the county fairs and bet on the harness races so I'm vaguely familiar with that area of town. The Auglaize County fair would serve anyone roughly 12 years and above back in those days so they were always the favorite

Looks like it's KC's turn tonight. It's been a bad spring of weather.

[CrimsonFox]

I'm like 45 minutes from there yeesh

used to live in those parts long ago

[korme]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Yea, that was crazy. I live in downtown Dayton in the Oregon district. Tornado was within a few miles of me. Was very nervously watching the tracking of it last night because every indication showed it was a bad one. Somehow we have power. Oregon district, two blocks away, without power. We are in the boil advisory, though.


Also, I was born and raised an hour and a half north in Celina. The other place that got messed up. My mom still lives there. Was texting her 30 minutes before we got hit when they got their tornado making sure she was in a safe place because she gets terrified with it comes to weather. Then 30 minutes later we got ours.


I THINK Warhammer is in Springboro. Not sure though. Korme may have been close, though. I think from memory he used to live in the Fairborn area, but he may be elsewhere now, and i could be wrong that he was never in Fairborn.

I was sleeping in Beavercreek at my girlfriend's. I slept right through all the storms.

Scoobz... I too live downtown in the Oregon District... I wonder if we have crossed paths. Small world?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by korme

I was sleeping in Beavercreek at my girlfriend's. I slept right through all the storms.

How close? I know N. Fairfield / Grange Hall / Kemp area looked pretty fucked up.

So you're saying the Greene Co. sirens are not loud enough. I know that I sleep with a fan on, and pretty much cannot hear the sirens because they are not close to me.

[korme]

Originally Posted by Butter

How close? I know N. Fairfield / Grange Hall / Kemp area looked pretty fucked up.

So you're saying the Greene Co. sirens are not loud enough. I know that I sleep with a fan on, and pretty much cannot hear the sirens because they are not close to me.

Pretty close. Just off of Dayton-Xenia, a few neighborhoods past the Kroger. I blame the sirens and the Tito's. But yeah, North Fairfield was blocked off around that area all day yesterday.

[PilotMan]

I'm living in a prison of rain.

This weekend was a torrent of rain. Yesterday it flooded the worst I've ever seen in our neighborhood. The forecast for the next 5 days is rain. We're less than 9 inches from the average rainfall for the entire year and that's going to be a lot less here very soon. We've had 140% more rain in the last 10 months than we typically get in an entire year. We've been above average in rain every year since 2012.

When does summer begin again? You can't be outside, can't swim, can't go to the park, can't play games, or fire pit. It may as well be winter right now. I am so sick of it.

[CrimsonFox]

I was at the planet fitness gym in one of the massage chairs when the tornado warning hit. I sprung up and went out to the main part. The attendant was clueless as were most of the other exercisers. No funnel actually touched down. I was watching one of the TVs. The weather was on it. The tornado polygon was right northwest of us. The whole system was about to drown us. I went around and informed everybody (there were just a handful of people there). Most nodded then went back to exercising. A cop came in after being told to get off the road. We hung out while the rain superpoured. LIke totally. I went into the locker room and shower area for awhile. The attendant was still clueless. She called her manager. No wait, she didn't call him. I told her to call him and she refused but texted him instead. I hate millennials.

About 20 minutes after the warning started it was downgraded to a thunderstorm warning.

At which time I went back to the massage chair and staired out the window at the monstrous downpour

[BishopMVP]

Hail Hits Mexico's Guadalajara In Freak Summer Storm : NPR

I guess the hail wasn't actually that big when it fell, just an unbelievable amount.

[miami_fan]

Earthquake in SoCal.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/04/us/so...ake/index.html



How are the FOFCers in the area

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Earthquake in SoCal.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/04/us/so...ake/index.html



How are the FOFCers in the area

I'm good, but fairly far from the epicenter, which was way out in the high desert close to the Sierras. But I could feel it pretty good here.

As big as it was, its remote location seems to be massively reducing property damage and casualties (I have heard of no casualties so far)

Oh, and thanks for checking.

My FB feed is funny right now because this is probably the biggest one in a couple decades. So there are a lot of people who either didn't live here back then or are too young to remember. It feels like we got them this big or close to it a lot more frequently before that, so it became old hat (or as old hat as something like that gets). But my social media feed is filled with more anxiety than usual for an event like this.

[bhlloy]

Biggest earthquake I've felt since living here, but no damage. I think it hit in such an unpopulated area that impact will be pretty limited, a 6.6 closer to LA would be no fun.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I'm living in a prison of rain.

This weekend was a torrent of rain. Yesterday it flooded the worst I've ever seen in our neighborhood. The forecast for the next 5 days is rain. We're less than 9 inches from the average rainfall for the entire year and that's going to be a lot less here very soon. We've had 140% more rain in the last 10 months than we typically get in an entire year. We've been above average in rain every year since 2012.

When does summer begin again? You can't be outside, can't swim, can't go to the park, can't play games, or fire pit. It may as well be winter right now. I am so sick of it.

Agreed that this can go fuck itself. Kill all bumblebee outfit wearing girls

[bhlloy]

7.1 just hit in the same place. That was pretty intense, even here in the San Fernando Valley and shook for a good few minutes. I'm guessing there's going to be some pretty bad damage around Bakersfield this time.

[Chief Rum]

Yea I would expect that too.

We were actually in the middle of a rush at the restaurant, and I was helping the fry cook. It was weird standing there in a kitchen surrounded by a bunch of other people kinda wondering what to do, and kinda still cooking food.

After it happened, my GM joked that it took our guests' minds off of the fact the food was running a little behind lol.