Prepare for the cold weather, specially Friday night (Fairbanks, College: college, taxis)

[riceme]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

I agree about GVEA's customer service, but the price for GVEA's electricity is extremely high. In fact, it's about the same "average" price paid for electricity in California.

By the way, I believe that there is a colder than average weather front coming our way, but that is according to the News Miner. I looked at the long term forecast for this week, and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. We will have to see what happens in January.

But at least it should be quite nice around March (March though early April), which are two of the months I spend outdoors taking photos of the Auroras, and dog sled races. The other months are from mid September though November or so.

I am from the southern sierras in California and GVEA runs roughly double what the cost of electricity is there. But again, the customer service is way, way better. If you follow the news on energy at all, that was PG&E, and they are pretty bad.

The installed-base of renewables in the county I am from is about 6,000 MW, which is about 40% of the usage and we used to get so mad at how much we paid for electricity, which I now laugh at in retrospect.

*^don't quote my numbers. That's off the top of my head and I am too tired to double check my memory

I don't remember what the cost of electricity was in Humboldt, but I was a starving student when I lived there, so I'd probably remember if it was a lot.

I saw that in the paper about the next weather front coming in. My weather says low of -28*F at the end of next week, which is certainly not remarkable. We'll see!

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by riceme

I am from the southern sierras in California and GVEA runs roughly double what the cost of electricity is there. But again, the customer service is way, way better. If you follow the news on energy at all, that was PG&E, and they are pretty bad.

The installed-base of renewables in the county I am from is about 6,000 MW, which is about 40% of the usage and we used to get so mad at how much we paid for electricity, which I now laugh at in retrospect.

*^don't quote my numbers. That's off the top of my head and I am too tired to double check my memory

I don't remember what the cost of electricity was in Humboldt, but I was a starving student when I lived there, so I'd probably remember if it was a lot.

I saw that in the paper about the next weather front coming in. My weather says low of -28*F at the end of next week, which is certainly not remarkable. We'll see!

I agree with you. Anything around -30 degrees is about normal for this time of the season.

Also, GVEA power is very expensive. By the way, property taxes in the 3 major cities of Alaska is higher than a lot of places in the Lower-48. Since they are supposed to be a "cooperative" the employee wages are published now and then. You will me amazed at how much the VIP's, managers, and supervisors earn

[riceme]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Yes, GVEA power is very expensive. By the way, property taxes in the 3 major cities of Alaska is higher than a lot of places in the Lower-48.

It's higher here than everywhere I ever lived in the -48

[RayinAK]

Well, so far I haven't lost electric power at my home, but that wet snow was a bear on the snowblower. It took me over two hours to create a path to my 2-car garage, and every now and then the stuff coming out the snowblower's chute was a mixture of ice and water

Let see what happens Monday night through Tuesday as the forecast calls for 6-10 inches of snow.

[riceme]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Well, so far I haven't lost electric power at my home, but that wet snow was a bear on the snowblower. It took me over two hours to create a path to my 2-car garage, and every now and then the stuff coming out the snowblower's chute was a mixture of ice and water

Let see what happens Monday night through Tuesday as the forecast calls for 6-10 inches of snow.

Well I think you and I are the only two people in FNSB that haven't lost power, knock on wood! I am not that fancy and dug out the old fashioned way, with shovels and scrapers. Someone gave me one of those little electric snowblowers but if electric leafblowers are any indication, I didn't figure it would be able to handle this particular weather event hahaha. The ice was so thick on my truck I even had to use a (light aluminum) snow shovel to crack the ice on my truck and shove it off. It was ridiculously thick and heavy, and especially up on top of the canopy was pretty difficult to remove.

For those who are tuned-in remotely, there was, I don't know, a couple feet of snow on the ground, then it freezing rained, sleeted and froze on top of that snow creating a hard thick crust of ice on top of the snow. I am a pretty average sized woman and could walk on top of the crust of ice that formed on top of the ~2-ft of snow without breaking through if I was careful. You can body surf/sled on it with no sled. It's (not at all) awesome. lol

I've tried to get on a few plow lists to come do a proper job, but people are understandably not very responsive right now, and I have no urgency at all, so I'm not too worried about it.

Did you hear about the guy that got himself and his dogs marooned up on Haystack and ran out of food and water? What a mess. I predict that they vote that guy off the island in short order. If he was smart he'd vote himself off the island, but I'm not certain that smart is one of his strong suits

[Northrick]

I talked to a coworker who lives in Fairbanks yesterday. Your weather is out of control! We got some freezing rain here in Anchorage but not a lot. Supposed to get more tonight. I guess that's why I buy bags of sand in the fall.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by riceme

Well I think you and I are the only two people in FNSB that haven't lost power, knock on wood! I am not that fancy and dug out the old fashioned way, with shovels and scrapers. Someone gave me one of those little electric snowblowers but if electric leafblowers are any indication, I didn't figure it would be able to handle this particular weather event hahaha. The ice was so thick on my truck I even had to use a (light aluminum) snow shovel to crack the ice on my truck and shove it off. It was ridiculously thick and heavy, and especially up on top of the canopy was pretty difficult to remove.

For those who are tuned-in remotely, there was, I don't know, a couple feet of snow on the ground, then it freezing rained, sleeted and froze on top of that snow creating a hard thick crust of ice on top of the snow. I am a pretty average sized woman and could walk on top of the crust of ice that formed on top of the ~2-ft of snow without breaking through if I was careful. You can body surf/sled on it with no sled. It's (not at all) awesome. lol

I've tried to get on a few plow lists to come do a proper job, but people are understandably not very responsive right now, and I have no urgency at all, so I'm not too worried about it.

Did you hear about the guy that got himself and his dogs marooned up on Haystack and ran out of food and water? What a mess. I predict that they vote that guy off the island in short order. If he was smart he'd vote himself off the island, but I'm not certain that smart is one of his strong suits

I haven't heard about the guy on Haystack until now that you mention it. The difficulties created by winter weather makes it a lot more difficult if one is living just a few miles from town. It's not a bad idea to have a supply of food, water, and a means to stay warm (firewood, fuel, and so on) at home for both the family and the dogs in case of an emergency. Snow can be melted for drinking, but food and staying warm are indispensable.

By the way, to remove snow from the top of the truck or car when parked a home I use the tool shown below. I bought a couple of them at AIH, but replaced the handles with fiberglass non-extendable broom handles (around 60" long). They do have metallic handles that are cheaper than the fiberglass ones, but metal gets quite cold compared to fiberglass. This "broom" or whatever is called is not made to remove ice, just snow. It is made of a type of foam, but even so it is quite durable. My wife and I have been using them for a couple of winters already, and they are still in good shape.
https://www.aih.com/Product/6X17-FOA...NG-HDL-SNOBRUM

[riceme]

Originally Posted by Northrick

I talked to a coworker who lives in Fairbanks yesterday. Your weather is out of control! We got some freezing rain here in Anchorage but not a lot. Supposed to get more tonight. I guess that's why I buy bags of sand in the fall.

Yeah, our weather is super out of control right now. 2021 is exiting the Fairbanks stage with two middle fingers in the air. Like what we possibly do to you?

Oh holy smokes did you guys see that the roof of the IGA in Delta collapsed? And the buffalo fuel station? That is going to be tough for that and surrounding communities.

My neighbors and I have (un)officially formed a plow collective and I got us on a plow list. Right now the soonest they can get to us is next Monday or Tuesday, but I'm good with that. I can work from home if I need to.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by riceme

Yeah, our weather is super out of control right now. 2021 is exiting the Fairbanks stage with two middle fingers in the air. Like what we possibly do to you?

Oh holy smokes did you guys see that the roof of the IGA in Delta collapsed? And the buffalo fuel station? That is going to be tough for that and surrounding communities.

My neighbors and I have (un)officially formed a plow collective and I got us on a plow list. Right now the soonest they can get to us is next Monday or Tuesday, but I'm good with that. I can work from home if I need to.

This is the latest from the NOAA. I was hoping for snow only, not another wintry mix of snow and rain, because wet heavy snow like that is difficult to handle.
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...4#.YcuY0C-B1p8

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
1135 AM AKST Tue Dec 28 2021

AKZ222-291400-
/O.CON.PAFG.WS.W.0033.000000T0000Z-211230T1500Z/
Middle Tanana Valley-
Including Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Eielson AFB, Ester,
North Pole, Moose Creek, Two Rivers, Fox, Chatanika,
Chena Hot Springs, and Sourdough Camp
1135 AM AKST Tue Dec 28 2021

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM AKST
THURSDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow occuring. Light freezing rain possible. Travel
will be very difficult to impossible. Total snow accumulations
12 inches, are expected. Freezing rain possible from Fairbanks
south with a light glaze possible. West winds gusting to 35 mph
expected from midnight tonight through Wednesday evening.

* WHERE...Middle Tanana Valley.

* WHEN...Now through 6 AM Thursday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Snow is expected to become light this
afternoon, then become heavy by early this evening and remain
heavy tonight. There is a chance of light freezing rain this
evening as well. Several more inches of snow are expected on
Thursday. West winds gusting to 35 mph are expected from
midnight tonight through Wednesday evening and will cause
blowing snow with reduced visibility.

[riceme]

The alert that our safety officer sent out at seven this morning said 16 inches, at which point I was like OK WELL WHAT'S NEXT. This one is moderately less offensive.

I am good with insanely cold and tons of snow - that's just all part of the program, but this is some other-level bs. Like we pissed off the weather gods or something.

Thanks for the tip on the tool, Ray! I'll go by AIH and see if I can pick one up. I usually use a regular kitchen style broom to sweep the snow off my truck at home because it's usually light and loose, and the handle is long enough for me to be able to get the roof of the cab and the canopy, but there was no way that was working on this ice.

I carry a collapsible extension combination scraper / brush / squeegy sort of like the one below in my truck that I got at a truckstop years ago that is super handy and that I often wish I'd bought two of, but when I'm at home a broom is just easier. Mine extends to about five feet and collapses to half of that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...919a682630054c