Hey, everyone. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know Texas had a massive winter storm last week. I’ve been calling it Snowmageddon. Other names I’ve seen are Snowpocalypse and Snovid-21. Whatever you call it, this wasn’t a fun time for any of us.
Needless to say, I’d rather not have been a part of this history-making event. For the first time ever all 254 Texas counties were included in a winter storm warning. Galveston Island had snow. The Rio Grande Valley in the southern tip of Texas wasn’t left out as they had warnings for ice accumulations on bridges and overpasses.
We awoke to seven inches of snow on Monday and more fell Wednesday afternoon. I know that’s not a lot for some of you but it’s rare to have that much here. We also had a mixture of sleet, freezing rain, and freezing fog before the snow came. (I’d never heard of freezing fog before.) Driving was hazardous. Even tractor-trailers had trouble getting around.
Then came the power outages. Our electricity flashed on and off all day finally going off to stay around seven Monday night. It didn’t come back on until Wednesday afternoon. Unlike many people, we have an alternate source of heat, so we stayed warm. Eating cold food was another matter, but we made it. We didn’t have water pressure problems or any broken water lines. Others weren’t so fortunate.
Needless to say, the press is touting the negative stuff. (Don’t they always?) Yes, the power grid failed nearly failed. No, it wasn’t comfortable on those days. Yes, it will take weeks—even months—for some people to recover from this unprecedented event.
But plenty of positive things happened.
- Neighbors reached out to neighbors.
- People who had all-wheel drive vehicles offered to transport others who were in need.
- When delivery trucks were unable to reach local grocery stores, those with 4X4 pickups worked with the warehouse to deliver needed supplies. At least two car dealerships loaned brand-new 4X4s for such purposes.
- Families who had electricity opened their homes to strangers, offering them a warm place to spend the night.
- Local fire stations, churches, and places like the Salvation Army opened “warming centers” where people could charge their phones, have a warm place to stay for a while, and in some cases get a hot meal.
- When a local nursing home lost electricity, our local community came to the rescue. People donated blankets and warmers. An anonymous donor paid for forty-seven meals from Cracker Barrel to be delivered to the residents. A brand-new truck stop gave them bottled water. Our local Lowe’s store also provided some needed items.
- Snowplows are unheard of in Texas (and up until last week not needed). People with tractors, front-end loaders, and companies with road maintainers scraped and bladed many of the roads.
On a personal level, my fellow SE authors were wonderful about checking on both me and John Howell who also lives in Texas. They were also gracious enough to cover comments for my post last Wednesday when I was without electricity and internet service. By that time, the battery on my laptop had died and my phone was at less than twenty percent power.
When it was all over, I had a little more faith in humanity. There are a lot of kind, caring people in the world. Unfortunately, we don’t hear a lot of the good things.
This week, we’re back to normal in my state. We reached the sixties on Sunday and Monday and the seventies on Tuesday and Wednesday. A neighbor reported hearing spring peepers calling out from the nearby woods. What’s more, the sun is shining!
I’ll leave you with a favorite song by my favorite Beatle. It’s fitting after what we went through. This is an alternate version, but I think you’ll enjoy the harmony by two musical greats. And by the way, today would have been George’s 78th birthday.
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36 Responses
I love snow and we never get enough of it here in UK. Just as well, I suppose, considering the chaos it brings with it.
Glad you are back in normal land again, Joan…
It’s so beautiful when it falls, but then comes the melting… Not pretty. If we’d only had snow, it would have probably been okay, but the layer of ice that coated the roads was what caused most of our problems with driving.
I had to chuckle at you never having heard of freezing fog, Joan. I grew up with that stuff. I remember an old mini cooper I used to drive. The windscreen would freeze on the inside whenever I had to drive in freezing fog, lols.
So pleased you came through all that safely, and it’s lovely to see how much people did for one another 🙂
I might have heard the term a long time ago but it just seemed cruel for that to happen on top of everything else. I’m just glad to be back at 60-70 degree temps. Now we have rain and thunderstorms in this weekend’s forecast. Only in Texas. 😀
I really felt sorry for you guys in Texas, especially as you were so badly served by your administrators [one in particular] and your avaricious corporate electricity suppliers. I hope it’s all back to normal now! Cheers, Jon.
We’re strong. We made it through and yes, it’s back to normal here (at least in my household).
What a heartwarming share, Joan. Thank you for the morning inspiration. Like you, George Harrison was my favorite Beatle and this song tops the list. 💗
The song is perfect after what we went through, and I never pass up an opportunity to listen to George. <3
Glad you made it through. It was lovely to hear your stories of human kindness. I teared up a little.:-)
Thanks, Priscilla. It warmed my heart to read these stories and these are just a few of the things that happened.
Thank you for focusing on the good, Joan. Like you said, the press spews the negative stuff. Sometimes I think they want us to believe there isn’t any good left in the world. I’m glad you stayed safe and warm. Enjoy the warmer temperatures.
I am loving this warmer weather, Jill. I told my fellow SE authors to remind me how much I hate winter when we reach triple-digit temps this summer! 🙂
I love the stories about those who pitched in and helped. The world could use more like them.
Exactly, Craig. Unfortunately, we don’t hear a lot of stories like these but I know they happen all the time.
Well done; it’s nobody’s fault when catastrophic weather descends, but the press like to have someone to blame! We did see on our news a strapping chap delivering big boxes of water bottles to everyone of his own volition. I like to try an imagine how I would cope – no water – if I boil the water from my rainwater butts?
I heard of one man melting snow so he would have water to take his meds with. One of the stories I forgot to post is that strangers came to his rescue bringing him bottled water, food, and firewood.
I loved the calling out of the good things that came from the storm. I have read so many nasty politically motivated posts that want to paint Texans as a bunch of red-neck idiots. Of course, these bloggers are sitting in places other than Texas. I felt they were heaping insult on top of injury, sort of like telling people in a flood that they should have known better than to live in a flood plain. Your story is so much more accurate. Thanks, Joan
It infuriates me when I hear of things like you described. And I was always taught to be careful what you say or… Not that I would wish bad on anyone – certainly not what we went through. But we’re a pretty resilient bunch here.
I agree, Joan. 😁
It’s so nice to hear about the positive things for a change and to know there are still good people out there willing to help. That’s one of my favorite Beatles songs – thanks, Joan!
We need to hear the positive these days more than ever. Glad you enjoyed the song. It’s a good one!
I’m glad you came through Snowmaggedon unscathed, Joan. It’s still mind boggling to think what Texas experienced. I know many people are still working on recovering. Thanks for showcasing all the good from people who joined together, helping others. It’s uplifting!
We can all use uplifting stories these days. This storm was one for the record books for sure. A record I pray isn’t soon broken.
I love this song, Joan. And this is a great version of it.
I’m happy you weathered the storm with nothing more than some frustrations and inconveniences. So many others weren’t as fortunate. I still have family and friends who aren’t quite back to 100% yet, and we’ve all heard about the true tragedies on the news. But it is uplifting to hear the good stories you posted. Too few of those stories ever get told. I’m glad you shared them.
It’s going to take a while for some to recover. We were fortunate in that it was just inconveniencing and not busted pipes or worse. Hoping your family and friends are back to normal soon.
You know how I feel about George. I love the harmony with Paul Simon.
We’ve been watching the news, Joan. I agree, I don’t want to live in this part of the history. Sorry about the snow, power outage, water problem. Your list of positive things going on show the kindness in humanity. I hope they weather will get better soon.
We’re back to “normal” Texas weather. Rain and thunderstorms in the forecast and it feels almost like spring.
It’s good to know, Joan. We followed the news. It showed more of people needing fresh water than other issues.
That ended up being a huge problem because many water companies lost power and therefore, water pressure. And those with busted pipes are having to wait weeks for a plumber.
Wow, With so many people waiting for a plumber, it’ll take forever. I was horrified when people’s electricity bills were in thousands instead of tens or even hundreds.
I’m glad you came out okay, Joan. Can’t say I’ve heard of freezing fog either either.
I’ve found the same thing when bad things happen people step and help. It does renew faith in people and our world. That’s a favorite song on my mine too amd I just watched this version recently. Happy birthday, George.
I like to focus on the positive things and this certainly was noteworthy.
I tend to get a little teary-eyed about George. <3
I love how you focused on the positive that came out of the crazy storm, Joan. And, of course, the news focused only on the horrible things they could sensationalize. One of the funniest things I saw about the Texas storm was on Facebook and it was a conversation between Covid and Mother Nature. Covid said, “I can’t get these Texans to stay home.” Mother Nature said, “Hold my beer.” 🙂
I love that, Jan! Mother Nature certainly did what Covid couldn’t!
Hi Joan, thanks for sharing this first hand account of the snow storm in Texas. My cousin and his family live in Houston and also had no power and water for a period. They also have an alternative heating source. The strange unexpectedness of this weather is the most worrying. We have had a very cool summer and are already going into winter. I hope we don’t get such adverse weather here. Our government won’t cope at all.
I’ve lived in Texas all my life and had never seen anything like this before. I hope we have a mild summer, but as I told John Howell, I’ll take triple-digit temps over what we went through. I hope your cousin is doing okay. There are a lot of people still having problems due to the storm (water leaks, roof leaks, etc.)
Fingers crossed you have a “normal” winter.