Ice storm for weekend

[Granbonny]

Yikes..It looks like Atlanta and north will have a bad Ice storm tomorrow night thru weekend. The rain is coming from the West and cold air down from the North.. Atlanta weather man said, it may be the worse in 5 years. We went to store, ect. to prepare..This is what is funny..A beautiful day..dinner ready, ect. and power went out ...We were in a state of shock..fumbled around for the flashlight, candles, ect...Ate dinner in the dark by candle light ..Then the power came back on after 1 hour. Better, believe, hubby filled all the hurricane lamps, ect. Not fun... I don't know what happened in our neighborhood..guess, it was a sign to get ready. ..Will miss my computer if power goes off. Bonnie

 

[hensylee]

Goodness, Bonnie - glad you are prepared. stay in. Guess Linda gets it, too. We are sposed to get rain this afternoon, thunderstorms tomorrow, rain all weekend and into next week. They didn't say it was going to be all that cold, but if you get it, we should get some, too. Hope not, tho. Good luck. Watch out for Rufus.

 

[terryj]

I also live in Georgia and we are also prepared for ice storm. My husband brought in loads of firewood and we are stocked up on snacks and flashlights. My granddaughter is worried her basketball game will be cancelled tomorrow and were doing my daughters birthday at Outback tomorrow. But, the weather will do what it will and we can't stop it. We'll just try and enjoy it.

 

[Mary]

Batten down the hatches and load up the wood! We'll be watching on the tv!

 

[Granbonny]

Well, I guess we are ready..firewood chopped by fireplace..We have gas logs and a grill..so, if power goes off.. from the ice storm..Guess, we are ready...but, I'm miss my computer...If I haven't posted tomorrow at this time..you know, I'll be sitting in the dark Ann, even Rufus does not want to go out..I think he senses something coming. Bonnie

 

[catwoman]

Bonnie:
Don't you have one of those wood-fired computers?

 

[Granbonny]

Marsha

Marsha

We lost our power last Sunday a.m. for 3 hours due to heavy winds and last night for 1 hour..from????...so, if anyone who has a generator..will it work your computer..if the power goes off. I'm thinking about buying one and running the line to my computer.. Bonnie

 

[catwoman]

Bonnie:

I know a few people who have been able to run appliances while using a generator. Would think you could run a computer as long as you still have a phone line for internet and have enough gasoline to keep the generator going.

I did a story a number of years ago for a specialty magazine for cat breeders on how to prepare for weather emergencies (hurricanes, fires, floods, ice storms). More than a few people said they have generators to run part of their home, and had a special electrical outlet installed when their homes were built.

Friends in FL used generators in the fall after the hurricanes there. Don't know if they were able to use their computers.

 

[catwoman]

Bonnie

Bonnie

I wonder about wi-fi -- does that work during power outages?

My computer nerd nephew would know, but I can't reach him just now. He's a junior at University of Texas at Dallas, going straight through to a master's in computer forensics. Wants to work for the federal government...

 

[catwoman]

Bonnie

Bonnie

Reached my nephew. He says you should be able to run a computer via a generator and use the internet as long as phone lines aren't down. Said if you can use on the phones at the residence, you can get on the internet.
It's uncanny how well Ryan understands computers -- almost like he can read their "minds."

 

[Granbonny]

What is..wi-fi? I'm thinking about the phone lines..Yes, the one near my computer hook-up goes off with the power..but, I have an old-fashioned phone upstairs that stays on during power outage...so, I could switch them out?The one here is hand-phone and the one upstairs is old timey..One piece.. O.K. You computer nerds, help me out? If I buy a generator....I know we would have lights, but, I could shut them off..Leave refrigerator on..shut off T.V. Not use stove..JUST so I could have my computer. Bonnie

 

[Granbonny]

Marsha

Marsha

Would you ask your nephew (the computer whiz) about..what I'm saying about the phones?Or, if it would matter...as long as one phone in the house works? I think I would need to switch them out..I'm looking at the phone next to my computer and see 2 lines running from it..I'm sure, one goes to my computer... Confusing? Bonnie

 

[hensylee]

Bonnie, my cousin in N Carolina has a whole house generator. He has it hooked into his electric box and his entire house works when power is off. If your phone lines don't go down, you will be able to use the computer. Your phone should work if you have a generator keeping your electrical stuff fired up.

 

[Granbonny]

Ann

Ann

My next door neighbor with the 1/2 million $ house has that to..Man, is it ever loud. Last night, when the power went off at dark..I walked outside..Even their driveway was lit up..all the way down...Good for us, Hubby can walk the dog in the dark. If I can hear it that LOUD..how can they stand it?...We had a generator on our houseboat..and when we were out at an island..It was so loud...Hated it....Bonnie

 

[Granbonny]

Well, we are home bound..but power stayed on. All of Ga. is iced over..but I'm thinking what happened most was sleet..and not much frozen rain..but, the day's not over. Should start freezing again soon. Most of Ga. is about 30...Hardly any cars on road in Atlanta. We have not seen any pass our home..Bonnie

 

[Mary]

I'm sure glad you have power, Bonnie. It will make the day much more bearable.

 

[gadgetman]

Bonnie,

If your phone still works upstairs without power then it means you are still getting a phone signal through their line to the one downstairs. The problem you have is a handheld will not work without a power connection. You might want to get an inexpensive phone (non-powered), find the wall jack where the telephone line comes into the room and, with a multi-connector; you would then have a phone that would work in the room even without power.

As for the computer. Guess you've got this downstairs too. Computers, just like those "new fangled" cordless phones, need power too. The danger of generators is proper hook-up. We lost a couple of homes down in FL due to fires caused by generators. People also don't understand the principals of generators. All they are alternative sources of electrical power. A professional can wire in a generator (like your neighbor's) that can power the entire house. But it has to be wired right. When the external power is off, you can't just plug something from your generator to your house. This would energize the line going away from your home too. Anyone working on the power line even several miles from your home would run the risk of receiving a shock.

The portable generators that you see at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc. (Bet you couldn't find one within 100 miles right now) are designed to be taken home, placed outside away from the house in a well ventilated area. After filling with gas (it?s usually only a larger engine than your lawn mower) and starting, you plug an extension cord that is then connected to the appliance (in this case the computer) and you are suddenly back on-line. You can also plug in a lamp and other small appliance but their power needs can?t exceed the output of the generator. You could also use it to power your refrigerator but unless you bought a high output one you would have to run one or the other, not both.

Of course you could go all out and buy a lap top. As long as the internal battery is charged up when the power goes out you would be able to operate for a couple of hours by candlelight. Some lap tops have longer life than others.

Hope I haven?t overwhelmed you with ?information?. My paw-in-law?s eyes glaze over when I try to explain these ?new fangled? gadgets. He still has an old rotary dial phone they use in the kitchen.

Stay warm and dry. We had ice down here in mid GA too, but the trees seem to have held up fairly good.

Danny

 

[Nancy]

Bonnie-

I was watching some of the weather coverage close to you. It sure looks terrible. I hope things start melting for you soon. It's one thing when it happens up here because they salt and sand the roads before it gets there, but it didn't look like any of that was done there, just sheets of ice everywhere.

Stay in and stay safe and warm. I'll send you my snorkel jacket

 

[Granbonny]

Thanks, Danny

Thanks, Danny

Hubby explained it to me last night.....but, we are not really out that much...(Power)..You are doing so well, to have typed that long post. I don't think I was able to type for a few weeks after my VR surgery. Really pumpheaded (or meds) ..We were luckly up here..neighbor called from Dublin, Ga. S.E Ga..Said they had lots of ice..They went to their home down there to escape the icestorm up here... But, it seems to be starting all over Temp is dropping and I noticed the trees were beginning to droop...Thank goodness it is the weekend or Atlanta would have had a snow jam Take care. That temp on my post is wrong. 30 on my front porch..Bonnie

 

[Granbonny]

Thanks, Nancy

Thanks, Nancy

My sister called me and asked if I was going to use my Get-A-Grip (before you slip)that she gave me for Xmas. I told her, NO way..That's what I have a Hubby for..to walk the dog. Maybe tomorrow, if we venture out for a ride in afternoon..when it's suppose to warm up...I did mean to try the tip about mixing Dawn dishwashing..with warm water and pour over our wooden steps..but, was afraid to get that near..ice was on end of porch.. They say, it keeps the steps from freezing over again..Hubby said, the soap would probably make him slip. Bonnie