by Ryan Reid
Member since:
October 5, 2008

One Hell of A Day...1-20-13

January 21, 2013 02:53 PM UTC
views: 0 | 13 people recommend this | comments: 41

Yesterday was one hell of a day as my title hints. And the story starts very early in the morning...

at 3 am Sunday morning i was woken by Katie yelling 'RYAN GET UP!" I took a few seconds to gather my whits and realized that the power went out while i was sitting up. She had apparently heard a very loud "crackling" sound and jumped up to turn off the tv so it didn't get fried. We had a pretty severe wind storm and well, you can guess what happened.

The sound wasn't from our house i soon deduced by the fact that the whole area appeared to be without power. So i kind of sat there for a bit hoping the power would come back on...no such luck. So we went back to sleep knowing that it was going to get pretty cold quick. By morning there was still no power, and therefore no heat. The house was down to about 55 by then. Katie left for work and Noah and i huddled up in bed to keep warm.

By about 10 the electric company didn't even have an estimated time of restoration so we packed up and headed to my parents in the next town over. We spent most of the day there. My dad and I hooked up a generator on the essentials. Furnace, fridge, freezer, and fish tank. We lost a few fish before i was able to do this though. Apparently tropical fish don't like water temps in the 40's....go figure!

We ate dinner at my parents and when we got home at 9:30 power was back but it was still pretty cold in the house. So we bundled up and kept warm in bed.

Everything is back to normal now, but what a crappy day...

Oh, i chipped a tooth too. just to add to the mess lol.

SO, I hope your weekend went better than mine did!

Have you ever lost power in the winter?

Comments: 41

Elizabeth S. Jan 21, 2013, 2:58pm UTC
Compared to yours, mine was good. I just sat around sick, but I had electricity and Internet.
Michael H. Jan 21, 2013, 3:01pm UTC
I live in Florida Ryan.We only have Spring & Summer here lol.
Nora D. Jan 21, 2013, 3:02pm UTC
Wow, Ryan, what a scary time that must have been! Sure glad to hear that you got it back on but I'm sure it must have felt like it took forever! We had horrendous winds last night.....so bad, that made our wind chill factor (overnight) go to between -20 and -30 the entire night.....brrrrrr! The winds were still blowing this morning, and the "high" is only going to get to 9. However, I went outside and got our sidewalk shoveled, as well as our neighbor guy's......you know, it actually felt great......I felt soooo invigorated, with the wind in my face......actually enjoyed shoveling and, best part, I didn't get "winded" like I used to (maybe that's my losing the weight!)......the wind in my face made me feel so good, I came in the house and got tons of work done.....of course, leaving the t.v. and computer off!
So glad to hear things are back to normal, and yes, we have lost power numerous times in the winter; however, we always have heat, thank goodness, as we've got an "antique" floor furnace!!! Even if everything else goes out, we still stay nice and warm!
Janie E. Jan 21, 2013, 3:02pm UTC
Not in the winter, but, we have had our share of the power going out during the summer.
Regina R. Jan 21, 2013, 3:04pm UTC
no we havent lost power, but we had snow last night then icy rain on top of it and more snow on that. The public transport in my old hometown collapsed so I texted my boss I would like the day off and got that. Tomorrow I have to return to work as I dont want to use too much of my vacation days for this.........
G Your Posts Are Terrific Jan 21, 2013, 3:11pm UTC
oh no, nothing is worse than teeth probs.. eeeh.
Ryan Reid Jan 21, 2013, 3:14pm UTC
ugh....you're right on that. It doesnt really hurt but its all sharp now...
Heather E. Jan 21, 2013, 3:12pm UTC
Not too many years ago we had massive ice storms in the spring. Fortunately we did not lose power but towns to the east and the west of us did. Schools in those directions did as well.
Larry H. Jan 21, 2013, 3:47pm UTC
GLAD YOU HAVE FAMILY NEAR BY TO GO TO..
Peter Joseph Swanson Jan 21, 2013, 4:11pm UTC
Yeah! Handy!
Peter Joseph Swanson Jan 21, 2013, 4:11pm UTC
Brrr!
Susan G. Jan 21, 2013, 4:20pm UTC
Kinda. I was without a furnace for three days last winter during the only horribly cold spell we had. It was somewhat miserable.
William M. Jan 21, 2013, 4:44pm UTC
Sorry about your bad day. Maybe today will be much better.
Nope, just got flurries so far in NW Ohio...nothing to worry about yet. It has gotten colder. I can feel that while walking on my hardwood looking floor.

Sorry to hear you lost power. Hopefully your day will be today.
Cheryl M. Jan 21, 2013, 4:51pm UTC
sorry about your bad day, and the chipped tooth. good thing though your parents didn't lose electricity so you were able to stay warm. when we lived in chicago never lost power in the winter...thankfully. here in florida....we live out in the boonies...and when there are bad storms...loosing electricity is the norm.
Kenneth B. Jan 21, 2013, 4:53pm UTC
Yeah, my weekend was better than that. Yes I've had power outages in winter (thank god for candles and oil lamps). I had one winter when we got back from a Christmas vacation to find someone, who shall remain namless, turned off the heat (to save on the heating bill). Unfortunately we had hot water heat and the water froze causing the copper tubing and several radiators to crack. Thank God we had a wood stove to keep us warm while we got it fixed.
Diane Huizenga Jan 21, 2013, 5:15pm UTC
Wow yup that so sucks. A few years ago we had a huge ice storm and we were without power for 3 days, was really cold.
Nancy S. Jan 21, 2013, 6:35pm UTC
I know just how you felt. I've lost power several times in the winter. The worst part is we also lose water so there is no flushing the toilet. Now I keep a big 50 gallon container of water in the basement for that.
RedBird. B. Jan 21, 2013, 7:02pm UTC
I kinda know how you feel, Ryan! Last night we lost power for 6 hours. and it came back on sometime early this morning. Now tonight it is getting down to 3* with a wind chill of 10 below. I sure Hope we do not loss power again.
Ryan Reid Jan 21, 2013, 7:34pm UTC
thats about the same temps as it is here now. its gonna be a cold week!
Angela H. Jan 21, 2013, 9:11pm UTC
That is COLD IN THE 20'S HERE the wind feels like ice. Brrrrrrr
dee b. Jan 21, 2013, 7:19pm UTC
Losing power in the winter months in a four season state is sucky! Especially if you have to rely on it for heat. We dealt with that a few years back with an ice storm. Was without power for 11 days. Had to leave because we couldn't heat the house. Now we have a wall unit, that uses propane. Without electricity it will heat, just the blower can't be used. Certainly better than being without nothing. I don't ever want to go through that again!
Angela H. Jan 21, 2013, 9:14pm UTC
I well remember the historic ice storm we had dee. Was worse than going through a hurricane. I did have the fireplace and I did use it. After 4 days David connected a generator to the basics. Still it was cold as all get out . Don't want another one of those any time soon! Do You?
dee b. Jan 21, 2013, 10:44pm UTC
Just the thought or mere possibility Angela is to much for me to even bare! I too have been through hurricanes while living in Florida. although those were bad, after experiencing an ice storm and being cold, wondering how I'm going to shower, get to work and a boat load of other things, those hurricanes were nothing! In florida you can take a cold shower. Trust me when you have no AC, its no big deal. Heck I wanted to jump right back in. As for cooking, no problem there either, just grill it, or heater meals. Entertainment was a battery operated radio. Didn't really even miss t.v. Now I know many lost all they had. So I'm not saying hurricanes aren't bad. But after experiencing both, I rather go through a hurricane than ever, ever go through an ice storm! Now I understand what people in cold weather states were saying about us being sissies.
Angela H. Jan 21, 2013, 11:09pm UTC
So so I. I am from Charleston Sc and Lived through Hugo and many other Hurricanes. They were bad. But that ice cold was horrible. Deadly. Yep I am a sissy when it comes to cold weather but I sure don't miss that humidity down there! Stay in touch neighbor!
dee b. Jan 21, 2013, 11:12pm UTC
I don't miss that humidity either lol! Or 1 season a year thingy. Maybe if I ever retire I'll go back. Then again maybe not. Cya around neighbor!
Karen E. Jan 21, 2013, 7:23pm UTC
What a rotten day for you and Noah. Thank goodness you had a place to go. Poor fish...
Tim T. Jan 21, 2013, 7:38pm UTC
Not a great way to start the day!

...so much for Noah's first Presidential swearing in...

How did you chip your tooth? Pics please!
Thomas R. Jan 21, 2013, 8:26pm UTC
Hi Ryan! I'm with dee on the wall unit! They work Great and without any power! That's how we heat our Houghton Lake Cottage. As a matter of fact, my wife and I were there over the weekend for the tip-up-town ice festival. It rained Saturday and then the bad weather hit that night. Winds up to 55 miles per hour and snow! I'm really surprised our power didn't go out!
Rebecca P. Jan 21, 2013, 8:46pm UTC
That stinks. So glad you got your power back and hope your house has warmed up now. Ew, a chipped tooth? Ouch
Angela H. Jan 21, 2013, 9:10pm UTC
OH NO...I hate when we loose power out here in the boonies but I have gotten used to it. I have lanterns in places ready to light and candles. The stove is gas (propane) and the water stays on just not hot! So that is the way it goes. I am so happy you now have your power back and sorry for the tooth. Ouch!
mary v. Jan 21, 2013, 10:53pm UTC
Sorry to hear that.
Steph-in-NE ..... Jan 21, 2013, 11:42pm UTC
sorry about your happenings not hing so drastic here,, yet you are lucky it wasn't uh 9 degree for the high,, like it was here.
Janet "Jax" B. Jan 22, 2013, 12:36am UTC
Oh, I remember that happening to us. When Christopher was a baby, I lived in Mt. Pleasant in married student housing (at CMU). A big storm knockout our power. The university had no back up plans for us. It got very cold very quickly in those cinderblock apartments. Finally got a hold of church and the pastor. He did some calling and got a bunch of us with small kids and babies (at least 6 of us had babies under a yr old) rooms at a hotel (for free). I roomed with my neighbor (her husband was out of town also)....both of us had babies under a yr old.
Bernard C. Jan 22, 2013, 7:32am UTC
Sorry to hear of the storms and power outages where you live - can imagine how difficult it can get without them - We had a power shortage a few weeks ago also due to storms took almost half a day to get it back. Hope everything is working properly now
Debbie W. Jan 22, 2013, 7:40am UTC
Well good thing you had a place to go until the power came back on.I don't get a winter like yours, but have lost power many times for days at a time with hurricanes. Have you ever seen transformers blow up? Really scared me.
Betty S. Jan 22, 2013, 9:13am UTC
Sorry to hear this Ryan. It makes me crazy for my power to go off. We have had a pretty hard winter here for us but nothing like what so many on here have described..I hope none of your family gets sick over getting so cold.
We have lost power a lot but only once for very long. We had a bad ice storm that took out power for two weeks but at that time we had wood heat..
Tresa M. Jan 22, 2013, 1:10pm UTC
That sounds awful. Our furnace is gas so if the electricity goes out we still get heat. We don't get air conditioning though if it goes out in the summer and that has happened. We have never lost power for very long in the winter. I think the longest we ever lost it for was about 8 hours. The bad thing is we were having company from out of town that night. The stove is gas as well so mom was still able to cook, but we had to entertain our guests by candle light. Mom was most worried about the food in the fridge and freezers.
Sharla H. Jan 22, 2013, 1:27pm UTC
I can't say I have lost power in the winter but I sure have lost power plenty of times in the summer and for several hours when the temps was at 100+. That wasn't fun either.
DarkBeauty 73 (Melanie) Jan 23, 2013, 6:21pm UTC
we lost power for 14 hours on the last snow storm, seemed like are area was out for the longest, I wasn't pleased. Got pretty cold, thankfully by then it was bed time. Wasn't happy I had two guinea pigs to worry about getting to cold. Next house if not by next winter I will have a generator.
Adelaide M. Jan 28, 2013, 8:40pm UTC
Thanks for posting to Point Taken. Have a great night!

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