Stormy Weather Problems

Another rough weather week for the Texas Gulf Coast.

Every day this week, we've had a power outage. *sigh*

It's happened so frequently that I've been hesitant to turn on the computer for fear that a  sudden power surge or blackout may damage it.

We've had days where we had no power for 24 hours and sometimes a few hours at a time.

Yesterday, it was 95 degrees outside, and the power came on after 24 hour outage. Then 15 minutes later, it went off. Came on again, stayed on 3 hours, then off.

Much of the problem is the power grid that was literally flattened with the May 17 storm. That metal towers have been replaced with wooden poles until new metal towers can be erected. They're not a thing held in inventory. They have to be fabricated when ordered.

We have a backup portable generator, but it doesn't run the whole house, just select outlets including where the refrigerator is plugged in, the outlet that powers the router, and lights in the master bedroom and bath.

Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to upgrade to a whole house automatic backup system. Unable to get online makes for an impossible situation when all of my files are in the cloud.

For now, I've got to get back to saving my work in progress on a flash drive. The cloud isn't so great when you can't access it.

Cell phone power also has been spotty so it hasn't proved to be a reliable way to do much online.

WHY ARE THESE STORMS SO PERVASIVE

Frank Billingsley, weather man for KPRC Channel 2, said, “The water temperatures over the Gulf [of Mexico] and the Caribbean are the warmest this year on the planet, and the lack of El Niño has meant less shear, or upper level wind, to tear storms apart."

I also found out in doing a little research that this weather pattern isn't as abnormal as I thought.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Have a storm safety routine including knowing where to take shelter when a bad storm and/or tornado threatens. Be safe.