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How do the Southern Boys and Gals Deal With Winter

2

2underage

Well-known Member
Here in the north country where it is cold most of the time we know how to prepare for winters worst . We have block heaters on our tractors to help them start. We put fuel treatment in our fuel tanks and thin oil in the crankcase. We have all wheel drive tractors or chains to help keep us going.
We keep backup generators in case of a power failure and we bury our water lines deep and put heaters on the ones we can't.

What do you southerners do when winter goes crazy and invades your mostly warm paradise?
 
Here on the farm in NE Texas we keep an eye on the weather forecast at least 5 days out.

A 10 day forecast is a joke around here.

When below freezing temps are predicted, make sure the outside faucets are covered and drain all the water from the water hoses.

Keep plenty of dry firewood in stock.

Be prepared for a power outage of at least one to four days during ice or snow.

Keep at least a few days supply of peanut butter, jelly, Pringles, and popcorn.

Call family and friends to make sure they're OK.

Stay home and keep off the roads; nothing more dangerous than a Texan on ice.

Usually after a couple of days the weather changes for the better.

Take <a href="http://youtu.be/TU6yhrVE44E">a few photos of the rare weather event</a> and share them with the good folks on YT.
 
I'm from the border state (between N & S) of Kentucky about 10 miles from Tennessee so we do some of the same things you do except watered down versions. For example, you never see chains on anything, no fuel treatment is used although fuel comes winter blend at the local stations, a few tractors have block heaters, we have a generator that hasn't been used in 6 yrs. and our water lines are buried on average 18" deep with no problems. We do use heat in our well houses and we do have snow plows that will eventually get to you on the back roads. So, I would say the change is gradual from N to S on the extent of any of the above from all to none.
 
You must have better meteorologists than we do...or more stable/predictable weather. Here, it seems like if they get it right more than 48 hours out, it's a minor miracle.
 
In-laws were from Wichita Falls and then Arlington, Texas. Moved them to Indiana in 2007. For them, when snow or ice was coming, they said everyone would stock up on Fritos and beer.
 
What James and LAA said. Basically we just hole up for a couple of days. Roads are rarely icy for more than a day or two. If power goes out a fireplace can keep the house reasonably warm. I have both a fireplace and a fake fireplace with gas logs (in addition to central gas heat), so heat is no problem. When I was on a well power outage meant no water, but now I'm on the community system so very rarely a problem. To us "cold" means high 20s, low 30s. Even then, I rarely wear a jacket outside, just a shirt and vest. We worry more about the electricity being off in July, August and September.
 
We have to do all the same prep work. Disconnect all hoses, make sure the faucets are either covered or freeze resistant, antifreeze in all drains that won't be used through the winter, antifreeze in all the vehicles, the wood pile is sufficient to last more than a few days(that is only if you don't burn wood for heat anyway), check on the lil ol' ladies around us to make sure they are able to stand a few days without going to the store. Then when it comes, lay low, stay warm, wait it out. Usually a couple of days at the most.
 
A little cold weather and snow ain't nothing compared to a full blown Hurricane when the electric is off for 2 weeks and its 95+ degrees every day.My tractors have block heaters,I have 4WD
tractors and trucks.We had 28" of snow here a few years ago(most I've seen here in my life at once) just before Christmas Allis D19 and the Oliver 1650 kept hay to the cattle.
 

A good many years ago I decided to hunt rabbits in the snow, early, while it was fresh and not tracked up. Started tracking a rabbit. I decided that rabbits and other animals that are hunted assume that whatever is after them is tracking them by scent. The rabbit made a fairly large circle and went back over it a couple of times, going out at right angles briefly several times then coming back to the original track. Finally he took off in a straight line. I could see all that since I was much taller than anything else that would be chasing him and I gave up the chase as a bad job and went on, enjoying the woods with fresh snow on them.

KEH
 
Haa! Well first of all we stay out of the north! Second, I was in the Caribbean last week and Las Vegas for the next two! LOL We don't get that cold in the south where we have to deal with snow and much freezing temperatures.
 
This was April's (white lab) first snow.

She came to us as a stray puppy almost two years ago.

Not sure about Jessie (black collie) since we don't know her age.

Those two are a hoot to watch when they start playing chase.
 
Most of our local meteorologists are old, white guys.

Since they aren't good looking young women, they have to get it right.

And then the fight started . . .
 
lot of great looking gals live there too,,. and they know how to make a gguy fell warm and great on the inside ,, even in the ice cold ,, alls a feller need do is think about his kentuky gal , and he feels warm all over again ..
 
Usually we just put on a jacket. On the few nights a hard freeze is forecast I cut off and open all outside faucets so if they freeze they won't burst. (South Georgia) TDF
 
I switch from my flip flops to my deck shoes. All jokes aside down here in central Florida we worry about the weather a whole lot more in the summer with the thunder storms and the occasional hurricane. I have never lost power in the winter for more than a few hours but have lost it for days after a hurricane. Around the end of May I make sure the generators are up and running and I have plenty of batteries for the radios. My wife always has what she calls the hurricane box in the house stocked with can goods and I make sure I have 20 gallons of gas if it looks like a storm might be headed our way. I haven't needed it in the last few years but in 04 we had 3 storms come through the middle of the state in 6 weeks. It wasn't a fun time
 
I spoke to a gal in Miami, been a while, she said it was real cold there. was in the low 70's. was 18 here. I'm not sure how they would cope. Went on a cruse to the Bahamas several years ago, it was 50 there the natives all had on winter coats with their hoods over their heads. I didn't know there were any winter coats in the Bahamas till then. I was walking around with shorts on and a short sleve shirt. they thought I was crazy, especially when I told them it was 30 below here in Iowa that day
 
I'm not sure we are still considered the south anymore. I live just below the Missery line and some schools have been closed for 10 days. The roads have been ice covered and the road departments are not equipped to clean them off. The last 2 winters have been much like they were in the late 70's. Last year we had a winter total of over 40" of snow and ice. We haven't had the extreme cold but haven't been more than a couple of degrees above freezing in quite some time. We are in that area where we can have very mild winters or fairly cold and snowy so we prepare for the worst and hope for the best much like our friends in the north.
 
What I saw when I lived in the south was they handled it by wining. Yup, put on a coat, start drinking and it would all be better once the hangover was gone! :lol: :lol:

Just teasing a bit! The big problems I saw in the south was the lack of equipment to deal with ice and snow on the roads. ANd to be honest what city/state can justify millions of dollars worth of equipment sitting around doing nothing for years on end?

Rick
 
That's usually when it's time for a more southern zip code, just for a visit, San Antonio is always nice.
 
When it gets cold the weather man will say this is a protect plants; pets; and pipes night based on how cold it will get that night.

A protect pipes night (happens 3 or 4 nights a year) is 28 degrees for 4 hours.
I turn on the light in my pump house and let the water run in my kitchen sink (pencil lead size stream) all night long.

It is rare for us to get ice never alone getting snow.
If the weather predicts icy roads all schools will close.
If the icy roads actually happens everyone stays home from work and we wait it out till the next day. I have been off of work due to icy roads but never 2 days in a row.
Our snow plow and salt trucks is that big bright ball in the sky you see each day.

We basically enjoy winter as it is our best season.
Summer on the other hand is a different story.
We play close attention to the weather during hurricane season since I live close to the gulf.
 
Most of what BA and Traditional Farmer said. We keep up with the weather always, all year. We make sure we have plenty of what we will need for food and heat. We have a windless that works. A couple of buckets of water will flush a toilet if we lose power. Taking care of livestock is a little harder but manageable. Dripping faucets keeps water from freezing.

We check on elderly neighbors and help anyone that we can if we are able. We have sheltered newcomers to the area that mostly bought or built totally ecectric homes without chimneys. In times of power outages, the power company spends a lot of time and energy replacing fuses cuz the system cannot handle the load of all the electric heated homes suddenly coming on line.

Many have spoken about the lack of snow removal equipment in the south. For the most part, I think things are done fairly well in my area. Those that want more government services should be willing to pay for them.

In short we take care of ourselves, neighbors, and try not to worry about the things we cannot control. If we do that, we are not a burden to others. We try to find some enjoyment because our world slows a bit in times like these.
 
Plant our "winter garden" Carrotts cabage,greens,onions,brocli ect. Southeast Texas 20 miles from the Gulf we get two growing seasons. Already mowed my lawn twice this month. Snow maybe once every ten years. Only two freezes so for this year.
 
A Coleman two burner stove, a stainless 24 cup coffee percolator, two Coleman propane lanterns. And you eat, steaks, stew, soups, fried chicken hamburgers, hot dogs. Grilled ham and cheese, fried potatos. Bacon and eggs with grits. What ever you cook on the electric stove.
Pringles? I think not.
 
We wait 24/48 hours and normal returns and we fix what broke. No different than northerners do when it gets much colder than they're used to.
 
North central Tennessee only 10 miles from Kentucky and just as the poster above , just take care of business and go on. As for whining hell no I don,t like the cold but don,t whine anymore than some of the folks from up north.
 
Most of those familiar with North Carolina know that it is bordered on the east by the ocean, and the western part is mountains. I live in the central part of the state, which is a transition area. Our weather often literally depends on which way the wind blows. I worked most of my life in a town about 40 miles to the north of where I live. I have left work at times when there would be four or five inches of snow on the ground, and by the time I got home, where might be half an inch. As others have said, We just try to prepare for the worse, and hope for the best. I worry more about tornadoes and hurricanes than winter weather.
 
Well stated Jim, and that last line is very true. We can't smell the flowers in winter, but we can smell the coffee and make snowcream!
 
I live right out side of Concord, NC, so I'm about the middle of the state. I have a block heater on my service truck, as well as an ether start system for use when I'm parked at a motel, etc, and can't plug in. For outages I've got an 8500 watt diesel generator wired in to the house for power. For heat I use a wood stove as much as possible anyways, so I don't much worry about losing heat. Beyond that, I just watch the weather, stay prepared, and roll with whatever Mother Nature throws at us.
 
Here in N. TX. we usually don't have a long stretch of bad weather and +10F seldom occurring, is the lowest temp in 35 years here.....usually several days max on the weather that keeps us home bound. This winter +20 was about the lowest and was 23 this morning. As with you, since you get it before we do, this has been an exceptionally cold end of Feb. and first of Mar. per the 10 day weather report.

We keep the cubbard stocked and gas in the truck. Exposed plumbing has heat tapes. The primary heat for the house is a stand alone wood heater with propane backup and electric radiator heaters (like you find in buildings run on steam) in the rooms that the other heaters don't reach. I like the radiators as no noise, fumes, nor fire hazard. Zone cooling and heat, no central unit.....my decision as I designed and built the house.

Community water system bought a standby generator last year so we have water in case of a power outage which occurs in ice storms of which we have had none this year. Last year I bought a Generac brand whole house gen. so now I don't have to haul the portable out and go through the extension cord mess if power is out. Really worth the money in the secure feeling we get with it.....since we've started having rolling blackouts in the summer when peak power loads are on the utilities, we don't have to worry about loosing AC any more when you need it most.

If the ground freezes on the 10 degree days it's only a few inches.

The shop is where I spend most of my time unless it is really cold. It's uninsulated and I use portable radiant heaters of 5-15k (variable) propane bottle mounted units to move about where needed.

I hear you guys talk about being tired of the weather. My condolences. I don't think I could take it, course I didn't grow up with it so I can't take it for granted.

Mark
 
What do you southerners do when winter goes crazy and invades your mostly warm paradise?
Click to expand...

I am a former "Southerner". I grew up in San Diego. You can't get more south than that without being in Mexico. Down there if it snows, they drive faster.
Back about 1996 I had 4 feet of wet, heavy snow drop in 36 hours. Trees fell everywhere and they hadn't plowed my road 3 days later, so i did some sawing and dug it out and left for to San Diego, and did not swap my 1963 Mecedes diesel back to my summer tires. I got to the north base of the Grapevine and the CHP was turning cars back to go on other routes. I asked the officer what was the problem. He said there was 2 inches of snow on the pass. I asked him to look at my tires. They were fairly new studded snow tires. He said "you must live where they have real winters" and asked if i had chains. Yup. He said "put them on when you get to it, and don't hit the plows, they hate that", and I was the only car on the Grapevine at that time. too fun. Tires make all the difference, I find it hard to believe studs are illegal in some states.
 
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