We get 4 INCHES of snow, and it's the lead story on all the news channels. You all will get more snow from this then we will get in 2 or 3 WINTERS
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TimfromMA
Minister of Fire
My mother in law lives by herself and she declined our invite to weather the storm with us. Our house is fully prepared for the worse and barring our house getting damaged by a falling tree, we will be ok. My concern is that if her power goes out, she will ask us to come get her when it is no longer safe or even possible to do so.
Might be time to pull some rank on her. Good Luck with that and let us know how that works out. LOL! If you get along with her it might be time for you and your wife to lay down the law though without ticking her off. People like being at home in their places so you can't fault her there. Better to be safe than sorry.
You're in a tough spot, Tim. Unlike Gen X and the Millennials it seems, your MIL's generation prides themselves on their self-sufficiency and self-reliance, so admitting to needing and being willing to accept help is a difficult thing for many of that age. Denial is a powerful emotion as well.
I would suggest an incremental approach with her - pull the 'safety card' and calmly rationalize the risks of her having no heat or water in a protracted power outage, and what could happen if you guys can't come and safely get her.
Then pull the 'guilt card' - she'd feel terrible if you got hurt or put your own life at risk coming to get her in the worst of the storm, then she would have to call rescue (putting them at risk as well), and would end up spending the rest of the storm sitting in a hospital bed (taking up beds needed for the sick and injured), until someone could come get her.
Often, that is enough to persuade them. But if she still resists, then as bags suggested, you may have to pull rank on her, especially if she has no supplemental heat source if the power goes out, making that more than just an inconvenience, but a potentially life threatening concern.
I'm sure you would gladly sacrifice some hurt feelings and some short-lived resentment on her part for avoiding a life time of potential "would I, should I, could I...... of's" if something bad should happen to her when she was on her own.
Good luck ! Let us know how you do !
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This phenomenon makes me scratch my head.
Even in the summer we keep a few loaves of bread in the freezer and extra eggs just in case we work long hours and cant get to the store.
Oh yeah, Bart! Saw in the news at noon that some stores had lines stretching 1/4 mile from the supermarkets. Glad I went grocery shopping when we first heard of this...three days ago! I remember a few years ago, we had so much snow that only 6 inches of my 5 foot picket fence was visible. Somehow we survived. I'm on the seacoast so I'm sure the winds will be awesome! I've had the siding blown off my house before 
DV
Feeling the Heat
Good luck everyone up north. Calling for 1 to 3 inches at my house. Grocery stores have sold out.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
I went out and bought a snow shovel since ours had a crack in it. I bought gas, gassed up the generator and the snow blower, test ran both even though they ran a month ago, running smoothly. The chest freezer is full, the pantry is full, pellets are in the house, the oil burner works. All appliances, heat and hot water run off the generator. Kind of like Tim here, unless it blows so hard to take out the house we should be good. And they just lowered the wind prediction here slightly.. Being on Cape Cod I'll take any reduction they give us !! Max gusts now predicted 75 mph vs 80, sustained is lowered to 30-40 instead of 35-50. Additionally several large NE side trees have been removed next to our yard that previously were close to our house.. We have several things going in our favor at the moment.
They also just announced that Cape Cods emergency program has been enacted, at 6:30 PM the shelter locations doors will be open. These are mostly at High School locations from Nauset to Falmouth, including, Dennis, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Hyannis, Sandwich etc.. It's being treated like a hurricane.
They also just announced that Cape Cods emergency program has been enacted, at 6:30 PM the shelter locations doors will be open. These are mostly at High School locations from Nauset to Falmouth, including, Dennis, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Hyannis, Sandwich etc.. It's being treated like a hurricane.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
I always have a least a couple of weeks of food in my house so only go for my regular groceries (cream for the coffee, bananas, squash, zukes and yogurt); got a whopping $13 of groceries on Saturday and don't have to go back to "stock up" on anything.
If I am snowed in will I have everything I "want" to eat? Probably not. Will my meals be humongously varied? Nope. but I will eat plenty and healthfully. If I lose power for a long stretch, I'll start emptying out the freezer and cooking all the meat on my propane stove. Once cooked, the meat will keep for quite a while in my garage. With canned vegies and fruits, I will be just fine.
If I am snowed in will I have everything I "want" to eat? Probably not. Will my meals be humongously varied? Nope. but I will eat plenty and healthfully. If I lose power for a long stretch, I'll start emptying out the freezer and cooking all the meat on my propane stove. Once cooked, the meat will keep for quite a while in my garage. With canned vegies and fruits, I will be just fine.
The Cape is certainly exposed, sitting out there taking the brunt of this Nor'easter. With the warm gulf stream moisture being fed into the upper jet stream winds, that is driving cold air down from the arctic circle with the resulting rapid drop in pressure, it has all the signature components of a winter hurricane.
Snowfall amounts have gotten most of the media coverage, but the wind and storm surge induced coastal flooding, particularly during the high tides, are what the Weather Channel is reporting as the over looked threats in this storm.
Batten down out there, brother !
We are just south of Boston and in our area they are saying possibly 30-36". A couple things I find amusing when this stuff happens.
Everyone has to fill there gas tank in their car. Why is that? You shouldn't be going anywhere in this weather if you don't have to. The other one is that you need a cooler in case you loose power. What is wrong with sticking it outside? I could go on but this is just a few things I find funny when we have a storm. Stay safe.
GO PATRIOTS
Everyone has to fill there gas tank in their car. Why is that? You shouldn't be going anywhere in this weather if you don't have to. The other one is that you need a cooler in case you loose power. What is wrong with sticking it outside? I could go on but this is just a few things I find funny when we have a storm. Stay safe.
GO PATRIOTS
All 4 vehicles are topped off, 20 gallons of gas for snowblower and generator, plenty of food, and most importantly stocked the liquor cabinet yesterday. Snowshoes are ready and I hope to do a 10 mile hike across the lake and through the trails on Wednesday. 
We are just south of Boston and in our area they are saying possibly 30-36". A couple things I find amusing when this stuff happens.
Everyone has to fill there gas tank in their car. Why is that? You shouldn't be going anywhere in this weather if you don't have to. The other one is that you need a cooler in case you loose power. What is wrong with sticking it outside? I could go on but this is just a few things I find funny when we have a storm. Stay safe.
GO PATRIOTS
Best thing about the storm is it knocked Deflate Gate off from being the top news story.....
The thought is that for those without alternative heat sources, their only way to warm up may be the heater in their idling vehicle. If the power is out for days, when gas pumps can't pump what's left in their holding tanks, one could easily idle a half tank of gas or more in a prolonged power outage, hence the recommendation of at least a half full gas tank.
Unfortunately, if people can't get their car out of the garage due to the snow, they often think idling it with the garage door open will disperse the CO, which it doesn't. We had a fatality in Maine in my response area from this in the blizzard of 2013.
If the vehicle is running outside, but the exhaust pipe is blocked with snow, the exact same thing can happen.
So, be particularly careful with running generators and vehicles alike ! CO kills !
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Just called my former boss and left him a message that I won't be in tomorrow .................................
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
St_Earl
Minister of Fire
JD76ERS
Member
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Hey, I should have done that considering the times I blew out my driveway at 4 Am so as to be at work for 6 just to find nobody there, no messages on my phone and no Email saying work was cancelled. Nice, office people don't think of mechanics till their car doesn't run and then it's not a good thought at that.. But since we are signing Friday the agreement for the lump sum of my severance package, which triggers my retirement in benefits in May 9 of those not received as yet or tghus far) guess I'll pass on that idea.
I've known of people who check into motels in these situations. That's all well and good but make sure they have generator backup. I know of a pharmacist who rather than traverse the Sagamore Bridge and 30 miles north in the big storm in 2013 checked into the motel down the street from our house when she got off work... Well they don't have a generator and we lost power here at about 8:20 PM that night for three days. She paid to stay in a dark frigged room over night.. She said the power went out almost as soon as she got settled into her room.
That time we lost major trunk power lines leading onto the Cape which they since have upgraded. I have higher hopes for this storm to not put us out as long. Those trunk lines didn't even have good access to them so they first had to clear a way in that time. But we shall see. Prime time approaches !
For you weather junkies....
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-85.88,34.68,1104
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-85.88,34.68,1104
It's supposed to be 20 to 34" around here, but it'll be cold so that means light and fluffy. I'm thinking and hoping this will be a big to-do about very little. It's the ice storms that worry me.
St_Earl
Minister of Fire
It's... it's... beautiful
yeah. or the 31- 32 degree wet cement snow that pulls down trees.
nevertheless, i have my power outage clothes gathered and ready to go. and i will be clearing the steps and the spot where genny goes as the snow accumulates.
bcarton
Feeling the Heat
In an odd twist, my 88yo mother-in-law is sleeping on our living room couch, but I just dropped my wife off so she can spend the night in a fancy room at an old folk's home She has to be there to serve breakfast at 6:45 tomorrow, right when the roads will be getting really bad. I'm hoping chken is right, and the snow stays light and fluffy.
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