By the author of Be Ready for Anything and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted
We’re starting the New Year off with a bang in the form of Winter Storm Grayson. The next weather threat heading our way is a phenomenon called a “bombogenesis.” This occurs when a system’s central pressure plummets dramatically — “24 millibars or more — in 24 hours” according to Bloomberg.
Basically, it’s a hurricane. A winter hurricane. The same high winds (up to 80 mph) and the same precipitation, but with snow instead of rain.
Because what could be more exciting than a hurricane and a blizzard all rolled into one kick-bootie storm?
The entire East Coast is at risk, from the northern part of Florida all the way up into Canada. The Southern US will get some snow and wind on Wednesday, and New England will be hit hard on Thursday.
…ice has already formed on fountains in some southern cities, including Savannah, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
In northern Florida and southern Georgia, a dangerous mix of snow and ice are in the forecast for Wednesday morning.
Residents of cities including Tallahassee, Florida, and Valdosta, Georgia, may see up to an inch of snow on the roadways during the Wednesday morning commute…
Through Wednesday the low pressure will ride up the East Coast, bringing a wintry mix of snow and ice through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Georgia and the Carolinas may see 1 to 3 inches of snow…
The storm will strengthen as it moves north overnight Wednesday. By Thursday morning, there will be heavy snow across the Mid-Atlantic coast, including Philadelphia and the New Jersey shore.
The Mid-Atlantic is forecast to have about 3 to 6 inches of snow, with lower amounts inland and higher amounts near the coast.
The snow will continue north Thursday. Long Island and New England — especially Maine — may get over 6 inches of snow. (source)
Some schools in northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have closed proactively today.
But that’s not all.
Just like those old Ginsu knife commercials, wait, there’s more.
It’s expected that this snow-bomb will be followed by a return to the extreme cold that most of the US has been experiencing for the past few days.
And therein lies the issue – after the extremely high winds and dumping of snow, it’s likely that a lot of folks will lose power – in sub-zero temperatures.
Someone who is unprepared for this could be in for a difficult weekend. Perhaps even a deadly one.
Get prepared quickly.
Those in the South may have a bit of time this morning to stock up, but the storm will arrive about when the morning commute has begun. People further north will have time to hit grocery and hardware stores.
I’d strongly advise people to be prepared with the following:
- Food (if you don’t have an off-grid cooking method, get stuff that doesn’t have to be cooked)
- A secondary heat source I recommend the Mr. Buddy heater – available on Amazon – pay extra for overnight shipping – and at some hardware stores. (learn more about staying warm when the power goes out)
- Lots of extra fuel for your secondary heat source
- Emergency lighting (learn more here)
- Stuff for the kiddos to do (these ideas could help)
If ever there was a great time to test your preps, like those of us doing the 2018 Stockpile Challenge, this is it.
Here’s a quick guide for the last-minute prepper.
Share your first-hand reports.
If you’re on the East Coast, let us know what your experience is. (Assuming you can get online, of course.) Stay safe and warm, everyone!
Daisy,
Excellent article and warning for those on the East Coast. That Mr. Buddy heater looks like a good idea for anyone who doesn’t have a wood burning stove. Mind if I pass this article along to my Dying Time newsletter subscribers?
Please do share it, Raymond, and thank you for the kind words.
Ordering a Mr. Buddy has been on my list of things to pick up. We live in the Midwest and the temperature over the weekend was in the single digits. New years day we woke up to find our furnace wasn’t working and the temperature in the house had gone down to 51. I started doing laundry and baking to get the temperature up. I eventually got it up to 56 but it was still uncomfortable. Sleeping was actually great because of the flannel sheets and blankets. But to be out of bed was not so comfortable. We had it fixed quickly and we were fine but Mr. Buddy has now been ordered just in case. I knew a back up source of heat was important but I put it off. If you experience winter…you NEED a back up., trust me.
I am in northern US where temps have been frigidly brutal and deadly. I have a Mr. Heater Big Buddy that I use daily this winter for my primary heat source. Big Buddy owners should invest in a 5′ hose and a propane filter so a 25 lb. (bbq size propane tank) can be used, instead of the disposable camping cylinders. I had a 21′ hose, but couldn’t get Big Buddy to light with it – sometimes these heaters can have problems getting the propane all the way through the lines to light (see YouTube videos). Invest in more than 1 (25 lb.) tank, so you can keep heating while you are getting the previous tank refilled or swapped out. Most convenience, gas, and big box stores have the convenient tank swapping capability, so you don’t have to find a store that will actually refill the same tank. Remember to purchase a carbon monoxide detector if you don’t own one, but I haven’t had a problem.
Thank you for that advice! Approximately how long does your 25-pound tank keep the house warm for? And is it running constantly, or do you turn it off and on throughout the day?
Weird circumstances have me living in a 5th wheel camper, parked in my son’s farmyard. So dry camping, because I can go across the yard for water. Composting toilet that separates liquids from solids is a lifesaver. I have an electrical hookup which means I can run a medium sized electric heater at all times. If I am going to be away for a day or two, i can put my cannot-freeze items in a basket near the electric heater with a blanket helping keep them unfrozen. When the twmps were 15 below zero at night and the wind picked up, I needed both the electric heater and Big Buddy set to medium all the time – I would empty a bbq size tank within 3 days. I double-curtained off the gooseneck part of the trailer and got about a 10 degree boost in temperature inside which allows me to turn off the Big Buddy until the temp gets down to about 55 when I turn BB on again. I open the curtains about 30 minutes before bed to allow the bedroom to heat overnight. This week the temps are 0-10 during the day and I have been spending a lot more time out of the camper and I am now finishing up a bbq tank. A lot depends on temps and how much the wind is blowing.
Eh, Whats another 14in or so????????!?
Seriously though its been so cold I’ve filled my garage with chickens and their stuff, moved part of my wood pile into my covered porch to keep the old stove stocked and triple checked any other stocks I could think of. For today all the kids are excited to get their super sleep sacks out(mummy bags) and the bin of “power out toys” are already upstairs. Of course I feel pretty solid right now. Cheers and hopefully I’ll get back to update by Friday.
Wednesday, 1/2/18 , the power went out @ 0300-0600 in the Upstate of SC. Temperature outside was 16°. We cranked up the backup heater, powered by propane, and went back to sleep. I apologise that my story is devoid of ice filled rivers to cross, or circling hungry wolves.
We are in South Georgia and did get snow. Our county had up to an inch of snow accumulation on the ground, and the town just 30 miles south has 3 inches. Please stay safe, this cold is not normal. My rose bush had 4 blooms on it and they froze in full bloom. Last week we were at 70+outside this week we are in the teens and low 20s
Love you, Daisy. We’re just getting the effects now. Weather estimates are 4-8″ of snow overnight. You and Lisa taught me so much. I prep so that o don’t have to worry as much. Thank you! ❤❤????
Hi – we live in Northern Coastal Maine, way out in the woods. We lose power rather often in winter (blizzards) and summer (thunderstorms). Or somebody hits a tree, taking down the power lines (which run about 25 miles along a highway to get to us).
We have a large propane heater which does not use any electricity. It connects to a stove pipe which goes straight out the roof. Our windows are leaky so enough fresh air enters. And the dog goes in and out all day, requiring that a door be opened.
This is our secondary source of heat; our primary source is a kerosene heater (called a ‘Monitor’ heater generally, that’s the brand name). It has a fan but requires electricity. We will use it until it drops dead (probably not too far away), then rely on the propane heater. Both heaters do a good job. We do not have *central* heating as such; I don’t think most people around here do. This is not Tourist Maine, this is Hardscrabble Maine and very few people here have much money.
We had both fuels topped up last week. I like that we keep a supply of both fuels right here: the propane in a big cylinder (called a ‘pig) and 250 gallons of K1 kerosene in a large tank. Both are right outside the house; I’d prefer they be farther off, but you cannot have everything and we do not have sufficient money to have them moved.
We have enough fuel now to get us through the winter. That’s a nice feeling.
Cheers,
Pat
Here in southern NH, it’s snowed all day. Got 10 to 12″ so far. Still snowing. Got plenty of wood for the primary heat source (wood), but the secondary (oil heat) has proven a bit of an adventure. With the long subzero spell, we’d been going through the oil faster than usual. (We have to run it periodically at such cold temps to keep the heating pipes from freezing.
Getting more oil delivered turned out to be more of a challenge. Everyone else was burning through their oil more quickly too. At first, the oil company’s phones were “out of order”. Just a phone company recording to call back later. After a couple days of trying, we finally got a recording that apologized for their phones being swamped (with people trying to get more oil too). They could not deliver any oil until after January 22nd. We did not have three weeks of oil in the tank (at the current burn rate).
Calling other oil companies didn’t help. They were all over-burdened too, and would not deliver to any ‘new’ customers. So, no heating oil for us.
Plan B was to use diesel fuel from the gas station. Since all of my fuel cans were full of stored gasoline, I tried to buy a new one for the diesel. So had everyone else, apparently. There were no 5 gallon cans to be had anywhere in town. Only empty shelves and the stray 1 gallon can.
I emptied one of my 5 gallon cans into my truck to make an empty container. Then I found out some gas stations were out of fuel, including diesel. Finally finding a station with diesel left, I filled my 5 gallon can. A lady was waiting for me to finish. She bought the last two cans that AutoZone had. She, too, was going to buy road diesel for her furnace.
The roads are marginally plowed. Some not at all. The four-wheel-drive truck earned its keep today.
Dark now. Still snowing. Windy too. Got power outage preps always at hand. Plan to dig out tomorrow and head back to town for another 5 gallons of diesel. All part of dealing with winter here in NH.
Oh, man, Mic, I am so sorry to hear this. I have heated with oil before, and one particular year when it was much colder than usual, the speed at which I used up my tank really took me by surprise. I hope you’re able to get filled up sooner than the 22nd.
Thanks Daisy. Yeah, the prolonged cold spell upped my burn rate more than I expected. Bad prepper, eh? 🙂 But, we’ll get by. Adding 5 gallons a day isn’t a great solution. Could just be treading water. Still, that’s better than sinking, right? Put the house in Economy Mode for oil use. Most zones off. Only running the one zone that’s prone to freezing, and even then, only periodically enough to forestall the freeze. The woodstove is doing the primary heat.
We try to stay adaptable.
We live in the Northern Neck area of Virginia and I’m surprised we still have power. I pray that we are lucky enough to NOT lose power. The wind gusts are horrible and the last I checked the snow was halfway up my calves. I did prepare us, but it would be nice if I could get to a store, but I don’t think anyone can go anywhere. No store would even be open. The roads are under a foot of snow. No one is plowing the roads yet. It’s insane here. I knew it was gonna be a bad one, but had no idea it was gonna be this bad. I hope others out there are safe and warm and with power too.
I like those “Little Buddy heaters that use those little, 16oz. propane torch cannisters, that actually costs about $70 per gallon (90k BTU’s).
Here’s the Amazon price of FOUR of those little, 16oz. propane cannisters (1/2 gallon total fuel)
$33. OUCH.
https://www.amazon.com/Prop…
So, on the high setting (somewhere near 10k btu), you’re gonna burn thru about $8 per HOUR…. as opposed to a gallon of red-dyed kerosene at the pump costs me $3 per gallon (130k BTU’s).
That means you’ll get 10 hours of heating for just $3 of kerosene, vs ONE hour of heating from a Little Buddy Heater for the price of $8 per hour.
Bottom line is that you GOTTA have an ADAPTER and HOSE to use BIGGER propane tanks to run those “Little Buddy Heaters” or you’re gonna be throwing money down the toilet.
Heating my house with Kerosene Lamps (the standard, glass lamps with 7/8″ wich & 32 ounce reservoir).
Not long ago, my heating system died and I won’t have the money to fix it until next summer, so I started using kerosene to heat my place (after I calculated BTU’s per DOLLAR for electricity vs kerosene, I determined that 10,000 BTU’s per hour for 24 hours of electric space heaters (at 11c/kw-hr) would be a bit over $7/day, while kerosene (at $2.97 per gallon) would cost a bit UNDER $6 / day.
But this won’t work with the Dietz, (metal) hurricane Lanterns because the burner design creates SO much air pollution in the room that my eyes burn and lungs get congested, etc. Only the glass style indoor lamps burn so clean that I don’t detect any problems or odors.
Each kerosene Lamp burns about 1oz per hour (giving off up to a bit more than 1000 BTU’s per hour. Lighting up 3 of them, puts out the same BTU’s as an electric space heater at the 1kw setting. Lighting up 4 of them, is about equal to an electric heater at the FULL setting (1,500 watts), also known as 5,000 BTU’s !
I picked up some extra glass kerosene lamps at 2nd hand shops for about $10 each (or cheaper).
The 32oz reservoirs will burn for about 30-40 hours depending on how high I run it. Yes, I must “trim” wicks each day, and refill them safely.
I ordered an 11ft long roll of wick material on the internet, and cut my wicks about 14-20″ LONG and curl it into the reservoir BECAUSE ALL wicks must have enough length to dip down into the fuel, and the standard 6-8″ wicks, become too short after you’ve gone thru about 5″ of it, leaving 3″ left over waste from each wick. So it’s better to have a 14″ wick that will waste only the final 3″ of it. (then I staple left overs together with an office stapler, overlapping about ONE inch, so that I can get a little more use from them.)
Each lamp gives from 10-14 candle-power of light (along with 1000-1200 BTU’s of heat.)
Last night, we got down to +18F, and my rooms were still comfortable from the heat of my kerosene lamps. Silent, clean.
And they don’t need any power to run a fan either. But there is always danger with open flames, and if you don’t trim the wicks right, or run it TOO high, it will Flare up and make black soot smoke, etc.
In the days when this was the primary light source, plenty of homes burnt down from careless idiots who knocked them over, pets jumping up, kids, or idiots who put the wrong fuel in them, and exploded, etc.