East Coast Storm on 07 Aug

[AZVAJKU]

Did anyone get hit by the storm that pushed through West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland on 07 Aug?

It hit my house at 5:20 PM. The power went off and it knocked down several 10 to 12 inch diameter branches and a shit ton of smaller stuff. Left quite a mess and the power was off until about 11 PM

 

[wayoflife]

Wow, looks like you had some epic winds come through!

Glad a few busted up trees was the worst of your damage.

 

[kevman65]

It had some tornadoes or cyclic cloud action when it came through Indiana.
Personally we were lucky this time and the nasty stuff held south of us.

Glad you're okay, the cleanup sucks, but it's just time or money.

 

[AZVAJKU]

When I walked out and saw the large limbs on the fence my first thought was: “Cool! I’ll bring the Jeep around and run the winch out!” Then I realized Big Yellow was waiting for me in Nevada and the wife’s Gladiator was with her at work.

The 392 and the Willys do not have winches. Excuse to purchase one for the 392!

After the heavy rain and lightning stopped and before it got dark I broke out the Stihl and cut the larger stuff off the fence.

 

[AZVAJKU]

We are on a well so obviously the well pump does not do it’s thing with the grid down. Our house is two story so there is actually quite a bit of water in the pipes and in the pressure tank. In addition we keep lots of bottled water to drink and gallon jugs of water to flush the toilet. We also have multiple generators with one specifically designated to run the well- so we are pretty prepared.

Being that we had everything we needed we decided to have some fun with the situation and see how many different ways we could solve problems with the items we have and see what gaps existed.

The first order was to drink a couple of the left over cocktails we had from Saturday’s canoe trip- just to make sure they did not spoil.




Next up.
We had just bought a collapsible bucket after seeing Eddie’s on the Rubicon. We decided to collect rain water out of the downspout for toilet flushing. We had 10 gallons standing by for ‘ing

 

[AZVAJKU]

After a couple hours passed without the power being turned back in I broke out one of the small generators to run the fridge. The freezers go for a long time without power however the fridge is a different story.

I had to find a place out of the rain yet we’ll ventilated. The basement walk out. The generator was placed on a box to keep it high and dry




This worked out well and these little Honda generators are awesome!

 

[Traciehue]

The reason our power was out. This was the western entrance to our neighborhood. The other entrance had some trees down as well but they were cut and out of the road by the time I got home.

 

[AZVAJKU]

Having some sort of light source was really handy. We are gear nerds and have lots of them. Of course all cell phones have a flashlight built is but it’s nice to have an LED headlamp handy for hands free use.

Also having a bigger area light is nice. We bought a couple of these years ago and keep one on each floor of the house.




The sub-panels also detach for use.


Just like your Jeep, preventative maintenance is super important.

I check the oil and start the generator’s monthly. I let them run for 15 minutes and keep fresh ethanol free gas on hand. Same with my chain saw- actually that’s a lie.
I always forget to start the Stihl but it always starts when I need it.

 

[Ddays]

Did anyone get hit by the storm that pushed through West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland on 07 Aug?

It hit my house at 5:20 PM. The power went off and it knocked down several 10 to 12 inch diameter branches and a shit ton of smaller stuff. Left quite a mess and the power was off until about 11 PM

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Knock on wood, for the past few years these storms have been tracking north or south of us. I can see and hear them though. Sucks having all that cleanup to deal with

Wow, looks like you had some epic winds come through!

Glad a few busted up trees was the worst of your damage.

This is where those grapples sure come in handy

 

[Trail Bud]

I think this was planned, you just wanted to break out the survival toys.
Glad everything is in good shape.

 

[OverlanderJK]

Didn’t look terrible where I am at but I wasn’t there. Just south got hammered though. Had to drive thru some flood waters.

 

[JT@623]

One nice thing about the Arizona desert not much in the way of natural disasters. all that green would give me a headache Glad nothing was damaged.

 

[Traciehue]

I think this was planned, you just wanted to break out the survival toys.
Glad everything is in good shape.

Especially his chain saw!

 

[WJCO]

Having some sort of light source was really handy. We are gear nerds and have lots of them. Of course all cell phones have a flashlight built is but it’s nice to have an LED headlamp handy for hands free use.

Also having a bigger area light is nice. We bought a couple of these years ago and keep one on each floor of the house.

View attachment 393922


The sub-panels also detach for use.
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Just like your Jeep, preventative maintenance is super important.

I check the oil and start the generator’s monthly. I let them run for 15 minutes and keep fresh ethanol free gas on hand. Same with my chain saw- actually that’s a lie.
I always forget to start the Stihl but it always starts when I need it.

You can never be too prepared. Wise to have all that stuff.

I had a large generator about 15 years ago and stored stabilized fuel in it. Started it twice a year. It was used for emergencies very little. Sold it about five years ago with the same gas and it still started. Got to run that gas through the carb often by starting it.

A family member of mine had a Honda like yours, used it once, let it sit for a year. Wouldn't start. Brand new and we had to take the carb apart. It was plugged. We got it cleaned out and running luckily. Maintenance is so important. Last thing you need is for your shit to not work when you really need it.

 

[Traciehue]

One nice thing about the Arizona desert not much in the way of natural disasters. all that green would give me a headache Glad nothing was damaged.

I was always worried about an extended power outage in AZ in summer. Our house was around 76 degrees after 5 hours of no AC. can’t say that would have been the case in AZ in August.

 

[bobfriesenhahn]

I was always worried about an extended power outage in AZ in summer. Our house was around 76 degrees after 5 hours of no AC. can’t say that would have been the case in AZ in August.

It would surely be a disaster in the low desert such as the Phoenix area. Could be lots of people dead from the heat. But the low desert area (which everyone thinks of when they think of Arizona) is less than 1/3rd of the state.

 

[Traciehue]

It would surely be a disaster in the low desert such as the Phoenix area. Could be lots of people dead from the heat. But the low desert area (which everyone thinks of when they think of Arizona) is less than 1/3rd of the state.

Very true but we were in the north valley of Phoenix.

 

[AZVAJKU]

It would surely be a disaster in the low desert such as the Phoenix area. Could be lots of people dead from the heat. But the low desert area (which everyone thinks of when they think of Arizona) is less than 1/3rd of the state.

The low desert is 1/3 of the state by landmass but most of the population is located in Phoenix and Tucson.

When I grew up in Phoenix (60-80’s) our house was constructed from large bricks and stayed relatively cool even without the swamp cooler running.

Years later (2007-2013) we lived in North Phoenix/Cave Creek and our house was wood and stucco with a tile roof. If you turned off the air-con that house would heat up fast! If the power ever goes out in Phoenix/Tucson for an extended period of days in the summer it will be horrific. Of course lots of individuals will pour out of the desert and head north to get out of the heat- however there is no way the small cities in Northern Arizona will be able to handle the millions of people that now live in the ‘Valley’.

 

[JT@623]

I was always worried about an extended power outage in AZ in summer. Our house was around 76 degrees after 5 hours of no AC. can’t say that would have been the case in AZ in August.

It’s not fun but you can survive. I keep my generator and my RV ready.

 

[bobfriesenhahn]

The low desert is 1/3 of the state by landmass but most of the population is located in Phoenix and Tucson.

When I grew up in Phoenix (60-80’s) our house was constructed from large bricks and stayed relatively cool even without the swamp cooler running.

Years later (2007-2013) we lived in North Phoenix/Cave Creek and our house was wood and stucco with a tile roof. If you turned off the air-con that house would heat up fast! If the power ever goes out in Phoenix/Tucson for an extended period of days in the summer it will be horrific. Of course lots of individuals will pour out of the desert and head north to get out of the heat- however there is no way the small cities in Northern Arizona will be able to handle the millions of people that now live in the ‘Valley’.

The North-facing routes already get jammed for hours on the holidays, as they surely will be on this Labor Day. If the power is out, none of the traffic lights will be working. Gas stations will soon be empty, if their pumps can even work at all. There is just no good evacuation route, just as we have seen in other disasters, such as with New Orleans.

Surviving 4-1/2 days with virtually no power in Texas's -1 degree weather event was a wake-up call for me. But little preparation for another such event has been done since then.