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View Full Version : Colorado 'Holiday' Blizzard


LaunchPad
12-22-2006, 07:10 AM
We got hit pretty hard the other day. Still recovering.

When i left for work at 0700 the ground was clear. By 1000 we had a good 10 inches and the highways were closed.

My wife also works in town but at the extreme oposite end of it. She usually takes highway 24 whereas i take hwy 94 to get to base. Since the only way back to our house is via one of the highways and they were closed going out of town we were stuck.

After some stuggle we managed to link up and make our way to a hotel where we spent a good 30 hours holed up.

I had changes of clothes and shoes so i could shuck my uniform and be somewhat comfortable because i always carry extra in my car or truck. The wife and kids didn't have anything i didn't bring for them- which was pretty limited because they almost never ride in my car.

Even after much prodding for her to stock up since i bought her the new car in October she had not put any emergency supplies into her new car- even with this being the SECOND blizzard since she got the car.

I had bought her a quality shovel for digging out, ice scrappers, tire slime, jumper cables, tow strap, chem lights, etc, etc. she just hadn't gotten around to bothering with the rest. oy!

Luckily, it was not worse for us then it was- we only had to spend $150 for a night in a hotel and to eat.

This morning, before heading out, she filled one of our many backpacks with the items i have been insisting she have in the car at all times. it is at least a small step forward. :)

The other part of the story- it didn't look like a lot of snow had fallen when we finally got back home- because of the wind we have out East of the springs. BUT, there was a snow drift INSIDE the house from the front door. Thing is it is new with good seals and has a storm door too. Very persistant stuff with the blowing wind to get thru there.

This morning i opened my shop door and found the entire front of the shop packed solid with 3-4 feet of snow. After some investigation i found out that the weather stripping around the garage doors does not seal if the garage doors are loaded with a good windload. The pile of snow had huge potential of ruining a lot of good tools once it melted so made for a bit o'work to clear it all out.

I think that the relationship to how the house sits vs the shop that if the gargage doors were loaded to Push away from the seals the storm door to the house must have had some pretty good suction on it to allow the snow to swirl through. ???

MYellowRose
12-22-2006, 08:02 AM
LaunchPad I remember living in Denver in the late '50's where and distinctly remember at least two blizzards! Now I don't go out if it's supposed to stay cold during the day. We have a slight chance here for some snow flurries on Christmas eve. I'll keep my camera handy so I can take pics if it actually arrives and sticks to the ground for a while. In '04 on Christmas Eve many towns to the south of us, including Corpus Christi if I remember correctly, had a pretty good snow fall.

ArmySGT.
12-29-2006, 02:41 PM
So how is it holding up for this second Blizzard? I have 12 at least down here in Trinidad.

29 Dec

Wierd I can't seem to post photos from my photo bucket account.

LaunchPad
12-30-2006, 08:34 AM
You pic is not viewable for me? Are you on a mac?

The wife and kids took off for Ohio as the blizzard was coming in. I am bored and stuck alone at the house.

So far not a lot of snow out East of the Springs but it looks like there may actually be some on the way.
With the winds out here short of snow drifts it would be hard to tell.

Here is the blizzard that hit the day after i got the wife her new car.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/280248590_a2825aed5e.jpg
For more resolution check out the FLickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=280248590&size=l


I had every pipe in the house freeze up about mid-day yesterday. We usually have something freeze but the interior bathroom usually still flows to keep the pipes from busting. (-9 on wind chill)

After a few hours of venting the dryer into the crawl space and even dropping in an oil filled radiator the water still was not going- anywhere. So i went out an checkcked the wellhead. It is in its own underground building and we've never had problems with it before, but it was frozen solid. A few hours with a heat guns and several drop lights containing 100watt bulbs and water is going again. Probably just in time not to break any pipes.

As soon as the weather clears i plan on installing a few outlets in the well head. (why we never had any inther before i cannot figure) Extension cords run over 2.5 acres to the well make for a pain in the rear and likely to blow a CB when the snow works into a coupling.

tufhelp
12-31-2006, 04:05 AM
Albuquerque got the brunt of that same storm! 16"+ and still falling late on Dec 30th. Check out the slug of snow on top of that bird bath... When it snows 16" in Albuquerque the town is paralyzed for sure - little to no snow removal equipment. Snow bound in a subdivision!

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q82/willyallen/ASnowStorm12-30-06.jpg