Little did we know that our snow storm in January was just a precursor to what was to come in February - The Snowpocalypse of 2021. It all began on Thursday, February 11th with an ice storm that left a layer of ice on everything. It was actually really pretty, but the heaviness of the ice caused large tree branches to come crashing down all over Central Texas. And, it was cold! Really cold. All the little birdies were floofed up to stay warm, and there weren't many signs of any other creatures outside. This lasted a few days, and then came the snow.
It started Sunday night with what looked like sleet. It didn't seem like much was coming down, and I started thinking the predicted 4-6 inches of snow was just going to be a falsehood. I was wrong. Monday morning we woke up to 7 inches of snow and an outside temperature of 9 degrees. It was the most snow the Austin area had seen since 1949.
Despite the cold, the kids and I decided to brave the outdoors (Chris still had to work). I had purchased ski gloves for us just in case we actually did get snow, and we were very happy to have them. The snow was so soft and powdery so we grabbed our old snowboards and went snowboarding down the tire tracks in our street. It was a blast! The boards don't have bindings anymore (the bindings rotted from sitting in the attic too long), so it was more like skateboarding but still a fun time. Kaylee and I stayed out the longest and as the day wore on our tracks got icier which made the ride a little faster. It made me want to go real snowboarding so badly!
On Tuesday we woke up to an outside temperature of 4 degrees. Power outages were occurring all over the state, and people were without water. A friend of mine was using melted snow for toilet flushing. We still had power and water and were feeling extremely grateful. To help conserve we tried to use less water and energy in hopes that it would help to restore power to those without. We didn't go back out into the snow because it was too melty on the street to snowboard and too powdery on the lawn to make snowballs or build a snowman.
Wednesday night around 2:30 am Chris and I woke up to a loud rumble and then a popping sound. I thought for sure a pipe had burst. Chris thought it was snow falling off the roof. We didn't immediately see any signs of a pipe bursting, so we went back to bed and decided to check more thoroughly when it was lighter outside.
It is now Wednesday afternoon, and we think that if there is a burst pipe it is frozen. We got the back yard hose faucet running, but the one in front is frozen. It seems we are having a water pressure issue (toilets aren't filling after flushing) and are wondering if there's a busted pipe or leak somewhere. I don't think we'll know until everything thaws which is going to be a few more days. We are praying that we don't flood. There are so many people who are so much worse off than us right now. I keep having to tell myself that it could be so much worse, but we are starting to become weary. We keep hearing rumors of extended power outages across the entire state of Texas and water being shut off. It's stressful. I just made myself a bracelet with the word "resilient" on it. I think I need to be wearing that right now to remind myself that we are resilient, and this too shall pass.
Today is Saturday February 20th. We started thawing out yesterday, and I don't think we are forecasted to hit below freezing anytime again in the near future. Chris and I went for a walk yesterday. It was really nice to get outside again. Both hose faucets are working now, and there doesn't seem to be any signs of cracks or leaks. We still have one of our bathtubs filled to use as toilet flushing water just in case we need to shut our water off suddenly, but we think we are in the clear. What a relief. The aftermath of this storm is crazy. There are still households without clean or even running water. I think most everyone's power has been restored but there are now rumors of $5000 power bills that will be sent to people who don't have fixed rates. Thankfully we have a fixed rate, but what a nightmare for those who don't. Clean up will take a while with so many flooded houses. The entire state of Texas has been declared a disaster. As of yesterday gas stations were empty and so were grocery store shelves. I saw both. The grocery store was nuts. Even worse than when quarantine started, but I think groceries and gas will be remedied quickly now that trucks can traverse the roadways. Yesterday I saw someone write, "2020 - Learn to stay home! 2021 - Same, but now let's test your survival skills!" Isn't that the truth?
