Lessons Learned Surviving Texas Winter Storm 2021 - Snowpocalypse

[@miken.1506]

Thankyou very much for sharing

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

You're welcome. Thank you so much for watching.

[@judya.shroads8245]

Excellent information. Thank you. BLESSINGS

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Aww. Thank you. You are so welcome.

[@1scottburns]

Love your videos thanks

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

@S PACE thank you for watching and the kind words.

[@clarklindquist8137]

One amazing survival tool is wet wipes. Especially when you may not be able to shower, a sponge bath really helps.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Love wet wipes!

[@durgan5668]

We had rolling blackouts. 30% of the time we had power. This was enough to keep the pipes from freezing, but we had no water because the water system just shut down without power and they didn't play tag with the power company and just left the water off for a few days. We used melted snow to flush toilets and only flushed toilets as needed. If it's yellow, it's mellow, if it's brown, flush it down. Having grown up in Utah, this was no big deal, dealing with the cold. I just hope people remember the lessons learned from this past winter. I have ways to filter water, but we had enough stored that I didn't need to go that route. I have since gone to a more robust RO system that does 4 gallons an hour. Doesn't sound like much, but I can run it from a solar generator, and it will keep a couple families in water if needed. I would use river water, run that through a cloth strainer, then filter it with the RO system. The cloth will keep the debris and most of the sediment from clogging up the filters. And agreed, those who are prepared, aren't nearly as stressed as those who are unready. Also, I have a solar powered radio, to keep track of news/weather during an event. It can be cranked to power it up, but I doubt I'd want to do that for very long with so many other things going on. Get a conversion kit for the Propane heaters, so they will be able to use a BBQ sized tank. The 1 pound tanks are expensive and don't last as long as a bigger tank.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

This is wonderful information. Thank you.

[@grampawterry8957]

We had all together over 30 hours with out power . longest was 22 hours the other was the first night . We had running water all week . We did have drinking and cooking water in our preps . We fell short on just a few things . Going to buy a heater that can burn inside .. cooked on small alcohol stove . bought two more stoves buying more denatured alcohol for our preps . We need more buckets for water to use in the bathroom . bought a small tent wood stove .. Card board and plastic for covering our windows .. was lucky to have alot of card board around the house . Over all I give us a B- on our preps . had lots of wool ,my wife likes wool sweaters now lol . Had gallons of spring water stored up plus bottled water in preps had two weeks of water stored up .

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Such a wonderful line... "My wife likes wool sweaters now." I can appreciate the change of heart. So sorry your power was out so long. So glad you had running water. Those little tent wood stoves are amazing from what I've seen. Thank you for sharing all of this. It's super helpful and packed full of great ideas.

[@jkco4300]

Terry, what kind of indoor heater are you getting? I get nervous about propane. I'm trying to find the most energy efficient space heater to plug into a solar generator. Reflectix for windows for summer as well as plastic sheeting for draft. I'm super concerned about power outages in the summer. It gets 108 degrees here.

[@grampawterry8957]

@@jkco4300 I'm looking into Kerosene heaters . I've learned if you light them out side and turn them off out side theres know smell to them . I all so bought a small tent wood stove and will run the pipe out a window . I'm in Texas so it get real hot here too . Last year our air was out and we got a small window ac unit for one room . With covid so bad last year we didn't want know one in our house .. Was not a nice year dont really want to do that again . But het We grew up with out air in the house as kids . The old water coolers still work great if you can find one . You might check them out with some solar chargers .

[@gregh1579]

Good advise Chris!

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you, Greg.

[@clarklindquist8137]

Good carbonmanoxide detectors are a must if using combustion to heat too. It could save your life. We live in our van, our detector has gone off on three occasions, not from us, but from someone parked next to us idling. Twice in winter once in summer.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Yes! Especially glad you mentioned this one.

[@grampawterry8957]

We cooked a big pot of beans and a big pot of soup the day before the storm . lasted us a few days .

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Now THIS is planning ahead. Love it.

[@grampawterry8957]

Oh our old oil lamps came in handy

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Oil lamps are so special. We have a couple of them; they hang on the wall on each side of the fireplace. Their light is beautiful. We considered using them, but they didn't get pressed into service this time.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

@Daisy Days, I like your idea so much! Thank you for the note and for watching.

[@happynurse823]

Hadn't thought about using RV/Marine Antifreeze. I will be adding this to our supplies. Thank you.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

You're welcome @Karen Bevard. Thank you for watching.

[@DaPaC1978]

Great video! Thanks for sharing and glad you guys are ok!

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you @DPC. Sure do appreciate your kindness.

[@clarklindquist8137]

You guys are awesome. Great tips. I learned a few things from you. Thank you

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you bunches, Clark. Happy to throw ideas out there. Sure do appreciate all the input you are sharing.

[@clarklindquist8137]

@@wobblyotteroutdoors Any time my friend. I put separate comments because it helps the algorithm of your channel. Stay safely blessed

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Sooo cool. 😎

[@ImASurvivorNThriver]

GREAT INFORMATION!!! Thanks for sharing.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you, and you're most welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@easttennesseeexpat7545]

I have seen a number of videos on lessons learned during this incident. Yours is the most useful of the lot, but orders of magnitude! Thanks!!!

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you! We learned a lot of lessons. 🙂

[@MrWinger1951]

Well done Cris. These hardships, when faced in a thoughtful, rational and comprehensive manner, make us all the better individuals. And hopefully are good memories of adversity for those who are fortunate enough to persevere.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you @MrWinger1951. Definitely a learning and testing experience. Our best memory was getting to see the animals able to have water to drink, and us able to keep our water running. Thankful and grateful to have come out okay.

[@clarklindquist8137]

Mre meals. Pre cooked meals can be heated with mre heat packs too

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

MRE meals are a great idea for planning ahead to have hot food! With all the suggestions coming in, a followup video may be in order.

[@makingd.o.1694]

If you use propane heaters you might want to invest in a carbon monoxide and smoke alarms you can get them a Walmart and first alert makes a good one that detects both

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you. We have them installed.

[@raygelinas5272]

As usual, great video. Thanks!!

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you, @Ray Gelinas. We appreciate you.

[@ImASurvivorNThriver]

I live in a hot climate, but, when we go camping in cold weather, we use hot water bottles. We use 2 per person. We fill the hot water bottles with very hot water that we heat in our big tea kettle. We place one at our torso and the other at our feet inside of our sleeping bags. We stay NICE AND TOASTY ALL NIGHT! ;-) I hope this helps someone. Looks like the winters are gonna get colder each year. I'm very hopeful that folks who went through that Texas cold spell have become preppers and will be ready for the next time that happens.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thanks for the hot water bottle info. Fingers crossed on everyone being better prepared.

[@oregonhiker]

Here in Oregon we had a crippling ice storm, knocked out power, downed trees, and blocked streets. We lost all our trees but luckily they all missed the house. People were packing stores at least the few that were open causing traffic problems. I'm thankful I've already prepared myself for riding out an emergency with most of what you mentioned. However, I continue to watch emergency prep videos because I most always learn new ways to be ready. The one thing I had not considered was our bathroom needs if we lost water for an extended time. I enjoyed the video and got some new ideas to improve my setup. Thanks

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

@oregonhiker, wow! What an extraordinary storm. So sorry all the trees were lost and most thankful they didn't land on your home. It means a lot that we were able to offer some new ideas. Thank you for watching. We're glad you enjoyed it.

[@friesenwayne5320]

Letting water trickle when it’s cold keeps pipes from freezing

[@OkieJammer2736]

Except in long term, - 0° temps and No Electricity. Pipes even burst underground. Ugh. While electrical tape- wrapped, heated pipes are normal in buildings in the upper North, in Texas/Oklahoma, this bitter cold for an extended time WITHOUT power is very rare. Most folks here have never experienced it. Many lessons learned.

[@Messymy]

If you let faucet trickle, consider putting a container under it to catch the water. Use pots, pans, bowls, or whatever you can find. Maybe dump that into a tote or other big container.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Good idea on conserving the water.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

A side note regarding faucet trickle for our setup specifically... We have well water that is delivered to the house via an electric pump. So when the electricity is out we lose water pressure until the electricity is back on to run the pump. No water pressure means no water trickle to help keep the pipes from freezing. That's why we plan to drain the pipes if we aren't able to maintain a temperature above freezing in the house.

[@alexs.4290]

We had no problems here where I live in west tx. Just cold and snow for 2 days kept my fire place going kept the house warm . were back to 75 degree weather and wearing shorts again. Glad you made it through the storm of 2021 OK and are safe. This episode was full of great tips stay safe

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

That's good to hear Alex. So glad. Sounds cozy.. Thank you for watching and the kind words.

[@OkieJammer2736]

WOW. This was the best, most informative and IMPORTANT video I've ever seen. I've taken so many notes. Both you and Bill are really innovative, but that small tea heater element for the wildlife trough was BRILLIANT. We here in Oklahoma appreciate your caring passion to get these lifesaving tips and ideas out to folks. Thank you both very much. Looking forward to seeing your video on small propane/butane camp stoves. Thanks again!

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Oh my. Thank you so much, @LM Logan. We were really excited when the tea heater worked!

[@grampawterry8957]

shared

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you, Terry.

[@4nascar17]

Seems we wilderness campers were more prepared than most. I'm glad y'all made it fine through the big Texas chill. We stayed in my small building in my backyard. My generator saved us. We had much longer blackouts. We look forward to your adventure videos. Thanks

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Yes indeed. Good job, David! Thankful that you have that generator and made it through those longer blackouts.

[@clarklindquist8137]

You can blow your pipes out with compressed air if available. Similar to when you blow sprinklers out for the winter.

[@clarklindquist8137]

I'm so glad you guys are ok. My mother in law and brother in law was blessed to be able to go to his job, where they set up an area on the docks for their employees and their families. So glad you're ok. We are completely off grid, and live up in Utah. These things scare us some, but we plan for stuff better

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you kindly, @Clark Lindquist. So glad your family members had a place to go. That's so awesome that you are completely off-grid. Hopefully we too will be able to say that some day.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you, Clark. We haven't published this comment of yours because it has your email address in it.

[@inbedduringcovid3005]

👍💓👍 very useful information for me to consider. Had a dream last night the lights went out but each light blinked like an evacuation light. And in the dream I was like I knew I should have gotten something i was looking at getting. 🙏

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Oh wow! That's quite a dream. Glad the video is helpful. Hope you can get a few of those needed items and get a good nights sleep.

[@4049221]

Nice job Cris and Bill! I guess the big lesson in preparedness is to ponder a disaster that you think you will never experience and plan for that one. By the ways the old style hand warmers work well. When I was a kid delivering papers I would keep one in my pocket. Helped with the core body temperature.I still have the old fuel jobs that you have to light. Not those shake things.You might cover those in one of your videos. Including the new electric hand warmers which i would NEVER go for.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

Thank you, Tom. So true on planning for the disaster that you can imagine. Because zero degrees F and electricity issues across such a huge area all at the same time were not on my radar. Thanks for the notes on the hand warmers. Yes, with all the helpful comments a follow-up video seems like a good idea.

[@4049221]

@@wobblyotteroutdoors Cris, I understand the temperatures this year are supposed to be above normal into October. Maybe you can do a video on how us Northerners can handle the heat. {;-{D

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

😁 Swimsuits and slip `n slides! Woo hoo.

[@4049221]

@@wobblyotteroutdoors Another cold snap headed towards Texas. This fellow is in the Texas area. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3vVdIaHq8-imJY See about 8 minutes in. Tell folks to get ready. Looks like Saint Patricks day time frame.

[@clarklindquist8137]

Ventilation is key. Even indoor equipment uses oxygen. And emits water vapor. Good on you ventilating.

[@bhamptonkc7]

Running all that electricity during power outages makes it harder for the power companies to recover, one of those people that froze to death could have used it.

[@milesb4231]

So you went through one experience and now you are experts. You have a slightly better clue now which is good but your evidence for success is poor at best. Lots of pointless justification vs actual science.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

No, we are NOT experts. Never said we were. We are sharing our experience and thoughts in hopes it will help others. Period. In reading through the comments by others, we also learn helpful ideas. All the other commenters have been gracious in sharing their ideas as well as their thanks. We appreciate that.

[@gregh1579]

Why do you have to be an asshole Miles? She clearly stated it was about what worked for them.

[@DGibsonxio]

​@@wobblyotteroutdoorswe appreciate your advice here in north Arkansas.

[@wobblyotteroutdoors]

@DGibsonxio, thank you.