Althouse: "Daybreak Sunday found 789,358 in the Washington region still without power..."

July 1, 2012

"Daybreak Sunday found 789,358 in the Washington region still without power..."

"... facing another sweltering day and the prospect of returning to work Monday before electricity is restored to their homes."

Seems like an occasion to make political jokes, but I'll refrain.

40 comments:

Carnifex said...: If it were just politicians, I'd say it was God giving them a foreshadowing of their futures.

As it isI hope no one dies.; 7/1/12, 7:33 AM
Carnifex said...: Ps.

expect a lot of heat deaths this year. Gotta clear the books for Zerocare(hey! that works better tha obamacare!), and with electricity prices going up, old people in the cities are gonna' be dropping like taxes outta the Supreme courts mouths.; 7/1/12, 7:51 AM
pm317 said...: Yes, we had a 24 power outage and we are one of the lucky ones to get it restored so quickly. The storm that passed through on Friday was anything like I had seen before. Lightening instead of streaking here and there, went on for half an hour or so, like flashing lights. I have never seen the huge 100 year old trees in our backyard sway like that either.; 7/1/12, 7:58 AM
Expat(ish) said...: I just spent a week in the lowlands of eastern North Carolina at a scout camp - no fans, etc, etc. We had running water and flush toilets so it kind of felt ritzy compared to some camps I've been to. Torrential rain followed by >100 heat with 80-90% humidity.

You just gotta move slower and be prepared to be sweaty.

After all, when I was a kind in LA, nobody had central A/C and middle class families mostly didn't have window A/C units.

-XC; 7/1/12, 8:14 AM
The Drill SGT said...: I live in Alexandria and slept through it. We left to (had power) for upstate NY (to our camp) at 0530 Saturday AM. Saw a bunch of traffic signals out and not manned by FF County. Knew they must be swamped as we got on 495 north.; 7/1/12, 8:15 AM
TWM said...: "The storm that passed through on Friday was anything like I had seen before. Lightening instead of streaking here and there, went on for half an hour or so, like flashing lights. I have never seen the huge 100 year old trees in our backyard sway like that either."

That's a typical spring storm here in Tennessee.; 7/1/12, 8:17 AM
The Drill SGT said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/1/12, 8:18 AM
The Drill SGT said...: BTW: until the advent of AC. DC was a real hell hole in the Summmer...

The Brits listed it on their "tropical locations" list which authorized Pith Helmets and shorts in the Summer.; 7/1/12, 8:18 AM
God, An Original A-hole said...: The heat wave was God getting thoroughly intoxicated.

This is God's hangover.

But don't worry! God has faith in the well-functioning American government to, least of all, keep the lights on and the trains running...

Analgesic! I need to find myself an analgesic...; 7/1/12, 8:19 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: So.....Colorado and much of the west burning up. People dying in fires and losing everything they own. Millions of acres of timber lost for a generation. The east sweltering under record heat and humidity. People dying from the heat.

And Obama is right there helpi----oh wait. Right there flying over to go to another fund raiser with the $35,000 a plate crowd, so he can continue to be President and do another 100 rounds of golf and send Michelle and the girls on several more exotic trips.

Yep. Good to see the President care about the little people. Remember when Bush was raked over the coals for not showing up immediately with bells on after Katrina?; 7/1/12, 8:21 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: After all, when I was a kid in LA, nobody had central A/C and middle class families mostly didn't have window A/C units.

Yabut....it is a dry heat.

:-D

Seriously, it makes a difference. I don't know how people can stand the humidity....even with A/C; 7/1/12, 8:23 AM
Comanche Voter said...: Obama was right there helping--well yeah, he's going to be helping from Paris France on the 4th of July. Who knew the Bamster was Lafayette in reverse?; 7/1/12, 8:25 AM
pm317 said...: The Drill SGT said...
--------------

Saw a number of downed trees along GW Parkway but my office seemed to have power. Several downed trees everywhere and some power lines and poles (along Georgia). Long lines for gas..and most gas stations closed. It was a bit panicky in the afternoon/evening yesterday.; 7/1/12, 8:28 AM
Shanna said...: That's a typical spring storm here in Tennessee.

We have tornados all the time in Arkansas, but the only time I lost power where I live was crazy straight line winds that were 70mph (ish).

Right now, it's hot and dry. Burn bans all over the place, so hopefully no one will start a fire.; 7/1/12, 8:30 AM
Fritz said...: The storm that passed through on Friday was anything like I had seen before. Lightening instead of streaking here and there, went on for half an hour or so, like flashing lights. I have never seen the huge 100 year old trees in our backyard sway like that either."

"That's a typical spring storm here in Tennessee."

Not atypical here in the DC area either except for the higher than usual winds.

Power outages here in Calvert County went from 5,000 to 2,500 since yesterday morning.; 7/1/12, 8:30 AM
Carnifex said...: If you think you saw panic now, wait till it becomes clear Zero is gonna lose, and he turns his dogs loose. Gonna be a lot of panic, and hysteria, this year. Hope ya'll got your guns an' grits.; 7/1/12, 8:36 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Dust Bunny Queen said...

Seriously, it makes a difference. I don't know how people can stand the humidity....even with A/C

growing up near where you live now...Oroville, swamp coolers worked fine.

in non-coastal California, a day above 110 and numerous ones above 100 is a normal Summer...; 7/1/12, 8:48 AM
cubanbob said...: Politics aside on a serious note with outages occurring you are likely to have power surges as the power companies bring power back online. If your local utility offers the service you should have them install a whole house surge protector on the meter can. At $3,000 for a central a/c it is definitely worth the monthly fee. Where I live, Florida Power and Light offers for $9.95 a month a service called Surge Shield which is a surge protector on the mains coming into the house and stops the surge before it gets to the meter. If not available where you live, a whole house surge installed by an electrician is about $600.00

If lightening is common in your area a lightening rod system is defiantly worth the money since the stroke can hit nearby and jump on to your property and blow an a/c even with a surge on the main or on the panel.

Another thing to have done is install a timer delay and a hard start kit on the central a/c unit. Brownouts and sudden jumps in voltage can ruin an a/c system as it short cycles. The delay helps with the intermittent rises and falls of the current as the power company balances the load by delaying the compressor from kicking in every time the lights flicker on and off. The hard start kit is composed of a capacitor that gives the compressor a jolt of electricity when the compressor kicks in to make sure it cycles properly thus helping prevent it from repeated attempts to kick in and thus shortening the life of the windings. The newer units probably have on built in, the older ones can be retrofitted for about $150.00. The unit will run better and last longer.; 7/1/12, 8:51 AM
JohnnyT1948 said...: Since nobody has posted a political joke yet, I'll start.

Eric Holder - "Barack, my dog ate those papers the House subpoena covered."
Barack - "I've got your back, Eric. I'll eat the dog."; 7/1/12, 8:52 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: .Oroville, swamp coolers worked fine.

in non-coastal California, a day above 110 and numerous ones above 100 is a normal Summer...

Yep. We are in the mountains so we are always cooler, but down in the Sac valley 100+ is normal. Right now we are running about 10 degrees cooler than usual.

Swamp coolers work just fine because of the low humidity and don't use much more electricity than just running a fan.; 7/1/12, 9:14 AM
edutcher said...: No AC in DC? Pass the SpeedStick.

Carnifex said...

expect a lot of heat deaths this year. Gotta clear the books for Zerocare(hey! that works better tha obamacare!)

ObamaTax works even better.

(don't give 'em any breaks)

The Drill SGT said...

BTW: until the advent of AC. DC was a real hell hole in the Summmer...

Congress didn't meet in summer in them thar days.

Comanche Voter said...

Obama was right there helping--well yeah, he's going to be helping from Paris France on the 4th of July. Who knew the Bamster was Lafayette in reverse?

He'll compare himself to Jefferson in the days when Tom was Ambassador there, but, knowing Little Zero, he'll probably call him, "George", at least once.

(I'm going with the theme today); 7/1/12, 9:17 AM
Paddy O said...: Turns out the heat is just a tax, so everyone is fine.; 7/1/12, 9:21 AM
Big Mike said...: @cubanbob, good point. We have surge protectors protecting the TVs and computers. I have to replace my central air unit soon and will have them put in a kit.

Our development uses underground cables so we were only without power for about 7 hours. As of early afternoon when wife and I went out there were a few light working in our general area of Fairfax County, but most were out. Police had put up barrels to block people from turning or crossing at the most dangerous intersections, but near Great Falls (the most upper of the upper crust localities) a lot of people were nosing their SUVs past the barrels. I think it's safe to assume those are the lobbyists and politicians. Too important to obey the same rules the rest of us have to follow, you see.

Interesting contrast between the two governors. The Republican governor of Virginia is using the power of the government to help out by calling up the National Guard, while the Democrat in Maryland is telling everyone to "take care of yourself."; 7/1/12, 9:22 AM
Big Mike said...: @TWM, a few years ago my wife and I got stuck on the Caribbean island where we were vacationing while a Cat 4 hurricane hit us. The storm that hit the Washington metro area night before last did not last as long as the hurricane, but while it was thrashing us it was quite nearly as bad. I doubt anyone in Tennessee knows what it's like to be hit by 80 mph winds and inch an hour rain.; 7/1/12, 9:27 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Flew into DC for a committee meeting Thurs. and out Sat. Plus, several went up on the Hill and met with the SBA. Three of us were supposed to meet at 11:15 at a bar in Dupont Circle (DC) Friday night. I was walking out of my room when it hit, and one of us had just come out the door at his hotel, and was still under the awning. He was within a foot or so of getting drenched - those who had stepped out of it just got drenched in about 10 seconds. It was wild for 20-30 minutes, and then mostly passed. We all were able to meet up before midnight, with two of us walking several blocks to get there. During that time though, huge thunder, lightening, sheeting rain, etc. Dish Network went out in my room for maybe 5 minutes.

A lot of drenched people on the streets though when I walked up Conn. to the bar. 20 somethings thought it was a great lark, though trash bags were still in high demand. A number of guys w/o shirts. There was still a drizzle, so I was happy I always carry a light Gortex jacket when I travel (though there were umbrellas in the room - the other guy who walked had his invert twice on his maybe 4 block trip).

By the time we left about midnight, it was no longer raining at all, but there was a solid mat of downed branches in the inside lane all around the circle. The damage was noticeably worse in N. VA. as I went to Dullas Sat. for my flight back to Colorado. Not just branches, but a lot of decent sized trees were down too.

Don't know how we manage to hit the exciting times in DC with our quarterly meetings - a couple years ago, most of the out of town people got stranded for a couple days due to snow. A couple of them were almost in trouble for throwing snowballs at SEIU headquarters. (I missed that one, by getting the last open seat on United flying west of the Mississippi Sat. before they shut down for two days, and did that by going to IAD the night before to get on the standby list for an 8 am flight - instead, I sent CO skiing pictures to my committee members stuck in DC).; 7/1/12, 9:30 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Sorry, rereading my post - we left the bar on Dupont Circle about 2 - we got there about midnight.; 7/1/12, 9:31 AM
rhhardin said...: They must mean potestas, not imperium, auctoritas or officium.

It's reified into something you have get or lose for headlines.

Related: why are there no phlogiston theories of the Colorado fires.; 7/1/12, 9:39 AM
F said...: All this talk of power outtages makes me wonder what the owners of Chevy Volts did to get around.; 7/1/12, 9:40 AM
pm317 said...: Big Mike, Maryland is broke in more ways than one.; 7/1/12, 9:51 AM
pm317 said...: Also, Pepco was horrendous couple of crises ago but seem to have improved drastically in their response around our neighborhood.; 7/1/12, 9:52 AM
cubanbob said...: Big Mike said...

Try 100mph winds and rain so hard it looks like water coming out of a pressure hose. Thats you cat 2 hurricane. And above that its even worse. Four hurricanes (2004) will cure one of any delusions about hurricanes. Wilma and Katrina went bull eye over my house in 2005. Thank God I had the bucks and the foresight to install a whole house standby generator than runs of natural gas. Altogether between those two years I was without power for over 30 days. And with the FL heat and humidity that is no joke. When the power goes, the noise the generator makes sounds like sublime music.; 7/1/12, 10:34 AM
Paul said...: D.C.? Maybe it's Obama's death panels at work.

You can bet your bippy Obama and company are in air-conditioned heaven while the 'little people' DIE.

But at least D.C. has good gun control.; 7/1/12, 11:06 AM
The Drill SGT said...: When the power goes, the noise the generator makes sounds like sublime music.

same line we used to use when folks complained about a sonic boom.

"Son, that ain't noise, that's the sound of Freedom"; 7/1/12, 11:38 AM
crosspatch said...: I wonder if anyone is tracking the amount of wind power generation that was permanently taken offline (i.e. destroyed) by this storm.

In their haste to install a lot of wind generation capacity, I am not convinced that the powers that be understand how fragile that is and how much of it needs to be completely replaced after events like this.

Giving a grant for the installation of such generation capacity is fine, but what happens when it needs to be completely replaced at fairly regular intervals? Who pays for the replacement?; 7/1/12, 11:51 AM
Paco Wové said...: "Try 100mph winds and rain so hard it looks like water coming out of a pressure hose. Thats you cat 2 hurricane. And above that its even worse."

Yes. From my experience w/ a cat 4, it's more like a) standing behind a jet engine with b) a water cannon trained on you, spraying c) a slurry of water, shredded plants, trees, and demolished houses.

That was not a fun night.; 7/1/12, 11:51 AM
Paco Wové said...: "Who pays for the replacement?"

What a silly question, Mr. Taxpayer!; 7/1/12, 11:53 AM
Alex said...: We could end up having a massive eldery dieoff like in France during a heat wave. Too bad, but that's life.; 7/1/12, 11:54 AM
rhhardin said...: I wonder what happened to http://www.time.gov

A couple of DNS servers never heard of it.

I wonder what its actual IP address is, to see if it's a DNS problem or a something more, a power connection.

Maybe the fall elections are being postponed.; 7/1/12, 12:20 PM
ken in tx said...: The Oconee nuclear plant is pumping out the juice. I thank God and Duke Power.; 7/1/12, 1:50 PM
Michael K said...: Doing away with A/C in DC would result in a huge benefit for the working class in this country. The working class now consists of those who are paying taxes and not attached to the government teat.; 7/1/12, 2:19 PM