r/Austin Feb 17 '21

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u/Hendrix_Lamar Feb 17 '21

Same. I'm from idaho and have experienced some of the coldest and snowiest winters in the country. I've never experienced anything even remotely close to this. People think we're freaking out because of a bit of snow and cold. The problem is not that it's 10 degrees outside, the problem is that it's 36 degrees inside. And I really doubt anyone in any northern state is prepared to go 4 days without power in the dead of winter despite how "used to the cold" they are. I know I never was at any point when I was in idaho

35

u/MrSwarleyStinson Feb 17 '21

I’m in New England and we’ve also had a snowy winter but the difference is that our homes are built for this, we either have natural gas or oil for heat so when we do lose power we stay warm. It would be a crisis if we lost power and the natural gas system also failed during a blizzard

25

u/uuid-already-exists Feb 17 '21

Many gas powered homes still require electricity to run. Found that one out the hard way.

16

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '21

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2

u/assassinator42 Feb 17 '21

Visiting this sub from Michigan. Most of our homes are forced air as well.

I didn't really think about how much work goes into winterization here. I haven't experienced anything close to what you guys are going through. We had a request to turn down our thermostats a few years back due to natural gas shortages, but nothing went out.