Category: Weather

Letter Re: Observations on a Major Midwest Snow Storm

Hello JWR,   I would like to post a brief observation from the most recent snow storm here in Minneapolis this past weekend as it relates to the “Golden Horde“.  A very large storm system that started Friday evening and ended up dumping 18 inches of snow till Saturday evening.  It will go down on record as the fifth largest in the history and as you probably know it caused the Metrodome’s roof to collapse.  I am a daily reader of SurvivalBlog and have been for some time now.  I have been making my preps for a few years now after finally …


Letter Re: Cascading Chains of Events

An early winter here in the Pacific Northwest reminded me that cascades can get you into trouble and potentially kill.   “Cascades” are what I call the series of events that take us farther and farther from the safety of home and hearth.   Let me explain what happened to me just yesterday:   Yesterday, the temperature warmed to just above freezing for the first time in about three weeks.  During those three weeks, about two feet of snow had fallen.   My tractor developed a leaky rear tire, so I took it off to take it to town to …


Letter Re: Cold Weather Inbound for Eastern United States

Jim,   Hope all is well!  Hopefully everyone reading your blog will already be prepped for what is inbound….but in case some are not aware, AccuWeather is predicting incredible cold for much of the East and Southeastern US…all the way to Florida.   Everyone needs to be sure to have water, warm clothes, boots, blankets in their vehicles…especially for those transporting children.  Batteries and water pumps often fail in cold weather and to have such a failure in extreme cold can be life threatening if one is not prepared for the event!    Water in the fuel lines of vehicles …


My Path to Preparedness, by C. in The Ozarks

I am almost 60 years old.  I have a neurological disease which has forced my early retirement.  I am single, never been married, and have no children.  My parents are both deceased and my sister is deceased.  My brother is retired and lives in Florida.  [Some deleted, for brevity.] I also do not have any friends.  My best friend decided that since she couldn’t see the effects of my neurological disease then I must be faking it and being lazy to retire early.  She doesn’t see me writhing in pain most evenings even though I take a lot of pain …


Being Prepared – How Hurricane Andrew Saved My Life, by Richard in Miami, Florida

I am by nature a positive person. On the other hand, I fully recognize that we live in a very dangerous world. Ignoring the reality will not make you safe – that would only be an illusion of safety. I sincerely believe that far too many of us live in a fantasy world shaped by what we see on television, and reinforced by our very limited exposure to the world outside our immediate communities. Also, many of us are so caught up in the daily rat race that we don’t stop to think about much else. To me, being prepared …


Letter Re: Forecasting the Weather in a Grid-Down Situation

Old Farmer wrote an excellent piece. As he noted, each area is different and has its own patterns. I have spent decades as a pilot and have learned to read the weather fairly well. A couple of tips the Farmer left out: 1. If you place your left shoulder into the wind (or the direction from which the clouds are moving) you are facing into an area of low pressure. This is useful in locating the source of bad weather. For example, if your weather generally moves in from the west and you have a wind coming in from the …


Forecasting the Weather in a Grid-Down Situation, by the Old Farmer

I love satellite radar in real time. I’m a big fan of NOAA‘s weather alerts and a unit sits in our kitchen next to the old-fashioned pilot-light gas stove. But over the years I’ve learned a couple of things. One, they’re never completely right, and two, it all depends on technologies we might not have in the not too distant future. I could maybe add a third, just a theory of mine, that computer weather models are based on prejudices that might not be entirely true, like global warming. That could mean that the forecaster is assuming a kind of …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike, by John in Texas

Jim, I really appreciate the people who share their lessons learned on SurvivalBlog.com, so I thought I would share my experiences and lessons learned from Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Ike hit Houston on Friday night September 13, 2008.  The hurricane was classified as a strong category 2 with maximum sustained winds of 110 MPH.  What was unusual about this hurricane was the large size of the storm.  Hurricane force winds extended 120 miles from the center.  Gas stations in our area ran out of gas the day before the storm (Thursday).  I waited in a very long line of cars only …


Letter Re: Hurricane Earl Headed for U.S. East Coast

Hi Mr. Rawles. I hope that everything is going well for you. You might want to pass this on to your readers. As of a couple of minutes ago, Janice Dean, the Weather Lady on the Fox News Channel, was discussing Hurricane Earl. They are urging all residents from the Outer Banks to the Canadian Maritimes to review their Hurricane Evacuation Routes and be ready to “Bug Out” within the next few days. Computer Modeling shows no weakening of the Hurricane, the only question is just how close Hurricane Earl will get to the Eastern Seaboard. God’s Blessings on you …


Lessons from Eastern Siberia, by S.P.

Lessons from Eastern Siberia, by S.P. When I was 18, I spent six weeks in the Sakha Republic (or Yakutia) of Siberia. It is roughly three times the size of Alaska yet has a population of less than 1 million. With the Arctic Circle bordering the north of the Sakha Republic and the Lena River winding its way through it is a largely rural population of self sufficient farmers, fishermen, and reindeer herders. My time there was spent living in a soviet era apartment in either Yakutsk (its capital) or Moxogolloch (a small port town along the Lena River) or …


Letter Re: Solar Storms

Hi Jim, Your note of last night regarding the pending solar storm was the strongest prep wake up call I’ve had yet. Especially as I finished reading One Second After Been just last night! I’ve been up all night making sure things are in order the best I can. Now that I’ve done what I can, and still wound up on adrenaline, I spent some time digging through the Internet for more EMP information. I thought that this Huffington Post article really explains some of the real dangers quite well – such as how the transformers that are damaged by …


Letter Re: Hurricane Readiness

James: T. in South Florida wrote an excellent article on hurricane preps. As a life-long Floridian, hurricane preparation was my introduction to the preparedness mindset. Working on hurricane preps, and dealing with the aftermath of three hurricanes in 2004, facilitated my progression to preparing for other worst-case scenarios. There are two things that I would add to T.’s hurricane readiness plan: Every home should have a hard-wired telephone as opposed to the wireless portable kind. Even though electricity goes out, a hard-wired phone will often continue to work. During the 2004 hurricanes, many people had phone service, but didn’t realize …


Hurricane Readiness, by T. in South Florida

I have lived in Florida all of my life. I was born here, went to school here, and my chosen profession is here. I have bugged in through every hit and near miss in my 30+ years of existence from North Florida to South Florida. I was never scared of hurricanes as a child because my parents made sure we were prepared. I do not have fear of a hurricanes now because I understand what can happen and what I need to do for myself and my family. Don’t mistake lack of fear for lack of respect. A hurricane is …


Letter Re: Recent Ohio and Michigan Tornadoes

Good Morning Jim, Well the Schumer Hit The Fan here in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan this past weekend with a rash of tornados. We lost seven lives and countless buildings in the area. Tornados are a scary reminder of how quickly bad things happen and how a survival / preparedness mind set is important. One case in particular caught my attention that prompted this quick message from me. One man lead his family to the safety of his basement before the storm hit. While waiting the power went out so he went upstairs with his dog to start his …


Letter Re: Two-Legged Snow Mobility

Mr. Rawles, This letter from Friday 4 June, plus a few other recent articles, prompted me to chime in with a plug for cross-country skiing (alternately, nordic skiing) for the preparation-minded individual. Cross-country skiing’s benefits for preppers include: – An alternate method for getting from A to B in adverse conditions – An outstanding physical workout – Another way to get outdoors in the winter – An inexpensive activity for couples and families R.M. in Iowa wrote a very interesting and thought-provoking letter about having to solve a winter mobility problem. There are winter situations in which snowshoes are not …