Just a little update…. we are in Harlingen, TX – 20 miles from the MX border and almost at the southern most point in TX. We’ve been here 5 weeks and have 3 more to go!
What happened to Texas?
Thursday, February 11, 2021… I was checking the weather, as I do frequently, and I ran across this random YouTube video where the guy was talking about severe cold dipping down into southern Texas. Hmmm… I looked it up myself and yes…. it was predicted.
Unprecedented but predicted.
I immediately flipped to Walmart for a pick up order on Friday, February 12, 2021. Thank goodness. The report(s) I was looking at/hearing/viewing had the same connotation… this was unprecedented weather coming in!
I picked up groceries on Friday, February 12, 2021. It was lots of stuff, I’ll admit.
By Saturday, February 13, 2021 – most all counties in TX were under some kind of winter warning and TX has 254 counties. We were in the only county without a warning or watch and that changed on Sunday, February 14, 2021.
On Sunday, all 254 counties in the state of TX were under some kind of warning/watch for severe cold weather/snow/ice/mixture/high winds/you name it!
Now! this storm had my attention, and there were calls to have “rolling blackout’s” from the power company that should last 15 minutes to 45 minutes. The power went off at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 14, 2021. I thought it was a rolling black out but…
No power for Monday, February 15, 2021 (or water) and no power for Tuesday…. it did come back on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 around noon, some ….. 44 hours later. Hmmmm…..
I’ll do a separate post on how we fared during this time. Spoiler alert – we’re fine.
However; the aftermath has been difficult for many. I’m sure you’re all seeing the same things we are… pipes burst, frozen, and lack of supplies/food/water. And yes! This is so true!
We finally ventured out on Saturday, February 20, 2021 and saw this at the Dollar General right down the street from us.
And then this on Sunday, February 21, 2021 at the Walmart close by…
I did speak to a Walmart employee today that said, “We’re getting double orders but as soon as they are on the shelf they are gone.”
In my own experience meats and fresh produce were hit hardest during the pandemic and during this winter storm.
However; during the first phase of the pandemic (March/April of 2020) you couldn’t find canned anything (tuna, chicken, or even Spam) but during this TX storm you can still find those things. But, fresh goods, you’re weren’t/aren’t going to find right now.
Hope Texas will be back up on supplies soon. We even have a meat, cheese, produce shortage to some extent here. My call in grocery list had a bunch of items canceled yesterday. I went to several other stores and never found chicken. The trucks are just behind because so many had to sit stranded during the ice and snow. I hope everyone realizes just how important these drivers are. Hope you didn’t have any major freeze problems, I remember some of those pipes aren’t real convenient to get to.
Have a great week !