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Yesterday was a strange day. It started snowing here in southwestern Idaho in the wee hours and was snowing more when I looked out at 8am than in any snowstorm we had all winter. This is May 9! Supposed to be early summer! It was above 40 degrees so snow wasn't building up in the streets, and the driveway (gravel) was slushy as it tried to melt, but there was at least 4 inches built up in the yard.
I have been offgrid 24/7 since late march so was concerned about battery level since the solar panels were covered by thick snow. The battery bank was getting no charging but read 52.2v at 8am so ok for awhile (Very large battery bank). Should I switch back to grid? Decided not to yet as this freak snow hopefully would slow down or stop soon. The wife went to her volunteer work at the library so the house load was low anyway.
A couple of hours later the snow was coming down just as heavy and thick as before but the temperature was climbing towards 50 so the snow was very slushy and trying to melt but couldn't do it fast enough. I went out and shoveled off the ground mount solar panels to get partial charging going to the batteries. (Got my feet wet! - slushy snow) Luckily by then the increased temp was melting new snow that hit the panels as fast as it landed so they stayed clear despite continuing snowfall. Even through snow and clouds I was getting more than 25 amps. More than the house was using so good enough for now.
My wife came home about 4pm. Snow had turned to rain finally but roof panels were still mostly snow covered. My wife told me that the grid had gone done over most of the Boise area (due to snowstorm we assume as no one said) around 8am and was off until between noon and 1pm. I had no idea. Couldn't have switched back to grid if I had decided to. I probably had the only house with power for miles around all that morning.
I've put a lot into my power system and once in awhile it becomes obviously worth it.
Last year in May we were having a freak heat wave. This year it sometimes feels like February. Still using the wood stove in May. Still beats communist California.
As a side note, I watched 2000 Mules on my snow day yesterday. Everyone should watch it. Especially those who think the 2020 election was NOT stolen.
Things are unusually, but not unheard of, wet here on the north east coast of Australia. Typically at this time of year the wet season is done and things are drying out as we move towards winter. The BOM was predicting falls of up to 250mm today in my area but that has eased to some degree with the heavy rain moving out to sea.
It's been snowing on and off here the last 5 days or so. Yesterday it was coming down pretty good.
Cold enough for accumulation, but not cold enough for it to last more than a few hours.
Very nasty breakup this year already. Last thing i needed was a bunch of wet snow.
Got only 4.1KWh in solar yesterday. Just awful. Today not looking any better. Having to rely on the generator way too much the last few days.
I probably had the only house with power for miles around all that morning.
Gotta love that feeling. "Oh, there was a power outage? Somehow I must have missed that."
As a side note, I watched 2000 Mules on my snow day yesterday. Everyone should watch it. Especially those who think the 2020 election was NOT stolen.
Without getting too deep into theories, I can undisputedly say that it was basically entrusted to USPS via mail-ins.
And about all I can say about THAT was that USPS shipping was downright HORRIBLE from Nov-Jan through that period. Sean mailed a package to my local town via USPS--and it took an entire MONTH to travel that distance. And they outright lost other packages that Sean mailed (he'd go back to the post office with a receipt from when he'd mailed a package, and they'd say, "That tracking number doesn't exist"), etc., etc. Not just once, either.
For comparison, UPS will send a package between Sean and me literally in one day. If I mail it one day, he'll have it the next. And vice-versa. Consistently. Sure, UPS oftentimes costs a bit more than USPS for small items, but...
Around the similar period, I mailed a package to New Jersey via USPS. I'm in Ohio--and the next tracking update some days later showed the package in Indiana. Now, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I do know that Indiana is the opposite direction from New Jersey. And the central hub for my area is Ohio's capital.
Gotta love it.
Gotta love that feeling. "Oh, there was a power outage? Somehow I must have missed that."
Haha, it's fantastic. There were some week long outages this winter, it was great to not have to worry about power.
Good solar input today. Another snow storm tomorrow. LOL It's crazy. I'm trying to get my dog yard to dry out and it just keeps putting more down. It's supposed to be dust season by now!
I've seen snow in WV in late May. And here it is mid-June so they should be safe.
As for Sid's mail problems. How about a Priority Mail parcel going to Holland, OH that took over a month to get there from Florida. And I have seen mail coming here go to Puerto Rico first. As for ballots for the 2020 election, our PO made national news for not getting them delivered. They literally sat on a shelf in the PO.
Flying, I have gone as far West as St Louis, MO from Newark, NJ before coming South to Miami.
I've seen snow in WV in late May. And here it is mid-June so they should be safe.
It's racist to question the integrity of mail-in ballots for the 2020 election don't you know?