Emergency Power... Again

Power's Out Again

We made it through the great Derecho windstorm that knocked out power to a couple of million in the Mid-Atlantic last night without losing power.  We were actually in a subway station in Washington, DC when it hit, having just left the amazing Marine Corps Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks.  We should have been home by about 1 a.m. or so, but it was closer to 3:00 when we finally made it.  I had intended to discuss that storm tonight...

So we have our niece and nephew spending the night tonight.  We were nearly finished eating dinner when the weather alert radio went off with a tornado warning.  One had touched down west of here and we were in a direct path.  I got my wife, the kids, the dog and the cat in the hall bathroom and monitored the action outside.  As the wind, rain and hail picked up, I joined them for a few minutes.  In the middle of it all, the power went out.  Compared to yesterday's 104 degrees, today was a chilly 97.  Not wanting to make the kids suffer with generator powered fans and sweating all night, we called their moms and decided to take them home after the storms had passed.

Our primary route was blocked about 4 miles from the house.  A secondary route was also blocked.  We finally took the long way out and got to the interstate after dodging fallen trees and debris, and the interstate was at a complete standstill. 

So, the kids are with us tonight.  The generator's running the well pump, refrigerator, fans, and in a few minutes, my CPAP.  The Verizon substation is running on generator, so we may be able to keep phone and internet service.

I've got a bunch of stuff to pass on...

A new product review video
A detailed after action report of the DC trip
A cool food prep idea from the Boy Scouts
and several other things floating around my brain

Hopefully, tomorrow won't be plumb miserable, and I can get some good posts out to you.