Friday, February 4, 2011

State of Emergency

I realize that everyone is tired of talking about the weather, but I don't think most people realize how bad things are in NM right now. We've had some of the coldest days on record, it was -9 when I woke up yesterday. And that was one of the warmer areas of the state. It started off as a somewhat of a novelty, but things got really bad really fast.

The problem is that the unusual cold temperatures combined with rolling blackouts in neighboring states has caused demand for natural gas to exceed the available supply. As a result, residents in some of the coldest part of the state (-20s) have been without natural gas to heat their homes. Water lines are freezing and pipes are bursting.

Just think about that for a moment. This situation has certainly caused me to take pause and be thankful for things that I normally take for granted.

The governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. Government offices, private businesses, schools are closed to conserve gas. Residents have been asked to turn down the thermostats 10deg. Today it's actually supposed to get above freezing for a few hours. That's a good thing, but I think it will be several days before things get back to normal

I haven't been running. A combination of icy roads, frigid temps, and the uncertainty of whether a warm shower is even going to be possible has kept me inside. And while we're being urged to conserve energy, I certainly don't need to be doing extra loads of laundry for sweaty running clothes.

Perhaps training will resume next week, but it's no big deal either way. Honestly, my training schedule is fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

17 comments:

  1. Keep careful! I knew there were many having it much worse than we are. Praying for a break to this cold challenging winter.

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  2. Wow that is SO scary! I hope you are staying safe and warm!

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  3. This winter has been really unbelievable for most of the country! Stay warm and hopefully the weather will improve soon!

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  4. Thats colder then Ohio, we are in the single digits, but thats the norm for us

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  5. Stay warm. We are in the 20s and had a slight snow dusting this a.m. But the kids are out of school. Kinda makes me laugh at ourselves for overreacting.

    Be careful and I hope things get better for you over at your side of the country.

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  6. Stay as warm as possible. They showed the temps down there and we just take it for granted up here.

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  7. Ugh. The southern/western states are always the most impacted by a storm. The northern states are used to it and have the structure in place. Good luck!

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  8. I had no idea how bad it was! How awful for some. I hope things improve soon and that you continue to have heat and hot water.

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  9. I hope things get better and back to normal quick! I know you'll be one happy girl when Spring comes!

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  10. OMG...that is horrible! That is MN weather. Stay warm!

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  11. Sorry to hear this. Stay as warm as you can!

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  12. Wow, so much has been going on since I last checked your blog! First of all, congrats on registering for your next half marathon! Yay! I'm glad you're back into it again. I hope the weather improves enough for you to get in some training. I didn't realize that your Governor declared a state of emergency. Yikes! Stay warm!!!!

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  13. I should add - my tshirt quilt has gotten a lot of use lately. I'm *really* glad that I had it made right when I did. :-D

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  14. ugh! that stinks!! hang in there!

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  15. Ditto on the "hang in there" comments... -20F and no heat? I can't even imagine...

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