Severe Winter Weather: ESSENTIAL PREPARATIONS, TRAVEL ADVICE, DRIVING TIPS & CLOSURES

Pa ElGrande · 25-02-2018 1:32am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnWOBE4Tg74

nacho libre · 25-02-2018 1:38am

A bit off topic but i have seen people recently wearing shoes with no socks on their feet. Are there feet not freezing? Also it must be uncomfortable. Surely with the snow coming they will put their socks back on!

mattser · 25-02-2018 1:39am

Can someone put an end to this misery thread. FFS It's weather.

SleetAndSnow · 25-02-2018 1:39am

nacho libre wrote: »

A bit off topic but i have seen people recently wearing shoes with no socks on their feet. Are there feet not freezing? Also it must be uncomfortable. Surely with the snow coming they will put their socks back on!

Welcome to our strange generation nacho.

But seriously I have no idea why thats a trend, it makes it so uncomfortable to wear shoes too

fritzelly · 25-02-2018 1:39am

nacho libre wrote: »

A bit off topic but i have seen people recently wearing shoes with no socks on their feet. Are there feet not freezing? Also it must be uncomfortable. Surely with the snow coming they will put their socks back on!

Theyre wearing socks you can't see, it's a trend with trousers at half mast

Rougies · 25-02-2018 1:40am

italodisco wrote: »

When I worked in Poland a neighbour of mine wore golf shoes when he was heading to the shops as to not slip on the ice lol

Not a bad idea!

That is a good idea! If you don't have golf shoes, here's a great idea for some DIY snow shoes I found earlier. All you need is a couple of old frisbees and some superglue. This image is pretty self explanatory.

Charles Babbage · 25-02-2018 1:41am

nacho libre wrote: »

A bit off topic but i have seen people recently wearing shoes with no socks on their feet. Are there feet not freezing? Also it must be uncomfortable. Surely with the snow coming they will put their socks back on!

The proper thing to do is put the sock over the shoe, for grip.

policy75 · 25-02-2018 1:44am

bought 20 bales of briquettes today. Would be most upset if we were not in this for the long haul :-)

redsteveireland · 25-02-2018 1:47am

nacho libre wrote: »

A bit off topic but i have seen people recently wearing shoes with no socks on their feet. Are there feet not freezing? Also it must be uncomfortable. Surely with the snow coming they will put their socks back on!

Ive known certain people to wear their "dubes" with no socks for many years, it's not a new thing. Nasty sweaty feet comes to mind.
Running spikes could be handy on frozen ground too.

_Whimsical_ · 25-02-2018 1:48am

I'll be very obvious and say get a hotwater bottle.

During the last cold snap I know of two people who died in their beds, in their homes. One from hypothermia and one because she drunkenly brought a hair styling appliance into bed to warm her up and ended up putting the bed on fire. Awfully sad cases and completely preventable. A hot water bottle can make a massive difference to someone older who isn't very mobile but for the rest of us it's cosy and warm.

Also if it gets very bad and you think your water pipes will freeze then fill your bath up with water and if your running water does disappear you can use the bath water to fill the toilet cistern so you can still flush it.

policy75 · 25-02-2018 1:48am

Charles Babbage wrote: »

The proper thing to do is put the sock over the shoe, for grip.

I mentioned that to my son yesterday. Problem I see with this solution is you get stuck to the footpath?

Rougies · 25-02-2018 1:50am

Charles Babbage wrote: »

The proper thing to do is put the sock over the shoe, for grip.

The choice is to have a grip, or to have a grip on fashion. I'll be wearing plastic bags over my socks, probably let the ends peek about a bit to show I'm rocking the pre-bagtax era.

igCorcaigh · 25-02-2018 1:52am

I think you can get ice grips for shoes; cleats I think they're called. Anybody know where sells them?

If it does thaw and then refreeze, getting around on foot could be very tricky.

sryanbruen · 25-02-2018 1:55am

I spoke too soon, now socks and shoes. :P

What's next? :rolleyes:

policy75 · 25-02-2018 1:58am

sryanbruen wrote: »

I spoke too soon, now socks and shoes. :P

What's next? :rolleyes:

you have the fear of God (currently it seems residing in Siberia) put into us young man ;-)

squarecircles · 25-02-2018 2:26am

I SAID ...SEND "SUPPLIES"!

IV ordered a life size clown,incase I get snowed in and need entertaining.

(Specsavers add)

endacl · 25-02-2018 3:04am

Jake1 wrote: »

Was wondering, should I leave taps dribbling over night, or would leaving the heating on suffice, to protect any pipes from freezing?

Pointlessly wasting water will do nothing to stop pipes from freezing. Pipes freeze from the outside in. If they're going to freeze, they'll freeze, unless you're connected to mains antifreeze*. Insulation stops water pipes freezing. Not flow. The only thing letting a tap drip would be good for is to prevent a pressure buildup between a blockage and the outlet. Which wouldn't happen. You can observe this not happening by taking a look at any tap in your house. Is it flying off its connection because of the water pressure? No. Of course it's not. Because it's designed to not do that!

Tl:dr:

Don't leave your taps running. Because physics.

*No such thing. Just for clarity.

25-02-2018 3:21am

endacl wrote: »

Pointlessly wasting water will do nothing to stop pipes from freezing. Pipes freeze from the outside in. If they're going to freeze, they'll freeze, unless you're connected to mains antifreeze*. Insulation stops water pipes freezing. Not flow. The only thing letting a tap drip would be good for is to prevent a pressure buildup between a blockage and the outlet. Which wouldn't happen. You can observe this not happening by taking a look at any tap in your house. Is it flying off its connection because of the water pressure? No. Of course it's not. Because it's designed to not do that!

Tl:dr:

Don't leave your taps running. Because physics.

*No such thing. Just for clarity.

That was an exceedingly good explanation , thank you.

igCorcaigh · 25-02-2018 4:17am

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Stocking freezer, fridge and non perishables for if you can’t get out to the shop. We have a tiny freezer. A few discussed today I hadn’t thought of.

Meat like pork steak have long dates so can go in the fridge. Short date meats into the freezer. Wraps and even pitta have longer dates so if you can’t get out for bread and aren’t a cook that’s an option. Similarly cookable bread rolls have decent dates. Soups and pasta and all those go without say. If you have lots of freezer space milk can be frozen

Freezer space should not be a problem

Kamili · 25-02-2018 9:45am

Random one for people with horses that I heard during the week. Horse poop of the freshly delivered kind is great for packing around outside tap pipes to act as insulation. It's warm enough to keep the freezing temperatures from freezing the pipes. Acts as an insulator even when it cools down too apparently.

gozunda · 25-02-2018 9:52am

Kamili wrote: »

Random one for people with horses that I heard during the week. Horse poop of the freshly delivered kind is great for packing around outside tap pipes to act as insulation. It's warm enough to keep the freezing temperatures from freezing the pipes. Acts as an insulator even when it cools down too apparently.

Well rotted Horse manure from a heap is an active heat source - if you can get your hands (!) on any ...

listermint · 25-02-2018 9:56am

Kamili wrote: »

Random one for people with horses that I heard during the week. Horse poop of the freshly delivered kind is great for packing around outside tap pipes to act as insulation. It's warm enough to keep the freezing temperatures from freezing the pipes. Acts as an insulator even when it cools down too apparently.

Eh just buy a wrap of pipe insulation it's a couple of euro.

We're not living in the hills of Albania

BabysCoffee · 25-02-2018 9:59am

Dealz are selling those grip things you put on over your shoes.

Argos have travel snow shovels for 6 euro.

Dishwasher salt is 1.60 for 3kg bag n Tesco. Might be cheaper in Lidl......

Oops69 · 25-02-2018 10:01am

gozunda wrote: »

Well rotted Horse manure from a heap is an active heat source - if you can get your hands (!) on any ...

Dail Eireann have plenty , but at a price .

aboyro · 25-02-2018 10:30am

any thoughts on factory roofs etc. we have a large amount of factories in ireland with flat roof's. i wonder has the load bearing capacity been considered for an event like this????

charlietheminxx · 25-02-2018 10:40am

aboyro wrote: »

any thoughts on factory roofs etc. we have a large amount of factories in ireland with flat roof's. i wonder has the load bearing capacity been considered for an event like this????

An engineer at design stage should have taken this into account.

my3cents · 25-02-2018 10:46am

endacl wrote: »

Pointlessly wasting water will do nothing to stop pipes from freezing. Pipes freeze from the outside in. If they're going to freeze, they'll freeze, unless you're connected to mains antifreeze*. Insulation stops water pipes freezing. Not flow. The only thing letting a tap drip would be good for is to prevent a pressure buildup between a blockage and the outlet. Which wouldn't happen. You can observe this not happening by taking a look at any tap in your house. Is it flying off its connection because of the water pressure? No. Of course it's not. Because it's designed to not do that!

Tl:dr:

Don't leave your taps running. Because physics.

*No such thing. Just for clarity.

Depends on the rate of flow. We had a field trough that comes off the house supply that leaked a lot, when I fixed it the whole line that fed it froze up in cold weather when it never had when there was the leak.

Obviously water flowing through the pipe is warmer than the freezing point of water so if the water runs through the pipe then it can warm the pipe on the inside faster than its loosing heat from the outside. Because physics.

Just don't waste water!

irelandspurs · 25-02-2018 10:50am

I've bought my wife a new brush in case the power goes and she can't use the vacuum, she can still clean the house.

Chivito550 · 25-02-2018 10:53am

I’m going to Birmingham for the World Indoor Athletics Championships on Thursday to Monday. Flying from Dublin Thursday lunchtime. The championships start Thursday evening.

What’s the percentage likelihood right now based on forecasts that my flight will be cancelled?

Should I bite the bullet and book a boat to Hollyhead and train to Birmingham on Thursday?

Are boat and train journeys likely to be effected by this too?

This is a real pain. Any other week and I wouldn’t care, but timing is awful for me.

George Sunsnow · 25-02-2018 10:58am

hoody wrote: »

Flying Shannon to Heathrow and back on Tuesday. From following details on the various threads here, I'm not expecting any issue at Shannon, but how is Heathrow likely to be affected, and how well set up are they to deal with snow / frost?

Delay issues st Heathrow I’d say but you should get back
This episode is well flagged this time at Lhr so all their gear will be out
Lack of warning in December caused problems there

Severe Winter Weather: ESSENTIAL PREPARATIONS, TRAVEL ADVICE, DRIVING TIPS & CLOSURES

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