These aren’t even close to extreme conditions in my area and I don’t even live that up North from Portland. Is American power grid that much of a joke?
It’s probably due to ice and wind. Ice freezes on power lines and the wind causes the lines to “gallop.” Look up some videos of galloping lines. With more infrastructure going underground where it can, this is becoming less of an issue obviously. But it’s not just inches of snow and temperatures that cause the problems.
I’ve lived my entire life in Portland. This is the coldest Portland’s gotten in my memory. We spent most of the weekend without power in a house hovering around 40F (4C). Four people are known to have died so far, including one from a tree falling on his bedroom. Is it not as cold as your neck of the woods? Sure. But it’s very, very unusual for it to be this cold, so it hits harder when it does happen.
These aren’t even close to extreme conditions in my area and I don’t even live that up North from Portland. Is American power grid that much of a joke?
It’s probably due to ice and wind. Ice freezes on power lines and the wind causes the lines to “gallop.” Look up some videos of galloping lines. With more infrastructure going underground where it can, this is becoming less of an issue obviously. But it’s not just inches of snow and temperatures that cause the problems.
Yes, the US grid is that bad (especially the profoundly corrupt Texas utility).
But in Linus’s case, it was just a big fucking tree that came down on his street. That tree looks like a scary mess to clear.
I’ve lived my entire life in Portland. This is the coldest Portland’s gotten in my memory. We spent most of the weekend without power in a house hovering around 40F (4C). Four people are known to have died so far, including one from a tree falling on his bedroom. Is it not as cold as your neck of the woods? Sure. But it’s very, very unusual for it to be this cold, so it hits harder when it does happen.