As I type, it is raining steadily and has been for hours; a good, hard, consistent rain that is not a storm because there is minimal wind.
This is the best type of hurricane side effect you can ask for, at least if you live well outside of the flood zone. We had high winds this afternoon, and the lights blinked once. It was a blink that even the dog couldn’t help but grow concerned about. YouTube froze, and I pulled out my phone to check our solar power system app. Did we lose power, or was it just a blip? Then the TV blinked on, and the video queued up ready for me to hit play. A blip, not an outage! We all breathed a sign of relief.
Meanwhile, our backup batteries are in emergency backup mode, which keeps them at a 99 to 100 percent state of charge until the National Weather Service drops the high-wind and storm warnings. When that happens, the battery reverts to its manual settings, which means it will power the entire house for one to two days. Right now, the heat pump is programmed to shut down it the battery reaches 90 percent during an outage, and the water heater will be turned off at 70 percent.
I never saw the outside temperature climb into the 50s on Saturday. The dampness gave a chill to the air, so we lit a fire in the wood stove in the basement. That drove the temperature to 75°F in the basement and 70° upstairs. That’s better than relying on the heat pump. But 75° I was hot, so I let the fire die out in the late afternoon and we re-lit it in the evening.
Local Updates
There have been threats of flash flooding all day long, but the rain hasn’t been strong enough to cause any until after dark. I’m staying home; hopefully others are smart enough to do so, too. I have no doubt the creeks and rivers will be high, but I doubt they will be at flood stage yet. Of course, rain is supposed to last until Monday, so we’ll see. Another 48 hours of rain could make a difference.
Power outages in this area are quite minor, so far. In the four surrounding counties, there are fewer than 100 outages. I’ve seen more than that on sunny days.
That could also change, but I’ll take it. The longer our power stays on, the less my batteries have to work!
That’s it for now; just a short, real-time update. I know other parts of the country haven’t had it so easy, so I wish you the best and a speedy recovery!
