Episode Details

Ice Apocalypse After-Action Report | Episode 581

Opening

It’s been over a week of ice, snow, sleet, freezing rain, and roads that look like a skating rink. Tennessee doesn’t have enough plows, most side roads don’t get touched, and once the snow turned to ice it just sat there — two to three inches thick.

I recorded this episode driving to work, watching the roads slowly improve, and thinking through what actually worked, what didn’t, and what I’m changing after a real, boring, inconvenient winter event. No collapse. No drama. Just real-world stress testing.

The Timeline: Snow → Ice → Stuck

It started with snow on Saturday. I left work early around 9am — still snow, not a big deal. By Sunday morning the roads were bad enough that I called out. Snow play, sledding, normal stuff.

Then came the sleet and freezing rain. By Monday everything locked into solid ice. One warm day teased us, then temperatures dropped again and stayed there. Roads became sheets of ice, especially back roads. Main roads were fine because they actually get plowed and salted. Side roads? Forget it.

That’s the pattern here every single time.

Power Outages: Minor, But Telling

A lot of people around us were without power for days. We got lucky.

Our power went out twice in the same day. First outage lasted a couple hours during daylight — honestly not a big deal. We let our daughter play outside, broke out board games, and just rolled with it.

Second outage hit that evening for about an hour. Same thing: board games, hanging out, no stress. That alone tells me our baseline preparedness is solid.

But it also exposed gaps.

What Worked Really Well

Board games were clutch. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it — entertainment is a real prep. Especially with kids.

Lighting worked well overall. Candles were easy. I dug out a headlamp from my camping bag. No scrambling, no panic.

I tested the Mr. Buddy propane heater. It worked perfectly. We didn’t really need it, but testing it in real conditions matters. I also gathered the butane for the camp stoves just in case.

One standout win was a rechargeable lantern/light bar that also functions as a battery bank.