<p>I live in SE MI. I wonder if any universities will close on Monday? They say Detroit is going to be hit hard…
My mom works at a public elementary school and she’s almost certain they’ll close Monday and possibly even Tuesday because of the bitter cold. On Monday, I looked on my weather app and saw that the warmest it’ll feel is - 14 at 5 am and will average about - 25 from 6am on. This is scary stuff!</p>
<p>Ema - a shop vac would suck up the water better than a turkey baster. I’ve had pipes freeze twice in different houses with basements, so those are no guarantee either 
The problem is most often when the pipes come up an outer wall.</p>
<p>I think commuter schools will close, like Oakland and maybe Eastern, at least for the half day. I don’t think they will close for cold but I am predicting the roads will be bad from the snow. I will die of shock if U of M closes, some classes may be canceled by individual professors but the university’s stance is that it is not a commuter school and therefore there is no reason to close, even though professors and commuter students still have to drive. I bet most if not all of the k-12 schools, public and private, will be closed.</p>
<p>If the roads are bad I am telling my boss I will work from home. I don’t care if I live nearby, I can’t afford a car accident right now. As soon as the pipe is thawed, my fiance will get the groceries (and the antifreeze) and then we will be home until the roads are plowed and salted.</p>
<p>I am happy that S made it to his final destination with only a minor delay in Chicago. We are very thankful. D flies back from a fun long weekend tomorrow night - I hope she is as fortunate.<br>
AHSTeacher - We have found that airlines will work with you and not charge the change fees. S’s original airline just gave us a credit for future use, as at that time they could not reschedule him until Monday, at the earliest. I agree that CC people are the best. 
Emaheevul - Would it help to aim a hair dryer down the drain? I am not a plumber. When it gets this cold, we keep the cupboard doors under sinks open.
I think the governor in MN mada a good call. I wonder if others will folow.
Sending more good wishes for safety and warmth.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I suspect the delays were due to weather in Detroit, not Minneapolis. We’ve had minimal snow here in the Twin Cities the last couple of days–skies are sunny right now–and no major flight delays or cancellations except for some outbound flights to cities further east that were hit by major snowstorms. The weather-related problems were on the receiving end of those flights, not the MSP end. It’s going to get cold here (it’s not right now), but cold doesn’t stop the airlines. Little or no snow expected for the next several days. In short, there should be no problems for flights through MSP for the next several days. </p>
<p>And in general, MSP is a much better place to fly through in the winter than O’Hare. We don’t actually get that much snow here, and the airport is very efficient at clearing what snow we do get. As a consequence, MSP typically ranks in the top 5 or top 10 major airports in the country in on-time arrivals and departures. O’Hare generally ranks dead last in on-time performance, or next-to-last with Midway pulling up the rear.</p>
<p>OTOH, it may be something in Minneapolis as I just heard from a friend that lives in Wisconsin. She is flying into Minneapolis from Portland to then drive home and has been stuck in Denver since last night. As of about an hour ago she won’t be flying today, either. It may be tomorrow or maybe not.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Current FAA flight status data shows “normal” air traffic into and out of MSP, “major delays” into and out of Denver (as of 2:53 pm EST Saturday, Jan. 5). That sounds like a Denver problem. </p>
<p>No doubt there have been some delays and cancellations at MSP, too. Something like 3,000 or 4.000 flights were canceled in the Northeast over the last 2 days. When that happens it tends to snarl air traffic everywhere, as the aircraft just don’t get to where they’re supposed to be for their next scheduled flight.</p>
<p>I know several kids who have landed mostly on time at MSP.</p>
<p>H and I are not even on speaking terms at this point! We are in Minneapolis and I wanted S1 to head back across Wisconsin today while the weather is mild. But nooooooooo, they have some “stuff” they want to do today. Grrrrrr </p>
<p>(thanks for listening :P)</p>
<p>Kajon, I’ve been having that dance with my S since he left school to come home on break and a few out of town trips he’s done since he’s been home. I feel like such a worrywart but I can’t help myself.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And THAT is why I moved from Texas to Maine. I love cold weather! Over 89 and I am not a happy camper. Running when it is 20 is so much nicer than when it’s 70.</p>
<p>I just got back from the grocery store. I have never seen so many people in Kroger - I was in the check-out line for 50 minutes.</p>
<p>SE Michigan - let the snow countdown begin…</p>
<p>I’m bad… I sent fiance out to the grocery store by himself! I am getting worried because he only has a pea coat and tennis shoes to shovel the snow in. I had him pick up hand and foot warmers but I asked him to stop at the mall on the way home and pick up a down coat and boots. We’ll see if he listens. (I doubt it.) I am wishing all our neighbors werent strangers, I think I am going to have him ask someone tomorrow if we can borrow their snowblower so he doesn’t have to be outside for so long. He is getting one for Valentines Day I think.</p>
<p>We did melt the ice in the pipe, at this point I am just hoping it can’t refreeze before he gets home with antifreeze. The other pipes seem okay so far.</p>
<p>My mom and I stocked up at Kroger today, too. We talked to the cashier and she said they anticipated an extremely busy day. </p>
<p>I also had to put gas in my car. I was on E, and I heard you’re never supposed to have that little gas when it’s this bitterly cold. Oops.</p>
<p>I’m at Meijers right now and it’s absolutely insane! Potatoes, tomatoes, oranges, toilet paper, tissues, everything is all gone. I saw a woman try to give a stocker cash to get more food. What?!</p>
<p>People have lost their minds.</p>
<p>Figure this out… I wear a size 10 womens shoe, my snow boots run small and are an 11. My fiance wears a size 12 or 13 mens shoe. He just put my snow boots on and they more or less fit! They are more snug than I would buy for him, but loose enough that he can shovel and his feet wont hurt.</p>
<p>What the hell? I’ve bought myself mens running shoes before and I wore a mens 8. I’ve worn his tennis shoes to run to the mailbox or whatever before and they are like clown shoes. But the boots fit! So does my ski jacket, so I guess I don’t have to help shovel if he’s planning to wear my coat and boots…</p>
<p>Fiance says the walmart in Novi actually wasnt that busy, that was where we got our groceries today. We normally go to kroger, too, to pick up a few things we can’t get anywhere else but we skipped it today. We have the essentials.</p>
<p>Cross posted with romani, I really don’t understand the hysteria. The worst thing that could happen is the power goes out and I can’t cook potatoes if the power is out anyway!</p>
<p>Ema, my son can cram his feet into my snow boots too. He is an 11 and I am a women’s 8.5. It doesn’t make sense but he borrows them often for shoveling.</p>
<p>We’re in the deep south and a panic always ensues if there’s any suggestion of snow. Milk and bread usually disappear from grocery stores within a few hours. If I worried about power outages, I’d rather have soup that I could heat in an old cast iron pot in the fireplace.</p>
<p>A relative in AL said single digit lows are forecast for tomorrow night. With pipes often run through exterior walls and in uninsulated crawl spaces, there are likely to be a lot of frozen water lines this week. Our northern relatives manage much better since they, and their communities, are used to dealing with the cold.</p>
<p>I’m always surprised at people who rush to the grocery to buy milk, bread and so forth. In my neck of the woods, it would take at most 24 hours before the roads are clear. I could go without milk and bread for 24 hours.</p>
<p>I figured grocery stores would be crowded because everyone who normally goes on Sunday would go today instead (like us), but I don’t see the need to stock up. We didn’t, we just got our regular groceries so we could pack our lunches Monday morning.</p>
<p>After our experience of not having power last month, I am really into the idea of having things around the house to make that experience livable for a while. We went out and bought heavy sleeping bags when that happened and a big lantern style flashlight-- the first night we’d had to make a lantern by balancing a gladware container full of water over a mag light. The big thing was that we had nothing to eat but peanut butter toast made over the fire with grill tongs, which will still be the case if it goes out now.</p>