We had a bit of a storm here in Dallas back in February. First it snowed, and then we got near-zero temperatures that overwhelmed the state’s power system.
Half of our apartment building lost power for 3 or 4 days. Our unit had a couple hours of power each day before plunging back into darkness for 12+ hours. Several of our neighbors were sleeping in their cars to stay warm. We also had a moment where a fire alarm forced everyone into the pitch-black hallways and outside into the cold.
Our building was spared major flooding from pipe bursts, but many buildings in the neighborhood weren’t so lucky. A lot of landscaping (particularly palm trees) was killed by the storm, and some of the area roads were torn up from flooding. Building contractors and landscapers are going to have a great year.
Oak Lawn Dallas during the 2021 winter storm.
Oak Lawn Dallas during the 2021 winter storm.
Of course this crap happened at the beginning of a work-week, which was a nightmare. I am the only Texas-based tax lawyer at my firm, so my coworkers didn’t quite understand what was going on until the East Coast newspapers picked up the story.
I had sad a moment were I was driving around Dallas in the snow, near-tears because I couldn’t find an open Denny’s or some other place with wifi. I eventually had to convince myself that I shouldn’t be hysterical over being unable to answer work emails during a natural disaster. People would either understand, or not, but it wasn’t in my control.
The rainbow Oak Lawn entry sign during the 2021 snow storm.
On the third day of the power outages, Michael and I started camping out at the formerly-canceled restaurant down the street. We were joined by a lot of our neighbors and friends who were also without power.
After four days, the power situation stabilized and I unburied myself from the emails that accumulated from that week. I received a few comments at work about my “time off” or “personal issue last week” — but no major repercussions. The worst thing that happened was that I had to throw out more than $400 in groceries bought during the weekend. But unlike so many of our neighbors, there was no flooding, water contamination, or dangerously-low indoor temperatures.
The dogs also didn’t seem to care — they just thought we were spending way too much time with them.
Ingrid the labradoodle during the winter storm.
Gunter the chiweenie during the winter snow storm.
And that’s how we survived the Texas freeze of 2021.
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