The Great Power Outage, Jan 15-16, 2009: 24 hours without heat or light | Weather Data for Toronto City Centre | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
time | note | house temp | Temp °C | Dew Point Temp °C | Rel Hum % | Press kPa |
06:00:00 PM | life as normal | -10.9 | -16.6 | 63 | 101.19 | |
07:00:00 PM | kitchen bulb blows, replace | -11.3 | -16.2 | 67 | 101.26 | |
08:00:00 PM | La-dee-da | -12.4 | -15.2 | 80 | 101.32 | |
09:00:00 PM | -14.1 | -17.1 | 78 | 101.36 | ||
10:00:00 PM | ooops, Thurs 15. power fails | 20 | -14.5 | -17.8 | 76 | 101.39 |
10:50:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 19.1 | -14.58 | |||
11:00:00 PM | -14.6 | -18.8 | 70 | 101.4 | ||
11:20:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 18.5 | -14.63 | |||
12:00:00 AM | Friday 16: | -14.7 | -18.5 | 73 | 101.4 | |
01:00:00 AM | -14.8 | -18.4 | 74 | 101.33 | ||
02:00:00 AM | -14.4 | -17.7 | 76 | 101.28 | ||
03:00:00 AM | -14.7 | -18.2 | 75 | 101.3 | ||
03:45:00 AM | est'd outside temp | 10.5 | -14.55 | |||
04:00:00 AM | -14.5 | -18.1 | 74 | 101.29 | ||
05:00:00 AM | -14.9 | -18.8 | 72 | 101.32 | ||
06:00:00 AM | -15.1 | -18.8 | 73 | 101.38 | ||
07:00:00 AM | coldest outside temp! | -15.3 | -18.8 | 75 | 101.43 | |
08:00:00 AM | coldest outside temp! | -15.3 | -18.9 | 74 | 101.47 | |
08:00:00 AM | est'd outside temp | 8.6 | -15.3 | |||
09:00:00 AM | -14 | -18.4 | 69 | 101.54 | ||
09:20:00 AM | est'd outside temp | 8.9 | -13.77 | |||
10:00:00 AM | est'd outside temp | 8.5 | -13.3 | -18.5 | 65 | 101.59 |
11:00:00 AM | -12 | -18.1 | 60 | 101.62 | ||
11:55:00 AM | est'd outside temp | 7.5 | -11.54 | |||
12:00:00 PM | -11.5 | -17.4 | 62 | 101.6 | ||
12:40:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 7.3 | -11.03 | |||
12:50:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 7.1 | -11.26 | |||
01:00:00 PM | -10.8 | -17.3 | 59 | 101.57 | ||
02:00:00 PM | -11.3 | -17.5 | 60 | 101.58 | ||
02:30:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 6.4 | -11.5 | |||
03:00:00 PM | -11.7 | -18.1 | 59 | 101.62 | ||
03:10:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 6.4 | -11.77 | |||
03:40:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 6.1 | -12.03 | |||
04:00:00 PM | -12.1 | -17.9 | 62 | 101.68 | ||
04:50:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 5.9 | -12.43 | |||
05:00:00 PM | -12.5 | -17.3 | 67 | 101.67 | ||
06:00:00 PM | -12.8 | -18.1 | 64 | 101.68 | ||
07:00:00 PM | -13.5 | -18.5 | 66 | 101.68 | ||
07:20:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 5 | -13.7 | |||
08:00:00 PM | coldest interior temp, out to dinner | 4.9 | -14.1 | -18.7 | 68 | 101.68 |
09:00:00 PM | -14.5 | -18.8 | 70 | 101.66 | ||
09:25:00 PM | Friday 16 power on, estd outside | -14.54 | ||||
10:00:00 PM | -14.6 | -18.4 | 73 | 101.64 | ||
10:30:00 PM | est'd outside temp | 11.6 | -14.7 | |||
11:00:00 PM | -14.8 | -18.7 | 72 | 101.62 | ||
12:50:00 AM | 18.4 |
The above is temperature data for the duration of the power outage. 'House temp' is the temperature inside the house. The weather data is from various sites at the weather office
I had no idea how fast the house would cool. It is an old house, with some insulation. Over the years, I have weatherstripped and caulked the obvious leak points. When the power went off, we were very careful not to leave doors open too long while coming and going, and closed off cooler rooms to keep the heat in as long as possible. When the temperature got to around 6 degrees, we moved the cats to a warm house, because by then I had no idea when the power would return; it could be in the next 15 minutes or 15 hours. With the cats safe, I was then free to consider taking a hotel room or going to a warming center set up by the city in various community centres outside the blackout area.
House temps were taken at random times, rounded up to next 5 minutes, estimates of outside temp done linearly.
It got very cold inside; by 7 pm Friday, I could see my breath in the dull glow of candles or flashlights.
Things to think about to be prepared for a power outage: