22-03-2025
Surviving the Great Tupelo Gas Outage of 2025
While still ongoing for many, the Great Tupelo Gas Outage of 2025 is over for our household. Atmos employees stopped by around lunchtime Wednesday to restore gas service to our home.
I was already headed home, just a couple of minutes from the house, when technicians stopped by and I received a frantic text from my wife who had seen them on our Ring doorbell camera. I pulled up, flagged them down in our neighbor's yard to let them know I was home and they came right over.
For almost exactly seven days, we were without heat and hot water and unable to use our gas stove. Emily and I were certainly still thankful to have electricity, cold water and a roof over our heads. It could've been much worse, but in the 21st century, we're used to being comfortable.
I'll admit, seven days of cold showers was enough for me. Mustering the will to step into the stream of frigid water, shivering while washing and stepping out into air that was just as unforgiving, with our indoor temperature hovering around the upper 50s overnight, was miserable.
I got a bit more used to it each day, but never quite ready for it. Quoting a Jason Isbell song, I said, "It gets easier but it never gets easy."
When it came to cooking, we found plenty of workarounds without gas — using our grill, Crockpot, air fryer and microwave. With so many local restaurants closed, we also supported the local businesses that were able to operate with limited menus last weekend.
Ultimately, we made it through with relatively limited disruption to our daily lives, and I'm grateful for the response from Atmos Energy, local government and our community as a whole. I can't help but think things might not have gone as smoothly in other cities. Tupelo is a special place, and we shouldn't take that for granted — with or without natural gas.
