How cold is it?
So cold that yesterday when I came in from the cold (not a spy) and I washed my hands, the cold water coming from the tap felt warmish.
And I’d had my super-warm mittens on while outside.
And I was only outside for maybe fifteen minutes.
The coldest I recall from when I lived in the Boston area was -20F, and that only for one day.
Baby it IS cold outside. I’m on Boston’s Northshore and have risen each of the past few days to see 2 on the temperature gauge (outside temp, of course). When it’s in the teens and twenties I can bear to be outside for a bit without a coat or hat or gloves. Yesterday was trash day and when I took the stuff out to the curb (about 150′ from the house) neglected to put on outer clothes. Big mistake! That short jaunt out to the curb and back left me chilled for at least 30 minutes.
Minnesota…where Celsius and Farenheit meet…occasionally.
Sometime around the year 2000 we had a cold snap like this. When I drove my boys to school in the morning we’d bet on how low the car thermometer would go by the time we got there. It was usually 10 F or lower and dropped to zero several times, or as we joked, there was no temperature at all!
Paul:
Three winters ago I believe it was colder than this for longer than this, and lots of snow. They had to cart the snow out to the countryside because there was no room to put it in the cities and towns.
Wasn’t that the same winter the mayor of Boston had to publicly ban “snow diving” off of roofs and balconies…?
I’m always surprised by the people I see around town who routinely wear just light jackets in the winter, no hats or gloves even, and some with just cargo shorts and sneakers. They must go from house to vehicle to other building, and never think that they might unexpectedly end up outside for a long time.
Some people get spoiled by too much comfort and affluence and soft living. For some, the only way to change their habits is for them to be suddenly faced with an emergency. And modern conveniences, like cars with remote starts, just enable those bad habits.
As Neo pointed out, the 2014-2015 winter was very severe, with multiple snowstorms in February 2015 onward, leading to certain difficulties.
Neo:
So cold that yesterday when I came in from the cold (not a spy) and I washed my hands, the cold water coming from the tap felt warmish.
That’s not unusual in Texas in the winter with temperature in the 30s and tap water in the 50s or higher.
chuck:
The coldest I recall from when I lived in the Boston area was -20F, and that only for one day.
Winters as a child in NE had -20 several times a year, as I recall. IIRC, the winter I was 6 years old was particularly brutal- also the winter we had a fireplace installed. The last time I recall -20 was when I was 17. But the car started. The following decade had much warmer winters. One winter we got a snow/rain washed snow away cycle every week for weeks on end.
My recollection of cold weather is that around 10-15 degrees my breath froze on my mustache or beard.
I found that the best way to deal with cold weather was to get out in it. Before snow was on the ground and temperature was in the 30s, I played soccer in shorts- and was quite comfortable- but with long sleeves on top. As during my college student days I hitched 8 miles to class, I made a necessity out of virtue. Or was that a virtue out of necessity? 🙂
In my visits back to NE in the winter, I haven’t minded the cold weather, because I dressed for it, with layer upon layer. In looking back at 2 + decades of NE winters, I didn’t mind two months of winter, but by March, I was sick and tired of it. When it snows in April, it definitely is the cruelest month.
MnJack, 5:32 pm — “Minnesota…where Celsius and Farenheit meet…occasionally.”
For anyone who cares, and just for the record, Celsius and Farenheit meet arithmetically at forty below.
That is, -40degF = -40degC, and -40 is the only point at which Celsius and Farenheit coincide.
(Were one to graph Celsius vs. Farenheit, along with the graph of the straight line Celsius = Farenheit, that one would see the two lines crossing at (-40, -40)*.)
* provided that one had graphed the two lines correctly [smile]!
M J R, I care. Thanks for that. 🙂
Sometimes when people, in seasons like this, comment to me on how cold it is, I aver that it’s actually pretty hot – hundreds of degrees out! (Kelvin.)
Neo,
If you’d just leave your arctic climate and come out here to the climes of California, I promise to use all fair and respectful and non-harrassing means to keep you warm.
Neo:
I remember that winter. I think I spent more time outside with my snow blower than inside with my wife!
Believe it or not, it is cold here in Hawaii – at least, what us hot house flowers consider cold. Low 60’s and even into the 50’s at night in the heights. I know that doesn’t sound bad but consider that none of our houses have heat or insulation and the windows are made to let the breezes in, not keep them out. Time to pull on an extra pair of socks, dig out a few more blankets and wish we’d built an upcountry style lava rock fireplace.
Still nothing like a Canadian winter.
Back in the 1970s the nation had several very frigid winters. I was flying from Los Angeles into Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Buffalo, and other such garden spots in the winter. (Did I mention that I was junior and couldn’t bid balmier routes?) There was heavy snow and very frigid temps. I recall Buffalo being closed for a week because of snow. I also remember being snowed in in Chicago for four days with temps below zero.
We’re having a repeat of those weather cycles according to Joe Bastardi at Weather Bell Analytics. Here’s his take on this winter thus far:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Joe+bastardi+weather+&view=detail&mid=882EA7DAC4F76781A755882EA7DAC4F76781A755&FORM=VIRE
Stay warm.
Yankee Says:
December 29th, 2017 at 6:15 pm
I’m always surprised by the people I see around town who routinely wear just light jackets in the winter, no hats or gloves even, and some with just cargo shorts and sneakers. They must go from house to vehicle to other building, and never think that they might unexpectedly end up outside for a long time.
Thermal radiation blankets and heat reflecting mylar sheets and emergency tents can be packed away tightly in a 3 day pack now a days. The only thing I don’t carry around all the time is food and melee swords.
Certainly for the majority of humans, they are sheep, and cannot be expected to survive without a shepherd.
It was so cold outside today that i saw a Socialist with his hands in his own pockets…….
(Thanks, PowerlineBlog)
Worth it for the picture —
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/30/parts-of-niagara-falls-freeze-as-numbing-cold-wave-grips-u-s/
and here is Richard’s cartoon and another for good measure (#5 and #6 in the lineup)
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/12/the-year-in-pictures-happy-covfefe-edition.php