Forecast is minus (-20) Below Zero. Cold enough?

[Dcharles]

o how cold must it get to drive you south?

 

[calmloki]

About the upper 60s?

Bitter cold in the house tonight - about 67 outside and 70 in. This ol' Oregon boy has done got all sissified hanging out in La Quinta California.

North Dakota eh? 'Bout time to wear a long sleeved hickory shirt for you yet?

 

[GrayHare]

How Cold Is It? An Annotated Thermometer
by Don Haugen, Pensacola Austin-Healey Club

60º Californians put on sweaters (if they can find them).

50º Miami residents turn on the heat.

40º You can see your breath. Californians shiver uncontrollably. Minnesotans go swimming.

35º Italian cars won't start.

32º Water freezes.

30º You plan your vacation to Australia. Minnesotans put on T-shirts. Politicians begin to worry about the homeless. English cars won't start.

25º Boston water freezes. Californians weep pitiably. Minnesotans eat ice cream. Canadians go swimming.

20º You can hear your breath. Politicians begin to talk about the homeless. New York City water freezes. Miami residents plan vacations farther south.

15º French cars don't start. You plan a vacation in Mexico. Your cat insists on sleeping in bed with you.

10º Too cold to ski. You need jumper cables to get the car going.

5º You plan your vacation in Houston. American cars don't start.

0º Alaskans put on T-shirts. Too cold to skate.

-10º German cars don't start. Eyes freeze shut when you blink.

-15º You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo. Arkansans stick their tongues on metal objects. Miami residents cease to exist.

-20º Cat insists on sleeping in your pajamas with you. Politicians actually do something about the homeless. Minnesotans shovel snow off the roof. Japanese cars don't start.

-25º Too cold to think. You need jumper cables to get the driver going.

-30º You plan a two-week hot bath. The mighty Monongahela freezes. Swedish cars don't start.

-40º Californians disappear. Minnesotans button top button. Canadians put on sweaters. Your car helps you plan your trip south.

-50º Congressional hot air freezes. Alaskans close the bathroom window.

-80º Hell freezes over. Polar bears move south.

-90º Lawyers put their hands in their own pockets.

 

[Meadbh]

Fahrenheit or Centigrade?

 

[Dcharles]

How Cold Is It? An Annotated Thermometer by Don Haugen, Pensacola Austin-Healey Club 60º Californians put on sweaters (if they can find them). 50º Miami residents turn on the heat. 40º You can see your breath. Californians shiver uncontrollably. Minnesotans go swimming. 35º Italian cars won't start. 32º Water freezes. 30º You plan your vacation to Australia. Minnesotans put on T-shirts. Politicians begin to worry about the homeless. English cars won't start. 25º Boston water freezes. Californians weep pitiably. Minnesotans eat ice cream. Canadians go swimming. 20º You can hear your breath. Politicians begin to talk about the homeless. New York City water freezes. Miami residents plan vacations farther south. 15º French cars don't start. You plan a vacation in Mexico. Your cat insists on sleeping in bed with you. 10º Too cold to ski. You need jumper cables to get the car going. 5º You plan your vacation in Houston. American cars don't start. 0º Alaskans put on T-shirts. Too cold to skate. -10º German cars don't start. Eyes freeze shut when you blink. -15º You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo. Arkansans stick their tongues on metal objects. Miami residents cease to exist. -20º Cat insists on sleeping in your pajamas with you. Politicians actually do something about the homeless. Minnesotans shovel snow off the roof. Japanese cars don't start. -25º Too cold to think. You need jumper cables to get the driver going. -30º You plan a two-week hot bath. The mighty Monongahela freezes. Swedish cars don't start. -40º Californians disappear. Minnesotans button top button. Canadians put on sweaters. Your car helps you plan your trip south. -50º Congressional hot air freezes. Alaskans close the bathroom window. -80º Hell freezes over. Polar bears move south. -90º Lawyers put their hands in their own pockets.

I loved it! Truthfully, at -40 below zero, we would quickly step out the back door and blow a soap bubble that freezes in the air and gently floats to the ground and rolls along the snow. we try to time it to make the largest bubbles before it freezes. At -40 below, some car and truck tires freeze with a flat spot and if you are lucky enough to have a vehicle that starts and moves, it feels like you are driving with squared tires until they finally round out. the Star Buck special this week will be coffee on a stick! ha!

 

[photoguy]

I used to walk home in -20 to -30 degree weather (Celsius). It really sucked to come indoors and have the moisture condense and then freeze on your glasses.

 

[Keim]

I have camped in a tent at -25 f. Had the oil in my car freeze at -65 f. I miss Montana.

Not so adventurous these days... My part of Idaho is a lot warmer.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have never been in a place at -20F. I guess even being indoor is still tough. My place up in the high country has a record low of -25F, but I have only experienced -5F up there once. However, the day/night temperature difference may be as high as 35F, so it warms up during the day.

I just read a blog of a Canadian RV'er who is toughing it out somewhere in Saskatchewan in -20F temperature. It's tough to keep the inside of an RV warm when the wall is but 1" of insulation! It costs $450/month to heat a small RV of 8' X 30'. One can warm a 1500 sq.ft. stick home with that money.

After finishing my home, my builder was living in a small travel trailer with his wife while working on another home. One cold night, they were freezing near death and in the morning cried uncle and fled down to lower elevation.

 

[Ronstar]

I worked outside as a surveyor at -20 to -25F in the early 1980's. Although it was very cold, we were able to cope with it by staying out of the wind and keep moving as much as possible. I did get minor frostbite on my ear lobes, fingers, and toes that bothers me now if I'm outside in the cold for an hour or so. I carry a stocking hat, gloves, boots, and coveralls in my truck 24/7/365 in case I get stranded out there

 

[Walt34]

The coldest temp I've ever experienced was -5 F° in Maryland, and that was more than enough. I have no desire to experience any more misery than that.

 

[braumeister]

Not sure of the temperature, but I remember being in Iceland once when the chill factor was -55°F. We had ropes strung between the doors of buildings so you could guide yourself from one to another due to the blowing snow reducing visibility to zero.


Also, the first year I lived in Colorado, the temperature never got above 0°F for 20 straight days.

Things we'd like to forget, but can't!

 

[HFWR]

I've experienced -20F, and would prefer to never do that again...

 

[MichaelB]

Forecast is minus (-20) Below Zero. Cold enough?

I've had temperatures like that here at home. They weren't related to the outside weather, usually happened because of something I said or did (not always sure), and return to the more desirable warmth involved flowers, self-deprecation & apologies.

 

[Walt34]

I've had temperatures like that here at home. They weren't related to the outside weather, usually happened because of something I said or did (not always sure), and return to the more desirable warmth involved flowers, self-deprecation & apologies.

Instead of flowers though, here it takes a chocolate cake. Not one from the store either, I have to make it.

 

[ziggy29]

I thought Californians were wimpy about cold weather... then I moved to Houston. Houstonians made Californians (at least Northern Californians) look like Nanook.

 

[haha]

I lived out in the US Okanagon winter of 68/69. Got to -40F on and off for several weeks. Huge snowfalls just stayed in place. Highway 2 was an ice tunnel, from Spokane at least as far west as I went. Northern lights many nights. House had good gas heat, and overall I preferred it to typical winter weather in Boston. Lots of xc-skiing. IT's a dry cold, and zero wind.

Once I got out of the humid SE US, it's hard to annoy me with weather. What i hated was months of taking 5 showers a day.

Ha

 

[W2R]

I am already pretty far south (highs in the mid 70's F here this week).

For a while, we were thinking of moving north. Unlike Ha (and most humans) I actually do like the hot, humid weather here. Still, the crime in New Orleans is pretty bad, and then there are the summer hurricanes to consider if you live near the Gulf. There is more to consider than just the usual winter temperatures when deciding on where to retire.

 

[W2R]

I thought Californians were wimpy about cold weather... then I moved to Houston. Houstonians made Californians (at least Northern Californians) look like Nanook.

I absolutely froze in San Francisco when I lived there back in the 1960's. I have never been so cold before or since. The cold there seemed especially bone chilling to me, probably because of the fog, because I didn't have a warm jacket, and because I was a little homesick for Hawaii at the time.

 

[brewer12345]

Down to -10 or 15 here on Thursday. Next several days is supposedly no highs over 25 and lows below zero.

 

[Ready]

Today will be 61 in my town. Now I know that doesn't sound very cold to most of you, but one of my goals in retirement has been to go swimming year round. So far, I've had a very nice season, where it rarely has gone below 70. Today is going to be the first day I try swimming in the very low 60's. I'm excited about it, but not sure how much I'm going to love it.

 

[Jack_Pine]

We were at cabin over thanksgiving (that is going to be the north end of our snow birding plan). We had always talked about staying north until Christmas and then going south.

It was windy and in the 20's at cabin, we both looked at each other and said we may be moving that "go south" time up.

 

[Mulligan]

Down to -10 or 15 here on Thursday. Next several days is supposedly no highs over 25 and lows below zero.

We are unseasonably warm at 60 today, but heading your direction in 2 days. Living in the Midwest I actually don't mind colder temperatures. What I can't stand is the yo- yo of them. It took me about a week last week to adjust to 40 degree temp. Now it's back to 60 which feels like shorts weather. But in summer 60 feels like pants weather. So when it gets to 25 this weekend, it's going to feel like zero to me.

 

[F4mandolin]

Our 10 day forecast keeps us a little above 0 for lows, nothing above freezing for a high. Might get me to change the house heating routine though. I usually burn wood through the 4 months or so when it's the coldest....just use the furnace to help get the house heat up (gas bills about $35 a month last year). But our water pipes run to the back of the house through the attic, and so does our furnace ducts......might run the furnace a bit more when it gets down closer to 0 to make sure the pipes stay good.

 

[imoldernu]

All-time low temperatures for your state... the date, and the town where it was recorded here:
Record Lowest Temperatures by State | Infoplease.com

My memory says Essex Juntion Vermont, 1968.... -36F degrees. I was a district manager, on the road, and staying at the local motel. Did the right thing... took the battery out of the car so I could start it in the morning... Inside, on a mat, by the door...
Next morning... Battery was frozen solid.
Folowing day... Burlington VT... Howard Johnson Motel... 8AM... 60 cars in the parking lot... 3 started.

Klondike Derby... Saratoga NY 1975 ... tent... 0 F... Midnight... left the tents, packed up the kids and drove home. Discretion... The better part of Valor.

s/b 50 today... off to camp to chop up the big tree that fell on the house during the tornado day 2 weeks ago.
last warm day...

 

[eytonxav]

If you like variety, try North Texas. We should see about a -50 decline between todays high and Friday morning.