POLAR VORTEX what's the lowest temp you've experienced

[bort]

Predicted to get -30 actual temp next week, high temp of -14. Items in my freezer will be 30 degrees warmer than outside. I live in a recent build condo, so it will be warm and toasty, new windows, etc.

Dog still needs to go out.
School won't be cancelled

Life will go on as usual, but with more layers and more wool than usual.

[bisontuba]

Went fishing once when it was 35 below zero...opening day ...never again.

[Rick F]

-42F (wind chill -77). That was at Sondrestrom Fjord Greenland back in 1968.

[bort]

Went fishing once when it was 35 below zero...opening day ...never again.

My wife (from Minnesota) said when she was a girl, she went ice fishing/ice camping with the girl scouts, and slept on the ice. It made her throw up from the cold. No wonder she is so damn tough!

[iiipopes]

When my son was in Scouts, his Troop regularly participated in the district "Klondike Derby." (a mini sled race where the Scouts build their own Iditarod-style sleds, "race" them around the camp, then burn them that night in the communal bonfire to keep warm) -15 degrees Farenheit. Not that low compared to some of the numbers above, but for a 14-year old that is pretty cold. He followed that up six months later with a summer camp that got to +110 Farenheit in the shade. So we had a special patch made for his sash that had a thermometer and "125" for the degree spread he has been outdoors camping.

[bisontuba]

"Wind chill factor" is about as useful (it seems to me) as a "how it would feel were you wet and nekid factor".

I suspect it was created by media (just like the "heat index"...i.e. "how hot it would feel if you were to put on a bearskin fur coat and run ten miles in the sun index") for attention-getting alarmism - to increase viewership.

It's been about 15-below here where I am in "the south", a few times. Thankfully, not often. I'll leave that consistent pleasure to "those of you who make odd decisions when voting". For several years (around here) we've been enjoying MILD winters AND mild summers (oh, and stupid-low taxation, and way fewer intrusive laws/regulations)...PLEASE do not move here...You would just HATE it.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/envi ... ar-vortex/" target="_blank

[bisontuba]

"Wind chill factor" is about as useful (it seems to me) as a "how it would feel were you wet and nekid factor".

I suspect it was created by media (just like the "heat index"...i.e. "how hot it would feel if you were to put on a bearskin fur coat and run ten miles in the sun index") for attention-getting alarmism - to increase viewership.

It's been about 15-below here where I am in "the south", a few times. Thankfully, not often. I'll leave that consistent pleasure to "those of you who make odd decisions when voting". For several years (around here) we've been enjoying MILD winters AND mild summers (oh, and stupid-low taxation, and way fewer intrusive laws/regulations)...PLEASE do not move here...You would just HATE it.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/envi ... ar-vortex/" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Farah clearly stated that no proselytizing of religion is allowed here...
I won't click the little " " thing this time and turn you in, but don't let me catch you doing it again!

bloke "who is proselytized by the Church of Progress & Nonsense quite enough already, thanks just the same"

So National Geographic is a religion and nonsense? Take the blinders off....

[FarahShazam]

Stop peering at all of those pictures of native women wearing no shirts !!!

Put the blinders ON...before you go blind.

bloke "I'm tellin'.....!!!"

...an ever-increasing list of sacraments, just a few of which are "certification", "officials", "peer review", and (somehow, conveniently shoehorned into the Scientific Method in the last few years) "settled consensuses"

What is wrong with you?

[KKORO]

We had -43 a few years ago. Didn't have water for 7 weeks. Didn't have heat (hot water heat) for 3 weeks (thank goodness we heat with wood). The first 3 weeks my wife was in India, so it wasn't too bad.

KKORO

[bort]

We had -43 a few years ago. Didn't have water for 7 weeks. Didn't have heat (hot water heat) for 3 weeks (thank goodness we heat with wood). The first 3 weeks my wife was in India, so it wasn't too bad.

KKORO

^ Where are you?

[KKORO]

I'm in Northern Michigan. Northeast of Traverse City. Because of our location -- at a higher elevation -- we often have colder temps than the surrounding (lower) area. I'm in South Carolina right now (smart move -- right!) but the neighbor who feeds our cats and checks the house said it was -23 a few days ago. Most winters we'll have a couple of days around -20. -43 was the coldest in the 16 years I've lived at my present location. Our hot water heat would have been OK, but, when our house was built 35 years ago, they put water instead of antifreeze in the pipes. Needless to say, I've since fixed that situation. It was in 2014 and reputed to be the coldest winter in our area's history.

KKORO

[bort]

I'm in Northern Michigan. Northeast of Traverse City. Because of our location -- at a higher elevation -- we often have colder temps than the surrounding (lower) area. I'm in South Carolina right now (smart move -- right!) but the neighbor who feeds our cats and checks the house said it was -23 a few days ago. Most winters we'll have a couple of days around -20. -43 was the coldest in the 16 years I've lived at my present location. Our hot water heat would have been OK, but, when our house was built 35 years ago, they put water instead of antifreeze in the pipes. Needless to say, I've since fixed that situation. It was in 2014 and reputed to be the coldest winter in our area's history.

KKORO

My mother-in-law is from the UP, so I've heard all about winters and how cold it was, etc. I'm not sure I've ever seen her complain about cold weather, either. I guess when you grow up with it (especially many years ago), it was just a fact of life that you dealt with.

That said... I've only been to the UP in the summer, and at that time of year it's amazing. Long days, cool weather, beautiful scenery without a lot of people...

[MaryAnn]

-20 in Albany NY. Walked the dog....she was an Eskimo Spitz and her little feet were hot when we got back. Some circulation thing I never heard of. I have no idea what the wind chill was. Not terribly interested in that climate again, but did have fun ice skating outside when the high for the day was +3. Feet still got cold but coat came off.

[Three Valves]

Stop peering at all of those pictures of native women wearing no shirts !!!

Put the blinders ON...before you go blind.

bloke "I'm tellin'.....!!!"

...an ever-increasing list of sacraments, just a few of which are "certification", "officials", "peer review", and (somehow, conveniently shoehorned into the Scientific Method in the last few years) "settled consensuses"

What is wrong with you?

He’s a rebel!!

[bort]

-10 at sunrise
Should be -20 by sunset
-30 by sunrise tomorrow

It is bright and sunny, a gorgeous day. Just a little chilly. Wind chill is... who knows... but it's not exactly very windy either.

If I can't be bothered today to wear gloves, zip up my coat, or stop wearing boat shoes... probably never going to happen. Maybe if I was outside more than a few minutes at a time... but for a few minutes from car to door, it's really nothing to worry about so far.

[bort]

It's all about the wind chill. Temps of -20 have happened a few times since I've lived here, which are cold but not so excessive. -60 wind chills are different, though. Just about everything in the Twin Cities is closed or closing now, for the next few days.

Do I need to know what a -60 wind chill feels like? No.

Am I going to find out? Yes.

My plan is to go outside and check it out, and come back in to warm up with a bowl of ice cream.

If I don't do this now, I'm not sure when my next opportunity will be.

(Of course, I'm being facetious, I'll be careful. But really, the wind chill is quite dangerous. It's not windy now, but it will be later. I'm not saying that this isn't my plan... I'll just be careful.)

[bort]

Update: the Accuweather forecast has notified me that this is both poor weather for golf, and poor weather for bicycling. Great, there go my two plans for the day.

[FarahShazam]

Someone has to be old enough to have read (ogled) National Geographic Magazines in the 1960's in order to have understood the joke.

Mark is old enough.

"it's a joke"

[bort]

It's all about the wind chill...

I would disagree.

Oh, I'm with you Joe -- I was unclear. I meant exactly what you were saying, that all of the non-stop hoo-hah about the cold weather is... all about the wind chill.

A few years ago, we had a night or two that was -20. None of this craziness back then.

Yes, it's dangerous. But how much more dangerous than it was when it was 0 degrees for weeks in a row? Not much.

Lower wind chill just means you get bad effects from it faster from being outside. 0 degrees and windy can kill you just the same from hypothermia. -25 and windy will do it faster... but it's no different.

[bisontuba]

Not gullible, not political, but fact.

The polar vortex is supposed to stay at the North Pole but dwindling sea ice ( from climate change) has caused the vortex to split into three places, and that's why it is extremely cold in the MidWest & East. Polar vortex splits like this will become more common as climate change worsens...