It's -5°F over here in Chicago, supposed to hit a high of 2°F later today. Wife and I are working from home, so we're both ok. We care for a feral cat that spends the winter months in a wooden cat house with a bed and plug-in heating pad that my wife installed on the back deck a few years ago. I'm always worried about that cat, she's getting older and isn't as spry as she used to be.
In about six, seven months it's gonna be 100° warmer, which is wild to me.
For better or worse at least we all know how to deal with the weather. The trains don't care what temperature it is and life goes on. I feel for the areas that aren't equipped to deal with temps below 30.
It's -3 this morning. It used to be a fairly regular temperature during winter, so I'm doing alright. The reason it's so bad though is this winter up to this weekend has been in the 40s, extremely warm for the season.
We've had some highs in the single digit negative (F). I'm lucky enough that I can just stay in. This isn't terribly unusual weather for this time of year. The rest of this season has been so warm it feels like a bigger deal than it is.
Took two personal days because I can’t get out of my driveway and it’s not safe to stay out to shovel until Wednesday (when the temps and windchill will finally be above negative). Haven’t been out of the house since Thursday, but I have plenty of food, internet, and things to do.
it’s not safe to stay out to shovel until Wednesday (when the temps and windchill will finally be above negative)
i grew up in michigan and, yeah i shoveled snow in negative temps when i was 12... it's safe IF you bundle up properly.
some long johns, or even sweat pants, two pair of jeans... boots... (you can put breadbags over your socks if they leak or you don't have boots...
tons of layers of shirts, a ski mask, and gloves...
no problem... you want the outermost layer to be waterproof/windproof...
trench coats are actually quite functional and not just for murderers hiding guns...
and the more you shovel, the more you warm up...
of course, if the wind is real bad it gets kinda pointless, but you can kinda throw the snow with the wind and it'll fly away... (unless there's not one prevailing direction of wind)
ummm... road salt is pretty important... sand helps too....
also the layers help when you fall down on the ice...
The snowblower froze up (specifically the mechanism that turns the spout) so I had to drag it into the house to warm it up. The plug cap on my headbolt heater also froze solid. I couldn't bring the car into the house to warm it up because, among other things, I already had the snowblower in there. I spent 20 minutes with a heat gun prying it off instead.
And now I am become slug: I'm goopy, slow, and melting. (Someone poured salt on me.)
I'm in South America, facing the exact opposite - this summer has been extremely harsh, often going past 30°C in a rather wet city. To make things worse, a certain four-legged arsehole doesn't get that humans don't want to cuddle when it's too hot, so she keeps jumping on my lap:
It's -4°F this morning before the wind chill. I put the shell on my jacket so I have a hood and my hair won't freeze. I start the car at least 10 minutes before going anywhere. I give the steering wheel a good minute to warm up once I'm in the car, since that doesn't turn on until I push the button.
So, yeah, it's not too bad if you're a bit boogie.
The house I'm renting leaks like a sieve, though. I'm up to 7 blankets and a comforter at night.
Our gas Fireplace crapped out when it was coldest and we are waiting on repairs. We have baseboards as a back up but they aren't keeping up and I'm not looking forward to the hydro bill when it comes.
It's nowhere as bad as your situation by any means but we are glad to have them.
I bought electric blankets for the bed and couch this winter based on a gut feel in November and with how warm it's been this up until this point the gf has been right that we didn't need them. That was until this cold snap. Bloody thankfully to have them as they can't be found in the stores now.
Our bedroom was actually kinda warm during the day because of the computer (generates a lot of heat) so I cracked the window a tiny bit (like 2cm). Got cold later (-18C) and I went to close said window. Frozen in place :/ Its only a little chilly, but I really do wish the window would close...
It actually makes sense, sick people aren't going into the store and getting everyone else sick. Elderly people also don't have to walk and risk slipping on the ice.
Pretty good! -20 here. We made crock pot dumping soup, my new snow boots and gloves arrived, and I am gonna bake coffee cake later to warm up the house.
It's only -11⁰c here in southwestern Ontario and I currently have my window cracked open. I run hot.
So far can't complain about the winter, it didn't start to snow until the second week of January so that's a huge plus. Did catch up with us but considering what winters are usually like here l can't complain too much.
What extreme cold? Is is January, this is not unusual weather - other than maybe unusually warm. Sure it is colder than average, but there is and always has been a large variation that makes up the average, we have seen lower temperatures in the last 10 years.