How are you taking the cold in your part of the country/world???

[irish]

Just curious how people are taking the cold. I am from MN and I still haven't figured out what all the fuss is about. It has been many years since we have had cold winters with the bad wind chills but, believe me, I remember those days well. This past 2 days have not been all that bad. Of course, I am in the house, but I remember going to work(1983) with 80 below wind chills and coming home with tires that were almost flat on one side until they warmed up after being driven very slowly home.

I am a winter lover and have always enjoyed the cold sky with the sun dogs. I enjoy a good blizzard too, especially when the family was all home and a big pot of soup was on the stove. There is something so cozy about having your famliy home safe. I remember not being able to sleep until all our boys got home from their after school jobs in town. They were brought up to carry the snowmobile suits, and all that gear, plus the battery chargers and Heet to prevent gas line freeze.

Winter can be deadly, but knowing the weather report and knowing when to draw the line and stay put during a storm is something that will keep you safe. Back in the 60's I remember going to work on a Friday afternoon and getting home on Sunday afternoon. As  nurse working 20 miles from home on country roads I had to stay and fill in for the nurses that didn't get to work. We all just made the best of it. Sort of a jovial crowd at work in those days as we made it fun. Ordered pizza in.Did only what needed to get done to save ourselves from getting over worked as we always had a skeleten crew.

Right now it is zero and not much wind chill. No school the past 2 days. There was no reason not to have school today. The school boards panic as they are afraid of being sued. Irish

[susanep]

Alright now irish, you keep them dogs up there. hehe..... Yes , I think people get use to different areas, and that is what is compared for them. I grew up in Chicago with the lake winds all the time, but now in East Tn. Mainly what bothers me with weather is the winds, and that has been since it feels like it somehow shocks my lungs.

I told my hubby the other day that when I grew up in Chicago that no matter how cold it was I never remember being cold, because mom made sure we had on warm layered clothes from the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet.

We would bundle up with warm clothes and go outside and have fun as kids. I still always have my long scarves around.

I'm just getting old I think. One of my little great nieces was trying to pick an argument with me one day, guess she was in a bad mood, anyway she said , you are old. I said, well with any luck one day you will be too.

We had the other night in East Tn where I live in the mountains with wind chill -25. It's probably been that before I don't know , but it is a bit rare for here.

susanep

[litliwlowa]

Irish,

We've been having record breaking cold here in NC. I've been okay in the cold but it does flare my arthur ritis and I tend to be cold intolerant. My problem is more with the idiots that don't know to drip their faucets. Last night 80% of my apartment was flooded out courtesy of the neighbor behind me who burst a pipe in his dwelling.

This morning it's already mildewy smelling even after office sent contractor over to suck up the water last night and fans have been running ALL NIGHT. I am highly allergic to mold. This is the 4th flooding in 18 mos and the third flooding in 6 months. Needless to say, I am moving out ASAP. These aren't "low income" apartments and there is no excuse for apparently landlord's cumulative years of maintenance neglect. Long story there. Enough said.

I used to live on a mountain in WV so am used to single digit and sub zero wind chills - not to compare at all with MN, as there is no comparison. But the climate here is a bit different, so while the weather certainly does not compare to the weather you are accustomed to, for us wind chill below zero feels a lot colder than it is.

I layer clothes and socks to stay warm, and since generally our weather isn't consistently that cold, I usually hunker down for a few days until that kind of cold passes us by.

Observably, our bodies tend to acclimate to the climate we're living in. For example, when I lived in FL for nearly a decade, 45 degrees down there sounds nice and warm to someone living in MN. However, in FL it is coat weather. In VA, 45 degrees is more like sweater weather. I can imagine in MN, 45 degrees feels like a heat wave.

[Carolina]

Irish, school was delayed 2 hours yesterday here because it got down to 8 degrees.  Yep, 8 degrees.  They expected wind chill of -1, but there wasn't any wind.

I am dumfounded, because of course, things were different when I was a kid in Kansas.  BUT, I do have to say that everyone is more aware of liability and dangerous possiblities now than they were back in the middle of 'the last century of the last millennium" when I was growing up.

Anyone could walk into a school in those days, I went everywhere by myself, etc.

Here it is only 19 this morning.  So the warming trend has already started.  By the weekend it will be in the 60's again.  So much for the Polar Vortex in North Carolina.

Now, I am one of those rare older people who is always hot and suddenly sweating...so on the whole I don't mind this cold.  Of course, since I can't walk well, I'm not OUT IN IT much.  Just to and from and car, etc.

Next we will be moaning about how hot it is here during the upcoming summer.

Hugs, Elaine

[Velcro]

I'm also in Tennessee and frankly, we're just not used to dealing with these sort of winter temperatures.  Our schools furnaces are not equipped to handle the temperatures we had, most windows are not insulated, and the schools were cold.  The teachers I know, when they had to go in yesterday (although they let the kids out) said their classrooms were in the 50's.  Also, most children and adults (me included) do not own the type of coats, gloves, clothing, etc. for those type of temperatures because we don't normally need them.  At 2 degrees with negative wind chills, they didn't want the kids out at the bus stops without the proper gear and then have them freezing at school.  That's not even counting the stupid parents that would have sent them out in just a jacket to stand for 30 plus minutes in those temperatures.

Personally, the cold aggravates the pain in my arm/elbow/shoulder and I've paid dearly for it the last few days.  I remember when I was younger, I played outside in t-shirts even when it was cold and it never bothered me because we did it all the time.  Now, I've acclimated to inside temperatures as I've gotten older, so going out in 2 degrees was miserable for me.

[ellieas]

I just moved back to New York( after 23 years in Miami). It has been in the minuses,but I didn't go out for 2 days. No school. Today,after obsessively worrying about teeth issues( see other threads), I had to get out. So, I went to the Y and worked out for awhile. Then, sat there and had a cup of hot tea. It really made me feel better.

Everyone stay warm.
Hugs,
Lesley

[eye2dry]

  To all.

Here in Ohio, yes we had 15 below in my area WITHOUT adding in the windchill.

Back in Jan 1994 we had 22 below here.

Not to sound like my grandparents but.....when I was in school and it was that cold...

tough luck kid......school was not cancelled.....most all kids here were farm kids

and we dressed accordingly

Yes, I too like a snowy brisk day to stay in and be warm and cook.

A short blizzard is welcomed too.......occasionally.


eye2dry

[irish]

Sounds like everyone is having some type of weather issue. I agree that in many states people are not prepared for the cold as it just doesn't happen. I am thinking more of MN where in the past we just went out and did what needed to be done. Things did not shut down when it was zero, etc. We all dressed warm and wore boots, etc and walked to school. That is just the way it was and we were tougher for it, I believe.

Nowadays there is so much more fear about so many things that the kids are protected---and rightfully so in many circumstances---but I do wish that the would learn how to dress warm and walk and get some exercise. I know it sounds a little harsh, but some of the suffering we do as we mature is what makes us tough and adaptable and more able to cope when we are older.

And, yes, people do not realize that if they open their faucets just enough to get the water to drip once every 5 -10 seconds the water in the pipes tends to move slowly and doesn't freeze as easily. Also, just opening the doors under the kitchen sink or bathroom sink will help the pipes to stay warmer and not freeze. Remember that water pipes on an outside wall will freeze a whole lot faster. Also, is you shovel snow up around the outside of your house you will keep the house 10 times warmer, especially if you live in the wide open spaces where the wind howls. We are always thankful when we get snow to shovel around the house as it is so much warmer. Those "open" winters without snow make for cold homes and higher fuel bills.

Also, try to always put gas in the car when it gets down to half empty. When the gas tank gets lower the gas line tends to freeze more easily. We use Heet or something like it in the gas tanks up here to keep the gas lines from freezing in our cars. The gas these days contains a lot more water than it did years ago so cold weather can really make for problems. Also, when you start your car up always run it at least 15 minutes or so to warm it up before you shut it off. The experts say that you need for the fluids (oil, etc) to get warm in make it worth while. Running the car without warming it up is hard on the engine. The newer cars not so much, but when it gets in these polar express temps the cars hardly want to move out of the garage without being a little warmed up. Makes for high gas bills and drives me nuts, but that is the way winter is in the cold country.

Just some winter tips from an old grandma for those who are not used to the cold weather. Irish

[susanep]

School here in East Tn  has been cancelled so far all week in our county due to the extreme cold, and snow. We don't have to have much snow at all for school to be cancelled, because the buses have to make it up and down and around dangerous mountains. IF there is even much ice left on the roads, it can be cancelled. We are given here so many snow days per year to use without penalty for the school year for this reason. 

I remember growing up in Chicago, and yes we walked each day to school too.  Mom having us get dressed for school which back then if wearing a dress or skirt included tights, and socks too if really cold and snowing, then we had shoes on with rubber snow boots over them. then we had to get our sweaters on before putting on our very warm usually wool coat with long wrap around scarf, gloves or mittens, and finally our hats or caps. Usually mine was easy pull on furry hat that kept me cozy warm, and back then I loved all that fuzzy fur. lol....

OH, almost forgot underwear that included full slip with all the other above.

At home in winter we better not let dad see us running around the house barefooted. It was socks with house slippers over them. Gown or pajamas, and a house coat over that until bedtime.

Those are days long gone, but no wonder I never got sick then. lol....
Bless my dear mother and father.

susanep

[Bucky]

I'm glad here in Central IL we are out of the bitter cold temperatures that we've had for the last several days.  When you have an actual temperature of -18, with a windchill of -45 and 27 mph winds - baby, it's cold!!!

Schools were cancelled for Monday & Tuesday, but were in session today.  It was a combination of the cold temperatures but also blowing and drifting snow and buses that had rural routes that have a difficult time getting around.

When it gets so cold like that, I hybernate indoors.  If I venture outdoors it just makes my lungs hurt from breathing the cold air.

These past several years there have been such wide temperature swings - from really cold winters, to scorching hot summers.  We can have 50 degree temperature changes within 24 hrs. 

How many days until spring??  I see they are getting out the seeds in the stores - spring can't be too far away!   

Irish - here I've been worrying about you and all the brutal cold temperatures up there in MN - I should have known it was no big deal to you!     I'm glad things are okay with you.

Bucky

[slccom]

Colorado has 50 degree shifts in a day pretty often, and 20-30 degree shifts routinely. Layers are great, but I found that my Raynaud's requires more layers on hands and feet than I realized when I was younger.

I do understand closing schools in the southern states, since people don't have the cold-weather gear. Nor do they have a clue how to drive in snow and ice. And insulation and furnaces are another issue.

I don't handle any temperature extremes well, but there is little really cold weather in Pueblo, and the extreme heat isn't usually for longer than a month. And it does really cool down at night here.

I do like to remember the cold spells on hot days, and vice versa.

Stay warm, everyone!
Sharon

[litliwlowa]

I do understand closing schools in the southern states, since people don't have the cold-weather gear. Nor do they have a clue how to drive in snow and ice. And insulation and furnaces are another issue.

That is SOOOO TRUE. When I lived in No VA, the slightest snowflake it seemed they were delaying schools. A couple of inches of snow and schools would be closed. However, part of that might have been due to heavy traffic in that region also. One little blizzard up there, thinking it was ummmm around 1994/1995, and I do mean little blizzard like 12-24 inches of snow (which really isn't a blizzard at all, but to many people in that area it IS a blizzard) - pretty much everything was closed or cancelled - except the banks.

But that degree of snow, or even here where I am in NC where a good snow is rare (last good one was in 2009, maybe a foot or slightly more), people are not accustomed to driving in it or inexperienced at a minimum (clueless in some cases) and well, stuff happens. Perhaps that is one consideration for delayed openings and closings more in the south for what up north would be in effect a teaser event.

This season, we've been getting  a lot more rain in my area, then the temp dives to below freezing so icy roads (especially black ice) is more problematic than snow this winter.

And good point on cold weather gear. We had single digit cold for the first time in I think 20 years. Very atypical for this area. Factor in wind chills to sub zero temps without proper winter gear (like MN quality proper winter clothes)...it's hunker down for me indoors in as many layers of clothes I can muster and under the covers.

[eija]

We should be in about -15...-20 C (5...-4 F) this time of year but instead we're still at +5 C (about 40 F) and raining, instead of snowing. It's dark and muddy and depressing.

In Finland there's no such thing as a "snow day". Should it snow, be it an inch or ten inches or more, people go to school and work. Buses and trains may be late, but not going because of snow isn't an option. So to us closing the schools etc. sounds very weird    I do understand it in the South where snow is a rarity (if that...) but in the northern parts of the US it does get cold (and at least icy) in the winter so people should know how to handle it and live with it.

Then again, every single year in Finland the winter "surprises" the drivers and a lot of crashes happen because people are still driving with summer tyres...

I remember one winter, it was at the end of January, it snowed so much in such a short time that in Helsinki airport they couldn't manage keeping the runways open so the airport had to be closed for a couple of hours. I don't remember any other time it's been closed! What I do remember how they laughed here when the Brits closed Heathrow when they got less than half an inch of snow... 

But I hate cold. I hate having to wear loads of clothes and still be cold. When even with thick warm shoes and two layers of wooly socks the toes still get frozen and no mittens in the world manage to keep the fingers warm. I hate how long it takes to get dressed to go out and how uncomfortable it is with such thick layers around you. I just hate it. So I'm kind of ok with the ongoing wet darkness and muddy horse feet.

[litliwlowa]

What I do remember how they laughed here when the Brits closed Heathrow when they got less than half an inch of snow... 

I can so relate to that. I used to giggle at Fairfax County closing schools over an inch or two of snow when I lived on a mountain top in WV having to drive to VA to work when in WV we had an ice storm which resulted in 4 inches of ice on the back roads.

We have warmer weather here now for a few days anyway. I hope it lasts.

[Velcro]

Can't drive in snow or ice?  Are you kidding?  We can't drive in the rain....let alone any frozen stuff!