# \-48 with the windchill...are you kidding me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702 "2007-01-12T14:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/21 "2007-01-12T17:01:13Z")
That’s one of the few advantages of looking for a job (as opposed to having one). I can just say F-ck it! when it’s nasty outside (like Wednesday when it was snowing sideways all day) and refuse to go outside until Mother Nature behaves herself. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/22 "2007-01-12T17:27:21Z")
Ah, reminds me of that little cold snap when I was attending Mich State. Woke up late for class, raced through a shower, couldn’t find my hat, ended up heading out from the dorm bare-headed with wet hair into, I found, air that was roughly -25 F with the chill factor. :smack: Turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. The water in my hair froze solid almost instantly, and ice is a surprisingly good insulator. I had really long hair in college, and it turned into a pretty decent hat. The walk back with dry hair was hell, though. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/23 "2007-01-12T18:02:49Z")
[QUOTE=Canadjun] That’s one of the few advantages of looking for a job (as opposed to having one). I can just say F-ck it! when it’s nasty outside (like Wednesday when it was snowing sideways all day) and refuse to go outside until Mother Nature behaves herself. [/QUOTE] Being able to say f-ck it 24/7/365 is one of the many advantages of being retired. I’d list the other advantages but posts are limited to 20,000 words or so. When we lived in Green River, Wyoming I saw -52 on the bank thermometer on New Years. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/24 "2007-01-12T18:05:37Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] Heh. My last winter in college (Urbana IL) we had a record cold - down to -25F, windchill down to -65F. That was the only time I’d heard phrases like “potentially fatal” and “exposed flesh will freeze in 60 seconds” on the weather. [/QUOTE] Cool. 🙂 It was -20 there my last winter in Champaign, Jan. 1977. Didn’t get above freezing the entire month. Here in the Bay Area they’re sounding the alert and spreading the news on the front page of the papers that the temperature is going to dive to the intolerable, just awful, low of 20 degrees. :eek: Californians are such wimps. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/25 "2007-01-12T18:08:04Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] 20 degrees. :eek: Californians are such wimps. [/QUOTE] Crap. That should be 29 degrees. John Madden said he was wrapping his pipes. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/26 "2007-01-12T19:04:54Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Hah, there speaks a true used-to-cold person. It gets cold up here in NY, but I don’t think that cold. I think it has gone down to -30 or so with the windchill, but it’s infrequent. To be honest, once it drops below zero I find it all feels the same anyway - **butterly cold**. [/QUOTE] Bolding mine Mmm, buttery cold. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/27 "2007-01-12T19:31:58Z")
Poysyn, my love, that’s what you get for living in Winterpeg! Now, Arctic winters are beautiful. They really, really are, but I will never, ever spend another winter up there. -40 BEFORE windchill? No fucking thank you. [QUOTE=Antigen] We’ll be getting some of that, but not quite as bad, next week in Montreal. Looking at -30 or so with windchill, with the high for the day of -17C. How _dare_ they call it a “high” if it’s that far below zero? Oh well, time to get out the marshmallow-puff coat. [/QUOTE] Won’t be long now, eh? I think it’s frozen here once this year. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/28 "2007-01-12T19:46:30Z")
I wish we could get something like that here in Connecticut - it’s the middle of January, and 50 degrees outside. I’m sick of this lukewarm, half-assed weather - it should be zero right about now, damnit! I like it cold! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/29 "2007-01-12T19:50:42Z")
Going to school in Upstate NY we had pitifully few snow days when we thought there should be one - but we did have one _cold_ day that didn’t seem that cold - 25 below, too cold to go to school in Fredonia. So naturally I played outside all day 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/30 "2007-01-12T20:10:59Z")
[Snow in southern California](http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-cold12jan12,1,213002.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california): > [@](#): > > Across the state, farmers were preparing for sub-freezing conditions that could kill crops and other vegetation, and towns along the Sierra foothills were bracing for the formation of slippery black ice, which can cause vehicles to skid out of control. > > Weather officials said there is a chance of showers today into this evening, with snow levels between 1,500 and 2,000 feet late tonight. > > There could be up to an inch of snow in the Antelope and Cuyama valleys, with an inch or two possible in the mountains. > > Frost advisories will be in place along the Ventura County coast and in the Santa Monica Mountains and may even be issued for the coastal areas of Los Angeles County, said National Weather Service officials. > > The combination of low temperatures and gusty winds will create wind chills of between 10 below zero and 5 above zero through Saturday morning. > > The chilly conditions will hit Orange County as well. > > The National Weather Service forecasts lows in the mid-30s along the coast and in the central county tonight and Saturday night. In the Inland Empire, lows could dip into the 20s Saturday night. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/31 "2007-01-12T20:20:07Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] [Snow in southern California](http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-cold12jan12,1,213002.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california): [/QUOTE] :: sobs :: This is so effin’ WRONG!!! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/32 "2007-01-12T20:35:24Z")
[QUOTE=Madd Maxx] Bolding mine Mmm, buttery cold. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I noticed it after I posted. Oh well. It might be one (albeit disgusting) way to get warm, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/33 "2007-01-12T20:57:43Z")
They’re having between 1500 and 2000 feet of snow in SoCal? Holy crap! Are there enough shovels in the world to dig out from that? ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/34 "2007-01-12T21:13:53Z")
[QUOTE=mrklutz] All together now! _It’s 40 below but I don’t give a fuck Got a heater in my truck and I’m off to the rodeo…_ [/QUOTE] Have you gotten that bathrobe made out of an electric blanket yet? ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/35 "2007-01-12T21:54:26Z")
[QUOTE=Tastes of Chocolate] Have you gotten that bathrobe made out of an electric blanket yet? [/QUOTE] Nope. Still just the trusty ol’ down one from Eddie Bauer. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/36 "2007-01-13T01:25:37Z")
If it’s any consolation at all, in the last 8 hours it’s warmed up considerably here in Regina. Currently it’s warmed up to -20 celsius without factoring in the windchill and -33 with it. First thing this morning it was - 33 without the windchill and - 43 with it. There was a lot of ice fog this morning. Still I think we’ve been lucky here. Along with these temps, the north half of the province had the worst blizzard in at least 50 years on Wednesday. People were stranded all over the place with cities essentially shutting down. In Saskatoon there were people stranded in the Walmart and Costco store,and in the middle of the night the police were doing rescues via snowmobile. In rural areas, three people who had left their vehicles died due to exposure. Oh and for the Americans who don’t spend their time thinking in the metric system, the minus 48 celsius windchill would translate into the mid minus 50s in fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/37 "2007-01-13T08:06:56Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] If it’s any consolation at all, in the last 8 hours it’s warmed up considerably here in Regina. Currently it’s warmed up to -20 celsius without factoring in the windchill and -33 with it. First thing this morning it was - 33 without the windchill and - 43 with it. There was a lot of ice fog this morning. [/QUOTE] Heh, here in PA we got it worse than you but less than Saskatoon. But it’s still a travesty when - get this - **Canadian Tire** closes for bad weather. Of course, I avoided all of this by spraining my ankle and staying home, which was a good thing, since SIAST closed in the afternoon and I would have had trouble getting home. In Saskatoon I had a friend who almost got stuck at the university. She caught one of the last buses, and she said it was an hour and half ride for a normally 10 minute route. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/38 "2007-01-13T15:38:12Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Where’s that global warming when you need it? [/QUOTE] We have some in Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/39 "2007-01-13T16:34:09Z")
Work took me to Yorkton, Sask yesterday. As I’m driving along, the overly cheerful CBC morning crew were chattering on about “Yorkton and Estevan are tied for the coldest places in Saskatchewan today - 47 below with wind chill.” Thanks. But when it gets that low, it’s beautiful. The sun came up brilliant orange, the sky to the north was a lovely purple near the horizon, the smoke from the chimneys in the farm houses as I drove along hung in the air. Had to be careful with the ice fog in low-lying areas, but other than that, easy driving. Then I got to Yorkton and had to run to get inside where it’s warm - when it’s that cold, you do really appreciate that staying outside is dangerous. And while I’m sorry for the three people who lost their lives in the storm, I have to wonder - you’ve grown up in Saskatchewan and you still don’t get that if your car goes off the road, you stay in the car? You don’t try walking in the country in the winter, especially when the wind is up and the snow is blowing. By the newspaper accounts, in both cases they got disoriented and walked the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702/40 "2007-01-13T16:40:07Z")
Oh, and a follow-up from the Weather Network guy this morning - Thompson, Manitoba, hit 42 below yesterday - the actual ambient temp, before taking windchill into account. :eek: He did a global search, and couldn’t find any other inhabited place in the world that was that low, not even in Siberia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/48-with-the-windchill-are-you-kidding-me/387702.md?page=3)