# Cold! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 22, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303 "2003-01-22T22:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/21 "2003-01-23T04:19:41Z")
Makes you appreciate August mosquitoes just that much more, doesn’t it? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/22 "2003-01-23T04:29:22Z")
Speaking of what makes the -30 C winters worthwhile, when I go out to start my car in the morning and scrape off my windshield, then sit on the hard, frozen seat for half an hour to drive to work, I have a reeeeeeal hard time remembering what it is. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/23 "2003-01-23T04:31:27Z")
I haven’t seen cold weather or windchill this severe since I moved out of Winnipeg. This is the coldest I can remember it ever being in Montreal in seven years. Quoth [Environment Canada](http://www.ec.gc.ca): > [@](#): > > Tonight…Cloudy with clear periods and very light flurries. Low near minus 22. Winds westerly 30 to 50 km/h diminishing early this evening to 15 to 30. High wind chill minus 34. > Thursday…Very light flurries ending in the morning. Clearing later on. High near minus 11. Winds westerly 15 to 30 km/h. High wind chill minus 32 early in the morning. … > > AVERTISSEMENT DE REFROIDISSEMENT EOLIEN > (Windchill warning) . And speaking of Winnipeg - windchills of -40 to -45C are warned of. But it was that windchilled here in Montreal last night. :eek: And when I looked at this [weather warning map](http://gfx.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/warnings/warnings_e.html), there were warnings in effect for nearly all of Canada. From [CBC News:](http://cbc.ca/stories/2003/01/22/cold030122) > [@](#): > > In Nova Scotia it’s so cold salt won’t melt the ice on the roads. > > There are so many heaters blasting in New Brunswick that the province set a new record for power consumption. > > In Montreal, schoolkids are having recess inside. It’s just too dangerous to let the children out. “I’d rather stay inside than get frostbite,” said one practical student. > > At temperatures like these, frostbite could happen in just minutes. The deep cold, the stiff winds and the resulting wind-chill have made many parts of the country 10 to 20 degrees colder than normal. > > The reason is that much of the country is stuck under a mass of Arctic air that just won’t leave. “I liken it to a sumo wrestler,” says Dave Phillips of Environment Canada, " it’s got its two feet planted and even wimpy El Nino can’t knock it out." ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/24 "2003-01-23T04:58:15Z")
Not -20 with windchill in the city. Whew! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/25 "2003-01-23T05:05:50Z")
Speaking of weird weather, I was at [weather.com](http://weather.com) looking at averages and records. The record low in Brooklyn for the month of February was -4F in 1985. The record high for the month of February was 73F in —1985! So there’s hope! I expect mid 60’s before January is over. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/26 "2003-01-23T12:08:24Z")
Now I know why I declined a job offer in Havre, **Derleth.** I wonder why I accepted one in South Dakota? ---
**Author:** ![ladydisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@ladydisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladydisco)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/27 "2003-01-23T12:34:29Z")
_Boooo hisss_ Right now it’s -21C here (-31C with the windchill). Yesterday I couldn’t start my car for work because of the cold (heartbreaking, I know :rolleyes: ). ---
**Author:** ![Zoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6de8d8/32.png) [@Zoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoff)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/28 "2003-01-23T12:55:37Z")
Kids these days, I tell ya. I was talking to my dad about growing up in Vermont. He said it wasn’t unusual for it to be in the -20 to -40 F range. But the twist here is he grew up before they had central heating. Think about how bad that would suck. His house was heated by a wood-burning stove. I asked him how they kept warm and he said they just wore a lot of clothing around the house and bundled up to go to bed. I sympathize with with all of you in the north (though its 0 with windchill here today, which is a bit cool for my tastes). But keep a place in your hearts for those who came before you fighting with their brothers and sisters for a place close to the stove. ---
**Author:** ![airdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@airdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/airdisc)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/29 "2003-01-23T13:52:42Z")
This is definetly a contrast to last winter’s warmth. Oh well, at least I haven’t been sick at all, due to the cold killing off all the germs. Kinda funny, considering back in September I said what the US could use was a brutally cold winter to get rid of this West Nile crap. You may commence throwing snowballs at me, along with the inevitable schmuck from Honolulu or Singapore or Nassau where it’s 75 F and sunny. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/30 "2003-01-23T14:11:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoff \* > \*\*Kids these days, I tell ya. I was talking to my dad about growing up in Vermont. He said it wasn’t unusual for it to be in the -20 to -40 F range. > > But the twist here is he grew up before they had central heating. Think about how bad that would suck. His house was heated by a wood-burning stove. I asked him how they kept warm and he said they just wore a lot of clothing around the house and bundled up to go to bed.\*\* Well, yeah. I grew up in Vermont, too, and we didn’t have central heating, either. My maternal grandparents had wood, my paternal grandpa heated with a woodstove-like coal burner. It’s still pretty common to have wood heat. I’ve found that it can actually keep the house warmer than central heating can. And if you get cold, all you have to do is go put some more wood on the fire. Just standing in front of the open stove will warm you up nice. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/31 "2003-01-23T14:17:22Z")
I woke up yesterday morning to a lovely -22 degrees, before wind-chill. Our town is in a valley and it seems to get colder than anywhere around us. It’s supposed to warm up to a balmy 20 degrees this Sunday. Whoo-hoo break out the shorts baby. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/32 "2003-01-23T14:19:02Z")
It’s supposed to get down to 27 tonight in Tampa Bay, making it the coldest night of the year by far. Brrrrr, now THAT’s cold … O well nothing an extra blankie won’t fix, heh ---
**Author:** ![Zoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6de8d8/32.png) [@Zoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoff)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/33 "2003-01-23T14:24:19Z")
Hey, Montpelier is where my dad grew up. Been by Blackwell Street lately? That’s my dad’s old digs. My grandfather had central heating installed, but I remember the hole in the floor of the second story where the stovepipe used to be. My dad pretty much hated being that cold so he left once he graduated college. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/34 "2003-01-23T14:40:31Z")
Ohio here. It has been below freezing for 14 days and 3 more to go. Next winter I will not be in Ohio. Some people actually like cold, not I. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/35 "2003-01-23T14:52:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > **Once it hits -40, I won’t even have to convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius.** The great thing is once it gets that cold, you’re free to devise your own temperature scale. This morning in Montréal it was minus holy shit degrees with a windchill factor of motherfucker. I was lying on the beach in Mexico (or Cuba?), and Elle MacPherson was rubbing coco butter on my shoulders. At first, the only sound was the lapping of the waves, the rustle of the palm trees, and Elle’s gentle cooing. A faint braying began in the distance, and my first thought was “here comes the donkey-drawn tequila (or rum?) cart” but the braying just got louder, less donkey-like and more machine-like. My alarm clock rang. Elle MacPherson disappeared. BRAYYY-BRAYYY-BRAYYY My neighbour’s SUV won’t start. I’d better get up, he’ll be needing a jumpstart. That’s cold. ---
**Author:** ![Teegus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Teegus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teegus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/36 "2003-01-23T15:02:43Z")
Last night where I live (Outside Edmonton Alberta) it was -30C or so with windchill making it -40 I think. Night before was -35C and windchill making it damned near Absolute Zero. My car died night before last and it didn’t start til this morning ☹ Its nights like this that make me regret working graveyard. I read somewhere that exposed flesh freezes at -35 or so. Walking to work last night was really not fun. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by Biggirl > I would like to cordially ask Canada to kindly take back their artic troughs. We appreciate your wanting to share but I, for one, have had enough. It’s not ours! Honest! We were just borrowing it from Alaska. Give it back to them. Please? Pretty Please? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/37 "2003-01-23T15:11:05Z")
Chicago suburbs checking in here. It’s MUTHERING Cold out there! NBC said -6 without the wind chill. (are you KIDDING me??!) Yes, winters used to be much worse here in Chi-Town, but once you get to single digits, it’s just plain cold, any way you slice it. Am I right?? I was actually hoping it was cold enough to keep my little truck from starting, but alas, she fired up like a trooper! A sunny morning with warm kitties sounded pretty inviting. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/38 "2003-01-23T15:25:58Z")
**matt\_mcl,** I’m in Toronto and it’s the same; this is the coldest I can remember it being in Southern Ontario, for a prolonged period of time, in maybe 15-20 years. I’ve seen a few colder DAYS, sure, but not a whole week like this. It’s just astoundingly cold. It’s even been sunny, but it doesn’t seem to get warmer in the afternoon. When I was in the Army and did winter warfare exercises we’d be outside in cold so horrible and raw you’d wake up in the morning and think “Hmmm, maybe I can arrange to break my leg today or something so I can go to a nice warm hospital.” But this week was just as bad. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/39 "2003-01-23T15:26:32Z")
It’s January. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303/40 "2003-01-23T15:32:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*A sunny morning with warm kitties sounded pretty inviting. \*\* No kidding. It’s so cold here in Chicago, I had to throw 15 kitties on the fire to warm up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold/150303.md?page=3)