# How Cold Is It? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996 "2014-01-06T03:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/61 "2014-01-07T22:52:33Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > **Mrs FtG** > > (There’s a wind chill alert for Ft. Lauderdale: low to mid 30s. Time to put those bermuda shorts away guys.) Must be a joke. No wind chill chart I’ve ever seen has any frostbite concerns at that temp no matter the wind speed. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/62 "2014-01-07T23:11:29Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > But as I said in another thread, it’s 80 degrees American in Bangkok. :rolleyes: > Oh, how you suffer! According to [weather.com](http://weather.com), it’s 4 (feels like -12). I still prefer that to the heat. 80 sucks. (When I was a kid, we were allowed to complain about the heat or the cold, but not both. I pick the heat every time.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/63 "2014-01-08T02:32:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Up to 23 in Little Rock. > A veritable heat wave! This time of year in Bangkok, it can sometimes dip briefly to 23 degrees. Oh wait, you mean _Fahrenheit_! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/64 "2014-01-08T02:49:21Z")
Here in Houston we’re at 40 F right now. Got down below freezing last night. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/65 "2014-01-08T02:52:15Z")
BBC was reporting that all 50 states are being hammered by the cold. Really? All 50? I know it can get downright chilly at night in Honolulu, and sure they even have [snow skiing way up on Mauna Kea on the Big Island](http://www.hawaiiinfoguide.com/hawaii_skiing.htm), but somehow I doubt Hawaii is getting hammered by the cold. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/66 "2014-01-08T02:59:27Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > BBC was reporting that all 50 states are being hammered by the cold. Really? All 50? I know it can get downright chilly at night in Honolulu, and sure they even have [snow skiing way up on Mauna Kea on the Big Island](http://www.hawaiiinfoguide.com/hawaii_skiing.htm), but somehow I doubt Hawaii is getting hammered by the cold. NPR said it was the “Lower 48”. Hard to believe they are smarter than the folks who won the Battle of Britain. I’m going to get you, Sam. It will involve a locked freezer. You think about that tonight, while you are counting elephants and trying to go to sleep. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/67 "2014-01-08T03:16:25Z")
BBC just said it again! “All 50 states are suffering from freezing temperatures,” the reporter said. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/68 "2014-01-08T03:34:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > BBC just said it again! “All 50 states are suffering from freezing temperatures,” the reporter said. Sam, the English invented a language they cannot speak. Go easy on them. They just finished paying the Colonies back for the Marshall Plan. They’ve had a rough time of it, OK? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/69 "2014-01-08T03:38:18Z")
This will not stand! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/70 "2014-01-08T03:54:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > This will not stand! Say what? Or as the British would say, “I do beg your pardon, Old Boy?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/71 "2014-01-08T04:11:17Z")
NOAA says it’s 15 right now. _sticks head out front door_ I’d say that’s probably about right. I defeated a frozen pipe today. This morning the hot water worked, but no cold water. I was afraid of this possibility; there’s about 4 feet of pipe outside the main structure of the house in the crawlspace beneath the kitchen addition, about half of it uninsulated (we’ve only been here since late October). I shut off the cold water, went to Lowes and got some pipe insulation and a space heater. Ran the space heater at the pipes for an hour and got the water running again. Decided new insulation might not be a sufficient long-term solution so I went back to the hardware store, Home Depot this time, for some electric heat tape. Ran into a bunch of other people in the plumbing section who seemed to be having the same issue and had a bit of a good time consulting with them. Turned out HD didn’t have what I needed so I went to a different Lowes who did (the heat tape HD had in stock was way too long for the short length of exposed pipe I had). Got what I needed at the other Lowes, spent the entire afternoon installing the heat tape and insulation (it’s a tight space and the fiberglass insulation strip is kind of a pain in the ass to install), but I managed to get it all installed and plugged in, and we’ll see if the water’s still running in the morning (or the house isn’t on fire ;)) _fingers crossed_. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/72 "2014-01-08T04:16:41Z")
BBC was doing a newspaper roundup, and one British paper has the big headline on it’s front page as: HELL FREEZES OVER [Hell, Michigan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Michigan) is the place in question. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/73 "2014-01-08T13:52:35Z")
Well, it’s now officially cold enough that the pipes attached to the sprinkler head in my laundry room can pop, setting off a delightful flood of my kitchen. Also cold enough that Murphy’s law will require my furnace to go on the fritz at about the same time. Whee! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/74 "2014-01-08T17:20:59Z")
(Re: Ft. Lauderdale.) > [@FXMastermind](#): > > Completely untrue! I must of misread WU’s severe weather map. There was a wind chill alert for some place down that way. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/75 "2014-01-08T17:35:22Z")
Monday the high was -11 with a wind chill around -45. It was -19 on my drive to work Tuesday. I grew up here and every winter is more difficult to tolerate than the last. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/76 "2014-01-08T17:36:58Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Here in Houston we’re at 40 F right now. Got down below freezing last night. wow ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/77 "2014-01-08T17:44:16Z")
Its so cold the lawyers have their hands in their own pockets. (Attributed to A. Scalia) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/78 "2014-01-08T17:55:02Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > I came into this thread expecting “How cold is it?” jokes like Carson used to do back when the Tonight Show aired from NYC. > > How cold is it? > > It’s so cold that the flashers in Times Square are only describing themselves. Letterman said “It’s so cold that I took my Christmas tree out to the curb and it dragged itself back inside.” I think Carson would’ve liked that one. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/79 "2014-01-08T17:56:39Z")
The last couple of days have been brutal in Toronto, with temp lows around -20 with wind chill in the -35-40 range. This is on top of being whalloped by that ice storm last month. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996/80 "2014-01-08T18:52:11Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > I came into this thread expecting “How cold is it?” jokes like Carson used to do back when the Tonight Show aired from NYC. > > How cold is it? > > It’s so cold that the flashers in Times Square are only describing themselves. Was post #11 too obscure? (Are most people familiar with the phrase ‘Colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra’?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-it/677996.md?page=5)