# How Cold Is Too Cold For You To Be Outside? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003 "2009-12-04T17:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/101 "2009-12-15T17:20:48Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > II work at a preschool. Our township has a rule that preschoolers can’t be sent outside for recess when it’s -10C or colder. I remember when I was a kid, my folks used to take me up to Hibbing, MN (about 70 miles northwest of Duluth) and I would see babies in carriages all over the place in the freezing cold. It was 0ºF (-18ºC) and the babies would be outside. I asked my mum about this, and she said "There’s nothing wrong with that. Babies need fresh air. They’re all wrapped up nice and warm, and in the direct sunlight. They’re perfectly fine. And they were I know Hibbing had a lot of immigrants from Scandanavia and Finland, so I was wondering if this was a common practice in the old countries or a local thing? ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/102 "2009-12-15T17:47:05Z")
I haven’t read every post, but my personal is limit is probably in the 20s F. I’ll walk if I need to, but considering I spent a good portion of a winter without heat in my apartment (when the temperature was -11F, with a windchill of close to -40F), I prefer to be as comfortable as possible. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/103 "2009-12-15T21:29:30Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I remember when I was a kid, my folks used to take me up to Hibbing, MN (about 70 miles northwest of Duluth) and I would see babies in carriages all over the place in the freezing cold. It was 0ºF (-18ºC) and the babies would be outside. > > I asked my mum about this, and she said "There’s nothing wrong with that. Babies need fresh air. They’re all wrapped up nice and warm, and in the direct sunlight. They’re perfectly fine. And they were > > I know Hibbing had a lot of immigrants from Scandanavia and Finland, so I was wondering if this was a common practice in the old countries or a local thing? I don’t disagree with this, but you do have to be careful taking babies out in winter. There was a story here in Calgary a few years ago about a couple who went cross-country skiing with their baby strapped on their back, and they didn’t realize that their baby had frozen to death while they were out. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/104 "2009-12-17T21:08:43Z")
Another Saskatchewanian chiming in! The cold never bothered us as kids, we’d go out there even if there was a wicked windchill. Nowadays, you just gotta do what you gotta do. -45C with the windchill? Plug the car in, let it run, scrape off your windows and get on your way to work. I’m personally one of the ones that won’t go out unless I have to in that weather though. Car to building and back, basically. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/105 "2009-12-17T22:33:30Z")
I haven’t discovered it yet. I’m a college student so there’s often not an option of transportation. I walked in 0ºF (-10º with wind chill) and I was pretty okay. Hopefully it’ll never get to the point where I can’t go outside, because my grades are based on participation… ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/106 "2009-12-18T02:33:40Z")
Around 40F is when I start getting miserable and less than 30F will have me whimpering into several blankets while I hold a mug of hot tea. I can’t even imagine dealing with snow. Why yes, I am a lifelong Californian. Perfect weather for me is 85F - it’s when the sidewalk starts to burn just a little when you’re walking on it barefoot. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/107 "2009-12-18T02:46:46Z")
I have cold-weather induced asthma, so I need full face covering if I’m going to spend more than five minutes outside when it’s colder than -5C. But as far as actually being outside, I’ve not encountered the temperature that I won’t go out in. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/108 "2009-12-18T02:54:34Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > … on the coast of the Buford Sea. Is this correct? I tried to Google to see where it was and it doesn’t come up ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/109 "2009-12-18T03:20:56Z")
Beaufort Sea. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/110 "2009-12-18T04:07:38Z")
I like the cold – in '95 or '96, I went walking in a -70 windchill. I go camping in my hammock, and I’ve slept comfortably in subfreezing weather. (wearing thermals/fleece and down quilts over and under) ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/111 "2009-12-18T04:08:32Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Do you have a personal “It’s too cold outside” limit? Anything under 60F is not fit for humans to live in. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/112 "2009-12-21T01:21:48Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Anything under 60F is not fit for humans to live in. Spoken like a true Texan 😃 But what is your personal limit. It may not be fit to live in but is it fit to go walking in? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/113 "2009-12-21T01:32:58Z")
Below 10C starts to feel pretty chilly to me. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/114 "2009-12-21T22:51:23Z")
At 25°F I’ll do my shopping trips leaving my coat in the car. At maybe 10°F or colder, I’m only going outside if I need to. Below 0°F, it’s house to car to office if I have any say about it. At that point, breathing starts to hurt. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/115 "2009-12-23T05:50:39Z")
Another Chicagoan here, and my limit also happens to be 20F. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/116 "2009-12-24T20:06:17Z")
Got down to -45 here a few years ago. I had to be out in it for a little while but I dressed for it and was OK. I had to cover my face to prevent chapping but had no lasting effects. Going out with exposed skin is probably closer to -15 or -20. I seem to really benefit from my northern European heritage though. As long as I’m moving about and dressed appropriately I don’t get cold. My body kicks in and cranks out the heat. Sometimes after I come in when it is really cold I have to strip down to my undies for a while to cool off until my body gets the message that it’s time to turn down the thermostat. Unfortunately this is true in summer as well. That is one of the reasons I live somewhere that it gets down to -45 in the winter. The summer highs average about 75 degrees, which is a little too warm for my tastes. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/117 "2009-12-24T20:29:17Z")
I walk my beagles every day. If it is too cold for them, I don’t go. That has not happened. We have cut them short though. My beagle that died last year would decide after he got hooked up on the leash and I opened the door. Quincy would sniff when the door was opened. If it was too cold, he would get unhooked and jump back into bed under the covers. I have walked in ice storms ,snow storms and windy cold days. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4491bb/32.png) [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Have_Hippos_In_My_Garden)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/118 "2009-12-24T21:11:51Z")
I’m in England and about -3 C is my limit. Even at that temperature I’m so cold my body hurts, no matter now many layers I put on! ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003/119 "2009-12-26T01:18:06Z")
I’ve done a 20-mile run in -12F wind chill. The record low in my town is -24F, and I think I walked about a mile to a friend’s house that night. It simply doesn’t get cold enough around here to make me stay inside. I will admit that it has gotten less and less pleasant as I’ve gotten older, though. Very rarely, we’ve had blizzards where white-out conditions made visibility ten feet or less. Going out in that is just plain stupid; people froze to death in their own front yards because they got lost. (See “Great Blizzard of 1978”.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-you-to-be-outside/520003.md?page=5)