I would imagine one’s body temp heats up fast when actively shoveling and clearing snow. I have clothes specifically for cold weather outdoor activity that look pretty skimpy but are great at trapping heat. In -11F weather, I’m going to be wearing boots and long underwear.
I’m overweight, but I’m not diabetic and do not have high blood pressure or cholesterol, nor have I ever been a smoker, so I’m still low risk. I am aware that heart disease can present very differently in women than it does in men.
I decided to walk at the mall, something I hadn’t done in a while, and in addition to being surprised at how few people were there, since school was cancelled today too (although they may have been busy earlier), I saw a teenage girl wearing - get this - a hoodie and a crop top. Oh, to be 16 again! (No, thanks.) My car thermometer also peaked at 8 degrees. Woo hoo, cue up Martha and the Vandellas!
In extreme cold, layers are the way to go.
My snow blower decided this was the weekend to spring a leak in the fuel line, with well more than a foot of snow coming down, so i had to break out the old shovel. As i was clearing the driveway i was convinced i was gonna die of heat stroke and hypothermia simultaneously.
Good to hear you’re not at risk. I have to admit that I’m a bit paranoid about heart disease in women (even though I’m low-risk myself) because my grandmother died of it and her sister, my favorite great-aunt, died of a heart attack at age 73.
And last week I had lunch with my cousin, his wife and teen daughter. All the adults were in winter coats on a 30 degree day, but the teen was in a cropped, bare midriff hoodie.
Chicago burbs - Walked the dog this morning in +1F. Seemed like a heat wave after a few days of below zero and wind. Just damned cold, as opposed to kill-ya cold. Don’t know how (or why ;)) those of you further north handle it.
The one benefit was getting to laugh at our mutt as he tippy-tapped around when we put booties on his feet. We even broke down and bought him a freaking coat - a first for me in a lifetime of owning dogs!
At least the days are getting longer! 
I can see why you would be worried about that. I’m not sure how much I should worry about it given my overweight, but I think I would rather die of a heart attack than cancer. However, both of those ailments are associated with obesity, so you can’t really prevent for one without preventing the other. I just make an effort to stay active, with varying degrees of success, but at least I’m trying.
And I will get my exercise today because once it warms up to 15F I’m going out there to shovel. The driveway is fine now, but if it snows again, we’ll be screwed. I need the exercise anyway.
NE MN
We’ve had about a week of below 0 temps with windchills as cold as -34. It’s supposed to start warming up this weekend and we should be back to high 20s (above 0!) by next Tuesday. So that will feel like a heatwave!
I haven’t been able to do my morning walks with the dogs. I usually take them one at time for a mile walk each on-leash down the road. When it’s this cold, it seems even colder when you’re out in the open. Their feet can’t take it either. So we’ve only been doing our off-leash trail walks in the afternoons. They seem oblivious to the cold then. They frolic around in the snow and chase each other for about 45 minutes.
This is our first sub-zero cold snap of the year. Hopefully, but doubtfully, this will be the last.
My cat doesn’t go outdoors except to the vet, but I saw her curled up on the couch and tried to cover her when the temperature was at its lowest, with a dish towel. She was having none of that.
We had a foot of snow today. I cleaned it off of the windows of the RAV4 and the Jeep, and swapped their positions. Didn’t bother cleaning off the tops, since we’re not going anywhere. I got the snow off of the roofs of the canopy garage and the canopy shed. Only, we’re in the high-20s; not below zero.
Hehehe, some cats just aren’t into being covered. I’ve got one now that looks at you like you smell bad if you try to put a blanket on her. The two others we have burrow incessantly under the rugs as if they have mole instincts.
Getting close to 3 feet of snow for the week. The plow on my truck broke (lost a clevis pin). I did get a new one, but this means taking the plow off and putting it back on. At least it’s gotten warmer. Not below zero any more.
I do have a small uncovered (no cab) 4x4 Kabota tractor with a bucket on it, so I’m lucky in that regard. It takes a lot longer though and I really need to dress extra warm.
Last night we got about another 4 inches of snow. I need to clear the driveway of that snow so I can work on the plow truck. Just a little ironic.
What’s the longest you have been snowed in–so you couldn’t get to town to buy groceries?
Hmm… I’ve a plow truck and 4x4 loader tractor, both chained up on all 4. Plow truck has a winch on the back. That keeps me busy, and I sometimes plow the county road on my dime. So never really been snowed in. My Wife and I both have good 4x4’s (we make sure of that).
Never really have to buy groceries. But it’s up to me to keep us mobile. When I had my hip replaced, I hired a guy to plow. I ended up having to pull him out 3 times (he did not ask to renew the contract).
The good news is that our property is above the ‘road’. The county puts all snow on the downhill side. But getting out can still be iffy, and we have been stuck more times that I can count.
Before COVID, we got snowed out lots. Had to leave car in ‘road’ and walk to get plow. Now that I work from home, I can keep up on things better. And at least not plow in the dark.
Plow broke 2 days ago, so I am going to head out in an hour to ‘plow’ with the tractor.
I went out and ran a few errands this afternoon, and by the time I got home, it was getting pretty slick. Several of my neighbors and I, none of whom I had ever met before and they probably didn’t know each other either, took turns pushing each others’ cars into parking spaces. At one point, we had 5 people pushing one car, which had to be quite a sight.
Winter in Iowa, gotta love it!
I had not heard this story from you. I’m glad your body did speak up. I’m almost ten years older, and in this cold of NE Kansas I’m so glad not to have to go out.
Many years ago I almost got frostbite while in the Army. We had to march a mile in -33 degree F and then building we were going to had burst pipes. By the time a bus got me back to housing, I was married then, I truly couldn’t feel my toes. One of the good memories of my ex is how he got me into more dry clothes and helped warm by feet by using his own hands. It must have chilled him considerably.
This reminded me. Years ago, a farmer friend, who had served for years in the Canadian Armed Forces, asked me to help out with some outdoor work on his farm one wintry day. I thought I had dressed warmly but he disagreed. “Here, put this on,” he said, tossing me a green sweater. “It’s what I used, when we did winter training in the Forces.” And damn! Did I stay warm that day in that sweater under my parka.
At the end of the day, I tried to give it back. “Naw, you keep it. I’ve got a few others.” So I kept it, and I still have it, and I still use it. It is so warm, it’s not funny. Every winter, it gets used.
I won’t comment on how the Canadian Armed Forces spends its money. But I’m sure glad that they equip troops with sweaters like this. And that they allow ex-servicemen to keep them, and give them to their friends, if they wish.
Just lovely. Look at a radar image of Lake Michigan. See that line of lake effect snow moving south on the lake? That’s pointed right at my front door. About 8 inches so far, and forecasts say another 12 inches or more to come.
At least the temps have climbed some since three days ago when my kitchen sink drain froze somehow. That was new. It finally thawed out, but being unable to use the kitchen sink for two days really sucked.
Yesterday, I ran some errands, and when I came home, two other cars in the parking lot were spinning their wheels. We took turns pushing each other into spaces, and my body apparently did a delayed “STOP.” I woke up early with terrible chest pain, although I had no trouble breathing, it wasn’t migrating up my jaw or down my left arm, and I also didn’t have a feeling of fear that other people have told me they experienced with heart attacks (beyond, well, thinking the worst). I now have a bit of soreness on the FRONT of my sternum, which ibuprofen is hitting.
Now, if only I could get rid of the ANT invasion! I don’t usually see that until later in the spring.
School cancelled again today due to freezing rain. But the rain softened up some of that ice and I was able to dislodge a lot of the ice on our driveway. With effort.
My husband started the shoveling first and then he came in and said, “You seem stressed. I thought you might want to work out some of your aggression by doing the rest.”
And so I did. It did feel better.
Never again do I skip shoveling that mere three inches. Once it turns to ice it turns out to be way more trouble in the long run. It’s going to heat to 40F this week and I’m hoping for some melting.