# Is Minnesota really that cold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2019, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617 "2019-03-06T06:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/1 "2019-03-06T06:22:48Z")
Police in Jordan, MN, were called for a welfare check on a man with a “deranged smile” on his face, standing in the cold without a coat and hugging a pillow. > [@](#): > > A concerned citizen in a Jordan, Minnesota, neighborhood noticed the “man” and called the cops to request a welfare check on “the adult male in need of possible assistance,” according to a Facebook post from the Jordan Police Department. > > “The caller certainly was not wanting to get too close thinking who is this deranged person standing outside in the cold hugging a pillow,” police said on Facebook. “Always better to call the police.” Upon investigation, the “man” turned out to be a life-sized cardboard cutout of Mike Lindell, the guy who invented MyPillow and advertises his products on TV. [https://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/national/article227082604.html](https://www.kansas.com/news/nation-world/national/article227082604.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/2 "2019-03-06T13:18:01Z")
I hate it when that happens to me. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/3 "2019-03-06T13:34:33Z")
Yes. Several years ago, some friends and I were driving down Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. Several ladies of the evening were outside plying their trade. My friend sighed and said - “Minnesota - the only state in the union where the hookers wear galoshes.” Regards, Shodan PS - how cold is it? In Minnesota, the flashers come up to you and describe themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/4 "2019-03-06T14:44:07Z")
I lived in Bemidji, Minnesota for three years. It was indescribably cold. The wind chill can hit negative 20, 30 or even more. When it gets above freezing, you can go out wearing only a sweater and feel warm. In plain English, it is COLD! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/5 "2019-03-06T15:12:58Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I lived in Bemidji, Minnesota for three years. It was indescribably cold. The wind chill can hit negative 20, 30 or even more. When it gets above freezing, you can go out wearing only a sweater and feel warm. > > In plain English, it is COLD! Well, yeah, Da Range is one frigid place. My ex was from there, so I’ve visited that area in all seasons. I remember -30 without wind chill one visit. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/6 "2019-03-06T16:13:31Z")
Not really. It’s 15F right now so pretty balmy. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/7 "2019-03-06T16:21:29Z")
It’s been horribly cold this winter. Windchills in the -30 & -20 for days at a time. We’re excited that Friday’s temps are going to be in the high 20’s…above 0! We complain all winter long (and winter is very long) about the weather but it makes spring and summer seem all that much sweeter. When we get our first 50-degree day, you’ll see many people in their shorts and flip-flops even though we still have massive snowbanks everywhere. We tend to get anxious :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/8 "2019-03-06T18:41:23Z")
Considering that the My Pillow Guy is a right wing nutcase, I wouldn’t have bothered calling if he had been out in the cold. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/9 "2019-03-06T18:50:47Z")
_Rocky & Bullwinkle_’s home town of Frostbite Falls was [inspired my International Falls, MN](https://www.minnesotafunfacts.com/minnesota-in-mass-media/television-shows/the-rocky-and-bullwinkle-show/). > [@](#): > > **The Inspiration for Frostbite Falls, MN** > Jay Ward grew up in Berkeley, CA. As a child he listened to the radio because broadcast television was not yet available. Jay somehow located broadcasts of the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football games and he (for reasons unknown) became a big fan of the Golden Gophers. He was especially drawn to their star football player, Bronko Nagurski, who played for the Golden Gophers from 1927 to 1929. > > Jay also heard weather forecasts for various parts of the country when listening to the radio. Every so often Bronko Nagurski’s hometown of International Falls, MN was mentioned in the weather broadcast as being “The Icebox of the Nation”. This apparently tickled Jay’s imagination, and in the early 1950’s, International Falls, Minnesota became the inspiration for “Frostbite Falls, Minnesota”, the hometown of Rocky and Bullwinkle in the “Rocky and His Friends” series first broadcast on national TV in late 1959. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/10 "2019-03-06T18:52:25Z")
There’s a certain stoic pride that Minnesotans have about winter weather, particularly the sorts of bitter cold temperatures and heavy snow that boggle the minds of people who live further south. “It’s not so bad.” People in Wisconsin are similar in this regard, but I do think that Minnesota winters can be a bit harsher. My college girlfriend was from suburban St. Paul. She and I once went up there during St. Paul’s Winter Carnival (late January, IIRC), and the weather was (by Minnesota standards) remarkably mild and snow-free; the locals were (good-naturedly) complaining about their “wimpy winter.” ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/11 "2019-03-06T20:55:01Z")
Just to say, it doesn’t necessarily need to be super cold to cause hypothermia. Someone stuck outside without suitable clothing when it’s in the 30s could certain suffer serious health issues. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/12 "2019-03-06T22:02:53Z")
Yesterday I drove past a guy - face wrapped in a scarf, stocking cap pulled down, heavy gloves, heavy boots, and a heavy coat - completely open with just a T-shirt underneath. Did not quite grasp the logic. I love this state, I actually do love the cold, but at this point I could do with some balmy 50f temps. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/13 "2019-03-06T22:21:22Z")
I’d just like one day that’s warm enough for all the packed snow & ice to melt out of the wheelwells on my car. It keep scraping against the tires when I turn, and that’s kinda annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/14 "2019-03-07T05:42:01Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’d just like one day that’s warm enough for all the packed snow & ice to melt out of the wheelwells on my car. It keep scraping against the tires when I turn, and that’s kinda annoying. Preach! ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/15 "2019-03-07T05:45:37Z")
Minnesota is where I learned that the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales cross at -40 degrees. That’s when I decided, just fuck all the northern things in general. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2019, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/16 "2019-03-07T06:11:38Z")
Generally I don’t mind the winters in MN. This one has just had way to much of the deep freeze in it. Usually, we have one week, end of January or early February, that has what I describe as Stupid Cold weather. That’s the times where breathing outside causes the hairs in your nose to freeze up. This year those days just keep coming. Compared to the lower 48, yes, it is that cold. Are there other areas that get colder? Yep, much colder. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/17 "2019-03-07T14:20:08Z")
It’s supposed to warm up this weekend (up to +30[sup]o[/sup]F), and also drop up to 12 inches of heavy, wet snow, plus another storm next week. Stoicism is one thing - masochism is another. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/18 "2019-03-07T15:40:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I lived in Bemidji, Minnesota for three years. It was indescribably cold. The wind chill can hit negative 20, 30 or even more. When it gets above freezing, you can go out wearing only a sweater and feel warm. > > In plain English, it is COLD! What’s that ‘sweater’ crap? There was usually at least one January day where it got above freezing when I was at college, and everyone cranked Beach Boys tunes out the dorm windows and went out in shorts to have fun in the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/19 "2019-03-07T17:20:18Z")
This winter has been especially brutal. We’ve cycled between record low temps and record snowfalls. So it’s either below zero or when it warms up into the teens we get dumped on with more snow. It actually hasn’t been too bad this year since I always keep my vehicle in an attached garage overnight which is a good 20 degrees warmer than outside. I also have remote start, all-wheel drive, heated seats, and a heated steering wheel which have been a blessing this year. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617/20 "2019-03-07T19:11:24Z")
I’m just thankful I get to use my (now repaired) snowblower once this season. I figured, now that it was fixed, we wouldn’t see another flake until next November. Unfortunately, my trip to Winona was canceled, because who knows how long it would take to get home Sunday. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-minnesota-really-that-cold/830617.md?page=2)