# What is the cutoff point for "bitter" cold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590 "2019-03-05T19:57:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/1 "2019-03-05T19:57:31Z")
So it has been cold here this week. Today’s high is forecast to be 20 degrees, but it feels all of 4. My first thought was “bitter cold” but then I recalled the Polar Vortex. So at what point is cold weather “bitter”? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/2 "2019-03-05T19:59:19Z")
My rule of thumb: Zero or below is cold. Minus 20 or below is bitter cold. Minus 40 or below is stupid cold. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/3 "2019-03-05T20:03:46Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > My rule of thumb: > > Zero or below is cold. > > Minus 20 or below is bitter cold. > > Minus 40 or below is stupid cold. F or C? For me, under about 35 F (above zero) is “cold”. Under 15 or so is bitter cold. Single digits and below is freezing (and I’ve never personally experienced any worse than about -5 F, which would have been druing a winter in Maine while I was in the Navy). ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/4 "2019-03-05T20:08:32Z")
Anything below 25 F is bitter cold to me; I’m a warmie. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/5 "2019-03-05T20:09:05Z")
I’d say 0F with windchill is bitter cold, as I experienced approximately that in a blizzard 10 or so years ago and it was too cold for me to walk against the wind since I only had a winter coat but no hat. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/6 "2019-03-05T20:15:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > My rule of thumb: > > Zero or below is cold. > > Minus 20 or below is bitter cold. > > Minus 40 or below is stupid cold. Converting that to Celcius, I agree completely. (Of course -40 is the same in both scales.) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/7 "2019-03-05T20:17:37Z")
Yeah, like Quadgop, I wouldn’t consider it bitter cold until it’s -20F. I have snow 6 months out of the year, so pretty used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/8 "2019-03-05T20:35:12Z")
I’d say that 20F is “cold” for me because, while I don’t have a bodily reaction to it and indeed it can seem quite temperate given enough clothing, the wiper fluid in my car, and any water I might be carrying with me, don’t agree with my subjective assessment. I once ran 40 miles around Canandaigua Lake in 20 degree weather and except in the beginning I never had to use the entire combination of the zipper on my winter coat, gloves, and hat, but the water bottles I brought along froze. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/9 "2019-03-05T21:06:28Z")
I live in the South, but I have spent time in Arctic climes, and have had a lifelong preference for cold weather. As such, I have trouble assigning a number for this, because I think it’s rather subjective. As a starting point, though, “bitter” describes things that are “sharp” or “cutting” (among other things) and is etymologically related to “bite”. (Indeed, we say that a cold wind has a “bite” to it.) So, a “bitter cold” is a sharp, cutting, biting cold. To try pin that down a little further, I would say that the temperature has reached that point when dry, still\* air causes a stinging, painful sensation in exposed skin no more than 30 seconds after transition from a warm environment. Flipping back through my mental file of times, places, temperatures, and wind conditions, I can state that, for me, that point is definitely below 10F, probably below 5F, but no lower than -10F. \*Wind, of course, blows this all to hell. A wind can bite even when the temp is well above freezing. Breathing, for the record, amounts to roughly a 3 mph wind, so the nose should not be used to gauge a still-air response unless you’re holding your breath. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/10 "2019-03-05T21:10:40Z")
0F with appreciable wind (like 10 mph) is about where bitter cold starts for me. The wind makes a big difference. When it was -14f here a few weeks ago, it didn’t seem that bad to me, but a few days later we got single digits with significant wind and it was awful. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/11 "2019-03-05T21:43:20Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > My rule of thumb: > > Zero or below is cold. > > Minus 20 or below is bitter cold. > > Minus 40 or below is stupid cold. I’d go with that. I stop running outside at around 0F. But I’ll hike to -20F, or at least I used to. Nowadays I’m getting pretty soft. I’ll rarely ski at or below -10F; I’ll find better things to do. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/12 "2019-03-05T21:50:41Z")
For me, it depends on the wind. Zero and calm is no problemo, but 20 and a howler that cuts right through anything you are wearing is pretty bitter in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/13 "2019-03-05T21:59:10Z")
10C is cold 0C is bitter cold -10C is “not leaving the house” cold ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/14 "2019-03-05T23:01:01Z")
If Clan Piper followed that approach, we’d starve by mid-January as the food ran out. 🙂 (Had to walk to work in -40C last month because my car battery froze.) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/15 "2019-03-05T23:47:18Z")
For me, bitter cold would be when you go outside, inhale through your nose, and the inside of your nose freezes. I expect that’s dependent on the individual, so exact temp will vary. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/16 "2019-03-06T00:23:32Z")
Bitter cold for a prairie boy is -30 C. But it really depends on the wind. A windy day at -10 is pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/17 "2019-03-06T02:01:24Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > For me, it depends on the wind. Zero and calm is no problemo, but 20 and a howler that cuts right through anything you are wearing is pretty bitter in my book. Yeah same here. I’m from the snow belt and built like a polar bear but when it’s cold + windy, it does suck. Today I was out and it was 20-some degrees (F) but where I had to go it was windy as fuck. Windchill was 4 in the city but this area was particularly windy. I’d say that was bitter cold right there. I’ve stood in my yard on a day with hardly any wind and -10 temps and it’s fine, compared to the wind today. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/18 "2019-03-06T02:20:39Z")
I know this one. I lived in Montana when I was a young guy and could take the cold. My rule was: If my mustache froze solid the instant I walked out the door, then it was pretty cold. If my mustache didn’t freeze, it just wasn’t that cold. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/19 "2019-03-06T02:28:27Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > My rule was: If my mustache froze solid the instant I walked out the door, then it was pretty cold. My rule is similar. If my nose hairs freeze, it’s bitter cold. That generally happens right around 0 degrees F. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590/20 "2019-03-06T02:32:04Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Bitter cold for a prairie boy is -30 C. Yeah, I would agree with that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-cutoff-point-for-bitter-cold/830590.md?page=2)