-26F or -31C here tonight, how cold is it by you?

[Green Squall]

Probably the most epic coastal storm here in over a decade. The flooding in particular was like nothing I've ever seen. Dozens of cars lost including a couple the were swept into the harbor. I really hope these folks have good car insurance!

This is the local football field. Not photo shopped

 

[ronbo51]

Local airport/NOAA were at +14 f. last night at ~2:00 A.M.

Currently ~+7 f. on my front porch.

Held off on transferring fuel yesterday, due to the air temp cooling to around 0 f. yesterday afternoon and evening. No sense in doing now, what can be done at +15 or +20 f. later today or tomorrow.. should any of the forecasts come to pass as real.

The wet heavy snow here, immediately after or before freezing rain, is what spells the death knell for power lines, trees, aerial phone lines, etc.

Every place I've ever been where persons build to local minimum standards, it eventually costs them HUGE. Sheet-rockers, plumbers, painters, insulation laborers, sub-flooring, flooring, insurance deductibles (for those who are fortunate enough to have such coverage), storage of goods during the unplanned remodels, and so much more. Not to mention the residual amounts in unnecessary utility bills over time.

I run zero ethylene glycol in my boiler's heat lines, for the benefit of increased btu's. But that means I have to have walls, vapor barrier, etc., warm enough to withstand any exterior temps that (traditionally) -can- get down below -60 f.

I can think of freeze-ups following power outages here, in the local/surrounding areas, that cost home-owners $40,000 to $100,000 when all the dust settled out. What a freaking NIGHTMARE!!!

Saw scalpers during those times, with all the decent portable generators (and most poorly made generators) completely sold out in town, making double and triple value on both used and new equipment. Vultures one and all.

Good luck down there, ronbo.

After 23 years in Maine living a primitive homesteading lifestyle and coming to terms with real cold it's hard to take this too seriously, especially when a bit of proactive attention can save your ass. I saw this cold spell and storm coming 3 weeks ago. My weather guy at Weatherbell has been all over this shit since hurricane season ended. We had a meeting on Monday morning and decided to shut down the warehouse and all 15 retail locations starting Tuesday because we knew what was coming. No one on our staff had a clue. They were pissed and thought we were being alarmist. However, 3 days later and the city is still paralyzed. We were going to open today, but it's impossible. All the roads down here are elevated because of the tidal marsh and water everywhere. All the houses are elevated due to the floodplain and zoning. All the area under the houses are designed to let tidal water enter and exit unimpeded. So the under sides of all houses are wide open, with some decorative wood slats to hide the undermess.

Another thing that is interesting is that cold air masses are just big blobs that move around the northern hemisphere. They are finite. There is only so much cold to move around. As this cold air mass slides south and east other areas are warmer, including Alaska. As the east and south freezes the north and west is warm.
Supposedly, and I would bet on it, two more weeks of cold for the east, then a significant late January thaw, then another shot of cold in early Feb. I'd also bet that when we get the thaw you get the cold you aren't getting now.

in 1998 we had an ice storm. It drizzled rain at 30 degrees for 4 days. Ice built up feet thick on everything. Every power line in Maine and Quebec came down. There are pictures of mile after mile of high tension power lines strewn in a crumpled mess coming down from hydro Quebec. We went 13 days with no power. Every tree was ripped of its limbs and the woods for years looked sad and tortured. That's what I was thinking about the other day as our storm started and the freezing rain was accumulating .

 

[igrowone]

-2f this frosty AM, much colder over the next 2 days
but damn on that shit over on coastal new england, been a long while since the like of that has been by

 

[igrowone]

in 1998 we had an ice storm. It drizzled rain at 30 degrees for 4 days. Ice built up feet thick on everything. Every power line in Maine and Quebec came down. There are pictures of mile after mile of high tension power lines strewn in a crumpled mess coming down from hydro Quebec. We went 13 days with no power. Every tree was ripped of its limbs and the woods for years looked sad and tortured. That's what I was thinking about the other day as our storm started and the freezing rain was accumulating .

i do recall that storm very well
just bought my current home, the forecast was not good
for me, the ice line stated about 1000 feet north of my house
and for years there were gaps in the woods that looked like a war had been fought there
as i recall it was labelled a 'thousand year' event
i've seen more 'thousand year' events since then, the numbers aren't adding up

 

[~star~crash~]

chopping blocks of frozen road ice & dirt from my son's wheel wells this a.m. , for the 10'th time

 

[Stoner4Life]

why be bitchin' -22F & still it's supposed to hit 1F today.......

 

[420somewhere]

Brings back memories...

Brings back memories...

I remember the cold in Alaska.. Like when...

Someone stole my distributor while I was in a local bar (I guess they didn’t like me boning the young barmaid)

I had to change the starter in my 69 Camaro, in the street below zero

Hitchhiking from Fairbanks to Anchorage with an M60 machine gun in January

It took me 5 years after I left Alaska, before I visited the snow again, then I taught my wife how to ski

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

I saw on the news it was so cold in Florida that the iguana lizards were falling out of the trees because they were stunned by the cool weather!

 

[moose eater]

All the houses are elevated due to the floodplain and zoning. All the area under the houses are designed to let tidal water enter and exit unimpeded. So the under sides of all houses are wide open, with some decorative wood slats to hide the undermess.

Another thing that is interesting is that cold air masses are just big blobs that move around the northern hemisphere. They are finite.

in 1998 we had an ice storm. It drizzled rain at 30 degrees for 4 days.

Currently a balmy +11 f. here. It was +12 f. on the porch at ~ 8:00 A.M.

Lots of homes here built on pilings, especially down in the flood plains along the rivers. In those cases where pipes can't enter a home through the block or slab of a basement, folks will excavate down around pipes at least 4' and apply heat trace tape (preferably with both the circuit breaker AND a manual interrupt switch), and spray foam (using various all-weather foams that provide sufficient insulation to prevent cold from penetrating and freezing) up to the insulation under their flooring/joisting. (*as stated before, cheap heat-trace, or failed heat trace takes a number of homes by fire each year, so doing it right, and getting good heat trace matters A LOT!).

We're in an El Nino winter here; affected as much by the Japanese currents off the N. Pacific. My guess is we'll have a fair amount of snowfall this year, and mild temps right on through spring time, with the remote possibility of a slightly cooler/colder spring.

But we haven't had old-fashioned winters here for decades, with the exception of 1989/90, and again when we built here in 1997/98, when we had a fair bit of -55 (*or -much- colder in 89/90).

In the early 1980s, I remember doing a brake job on my ancient pick-up, sitting on hard-pack snow outside, in the middle of the night at ~-53. Constantly going in to the cabin and warming my hands by the barrel wood stove. I don't miss ANY of that.

But like I said, the severe cold from years ago, that would come for 3-6 weeks at a time, dependably, on most winters, hasn't been seen here overall for a long time now.

 

[~star~crash~]

high of minus -1 and a low of minus-13 (Fahrenheit) ... let me tell you this is pretty brutal ...i've been wondering how the creatures survive outside? this a.m. i went out to feed the birds and there was a flock of morning doves under my porch...they frantically flew away while i set up the seed and put out some hot water , but it must have been at least a little bit warmer under there maybe one degree makes a difference between life and death for them?

 

[Robrites]

Who Drowns First- a game

Who Drowns First- a game

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Seven degrees Fahrenheit.

In a thermal a T-shirt and corduroys.

It's fucking cold.

 

[armedoldhippy]

4 degrees F here tonight. my dog won't go out & pee...

 

[bigherb]

9 degrees right now , real feel -8 add in 14 mph winds and being right by the water it’s colder than those posted temperatures


1luvbigherb

 

[igrowone]

-5f this morning
-15f was predicted, so it's a good morning

 

[Stoner4Life]

starting tomorrow we're getting some mid 20s temps, it might be our 'January thaw' we get every year.......

 

[moose eater]

4 degrees F here tonight. my dog won't go out & pee...

Just tell him/her it's a dry cold, walk out onto your porch in front of him/her with nothing but your skibbies on, and pretend to be having a good time. Works every time for my pups.

(*Mind you, you may only have 30-60 seconds to pull off this rouse before they catch on to your trembling body parts, and it becomes a deal-breaker, so you have to be quick, but convincing. )

+7 f. here on the front porch at a still-dark 8:00 A.M. Currently +2 degrees f with the sun struggling to reveal itself.

 

[armedoldhippy]

Just tell him/her it's a dry cold, walk out onto your porch in front of him/her with nothing but your skibbies on, and pretend to be having a good time. Works every time for my pups.

(*Mind you, you may only have 30-60 seconds to pull off this rouse before they catch on to your trembling body parts, and it becomes a deal-breaker, so you have to be quick, but convincing. )

+7 f. here on the front porch at a still-dark 8:00 A.M. Currently +2 degrees f with the sun struggling to reveal itself.

the male i used to have would roll in the snow & have a big time in winter. this female? not on your damn life. she uses the stepping stones across the front yard to keep her widdle toesies dry, lol. girly all the way through...

 

[moose eater]

the male i used to have would roll in the snow & have a big time in winter. this female? not on your damn life. she uses the stepping stones across the front yard to keep her widdle toesies dry, lol. girly all the way through...

My younger boy's elkhound is built for the weather here (though coming in and out of the house, and living indoors, hurts her natural preparedness), while the GSD is shorter haired and thinner-legged. My wife's much smaller, aged pup has a curly doo that seems like it would provide a layer of warmth for him, but is thinner than it looks.

At -20 or so, they all do the hot-foot dance when outside. But they'll all go willingly; they're infatuated with sniffing to see if anything's read the 'mail' they've left hither and thither, and the littlest one has a nearly-criminal addiction to assessing the last deposits to the compost pile (*can't get into it, but I think the voles sometimes help to create ground-level tunnels for the little bugger; not quite sure what kind of quid pro quo they've got going on)..

All three are into vole hunting. The littlest pup has too much fluff in his aged ears. But the shepherd and elkhound can hear the little buggers running in their tunnels under the snow, & they'll stand there, staring intently at a white, smooth surface, as though hallucinating.

The elkhound will frequently turn into a spiraling torpedo, writhing and burrowing through the snow at nearly any temperature, submerging herself for fun, 'til completely covered in powder. Both she and the shepherd use their snouts as weaponized lawn darts. When the sound of voles under the snow seems to have stopped moving, they'll jam their snouts straight downward with great speed, through what ever depth of snow, trying to 'spear' the little rodents. On rare occasion, they're successful at it.

 

[armedoldhippy]

my arsenal against the cold. you might have to look hard to see it all...