My ass!!!
We don’t normally see ‘cold’ until mid-late February, not mid January! Much less single digit temps, with windchill below zero!!!
Last night the low here was 4 degrees, with a windchill of -11! OBTW, our homes aren’t insulated enough for this crap! We’re all hoping our waterlines don’t freeze or the power go out like last year!
Grumble… I’ll be huddling in my blankie and waiting for Wednesday when things get back a reasonable temp…
We are between glaciation events. Glaciers are more common than not. Evidence suggests Canada down to Minnesota were covered up in <100 years last time they came back. Sadly CO2 is not a great greenhouse gas. Methane is good. Eat more chicken!
I thought “4 degrees”, not too bad. Then I realised you meant “4 F”.
Argh.
I live in Western Pennsylvania and we do not have temps anywhere near that cold. Maybe you should move up here to escape that real frigid weather. We could use more conservative thinkers.
Y’all have had several of those severe cold snaps in the last few years. I don’t remember cold snaps like that when I was growing up in Texas. Then, I spent my childhood in the Hill Country, which would be a bit warmer than where you are.
When Red family moved to the Panhandle in the early 1980s, below zero F for several days every winter, and several feet of snow, were normal. Things got warmer in the early 2000s, and seem to be reversing again.
From my earliest memories (I’m 67) the middle 2 weeks of January were the coldest times of the year in East TN until the late 80s then the cold weather started coming later. In the mid 1970 I was a young cop working midnights and would listen to Bill Mack on WBAP in Dallas. It dawned on me that whatever the weather was there would hit here about 2 days later. Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s we had hard winters. Lots of snow and single digit temps. Maybe it is cycling back around to that.
Heh … I feel your pain. Brrrr. -9 here this morning and I can’t remember the last time the furnace wasn’t running. This is our second bout of real cold this winter and more sub-zero days than we’ve seen in years.
We are in the negative degrees without wind chill but I remember this kind of cold as a kid and, if dressed right, it’s dealable. I’m definitely not as likely to jump in the car to run errands though.
This is starting to feel like the 1970s, but without the snow (thus far*). And ditto on the house. RedQuarters used to be a very good winter house, until plumbers removed some wall insulation and … Texas can get cold, especially the Panhandle, but used to, it ramped up over November-December rather than slapping us all at once.
*We need the snow, and want the snow, just not 20′ drifts like happened in 1973 and 1976.
Put on your Pecoat (can’t remember how to spell it, if you still can, and sip some good bourbon.
Here’s a tip to prevent your pipes from freezing.
Make your faucets who are on an outside wall, drip. Hot and cold. The water movement will make it harder for pipes to freeze. Also, if you have sinks and/or vanities on an outside wall, open the doors below the sinks to allow air to circulate around the pipes. Again, it makes it harder for pipes to freeze. Also, flush your toilets frequently to prevent your sewer from freezing.
I ice skated on Copano Bay near Rockport,Tx around Christmas 1983.
All- Thanks and yes, weather is ‘cyclic’, in seven year cycles. I can remember snow in SW Arkansas in the early 60s, and we’re on the 9th seven year cycle since then, so maybe the cold IS coming back a bit. We did get snow the last couple of years here, and low teens for a week last February. CP- I’m still looking for my peacoat! I know I’ve got it somewhere, but I also broke out my arctic gear just in case!
Your peacoat still fits? Not mine.
I had a wonderful foul weather coat until my Warrant Officer “borrowed” it. Those WOs can’t be trusted, I tells ya. 🙂
It’s winter. It happens just about every year…
Is it verboten to bring up our overlords weaponized weather, or has the Overton window not opened up that much locally? Just checking, don’t want to cause any trouble.
Here in TN, it’s 11 with a wind chill of -1. We got our year’s worth of snow today. People are losing their minds. I’m 59, so I’ve done this before, and am comfortably ensconced at home.
Robert- Yeah, barely… LOL
All- Yep, weather happens every year, but usually NOT this early… sigh
I have two benchmarks for winter weather.
Be careful what you wish for!: Christmas Eve about ’60-’62, it started snowing in So-East PA. When it stopped, we had 3 feet of snow covering our dead end street. Not so fun winter wonderland!
First week of Dec, ’76, No-East PA in a two story log cabin way up in the mountains, near NY. Hunting trip. Wednesday? evening it started to lightly snow, but the temp dropped like a rock. The oil-fired heater froze it’s fuel line a couple times that night (I and Dad were snug in a couple AF survival mummy bags in the upstairs dormitory, and slept through the drama), and when we got up, it was -18F downstairs. The decision was made to abandon camp, as it was forecast to stay cold, and there wasn’t an alternative heat source.
Dad and I got home to the South NJ Shoreline, where it was ONLY -9F. It stayed that cold for a week. The back bay docking areas were destroyed by all the pilings getting pulled out of the bottom mud by tide working the ice sheet. Ice froze a foot thick. Mix of sea and fresh water. I left for Silicon Valley that spring, and got snowed on the following winter. Cars driving around with several inches of snow on the roof seemed sort of normal. To me, anyway!