It is below zero here, and the wind pushes is to something like twenty below, which sounds terrible. It feels terrible. The worst I can recall is three consecutive days in 1979, when we hit lows of 21, 22, and 26 below over Christmas around sunrise. We had an infant bundled up and packed into a VW Beetle to visit relatives. You may remember the heating systems on those: hoses that ran from around the engine beneath the car up to a little vent next to one foot (left for the driver, right for the passenger) in the front, next to the clutch. And not good hoses, after five years of aging. We have hit -20 a number of years in my memory, but nothing else worse.
After I got indoors this afternoon I had to go back out if only to check on my snowbird neighbor's house. Heat is still on, Norm, still 56 degrees. Enjoy Venice, FL, you bastard. I didn't bother with hat or gloves or zipping up the jacket, which you can do if you are keeping your exposure under 60 seconds. But there are places you can't do that. WC will go to -48 tonight and I would not risk anything exposed in that temp for any length of time. You might trip and your wife might be reading or doing line dancing from the computer or something and not notice.
Mt Washington Observatory, home of the worst weather in the world, just hit a new wind chill record (for them) at -106. (Now -109) Apparently the troposphere could drop below the summit tonight, meaning that MWO would be above the stratosphere. It sounds terrible. I have no idea what that means. They are wondering if they will have a temperature record as well, just after midnight, below what happened in 1885. (-45. They got to -47.1) I have no idea what -106 means. It's just a number to me. But I try the thought experiment: I know what -3 is, in complete stillness. And I know what +100 degrees is like in the summer. That's a 103 degree shift, and -106 is as far below -3 as +100 is above it. I can't get my mind around that. I write it but have no idea of the reality. Bsking tells me the US record is Alaskan at -80, and lowest for the Lower 48 is -70 in Montana. Robert Frost claimed to have seen -62 in Franconia (and Above The Notch is a land of fantasy cold), where ridiculous claims are made. Color me suspicious, even there. The average temperature on Mars is -80.
Sidebar: The Observatory got a better naked-eye view of the comet last night than my wife did down here with binoculars.
The State of NH announced it will not be sending out rescue teams for any hikers stupid enough to try even a little bit of this (again, it is good to have a governor with a science degree). People want bragging rights, but forget that the colder it gets, the more stuff breaks. Things you were counting on working even in very cold conditions - like zippers, carabiners, even your damned boot soles - don't behave the same way.
It's just numbers at this point, and my son in Nome sees worse numbers than mine every year, so I won't update unless there is some additional story. He just headed out on snow machines to go 70 miles and hunt caribou with friends.
Update: Well accuweather said it was WC -45 during the gusts, so I gave it a shot and went outside for a minute. Yes. That is cold, I thought. I agree. Not exactly profound. In general the wind has been less and we are more like -25 or 30
When it gets to -100 at the South Pole, a few brave souls crank the sauna up to 200, and then join the 300 degree club--baking for a few minutes and then racing outside naked. (And racing back in again--I'm told somebody properly dressed is there to catch you if you slip.) I suppose one gets a bit stir crazy during a 6 month long night.
ReplyDeleteThey don't have that custom on Mt Washington, do they?
Not that I've ever heard. Perhaps because they are not entirely isolated and they want no hint of encouraging crazy locals from trying anything. They do have to go out every few hours to keep the equipment clear, and I think that probably maxes at about 150 degree switch.
ReplyDeleteI was 7 when I lived in Whitehorse. We would take a full pitcher of water outside, when it got cold, and watch the water turn to ice before it hit the ground as we poured it out.
ReplyDeleteA bit chilly. But later when I was about 9 we went through the ice, at the school I went to every year. Swimming around in a pool with 2' of ice around it, was surprisingly OK. ;)
I can't wait to get my utility bill for the days in late December that had highs in the mid 20s and the low at 7. I live in Alabama where this is NOT normal.
ReplyDeleteThe forecasts predicted higher temps and little precipitation -- both grossly wrong resulting in the closure of the two main roads "over the mountains" being closed with stranded vehicles due to snow and ice. There are only 4 ways to get over or around the mountains and one of them is hazardous on dry summer days -- two lanes, steep, no shoulders, curves, etc. The other adds about 25 miles to the route.
Thankfully there were no fatalities due to this mess. That's not due to the multiple "northerners" criticizing southern drivers for lack of skill, but rather to the local rednecks threading their way up through the stalled vehicles with blankets, water, and other first aid supplies. I suspect New Hampshire has an adequate supply of such rednecks but might be lacking in "northerners" telling them how they should drive.