How cold is it where you are?

[Glacier]

Current weather conditions in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska at 6:53 a.m.:

-24.0 Fahrenheit
-31.1 Celsius

Do I win a prize?

LOL nope! It's -35C here today or -31F! Howling wind! Just gross!

[pomtzu]

Glacier and kuhio............

I love the cold weather, but even the temps that you've posted are a little too much for me. How do you stand it - other than not going out of the house unless it's a life or death matter???? Glad I don't have your heating bills.

[Glacier]

Glacier and kuhio............

I love the cold weather, but even the temps that you've posted are a little too much for me. How do you stand it - other than not going out of the house unless it's a life or death matter???? Glad I don't have your heating bills.

In the far North, life goes on as usual no matter the temperature. We've had several weeks of temperatures much colder than this already this winter. Kids still go to school, you're expected to be at work, etc. I can occasionally get away with using a vacation day to stay home when it's really cold, but I'd much rather use my leave time for other things! You learn to dress for it! We can get -40 any time for about five months a year. Can't stay home or inside for that long! I did refuse to go skijoring today & ran on my treadmill. I don't run outside below -20C.

There is no natural gas infrastructure where I live. You have to get propane or oil delivered. Our main heat is wood in both the shop & house. We used to get our own wood but since Stuart is rarely home we buy it now for about 275 a cord. We have propane backup in the house & oil in the shop.

I no longer enjoy winter. I've always hated the dark here. I can deal with cold, but the dark will drive me out of here someday, at least for the winter. If all goes according to plan, I have four more Yukon winters after this one!

One more week til we leave for Cuba! A week is too short for a vacation but its better than nothing!

[Karen]

I know many people who get bothered by the lack of light most of all, more than the cold. I prefer cold to too hot, though!

[Steve Arnold]

I have a friend in Canada who is most bothered by the dark as well. But given the choice, I'd prefer too hot rather than too cold.

[caseysmom]

It was real cold here down in the upper 20's at night that is cold for here but the last few days have been mild. Just got back from Pismo beach and it was around 67 degrees felt like summer.

[chocolatepuppy]

Last nights temp was supposed to be 15*. Right now, it's 7*. Warming trend coming as of today.

[kuhio98]

LOL nope! It's -35C here today or -31F! Howling wind! Just gross!

Tamara ~ You can keep that cold! Don't send it our way, it's bad enough here already.

Current weather at Prudhoe airport:

Deadhorse Airport
Lat: 70.2 Lon: -148.47 Elev: 76
Last Update on Jan 27, 5:53 am AKST

-22 °F (-30 °C)
Humidity: 69 %
Wind Speed: SW 14 MPH
Barometer: 30.50" (1032.9 mb)
Dewpoint: -29 °F (-34 °C)
Wind Chill: -47 °F (-44 °C)
Visibility: 9.00 mi

For those who mentioned heating bills, etc. On the bright side..... we sure don't have any cooling bills in the summer! So, it all averages out.

[Laura's Babies]

Today in the deep south it is in the low 70's.. They said on the news the other night that so far this year we have only had 3 nights where the temp was in the low 30's and that is a record, normally we have had a lot more freezes. Jan & Feb are our coldest months..

[phesina]

Tamara and Lisa, and anyone else in places where it gets REEEALLLY cold, how do you dress for that kind of weather?

Here it's a balmy 20-some degrees (F) today. It actually got down to just sub-zero (wind-chills -15 or so) last Tuesday. This Tuesday it's supposed to go to about 50! F -> (50-30 = 20)/2 ~= 10C.

Pat

[kuhio98]

Here's a photo of the some of the Arctic Gear we wear at work.



But, when I'm home, I just don't go outside unless it's absolutely necessary -- and I can always find an excuse where it isn't necessary.....

[phesina]

Here's a photo of the some of the Arctic Gear we wear at work.



But, when I'm home, I just don't go outside unless it's absolutely necessary -- and I can always find an excuse where it isn't necessary.....

Lisa, are you a firefighter? Police officer? Mail carrier? I can't really tell what the uniform is.

How on earth does that guy in the picture get by without even EARMUFFS?????

Lisa/Tamara, do you wear any face-covering?

[kuhio98]

Lisa, are you a firefighter? Police officer? Mail carrier? I can't really tell what the uniform is.

How on earth does that guy in the picture get by without even EARMUFFS?????

I suspect the photo of the guy was taken in a very warm studio by the clothing manufacturer. I just used it because it resembles the gear we put on when we work outside. It's not really a uniform. It is required clothing to keep from freezing as you go from one jobsite to another -- thankfully, I have an inside job so I don't often have to go outside. My job involves planning and scheduling maintenance and repairs on fire detection and fire suppression systems..... Think of thousands of smoke detectors similar to those we have in our houses, but add in gas detectors and fire extinguishers as tall as your house. All of that stuff has to be maintained on a strict, regulatory schedule. My job involves tracking the required maintenance and repairs.

And, we can't use cell phones outside (because of the cold) or inside any of the processing plants. You've seen those photos of people talking on their cell phones while pumping gas.... and the sometimes resulting explosion due to static electricity? Well, imagine taking a call while standing next to a 3-story tall tank of combustible fuel.... Besides, cell phone reception isn't very reliable up here.

[Glacier]

Tamara and Lisa, and anyone else in places where it gets REEEALLLY cold, how do you dress for that kind of weather?

Layers, layers, layers! Thermal base layer of a synthetic wicking material; I like Helly Hansen brand. Merino wool for the middle insulating layer and then at least one more layer. I have a couple down parkas that work very well in extreme cold. Good cold weather gear is pricey but it's worth every dime!

Never ever anything cotton! Cotton gets wet and stays wet. Wet is dangerous in the cold!

Lisa, that looks like the same stuff Stuart uses when he's working in the winter!

[phesina]

How about gloves/mittens? What about when you have to take them off to manipulate something that you can't do with padded or covered fingers? (Or do you never take them off outside, and those activities [even phoning/texting?] have to wait until you get somewhere it's warm?)