# Its Cold Here



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 3, 2007)

Its really cold here in Chicago! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			








I hope everyone is staying warm.


----------



## bethzaring (Feb 3, 2007)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> Its really cold here in Chicago!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

Same here, and it is going to get worse, and I am going to MINNESOTA this week


----------



## BigDog (Feb 3, 2007)

bethzaring said:
			
		

> Same here, and it is going to get worse, and I am going to MINNESOTA this week


 
LOL! Current temp: 12 BELOW zero!

Current wind chill: 32 BELOW zero!

Through Tuesday, windchill warnings down to 40 BELOW zero!!!


----------



## BlueCat (Feb 3, 2007)

BigDog said:
			
		

> LOL! Current temp: 12 BELOW zero!
> 
> Current wind chill: 32 BELOW zero!
> 
> Through Tuesday, windchill warnings down to 40 BELOW zero!!!


 
Wow!  The Chicago area isn't THAT cold - but we're cold.  Our wind chill in the suburbs is -18° though - too cold for me.

BC


----------



## Dina (Feb 3, 2007)

47 degrees down here in south Texas.


----------



## Toots (Feb 3, 2007)

Its cold here too (northern Kentucky).  Its 10 right now with windchill of about -12.  Supposed to be very cold for the next 4 days.  

Have you seen the commercial for an island vacation?  They show a couple on the beach and voice comes on and says "there are places with no wind chill".  Gets me EVERY time - I almost picked up the phone to book a trip last time I saw it!


----------



## Katie H (Feb 3, 2007)

Even though the sun is shining, it's bitter cold.  Plus it's very, very windy.  The "feels like" temp is about 12 degrees F.  It is also supposed to get colder the next several days.  I just wish the wind would stop.


----------



## Run_Out (Feb 3, 2007)

It's cold in Lubbock, TX. We had 2"-3" Thursday night. That's to cold for me.. I want springtime to hurry up...

later


----------



## mudbug (Feb 3, 2007)

It's that global warming stuff that is making us all shiver this weekend.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 3, 2007)

Katie E said:
			
		

> Even though the sun is shining, it's bitter cold. Plus it's very, very windy. The "feels like" temp is about 12 degrees F. It is also supposed to get colder the next several days. I just wish the wind would stop.



It's funny how everything is truly relative.  To me, it isn't bitter cold until the skin on my forehead hurts when I step outside.  That's around -10, or 5 with a wind chill, and below.  Nippy is from about 10 to 5 degrees.  From 15 on up, I don't really feel the cold.  And when the news comentators suggest that 38 degrees is dangeously cold, well, I've swam in water colder than that, mind you, not for very long.

I really know its cold out when the snow crunches loudly under foot, and I feel a sharp sensation in my nose when I breath in.

My wife on the other hand, well she's bitterly cold at anything below about 45 degrees.

By the way, it's about 2 degrees here in Sault Ste. Marie.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## BigDog (Feb 3, 2007)

You know it is cold out when the temperature is not gauged by degrees, but by how quickly the stuff in your nose freezes!

LOL!


----------



## BigDog (Feb 3, 2007)

FYI, it is still 12 below zero air temp here, but the wind chill has dropped to 35 below zero . . . . . frostbite occurs in under 10 minutes at that temp!


----------



## BlueCat (Feb 3, 2007)

I think we're still at -18 wind chill.  The wind is howling.  People from warmer climates can't quite grasp the concept, but when they include warnings on the local newscasts not to go outside unless it's absolutely necessary, that's serious.  I know I have some residual effects from frostbite over the years.  Now it's hard to go out in temps like this without almost immediate aching in the ring and little fingers on each hand.  I know a lot of men have ears that have been "nipped" over the years from short haircuts too.  The tolerance afterward is much decreased.

BC


----------



## buckytom (Feb 3, 2007)

mudbug said:
			
		

> It's that global warming stuff that is making us all shiver this weekend.


 
you're quite correct.

the earth, or should i say the environment, reacts with relatively large, seemingly illogical swings in weather patterns when disturbed. and boy, are we poking at it with greenhouse gasses.

there's been some really good shows on the weather lately. did you know mary shelley wrote "frankenstein" when challenged by byron, along with a friend and her hubby percy, to write a ghost story? it was during the "year without a summer", when a period called the little ice age was coming to an end. volcanic eruptions around the planet, reduced solar energy and earth's reflectivity, and something called the milankovitch theory during that time caused global temps to drop. it was so gloomy and cold all summer that she was inspired to write the great story.
it's also the reason why the famous picture of george washington crossing the delaware is accurate. it was during the little ice age, so the depiction of ol' george's boat crossing a frozen delaware river (boo boop dee doo) to attack a bunch of drunken german's kissing under the mistletoe is spot on. when was the last time the delaware had ice floes that far south?

check it, check it, check it out. the history channel, discovery channel, and pbs rocks!


----------



## bethzaring (Feb 3, 2007)

just got back from some sled riding, gawd was that invigorating .

For those of us with older butts, here is a picture of a very kind sled, very steerable and the butt does not bounce on the ground.  It is hollow, great invention.


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 3, 2007)

I put bread crumbs and a bowl of water out for the birds. And 'yes' I know the water shall freeze. I'll just replace it. I live in an apartment and I put the stuff on my balcony.


----------



## auntdot (Feb 3, 2007)

When we lived in Chicago we could tell how cold it was by the sound the snow made when you walked on it.

And by the inelegant, but incontrovertible, index to which Big Dog referred, namely the frozen booger index.  

Now live in VA and people gripe when it is in the twenties.

And when we lived in FL, people were wearing fur coats when the mercury hit fifty.

I guess everything is relative.


----------



## DampCharcoal (Feb 3, 2007)

Geez! Compared to you guys, it's freaking summer here at 18. I think I'll have a picnic and fly a kite. As far as global warming goes, I'll go outside and cut the exhaust pipe in front of the catalytic converter and let the truck idle all weekend if it helps warm things up!


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 3, 2007)

Damp I'll donate a saw.  Go, go GO global warming!


----------



## DampCharcoal (Feb 3, 2007)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> Damp I'll donate a saw.  Go, go GO global warming!


 
NOW we're talking! I'll dump a quart of 5w-30 in the tank to add some extra smoky goodness!  

As an aside, I've noticed that The Old Farmer's Almanac has been pretty accurate for the Ohio Valley so far this year. They predicted relatively warm and rainy for the first half of January (check) and cold and snowy for the last half of January (check.) Cold and snowy for the first week of February (check, so far) warming towards the middle of the month and then a snow storm at the end. We shall see!


----------



## SizzlininIN (Feb 3, 2007)

Same here Sush! Temp is 14 degrees but with the winds at 25-35 mph it feels like -6 degrees according to yahoo.  I'll take their word for it because I have no intention on stepping outdoors.  Suppose to get a few snow showers and low of -2 degrees.  
Monday is only suppose to be a High of 7 and Low of Zero.  The school sent home a note Friday and said Monday school will be delayed for 2 hours because of the impending cold weather.


----------



## Poutine (Feb 3, 2007)

And people think it is cold in Canada....

I thought it was cold here but it is -11C (12F), I don't feel so bad anymore.


----------



## luvs (Feb 3, 2007)

3 deg today..... we were at 0!


----------



## candelbc (Feb 3, 2007)

Well.. I just got back from an Ice Fishing tournament.. It was -7 degress, and about -30 with the wind chill.. Wasn't the brightest of moves that I've ever made, but it was fun.. And my new Elmer Fudd hat actually kept me quite cold!

Tonite the low is -15 actual.. Should be nice and expensive when the next heating bill comes.. The wind chill should be around -40 to -50 is what they're saying!

I guess it'll be a good night to stay in doors.. 

-Brad


----------



## middie (Feb 3, 2007)

It's 1 degree right now. Low's of 3 below 0. Factor in the windchill and we're looking at 15-20 below zero tonight. Tomorrow it's supposed to be a whole whopping 7 degrees for our high.


----------



## BigDog (Feb 3, 2007)

candelbc said:
			
		

> Tonite the low is -15 actual.. Should be nice and expensive when the next heating bill comes.. The wind chill should be around -40 to -50 is what they're saying!
> 
> I guess it'll be a good night to stay in doors..
> 
> -Brad


 
Ditto here!


----------



## Michelemarie (Feb 3, 2007)

We are registering -3 right now - The windchill is -25 ----I'm freeeezing!


----------



## JoAnn L. (Feb 4, 2007)

It's 11:30 pm and I just checked the temp. and its 12 below zero.


----------



## Claire (Feb 4, 2007)

This morning it is -15.  That's before wind chill.  A relative once told us that he didn't believe in wind chill.  My husband looked up and said, "I do think that is a ceiling fan?  You believe in wind chill or you wouldn't own one."  Yay for my husband!


----------



## Katie H (Feb 4, 2007)

Bright and sunny right now.  No wind for a change, thank heavens.  Temp has screamed up to 20 degrees F and we received about an inch of snow overnight.  Were only supposed to have flurries.  It looks pretty though since it covered up all the black yuck our roads and yards had turned into over the last several weeks.


----------



## CharlieD (Feb 4, 2007)

Oh, common Big Dog, it was not that cold, it was like -5, maybe -7, but not -12, for sure.


----------



## DampCharcoal (Feb 4, 2007)

I'm not even going to bother. You folks have it way colder than I do.

For you good people in minus degrees territory, has anybody tried the boiling water trick yet?


----------



## BigDog (Feb 4, 2007)

CharlieD said:
			
		

> Oh, common Big Dog, it was not that cold, it was like -5, maybe -7, but not -12, for sure.


 
I'm just reciting what the pros were saying.

We're 15 below air temp with 40 below windchills now in the outer south metro.


----------



## BigDog (Feb 4, 2007)

DampCharcoal said:
			
		

> For you good people in minus degrees territory, has anybody tried the boiling water trick yet?


 
Takes too long. It's frozen before you get the burner on!  

Also, that's assuming it is still in liquid form in your pipes!  

Boy, a nice hot shower sounds fabulous right now!


----------



## DampCharcoal (Feb 4, 2007)

Not quite what I meant, BigDog, although that is an interesting point! You're in Minnesota which means that it's about 300 degrees below zero, right? Boil a pot of water, go outside and throw it up in the air (don't burn yourself.) I hear it's quite a show. I'm gonna try it myself when we get into negative digits tomorrow!


----------



## candelbc (Feb 4, 2007)

DampCharcoal said:
			
		

> Not quite what I meant, BigDog, although that is an interesting point! You're in Minnesota which means that it's about 300 degrees below zero, right? Boil a pot of water, go outside and throw it up in the air (don't burn yourself.) I hear it's quite a show. I'm gonna try it myself when we get into negative digits tomorrow!


 
This is true! If you throw a hot cup of Coffee in the air, it'll freeze into little drops of frozen coffee before it hits the ground.. If you're crazy enough to try it, blowing bubbles with Dish Soap is cool too.. They turn into little crystal balls that shatter like glass when touched..

-Brad


----------



## stargazer021 (Feb 4, 2007)

Our thermometer read -9 this A.M and that did not factor in the wind chill effect.  Right now it is reading -3 and the wind is still blowing.  Thank God there was no particular place we had to go to today-- just nice to stay inside and thankful for the warmth.


----------



## BigDog (Feb 4, 2007)

candelbc said:
			
		

> This is true! If you throw a hot cup of Coffee in the air, it'll freeze into little drops of frozen coffee before it hits the ground.. If you're crazy enough to try it, blowing bubbles with Dish Soap is cool too.. They turn into little crystal balls that shatter like glass when touched..
> 
> -Brad


 
It stinks that the coolest experiments always have the biggest demands, namely in this instance going outside.

As G.H.W. Bush would say "not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture!"


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 4, 2007)

C'mon people. You can't let this little cold-snap get you down. Several years back, but not that long ago (maybe 5 years), we had sub-zero temps here in Sault Ste. Marie for 2 months straight. We had frost go so deep into the ground that it burst water mains and sewers that were burried 4 feet deep. And my car started at -40. That's the coldest temp. I've personally experienced. We had -20 and below for days at a time that year. It hardly slowed us down at all.

Oh, and contrary to popular belief, you really don't need a block or radiator heater to keep your car starting in the very cold weather. That year with the 2 months of sub zero weather, many cars refused to start. I never had trouble with mine because I know something about batteries. I learned the info from working at a battery shop that sold all types for industrial use.

A client contacted us, requesting a battery pack that would start the company vehicles in - 50 degree weather. Our company's owner explained to the client that the chemical reactions that cause a battery to produce electricity would not work at that cold a temperature. In fact, lead-acid batteries become useless at -40. So How did I keep my car starting? I went outside every night at midnight, started my car and let it warm up completely. It held enough heat to keep the battery warm enough to start my car in the morning.

One evening, I forgot to start my car. Sure enough, like everyone else's car, mine wouldn't start. I removed the battery, brought it into the house and let it warm up. The outside temperature had not changed byt the time I put the battery back into the car. I turned the key and the engine turned over like it was a warm August day. So, rather than purchasing an expensive block or radiator heater, and paying someone a bunch of cash to install it, purchase an inexpensive heating pat and place it around your car's battery at night. It'll set you back much less money and give you much better results. A secret that the mechanic doesn't want you to know, from me to you.

I've camped out with my son and nephew, and with a group of boys from my church (I was the assistant young men's councillor at the time) in sub-zero weather on multiple occasions, relying only on a tent and warm sleeping bag at night.  We all faired just fine.

This bit of a snap isn't enough to test us yet. Hold your head up. I was out shoveling for about three hours today. The temperature was -7. I got so warm I had to take off my coat and replace it with a light jacket. I did have to keep my mittens on though, and my hat. 

If you keep active, and don't let the cold weather slow you down, you really don't notice it. I used to sled in the nearby gravel pits as a kid, until my pants were frozen solid and the cuffs of my mittens were so packed with frozen ice that I couldn't get them off until the ice-ring melted. I never got frostbite from that. But I wasn't sitting still at all.

Now the time I rode a motor-cycle 80 miles on a forty-degree night, with no windshield, I shivered for an hour afterword. I was sitting in a brisk wind, not doing a lot of moving around. See the difference?

Surviving the cold is a matter of using your intelligence, and making the best of it.  Cold doesn't have to stop you cold. I crack myself up sometimes.  Feel free to groan at the obvious pun.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## JoAnn L. (Feb 4, 2007)

*Goodweed Of The North*

I loved reading your post, as I sit here with my heating blanket around me.


----------



## expatgirl (Feb 5, 2007)

Interesting custom over here in Kazakhstan (similar to the Polar Bear club though they take it a few steps further) --there is a group of people (women and men) who will chip out the ice on the lake, hang out in the sauna(banya) and then jump into minus 20-40 degrees water then run along the riven bank just in a bathing suit.  I'm not exaggerating because it occurs every weekend and I live on the river.  I hope to film this if I'm allowed permission to----I'm in such awe!!!!  I've heard that vodka ia involved to keep the blood from solidifying though I'm not sure about that. It's truly awesome to watch from the inside of a warm apartment!!!!!! LOL!


----------



## Claire (Feb 5, 2007)

Yesterday was the day for a fund-raiser for the library.  People were laughing at me.  I walked there (what is the big deal, it is a half mile or so).  They even thought it was weird that I wore a skirt.  Let me tell you, I wore a long wool (albeit lightweight) skirt over high boots that are made in Canada especially for bad weather (but are still attractive ... they look like riding boots).  Under the skirt I wore long underwear,and under the boots thermal socks.  Since I'm menopausal, I did not wear the long underwear top, which was a mistake walking home.  I have an almost ankle length wool coat, much of it lined with velvet (hood and wrists).  I had on suede gloves lined with "thinsulate", and "180" ear muffs (I love them!) under my coat hood.  

At my time to finish, 1 p.m., I think we were way up to .... one degree?  Maybe five?  I finished my shift (and yes, I did show our friends some of my underwear when they thought I was crazy for wearing a skirt)(they already think I'm nuts because I walk anywhere under a mile).  After doing my couple of hours for the library, my husband met me and we walked the half mile or so (probably a little more, but not much) home.  The newspaper bought us part of lunch (I write for them, for free) and we stopped at a couple of watering holes on our way home.  

I have many friends who didn't leave their houses this weekend because it was just too ****ed cold.  My knees and ankles aren't feeling too great, and today is an exercise class I'm going to skip.  

Yeah, I lived in North Dakota and it is much worse than this.  Probably not as bad as the UP of MI.  But pretty darned cold.  Tell Burnsville Hi.


----------



## VeraBlue (Feb 5, 2007)

When they showed the national numbers this morning, you got a zero.  I got a 5, so I win, I think.  
Los Angeles got an 83.   Who do they think they are????

Hot buttered rum, anyone???


----------



## buckytom (Feb 5, 2007)

Claire said:
			
		

> Since I'm menopausal, I did not wear the long underwear top, which was a mistake walking home..


 
hmm, i have a lot of questions on this one, but in the interest of good taste of which i'm rarely accused, i'll let it go.

good thing the kids aren't reading this...


----------



## DampCharcoal (Feb 5, 2007)

"in the interest of good taste of which i'm rarely accused"

J'accuse! Sorry Buck, somebody had to do it.

"Hot buttered rum, anyone???"

Are you kidding? it's 8 in the morni... *checking thermometer* On second thought, yes I will. Thank you!


----------



## lulu (Feb 5, 2007)

Nothing like so cold here.  But don't tell my computer....the little dash board thing that comes up to tell me the weather is convinced that its -19 degrees celcius here in Milano, LOLOLOLOL....its nothing like that at all!  BBC website says 7 degrees...much more accurate.  But it is damp   we have a heat lamp for our cats which we leave on through the day and I am sitting under it right now....what a relief it is.  The only thing is it shines a low red light, so goodness knows what the neighbours think, lol.

BTW we are not central heating people, used it for only one week in london last year, where, I hold the temperature is lower.  BUT this year we have needed it badly with the humidity.  The law here is that CH can be on a maximum of ten hours a day at a maximum of 20 degrees celcius.  Interesting adjustment for those of us not used to the restriction, but something we will all have to look towards in the future I guess.


----------



## Barb L. (Feb 5, 2007)

*Brrrrrrrr*

Still freezing here to again today, temp 0 -wind chill -17!  Yesterday I was wearing gloves while on my laptop!  News today said, this wil be the coldest  Feb. in thirty years --  I believe them  !  I smoke -  but not in the house any more, so needless to say, Iam smoking a heck of a lot less !  When you have to bundle up to smoke, they are few and far between !!


----------



## Aria (Feb 5, 2007)

It was 0 this morning.  Now 5 with a wind chill.  It is blowing snow difficult
driving conditions.   Left work early.  Many schools etc. have been announcing closings.       Our wood stove and wood furnace are perking.


----------



## bethzaring (Feb 5, 2007)

We had -7 degrees F this morning, and I am not the least bit interested in knowing the wind chill factor.  I sure was hopping around in the barn trying to keep warm while the goats casually munched their grain.

And I had no problem understanding Claire's resistence to long underwear tops.  My cousin who I am meeting in MN this week wanted to get me some new silk long underwear, and I quickly said..NO TOPS PLEASE.


----------



## Katie H (Feb 5, 2007)

Cold again here, too.  Coldest it's been so far this winter.  Today's in the minus teens with the wind chill.  I have family in northern Minnesota who are experiencing -48 F with the wind factor.  I know what that's like since I lived there when it was that cold.  I was never cold.  We just dressed appropriately and coped.

I don't really mind the cold.  Actually I'd rather have it cold than warm/hot.  Sometimes it gets oppressive here in the summer and I have yet to figure out how to cool off enough to be comfortable.  I HAVE learned how to make myself warm in the cold.

Nothin' like the warmth of our woodstove, goose down comfortors and flannel sheets.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 5, 2007)

Katie E; you took the words right from my mouth. 

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## DampCharcoal (Feb 5, 2007)

You know it's cold when every metal surface you touch dang near electrocutes you! I think I'm carrying enough static electricity to power my neighborhood for a week.


----------



## Claire (Feb 5, 2007)

Hey, bucky, it isn't fun!  I'm actually sleeping downstairs for most of the night because if I'm gonna sweat, I might as well not make hubby miserable.  Since someone has to be up a half dozen times a night, it might as well be me (I'm a long-time insomniac anyway, so why should he suffer?).  So it's been me and my dogs in recent years.  Yes, we have a good, long term marriage.  Hubby jokes about it all and takes it in good nature.  We were both blessed with good sense of humour.  but I am thinking of wearing the top of the long johns the next time I'm going to walk a half mile or more.


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 5, 2007)

Dear God, its -2 here with a wind chill of -33.


----------



## middie (Feb 5, 2007)

Widchills are about 20 below here. Actual temp is -3


----------



## candelbc (Feb 5, 2007)

For the first time, in a very long time, they closed schools due to the bitter cold. When I woke up this morning, the actual temperature was -20... Love it.. Still managed to wear sandals to work... Just had to bring socks in the truck just in case.. 

-Brad


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 5, 2007)

Its funny. The media says the schools were closed due to the childrens health. RIIIIIIGHT. The teachers didnt want to leave the house.


----------



## StirBlue (Feb 6, 2007)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> Its funny. The media says the schools were closed due to the childrens health. RIIIIIIGHT. The teachers didnt want to leave the house.


 
That's just not true; we did want to leave the house!   Sorry, I thought you meant parents. 

What was that big burning object with the burning tail in the sky over your house Sushi?  It was on the 10:00 pm news here.  (for real ! )  They said it was a meteorite.  Did you hear anything about it.  {{{did you have anything to do with this?}}}


----------



## Robo410 (Feb 6, 2007)

cold here on the mason dixon line ... 8*F with -10 wind chill ... but it's a blue sky day!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 6, 2007)

Robo410 said:
			
		

> cold here on the mason dixon line ... 8*F with -10 wind chill ... but it's a blue sky day!


 
I'ts because it was a cloudless night that the temp. dipped down into the single digits.  There was no cloud cover to hold the heat from radiating out into space in the form of infra-red.  Cloudy weather is almost always warmer that is clear, at least up here in the frozen North.

Oh, and it was a blamy -4 here in the Sault.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 6, 2007)

> What was that big burning object with the burning tail in the sky over your house Sushi? It was on the 10:00 pm news here. (for real ! ) They said it was a meteorite. Did you hear anything about it. {{{did you have anything to do with this?}}}


 
I live 10 minutes away from Ohare Intl Airport. What are you talking about?


----------



## Michelemarie (Feb 6, 2007)

I'm with you Sushi - I did not hear anything either.


----------



## Yakuta (Feb 6, 2007)

Meteorite - LOL, I did not hear anything either. 

On the cold weather front - I was at work yesterday in downtown Chicago and boy was it brutal walking over the stretch of the Chicago River.  The wind chill was in some double digit negatives and did the wind soar.  It was almost ghost town there when I compare it to other days.  The lines at the Jimmy John's in my building were incredibly long, no one wanted to go out and that's very unlikely of Chicagoans. 

I hope this cold spell passes soon, I am ready for Spring.


----------



## Katie H (Feb 6, 2007)

Folks in our area saw it, too.  It was reported on yesterday's 5 o'clock news.  I wish I'd seen it.


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 6, 2007)

Winter weather alert now.   Dont go out. Dont drive! Accidents all over the place!


----------



## Toots (Feb 6, 2007)

Our area is under a winter storm warning.  The snow started around 12:30 and my office closed and sent everyone home at 1:30.  My husband is enroute home but he has been in the car for an hour already (normally takes 25 minutes).  The snow is really dumping down here, supposed to get 6 - 8" tonight.  
Its cold here too but sad to say, at least the snow warms us up a little.  It was 3 this a.m. and now its 21 - its the little things.


----------



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Feb 6, 2007)

Toots make sure you tell us he is safe and home.


----------



## Toots (Feb 6, 2007)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> Toots make sure you tell us he is safe and home.



He got home around 4:00 pm.  He is out working on the driveway now - most of the businesses in the Cincy area closed early today to let everyone go home before the snow got too bad.  Still snowing here but we are in for the night.


----------



## mudbug (Feb 6, 2007)

We are supposed to get a couple of inches of dry powdery stuff between 7 pm and 7 am.

All is lost. Schools will close. Grocery stores will be deluged. And I will still have to go to work tomorrow.


----------



## candelbc (Feb 6, 2007)

Well.. It was a balmy 6 degrees ABOVE zero today when I got done with work.. I got a lot of hassle for wearing shorts and a t-shirt today, but I calmly explained that we're having a heatwave... A tropical heatwave...

6 above zero is 30 degrees warmer than yesterday.. I'll take the warmer temperature where I can get it..

-Brad


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 6, 2007)

mudbug said:
			
		

> We are supposed to get a couple of inches of dry powdery stuff between 7 pm and 7 am.
> 
> All is lost. Schools will close. Grocery stores will be deluged. And I will still have to go to work tomorrow.



This is going to be lengthy, but i promise, if you read this post in its entirety, you will learn something about driving that you may not yet know.  And it's all true.

Our schools just don't normally close around here, unless it's white-out conditions.  That hasn't happened here yet, but pretty close.  Driving home from Munising to Sault Ste. Marie two weeks ago, my work partner and I nearly ended up in a fender-bender.  There was a white semi ahead of us, but do to the snow cloud it stirred up, visibility was near zero.  We just drove by watching it's tracks a few feet in front of the van we were in.  My partner dropped our speed to about 30 mph.  And it was a good thing.  As we entered the town of Seaney, which we didn't know we were entering do to the near zero visibility, the 18 wheeler's tail lights came on.  We were not able to see the trailor until those lights came on.  We were about 20 feet behind the rig and had no time to stop.  My partner had two choices, veer sharply right, or sharply left.  To the right was a busy gas station with no where for us to go so we went left into a turn lane.  Luckily, it was clear.  But there was a car moving in the same direction as we were which made a left turn through the quickly apporaching intersection.  There was no chance to stop.  The laws of motion and the coefficient of friction were against us (a very slippery road).  The car got through the intersection just before we barreled through.  We missed it by inches.  If my partner had reacted as do most people, by jamming on the breaks, we would have collided with semi.  There would have been no way to avoid it.

We couldn't go right when we saw the car because the semi was to the right of us, and couldn't go further left without entering a lane of oncomming traffic.  My heart raced for a few minutes.

Where I live, this isn't a rare occurance.  You really have to be on your toes in such weather.  I've driven within a couple feet of a large, white truck without knowing it and not being able to see it until brake lights came on in the white-out conditions.  You traveled 40 miles to a job site and the weather was good when you left to get there.  Then, a blizzard moves in and you're driving home in white-out conditions, on icy roads.  Once, to get up a particular hill, I had to get out of the truck I was in and bounce on the rear bumper to provide sufficient down force for the rear tires to grab and move us up a hill that we had to navigate.  And don't even get me started on the freezing rain that the defroster and windshield wipers going full blast didn't even help slow down, let alone remove the formation of ice on our windshield.

I traveled into Chicago once during a blizzard.  My vehicle tacked well as I know how to drive on slippery roads, having done it most of my life.  But the cars and trucks comming off the on-ramp hit the highway and slid accross four lanes on the loop.  I was scared silly, thinking that someone was just going to plow into me.  Somehow I avoided the skidding vehicles and got through the experience.

Now I'm not going to dis' windy city drivers.  But I do caution anyone not used to icy conditions, if you're not used to driving on ice, please stay off the roads as you endanger yourself and everyone around you.  It takes a few years of driving in bad conditions to really become proficient at it, and then only if you work at it.  I see people here, who should know how to drive in it, end up in ditches, and in car wrecks that could have easily been avoided with a bit of common sense.

My rules of thumb (I haven't been in an accident in more years than I can remember, and never in one that I caused, since I was 16 years old, and I'm 51 now), are, if you are sliding forward while trying to brake, throw the vehicle into neutral.  This elliminates the engine from driving the wheels and allows equal brake pressure and stopping power for all four tires.  If you still can't stop, look for an alternate route and remove your foot from the brakes.  You can steer when the front wheels are rolling.  Snow banks will stop you safely and do little if any damage to the car.  And they won't sue you when they are hit.  In icy conditions, maintain at least four seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you.  On multi-lane roads, try to keep open spaces to the right and left in case the person in front of you has to suddenly stop.  This gives you space to swerve into and avoid a collision.  Watch your mirrors and everything that's going on around you.  Pay attention to the road and your surroundings.  A great song on the radio can really make you feel good, until you find that you were paying too much attention to it and your front bumper is sitting in your lap.  Plan ahead for turn offs or lane changes, making sure you won't startle someone else by cutting them off, which can cause them to make a mistake and get in an accident.  Be courteous on the road.  Trust others to do stupid things around you, and take precautions to be able to avoid getting into a bad situation because of those stupid things.

For instance, when driving down a street, or 2-lane highway, that has streets where people can enter the highway, expect drivers to enter the highway when they are sitting at the stop sign, whether there is room or not.  I have succesfully been able to avoid a host of accidents where a driver "didn't see me", especially on motorcycles, because I watch for tire movement.  If the tires even begin to move forward, I take evasive action.  I've had people pull out directly in front of me where I had no time to avoid them if I had jammed on the breaks, but was able to steer around them.  In fact, it was that ability that helped me pass my first driver's test.  A car pulled out directly in front of me from a store driveway.  I had to swerve into the left lane to avoid a collision.  My driving monitor stated after it was over that he didn't understand how I was able to avoid the collison and assured me that I'd passed my driving test, and to forget the few small errors I had made previous to the collison avoidance.  I was jsut happy that I hadn't wrecked my siter's car as she had a very bad temper (true story).

Remember, a rolling wheel is in a state called static friction.  That is, the rubber that is touching the ground is momentarily still with relationship to the ground.  It is laid down, sits there, and is lifted up.  Once a wheel starts sliding, it goes into a state that in physics is call kinetic friction.  Guess what my freinds, static friction has a much greater stopping force than does kinetic friction, which is why car-makers put anti-lock breaks on cars.  If the steering wheels are rolling, they will allow you to steer.  If they are sliding, then one fo Newton's laws of motion comes into play.  An object in motion will remain in motion at a constant speed and direction, unless acted upon by some other force.  And what is the other force that allows you to steer your car in directions other than a straight line, friction.

I have had advanced motorcycle skills training, but learned my skid control by driving an old snowmobile with metal cleats that acted just like ice-skating blades when the sled was turned sideways on ice.  I used to love to spin that machine around in circles, without turning it over.  But it taught me to control a fish-tail instinctively, and how to avoid other snowmobilers (we were teens at the time) who would stop dead in front of me.  My machine had little in the way of breaks.  mnay were the snow-banks I climbed on that machine while avoiding my sometimes pinhead freinds.

I took each of my kids into very large, ice-covered parking lots, in the wee morning hours to teach them how to execute controlled stops, turns, and to control fish-tails when things were slippery.  None of them has wreked a vehicle due to silippery conditions yet, and they've been driving for about twelve years now.  Defensive driving works.  But it isn't something you're born with.  It's something you learn.

Ok kids, I'll stop the lecture now.  I just don't want to hear of any accidents among my freinds.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North.


----------



## Mrs. Cuillo (Feb 6, 2007)

I agree with you Goodweed...you need to really practice how to drive on ice.  What bugs me the most is the people with the SUV's that drive 70 mph down the highway because there four wheel drive will stop them from sliding......NOT!!!!!  Practice and a set plan, IMO, are the best ways to handle a "slippery situation"! )~


Here in southwestern Virginia it is 27 degrees and snowing.  I think every school in Virginia is closed!!! LOL!!!  The last "snow storm" we had ended up to be nothing and schools were closed before the snow even started!!!  This cracks me up because people who live in the northeast go to school until there is about 6 inches on the ground. (atleast where I lived in CT)  But I believe that if it snowed here more often, the people would be more comfortable driving in it.  (My bank that I work at closed for a whole day because of snow!! ) Practice, practice, practice!!


----------



## amber (Feb 6, 2007)

With the wind chill, it's -40 here tonight.


----------

