Commentary: This is what -40 feels like

By Washington Post : Christopher Ingraham 

RED LAKE FALLS, Minn. - The fact of the matter is I don't know exactly how cold it got at my house today.

The mercury thermometer on our porch only goes down to -30. The digital thermometer in our backyard weather station bottoms out at -40. For roughly two hours on Wednesday this thermometer registered -40.0, even, as the actual air temperature descended below that level to depths unknown.

What I do know, however, is that beyond a certain point the only thing you feel outside is pain.

My family moved to rural Minnesota in 2016 from Baltimore, and our first winter late that year brought my first exposure to sustained temperatures below zero. In those days I came to the belief all temperatures below zero are essentially the same in terms of how they're experienced. Ten below is bitter cold. Twenty below is also bitter cold. Therefore, by the transitive property, ten below and twenty below are the same.

I now know this to be false.

There are, in fact, endless variations of cold, pain and suffering that a person may experience on the long, dark slide from 0 to -40 and beyond. Down to about twenty below things aren't so bad, honestly. You need to hustle a little bit on your way out to the car, and you've got a few seconds to futz with your keys at the door before the cold starts to dig into your skin. You get a kind of thermal grace period between when you first expose your skin to the air and when the cold starts to bite.

As long as it's above -20, it's not uncommon to see Minnesotans out and about without a hat or gloves, or even in shorts. I used to think they were insane, but having lived here for several winters I now understand that if you're just making a quick jaunt out to the mailbox or into a store, it's overkill to go through the hassle of suiting up all the way. Rule of thumb: if the amount of time you expect to spend outdoors is less than the amount of time it will take to get your coat, hat, mittens and scarf on, you can just dash out of the house in whatever you're wearing.

Below -20, however, this calculus changes. Beyond this threshold the thermal grace period shrinks rapidly and disappears altogether. By about -30 the cold doesn't feel like cold anymore - it's just pure, unadulterated pain, a sharp, burning sensation. After a few moments the burning gives way to a deep, dull ache that feels like it's radiating from your bones. I've never been brave and/or dumb enough to test what comes after the ache but my assumption is that it's deeply unpleasant and possibly irreversible.

Wind adds a separate dimension to the experience of the cold up here. Starting around -20 the wind stops registering as a tactile sensation and is experienced primarily as a more urgent kind of pain. At -30 it's like a hot iron on your exposed skin. At -40 it's a burning scream.

At the moment there's about a 100-degree temperature differential between the air in our house and the air outside, which causes some weird things to happen. In the middle of the night, we hear thunderous creaks and pops emanating from the walls of the house as the building materials contract and settle. We've got a thick layer of ice growing on the interiors of our double-paned windows. Sometimes our doors get frozen shut, and when we open them it lets in a blast of frigid air that sucks all the moisture out of the house and turns it into a rolling fog.

Most of the homes around here are very well insulated, so we don't worry too much about frozen indoor pipes. Last year, however, part of the water main on our street froze solid. For several months one of our neighbors had to run a hose to someone else's house to get water. The city instructed the rest of us on the block to keep a faucet running at all times (they credited us the difference on our water bills).

After Wednesday the temperature is forecast to rise again - by Thursday we'll be back in the single digits below zero, which will be a welcome relief after several days below negative 20. I may even put my shorts on to celebrate.

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I don't know exactly where he lives, but the temps around Red Lake Falls were 50 below zero and colder. 

 

The Coldest Night So Far

Cotton Minnesota (my neighbor) hit 56 below zero this morning, that's temperature, not wind chill.

The State record cold was 60 Below zero in Tower Minnesota (another neighbor) a few years ago.

It was 41 below zero at my place.

At mid day it's still 20 below zero and colder around the State.

We will have one more night of 20 below zero, or worse.

We had 32 below zero before this cold wave ever came in and we will have plenty of sub zero weather before the Winter is over. 

A heat wave is moving in. By Saturday it will be 25 above zero.

Very Cold

You have probably been reading in the national news about the cold front in my area.

It was 32 below zero the other night and will be 35 below zero tomorrow night. That's temperature, The wind chills are 50 below zero.

The news says that's a decades old record breaking cold wave. Last year we had about 2 weeks of below 25 below zero weather, not to mention that our normal temps are well below zero anyways.

It's 20 below zero now at 9:30 am, but the Sun is shining brightly.

The weather people are having their fun throwing buckets of water in the air and watching it freeze before the water hits the ground. Natural science changes at 35 below zero.

I have been lucky. My truck sits for days in this weather, but starts right up on the first try. Yes, it is parked outside.

As for me, I'm parked inside. I used to go outside in this weather when I was younger and in better health. These days this weather would be a death sentence if I'm outside to long.

I certainly understand why the older people get, the more they move down South.  I'd probably even live longer if I lived in a warmer climate, but finances won't allow that move.

So all of you living in 70-80 degree weather, enjoy it.

Mother Nature On The Great Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes.

When the winds blow the lake churns up into a dangerous body of water. The winds blow hard in October and November. Of course that time of year, the water freezes as it hits shore.

Lake Superior is famous for its shipwrecks because of its violent storms, winds, and waves. Gordon Lightfoot sang about the famous wreck and sinking of the Edmond Fitzgerald when all aboard were killed. I posted a video of his famous song below the storm wave video.

I have lived close to the lake most of my life and have many times seen the violence of the lake with my own eyes.It's just stunning.

Here is a short video of massive waves hitting the North Shore of Lake Superior. As you can see the water freezes and the whole shore turns to ice.

The winds were over 50 miles an hour and some of the waves were over 20 feet.

Click on full screen to get the full effect.

Keep in mind the cliffs you see are over 50 feet tall.

                           The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald Sung by Gordon Lightfoot

Hoarfrost Time

Mother Nature

Mother Nature is unpredictable, dangerous, and beautiful.

A few weeks ago a hurricane named Florence hit the Southern United States. It started out as a level 4 hurricane, but buy the time it hit land it was a level 1 hurricane. The news went bonkers over this predicted worst hurricane in decades. Many reporters were in the middle of the storm and TV coverage was 24/7. Those glued to their TV's waiting to see total havoc and damage were disappointed, but Florence did plenty of damage including over 30 inches of rain in many parts with flooding that went on for over a week.

As I sit here (about half past 9am Central United States Time) in Northern Minnesota I am under a Winter Storm Warning. It's cold, windy, and raining. We are expected to get 8 inches of snow by tomorrow morning. It's nasty out there. The roads are icy. I'm staying inside. We had our first snow last week and it has been far below freezing (32 F) at night for weeks. Winter was here before the calendar said Winter had started.

Of course the news of the day, is hurricane Michael. A hurricane which did not get a lot of attention because when it was out at sea it was a low level hurricane. It is now about 4 hours from landfall (Panama City, Florida - the Florida panhandle) and is currently a level 4 hurricane, expected to be a level 5 hurricane by the time it hits land. Currently the weather people are calling Michael the worst hurricane ever in that area.

Civil authorities have said it's to late to evacuate, just hunker down. Authorities say thousands and thousands of people did not heed the mandatory evacuation and are stuck in the path of the storm. Apparently people did not react because just a few hours ago Michael was only a level 2 hurricane.

The TV station reporters are out on scene live waiting for the storm to hit. One of these days we will see one of these reporters die on live TV getting blown away right in front of our eyes. Michael is supposed to have winds of 145 miles an hour and higher. I am currently watching a reporter who cannot be more than 100 pounds standing in the path of the storm outside on live TV waiting for the storm to hit.

Good luck to all caught in this storm ! Good luck to all my friends who have moved down South for retirement !

I will probably lose power and heat, but I will be fine. I have lived through many bad Blizzards and storms and we normally get 30-40 degree below zero temperatures, but I have never lived through a hurricane and from what I see on TV I would never want to.

Hey, you news people, get inside ! Didn't your mother ever tell you to get out of the rain and a storm.

Fall Is On Its Way

I live about 50 miles from the Canadian border, so Fall usually comes earlier here than most of the United States. This week the high temperatures have been close to 80 F. We have already had some cold nights and some of the leaves have started to change color. That process will quicken. By Monday and for the foreseeable future, the daily high temperatures will not get above the mid 50's F.

The weather (recently) has been beautiful. Warm days, cool nights, dry, and clear night skies for star gazing. Perfect for all outdoor sports and sleeping. The weather will get even better (in my opinion) over the next 8 weeks. The trees will look like a rainbow. The bugs will start to disappear. I will light fires to keep the house warm, it's a little to early to turn on the furnace. Yes, we will get cold rains and the occasional snow and certainly some big storms as Winter pushes in, but I love Fall.

This will be my 64th Winter living in a Winter State. I have seen record bad weather. Blizzards, sub-zero cold, and unbelievable amounts of snow. I hope this Winter is better than last Winter. Last Winter was the coldest I could remember. We had 25-30 below zero  F temperatures for so many days in a row, it became normal. At those temperatures the physics of the air changes. Scientists come up here to do their experiments. Local weather guys love to throw a bucket of water in the air and watch if freeze before it his the ground, on live TV.

I can certainly understand why the older people get, the more they move down South. Some of my friends have already moved South and many others plan to move South as soon as they retire. The wealthy ones have homes both here and down South and move back and forth between Summer and Winter. I am not in that position and will live here til I die, although, I do play the lottery. It's probably true that people live longer in a warmer climate, but we have plenty of folks in their 90's and even over 100.

Hope your Fall is beautiful!  

You Are On Your Own Folks!

A category 4 storm is heading for the Southern coast of the United States. You can click on Weather under my Informational Site links to get the up to date predictions and radar maps.

This is going to be a big blow! They call it hurricane Florence.

But don't worry, Trump says he has this covered.

Dismiss the story I posted yesterday, that the Trump administration took 10 million dollars from FEMA to give to immigration to house children under arrest, because Trump claims that would not take money from storm rescue efforts. Right!

Trump claims his administrations best effort was against hurricane Maria, which devistated Puerto Rico. 3,000 people died. The power was out for over a year, but this was (according to Trump) his administrations best effort!

You are on your own folks! The mandatory evacuation order has already been given. God help you, but don't count on Trump to help you.

Winter Weather Forecast for 2018 - 2019

The "Old Farmers Almanac" predicts a much colder than normal winter.

"The Farmers Almanac" (a different publication) predicts a much warmer than normal winter.

NOAA predicts normal to slightly warmer Winter weather.

The Almanac's use a "secret" equation based on Astrology and planet position. NOAA uses computer generated predictions.

All the weather bureaus came out with their Winter weather predictions this week. It seems there is much disagreement between them. Maybe that's what you get with unpredictable weather patterns during an era of climate change.

I advise keeping your eye on your local (territorial) 5 day weather forecasts.