If you haven't been smacked by the Arctic blast, just wait a few hours

[derby378]

Down here in Texas, we're anticipating the coldest temperatures we've experienced at least since the Ford administration. And it's gonna hit us sometime before sunrise tomorrow.

I've prepared myself with waterproof hiking boots, new socks, leather jacket and gloves, a plush and comfortable hoodie, and a new set of long underwear. And I know where they're selling the good hot chocolate.

Bring on the pain, spirits of the northern wastes! :bounce:

[Name removed]

1. Deleted sub-thread

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[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Stay warm, everyone!

[denbot]

3. I'm going surfing tomorrow afternoon..

Alley is going to take a walk and will try to get pictures...

And yes, I'm weather bragging.

[derby378]

7. Believe me, I'll be surfing, too

Ice-surfing. Especially if some schmuck still leaves the garden hose on all night. I can't fathom the stupidity of people like this, but at least I can still survive it, hopefully with all of my ribs intact.

[mrcheerful]

4. Hey at least you don't face months of extreme cold like we do

up in the great white north, or as yuppers say, god's country. I had to shut my water heater off since Jan 1 so I could run water to keep water pipes from freezing and bursting. Plumbers aren't cheap when they have to make a 3 am repair in sub zero temps.

[Mojorabbit]

22. I am in Florida

and this is the longest cold spell I ever remember and it doesn't look to be ending soon. I live here for a reason but it looks like I may need to look for property in South America if this keeps up. Brrr. In the twenties tonight in Orlando. Hate hate hate it.

[kcass1954]

30. Same here, and I've been here 40 years.

I need for it to warm up. I've already worn my all winter clothes this week - all 3 of them.

[Mojorabbit]

32. I hate that I am going to lose my mango tree

and possibly the avocado. The bananas are already toast.
Keep warm. :)

[kcass1954]

40. I'm sorry about your trees. Nothing better than a fresh mango daiquiri!

We have no fruit trees left - gone in prior years. But we do have a true tropical tree that I'd hate to lose - plumeria - probably 10 or 12 small ones scattered throughout the backyard.

We should only be down in the 30's tomorrow, so we'll be okay. (I usually wear cropped pants and mules - went out after work and bought 2 more pairs of long pants and some dress socks, and I'll dig out a pair of enclosed shoes.)

[kayla9170]

36. Awwww.....Try living in Michigan

You would get some real winter weather here. Try daily temps in the Low Teens for the Low and the Low Twenties for the High. Still today, I was only wearing my Fleece Jacket, a Scarf (mainly for show), my Pink Adidas Gloves (gotta keep the hands warm), a hat (head wear is important too) and some tennis shoes. This is everyday wear unless it gets below 10 degrees and then (only then) I pull out the Parka Coat B-)

[mrcheerful]

41. Saginaw county 20 miles from the bay

[Morning Dew]

56. Teens for the low?

I know others have it worse than we do it Minnesota but for the last week or so it's been lows in the negative teens and highs near zero. Today we got lucky and it hit 13 degrees.

Woo Hoo.

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. Oh the horror!

How cold in Texas? Welcome to our world! :)
Cheers!

[derby378]

9. Dallas is expected to reach 13°F on Saturday morning (not counting wind chill)

I realize folks in Minnesota have no sympathy for us, but I'm just glad we have a winter that actually feels like winter. January is not supposed to be warm and muggy!

[krispos42]

51. Wait... POSITIVE 13?

Luxury.

:P

[krispos42]

52. Wait... POSITIVE 13?

Luxury.

:P

[lastliberalintexas]

18. Yeah, I know it's hard to muster sympathy for us

You probably are feeling right now the way I feel when some Yankee complains about 90 degree weather for a few weeks a year. Try 5 (and sometimes 6) months of 90+ degree weather with dew points in the 60s and 70s. Blech.

Since we normally have Warm, Hot and Hotter than Hell as our 3 official seasons down here, I'm actually enjoying the cold weather. :)

Though I do feel for the poor people who can't afford the heat and the animals caught off guard.

[aquart]

25. It's not the people, it's the PLANTS. The crops.

Already strawberries are through the roof. Citrus? How will those trees do?

We can deal with individual human discomfort (get ugg boots, the original ugly kind not the brand name) but fields of our growing food?

[csziggy]

43. I expect a lot of citrus trees will be killed

It will likely be the biggest die off since the 1989 freeze. We had to replace about a third of our trees after that one and it did not last as long as this one already has, though the lowest temperatures are not as low, the total cold hours add up to more damage. And since citrus has not been making a lot of money, many growers will just sell their groves to developers or let them sit without maintaining them until land prices go back up. After the 1989 freeze a lot of groves around Orlando got sold and turned into housing developments. Even with government help, it was just too expensive to replant trees and wait twenty years for them to get back to full production - and take a chance on another freeze!

What is odd is that the hard freeze line has been moving south for over a hundred years. There used to be groves around Jacksonville. By World War II those were pretty much gone except for a few small stands of citrus for family use. When I was a kid, along the Florida Turnpike near Orlando was lined with healthy groves. Now most of those are gone and most of the trees left have been abandoned to survive on their own. Now groves south of the line from Tampa to Yeehaw Junction are losing ground.

That is not to say global climate change is not to blame - warmer overall temperatures make for more energetic systems, even in the winter. And those more energetic systems can move much colder air farther south!

[mike_c]

6. it's chilly here too-- 55 F and foggy....

:rofl:

[here_is_to_hope]

8. Same here 200 miles north of ya...

Not bad out, a few stars.

[Ecumenist]

20. Ditto, Mike...

It's drippy and foggy a bit over 250 miles south of ya. Can't wait to relocate to Humboldt. Love it up in your part of the woods.

[MindPilot]

44. I always enjoy when my friend in Denver calls to say "It's one degree!"

So I can put on my most serious and concerned tone of voice and ask "above or below?"

[daleo]

10. I saw some beautiful sun dogs and sun pillars today

Low level ice fog can produce amazing results, especially when looking south from the 12th floor.

[Skip Intro]

11. Hoping for snow in coastal SC tomorrow.

So rare here and this looks like a good chance.

It's fricking cold though. Hope all creatures great and small find warm shelter for the duration.

[dgibby]

13. It's so cold here, the new puppy ran to the door, whirled around

and ran back to pee on his paper. No way he was going out in the yard!

[tavalon]

62. Uh, oh, you have a smart one there

It's harder living with the smart ones. Especially if they try to outsmart you. I speak of my Standard Poodle. I sometimes think he is the smartest being in the house. I know he thinks so. Luckily, his goofy nature makes up for the sneaky part.

[bullwinkle428]

12. Minnesota hit -20° F last weekend, two mornings in a row!

The lows are only supposed to hit -11 to -14° this coming Friday and Saturday morning...a tropical heat wave!

[debbierlus]

17. Yikes. We have been below zero, but not that far.

[roguevalley]

29. Minnesota has terrible cold when things are going right. The coldest

I ever felt was -56. My dad called once from the pipeline back in the 1970's and it was -186 at the camp he was parked at.

[JVS]

34. -186!?!

[roguevalley]

54. windchill. you can't shut things off or they never start again. gasoline

turns into jello.

[derby378]

63. Remind me to visit one of those survivalist/preparedness shops...

...before paying a visit to Minnesota in the winter. That sounds downright Lovecraftian in terms of hellishness.

[azurnoir]

26. Hey it's 15 ABOVE 0 right now here

think we'll break out the shorts and stuff LOL

[nealmhughes]

14. Single digits last night in North Alabama.

Warmed up so my pipes thawed today, warmed up for the snow and ice coming just after sunrise and then back to single digits at night, but in the 50s (as God intended) by Wednesday! School is already out, and I thought ahead and bought bread (I was actually out of any variety) before the run began at noon. That is what southerners do: buy bread, peanut butter, beer, and soda and milk and eggs when a mm of snow is forecast. But it is a team sport, not unrelated to "getting the flu" when it turns to the 70s at the first of the spring and the word is out that fish are biting.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

15. Sucks huh?

It's going to be down to about 65 F when I paddle out at sunset tomorrow to catch the new swell when it gets to San Diego. I'd better get out my booties. Ten foot waves by Sunday.

[debbierlus]

16. What temps are they forecasting for you guys?

[pnwmom]

19. It's strange here, too. Moderate temps and not nearly rainy enough. n/t

[Randall Flagg]

21. Here in AL my forcast calls for 7 degrees by Saturday.

I left the MW for crap like that.

[johnnie]

23. Don't forget to run your water once in a while

Frozen pipes can be scary.

[murielm99]

24. Reading your post made me go out to the kitchen to make

some hot chocolate.

We have had cold weather here in Northern Illinois, and now we are expecting a blizzard. It has just begun to snow. But we are used to that here. It goes with the territory.

Stay warm!

[tammywammy]

27. Tuesday the president of the company I work for announced a new winter dress code

If the temperature high is 35 or below we can do just "casual" dress, meaning jeans! w00t! It's sad that I'm excited about the cold spell cause then I can wear jeans to work. ;)

It's still 48 right now, it'll be down to 26 when I drive to work.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. I am safe

but I live in the only area of the country that will not get hit.

Believe it or not even Mexico City expects the coldest temps by tomorrow too.

For the season and a good while.

Stay out of the cold and stay warm.

[Feron]

31. There's a chance of snow here (NOLA area) tomorrow.

Regardless I've been freezing my ass off all week long. I don't mind short two or three day cold snaps, but these prolonged cold periods are the worst. It may get down to 15 this weekend. Brrrrr.... I don't know how people up north deal with this.

Fortunately I winterized all of my garden plants last week so they are safe under the mulch. The only thing I have to do now is go out in the morning and get rid of the ice in the birdbaths.

[Warpy]

33. It's not whistling through the passes yet

but I dug out my quilted boots, heavy socks, and thick wool sweater.

I'll also be baking something or other tomorrow to help the wheezing floor furnace cope.

[girl gone mad]

35. This thread reminds me of a story from my observatory days..

I was collaborating with an astronomer in Canada on a project to measure gravitational lensing. One night it got pretty chilly for W. Texas and I couldn't muster the energy to get all of my equipment together and walk down to the (unheated) dome for readings so I e-mailed my colleague to let him know. He replied back that they were frozen over under an inch of ice and the -20F temps would probably require re-collimation and make moving the motors difficult, anyhow.

How dumb did I feel that "too cold" for me was in the low 40s. Practically tropical, by his standards. I've never complained about cold-weather observing since. :)

[Artie Bucco]

37. heh

Long John's in Texas never thought I would have to by them.

[MindPilot]

38. I'm almost feeling a little guilty

55 right now, tomorrow's high will be low 70s.

Maybe we'll have a sympathy earthquake or something.

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. We had one last week

and the conures went nuts... I can pass on the quake, thank you.

[MindPilot]

42. I was kind of surprised I didn't feel that one.

But I sure heard that sonic boom a couple weeks ago. I thought something hit the house!

[CoffeeCat]

45. It's supposed to be 35 below here tomorrow...

....with 30 mph winds and we're supposed to get 6 inches of snow. Sounds like a blizzard to me!

So, what is this "good" hot chocolate?

I've got snowman-shaped marshmallows. I'm serious.

[Maru Kitteh]

46. -23 wind chill as I type.

Thank goodness the utility bills are paid. :scared: :scared: :scared:

[RedCappedBandit]

47. Obligatory statement regarding what cold REALLY is. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

48. It's warm up here in Alaska.

33 degrees here in Anchorage even now at 11:18. We've had snow and freezing rain most of the day.

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. It's miserable here

We haven't had school all week. Streets are a mess. More snow today. And record breaking cold. We are having a Minnesota winter.

[Broken_Hero]

50. From what I gather, your area

has been getting hammered pretty well the past month. We are in week 3 of pretty cold temps, we have had numerous days below 0, and Thurs/Friday are suppose to be highs of 7 or so, with lows in the -8 range(before WC).

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. We have had snow on the ground for 2 weeks

I cannot remember that ever happening before. We always have a warm up and the snow melts in a week or so.

[Broken_Hero]

55. Same here, since xmas eve, or 12.23.09

can't recall which day it hit, but its still here. Our temps barely get into the 30's so melt off is slow as hell.

In this area, we usually get snow, and lose it the same day, or the next, this cold/weather snap is the longest duration I've seen for SW MO since I've been here. Schools I believe will be canceled all week as well, we got a lot of rural roads that never get cleared.

[tavalon]

64. Dang,

you took away our chewtoy, didn't you?

[Blue_In_AK]

57. We've had snow on the ground since November.

:)

Seriously, you guys stay warm down there. We take the cold so for granted up here, but I know it's pretty shocking down there, especially to the people in the south.

A bit of advice ..... LAYER UP.

[proud2BlibKansan]

66. We haven't had a winter this bad in 4 decades

First blizzard since 1962.

It sucks.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

58. we will drop below freezing here in N GA

and not get back to the liquid water mark until Monday...brrrrrrr....

sP

[shawcomm]

59. WTF, no way.

I understand it's winter. I get it. Enough already. This is the south, not freaking North Dakota. Turn it off already.

:scared:

[HughBeaumont]

60. Welcome to Ohio.

This is what Michiganders, Minnesotans and Ohioans deal with for at least 5-6 months a year. The greatest part is when you have a nice fast WIND carrying those sub-Arctic freezing temps . . . then the temperature causes your eyes, skin and lungs to burn just going to lunch. We adapt because it's a cheap place to live (if you're lucky enough to have a job, that is).

[madokie]

61. Its a cool 11 degrees here this morning and still dropping

wind a howling like its trying to scare off the spring and summer too. All I know for sure is its a cold mo'fo out there right now.

I don't believe they'll be any concrete being placed and finished around here for a while.

[ThomWV]

65. I don't think it got up to 11 here yesterday. Its a blistering 16 now though. Great!