I was a baby but it got down to -9 at the airport in 1985

1/22/2011 1:30:26 PM

I was about 3 1/2 in January 1985, and I grew up in Davidson County.

So apparently -6.

1/22/2011 2:30:50 PM

Probably around -20 or so, not entirely sure -- grew up in Cleveland just off the lake.

Currently living in Cincinnati, car told me it was -1 last night and it was a little windy, so maybe -5 or -6 with wind chill? Not sure really.

1/22/2011 3:14:36 PM

-18F in Watertown, NY a few years ago. That was at night as I was going into my hotel. It later got down to -22F IIRC, but I was a toasty 73F in my room by then.

1/22/2011 5:51:56 PM

^^ According to the link below, at 3:53 am it was -0.9 F with a 4.6 mph wind
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KLUK/2011/1/22/DailyHistory.html

Using the wind chill calculator below, that gives an apparent temp of -11 F.
http://www.weather.gov/om/windchill

1/22/2011 6:06:42 PM

-15 in Northern VT.

1/22/2011 7:56:45 PM

For those who felt -50F what is that like (aside from cold LOL). I know at -15 it was pain rather than cold at that point.

1/22/2011 7:59:49 PM

-20F or thereabouts in Missouri one winter.

1/22/2011 8:03:43 PM

^^ I've been told that once you get down to -20 or so, there's not that much difference in how it feels. Hypothermia/frostbite of course sets in a lot faster the colder it gets, but you don't notice the feel change. I know that at -15, each breath kinda hurt in my lungs. It was disconcerting.

1/22/2011 8:34:44 PM

I think it was about -10 F air temperature and -50 F with the wind chill.

This was at the top of Stowe in VT.

1/22/2011 9:58:11 PM

-20 deg F in the sun, without the windchill.

I've also spent a lot of time in locales where double digits above zero is a heat wave during the winter. Its quite an unpleasant environment to live in.

1/22/2011 10:06:17 PM

^^^

Quote :

"^^ I've been told that once you get down to -20 or so, there's not that much difference in how it feels"

particularly in low humidity... in Denver I can hardly tell a difference between 5'F and 25'F

1/23/2011 1:08:16 AM

well it was -6F last night in boston, so out goes my old result of 2F.

1/23/2011 10:51:24 AM

Yeah the pain in the lungs is what I remember about -15 when I felt it along with the water in your eyes wanting to freeze (and inside your nostrils). It really felt kind of painful and I have been told that it stops feeling colder after awhile also. I guess it just feels more painful.

1/23/2011 1:43:06 PM

I enjoyed XC skiing at various temps below -40F. I needed a mask for aerobic work, just warming the air up a little bit made a big difference. Normal breathing was Okay, although I swore sometimes I could feel my snot freeze inside my nose. I would come back and be covered in frost from my sweat evaporating and freezing on the outside layer of my clothes. Weird. I tried to manage my body temp so as not to sweat significantly. Being wet will kill you. I had a battery-powered headlamp for skiing in the 20-hours of night, but I had to keep the batteries inside a layer or two of clothes, they won't generate much power that cold. Touching metal (like a car door, keys, ski pole) with bare hands will insta-freeze like superglue. Small things can be warmed up, large things I've been fortunate enough not to touch. Pee will still melt a hole in the snow, but it's too damn cold to do it for fun.

Liquid fuel (gas, jet fuel, etc) in storage tanks is likely to be way below 0F, and can flash-freeze body parts if spilled. Especially since it can soak through clothing. I wasn't on the flightline back then, but at super cold temps jet fuel it was handled similarly to liquid O2 or N2, protective-gear-wise.

I could leave my car alone for about an hour or so before it would be too cold to start up again. Propane tanks and any other liquid gas fuel sources are useless. A rabbit trapped in a snare will be a solid, but fuzzy, brick in the morning.

What else you want to know?

1/23/2011 9:01:44 PM

yeah that's a fun effect of cryo fluids, you can get the same effect if you over heat a pan and then put water in it. the liquid boils superfast creating a gas barrier between the liquid and the surface insulating the surface from the liquid to some extent....

1/23/2011 9:13:43 PM

Quote :

"I was about 3 1/2 in January 1985, and I grew up in Davidson County. So apparently -6"

Unless you were outside for that, how can you say you experienced it?

1/24/2011 3:00:48 PM

We've got a number of -80C freezers at work, but they're all chest and upright, not walk in. I'm in those almost daily and without some thick gloves it's hard to touch anything for more than a few seconds.

OP, who makes your walk in -80?

[Edited on January 24, 2011 at 5:03 PM. Reason : grammARRRGH]

1/24/2011 5:03:15 PM

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/01/21/dnt.boiling.water.into.snow.cbc?hpt=C2

bad ass video

1/24/2011 5:38:38 PM

Quote :

"Is it evaporation? Is it condensation? What is it?"

1/24/2011 5:44:05 PM

So Sunday it was -17F at the base of White Face Mt. in Lake Placid, NY. We were skiing there.

Let me tell it you, it was a LOT colder at the summit with 40-50mph gusts of winds. it was sort of insane, but we were dressed so well it was surprisingly fine. I wish i knew the temperature at the top.

1/24/2011 10:04:57 PM

FYI, projected to be -17'F here in Denver this Wednesday.

1/31/2011 12:16:30 AM