Winter prediction revisited...

I consider our local winter to start at end of Nov. till mid-March. That encompass a few days. While alot of it was very pleasant and/or agreeable, it did make-up for being winter handily in the last weeks. Of source, further north it would be far longer or start earlier but all I have to gauge is my local region and I go by that. Having lived in Minnesota for sometime, I wouldn't want those winters for any length of time. -----Willy

and even The Ohio State University has canceled classes for students. This is as rare as a truckload sale at Tiffany and Co. I'm wearing out the snow shovel. They don't make those good all metal ones any more...or at least don't have them at Lowes or Home Depot. Plastic junk from China with cheap 1" strip of metal that scrapes off in a season or two.

closed here too this Tuesday. Supposed to open Wednesday. Yesterday they finally got some plows down our street that did more than scrape a few inches of snow off the top of the pack. I think I can see pavement out there now. Oh, learned something interesting since I couldn't find sand or ice melt in local stock, all sold out. I had a left over back of Urea fertilizer (46-0-0) and it does melt ice and has the added advantage of being concrete friendly according to internet sources. I also had old box of Epsom salts which helped some on walk area that never sees much sun. I prefer not to use table salt which burns grass too much when spring comes.

....around 1990 give or take a year, we had temps in Maryland that dipped as I recall to a -30F one day. I had walked my oldest to her bus stop for kindergarten with the wind at my back. On the way home facing the wind I thought my face would literally crack open down to the bone. It wasn't cold as much as beyond cold to the point of painful.

Looking in historical record at weather dot com I can't find such a day, although that's the way I remembered it. Bone chilling cold. They do have one day listed in February 26, 1990 when it got down to 13. That must be it.

My van wouldn't start because it was too cold and I knew work would be canceled. So, I walked to the closet store for a battery charger just to be safe next time. This was in Ann Arbor, MI on a real cold day. I remember only because when I got to where I was going, I cracked/broke off part of my mustache. Yeah, I know not likely, but I was holding more than a few hair strands in my fingers. I also brought a scarf too while there. It made a difference on the trip back. That was in the late '70s I'm sure. Before that I had lived in the van as I couldn't afford the rent until money saved up for an apt. in Ann Arbor. If you lived near a college, you'll understand. -----Willy

Those vans in the 70's were often fixed up nice inside. Insulation was usually glued on carpet pieces on sides and roof inside. I remember a man who had a delivery type box truck he'd converted into a small apartment, used propane for his stove and heat. The whole thing was painted in dark green camoflauge so he could park in the woods along roads when he was traveling and not be noticed. His son and wife lived next door to us and sometimes he'd pull up there for a few weeks to visit them.

Not to make it sound better than it was, I had converted it to basic "camping version" but no amenities. Other than for sleeping and such it really didn't provide any comfort for anything else. I had joined a racquetball club in order to use the facilities for bathing, etc.. of course the immediate needs were simple. If I remember right I did that for 8-9mos. which by then had the 1st+last months rent plus deposit. Of course having winter coming, I saved as much as was needed. It worked pretty well as the club was across the street from work and gas station and gen. store was too. I did however go to parents home during the weekend unless I got dibs on a sleeping arrangement.

My van: Used shipping foam(dense) to insulate, carpet on floor and fake fur on ceiling and walls. I had access to "red wood" from Ca. and used that where I could. The bed underneath was storage and I used an old swivel chair adapted on top spare tire for extra seating. It was great for 3-4 people, but 2-3 was better. Yeah, those were the good ole days, went from one side of the country to another during service and was ordered via overseas PX and p/u'ed upon return to states in Flint, MI.. Primary conversation in Ca. and finalized in Ohio and Mi. -----Willy

was similarly cold James? Having come up to Toronto from Maryland in 1980, I remember bitter winds off the ocean and Chesapeake Bay, but I don't remember 30 below. In fact I don't remember much worse than about 5 or 10 below, though the wind was bitter. Toronto really isn't cold-cold as in 30 below. Mostly it runs from 15 above F. to 10 below F. unless you get a nice week as we had this January where the temperature hovered at around 24 to 34 above F (They use Celsius here, and it is completely meaningless to me. I know what 20 degrees F. feels like. 5 below C the same temperature is meaningless unless I work it out). Wind off the lake, especially in the canyons of downtown can be very nasty. Toronto complainers say that the corner of King and Bay, about 3/4 of a mile up from Lake Ontario, and surrounded by tall buildings is the coldest corner in Canada. This is disputed by people from Winnipeg Manitoba who claim it is the corner of Portage and Main. Given that Winnipeg is in the middle of the continent, due north of Minnesota, and north of the 49th Parallel, I'd have to guess that Winnipeg wins.

100 or so miles north of Toronto though, you can run into snow that's 3 or more feet deep all winter long, and warm days around 10 to 15 below, with cold nights below 40 below. I'm too old for that now.

Rob

I think what happened is it was 30 below freezing one day I had to be out in the morning, which would have been near zero Fahrenheit and as time went by that converted in my mind to "thirty below" zero instead of "thirty below" freezing. That's why I went looking for the historical record, -30F seemed too far down the scale even to me.

...was minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit in 1912.

http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/md_geography.htm

it's approximately the point at which mercury solidifies.

I'm thinking that in the 1800s thermometers were of the mercury type and at approximately -40 C or F, the mercury would become solid and not be able to register anything lower....but I could be wrong.

But seems you're right.

The numbers I've found were one page just referenced below -38C and another said -39.8C, so your recall about the mercury freezing/solid point appears quite accurate.

Something I don't remember hearing before, thanks for the trivia.

Roger