Describe your seasons and climate

[Grandpa Paddler]

. With the way NY taxes are, the SAFE act, and Cuomo, it may be time to relocate out of NY permanently.

There are times when our WNY climate can be exasperating! Your above reasons are much more alarming them the weather and would be my primary reason for bailing out. Just can't convince Grandma that it's time to leave

 

[Mihun09]

Global Warming arrives in Winterpeg... +4 C yesterday

 

[Guest]

Global Warming arrives in Winterpeg... +4 C yesterday

Bwahahaha, mid fifties and sunny here today and I have the shop windows open. Yesterday was almost as warm, I went out to the shop around 6am and knocked off 13 hours later.

Next few days, 54F, 49F, 53F, 51F.

 

[Mihun09]

Bwahahaha, mid fifties and sunny here today and I have the shop windows open. Yesterday was almost as warm, I went out to the shop around 6am and knocked off 13 hours later.

Next few days, 54F, 49F, 53F, 51F.

Show off.

 

[memaquay]

Only minus 13 or so today, seems like the deep freeze has broken. Was ice fishing all day, but got royally skunked. Ice fishing should be incorporated into some kind of Buddhist torture ritual for self improvement. If you make it through six hours without expressing a negative emotion, you will be immediately sucked out of the cycle of rebirth and sent straight to nirvana.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

[h=1]How Canada's addiction to road salt is ruining everything
Bringing down bridges, melting cars, poisoning rivers; it's hard to think of something salt isn't ruining[/h]

 

[red langford]

Yep

 

[yellowcanoe]

Leaveable.
Going canoeing

 

[Ralph]

-31 C (~-24 F) yesterday morning with a wind chill of -40. Today is +5 C (~+40 F)and raining lightly. Anyone for a roller coaster ride?

 

[LostCaper]

Windchill is Fake News! #meteoroligistsarelizardpeople So yesterday, I took my skidoo for a two hour ride. It was -30 with a windchill saying -47. I was travelling about 70 k an hour shooting across the lakes, so that should add another 100 degrees to the windchill, so I was actually experiencing -147 degrees Celcius. I must be made of tough stuff, cause me and my little tundra were snug as a bug in a rug. You'd think at those formidable wind chills, my pecker would have broken off, but I checked last night, and it's still there.

Windchill was invented by SOCS so they could pretend to have it tough when two inches of snow drops in the city and temperatures plummet to -7. O but honey, with the windchill, it's -15. Wrap yourself up real good or your pecker will fall off on your way to the car.

Ha ha, I'm just kidd'n! Sorta kiddin. Ok, I'm not kidd'n, windchill is the battle cry of the weak!

lol... if it had enough weight it would of fell off. lol. jk.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I don't put any stock in windchill. A few days ago the ambient temperature here was -38 C (-36 F). The weather guy said, "With the windchill, it feels like -45 C (-49 F)." Weather guy forgot I was wearing three layers of wool, a Mountie hat, a neck warmer and a wind breaker. I was over dressed. "Felt" more like +26 C (+79 F).

 

[yellowcanoe]

I don't put any stock in windchill. A few days ago the ambient temperature here was -38 C (-36 F). The weather guy said, "With the windchill, it feels like -45 C (-49 F)." Weather guy forgot I was wearing three layers of wool, a Mountie hat, a neck warmer and a wind breaker. I was over dressed. "Felt" more like +26 C (+79 F).

Pay attention to it if you climb mountains... What is balmy at one level can be horrific when you go up a mile add 75 mph of wind and lose 20 C.. It happens every year.. Someone dies. of hypothermia. For urbanites and those not going to experience rapid and potentially surprising changes of wind with some temp change its meaningless.. Just a party conversation starter.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Point well taken, YC. Kathleen and I used to be backpackers, and often climbed into the alpine. We always anticipated and prepared for weather/wind changes. We later (before canoeing, if there is such a thing) became back country skiers, and often skied up into the alpine mountains north of Vancouver. We always anticipated and prepared for weather/wind changes. The most difficulty we experienced was waxing with Klister when it was warm at the bottom of the climb, and then having to scrape it off when we gained elevation. We soon bought climbing skins. Oh, and btw, we were urbanites.

 

[Mason]

I don't put any stock in windchill. A few days ago the ambient temperature here was -38 C (-36 F). The weather guy said, "With the windchill, it feels like -45 C (-49 F)." Weather guy forgot I was wearing three layers of wool, a Mountie hat, a neck warmer and a wind breaker. I was over dressed. "Felt" more like +26 C (+79 F).

You can certainly dress appropriately for windchill, but it has its effects, especially on exposed skin. Frostbite is real--when I lived in interior Alaska, I'd do my lunch run (out and back) down to -45F (-43C). There was a significant difference between running down, with a 1-2 mph tailwind, and returning against that wind. The first time was a "oh crap" moment upon turning around and running against the relatively calm breeze--I had to cover and massage my cheeks (the only thing exposed) to make it back without frostbite. I was totally comfortable on the way down, but scared on the way back.

I, too, spend a lot of time in the mountains (Montana, Alaska, Wyoming) in winter. Wind effects are real. You can dress appropriately, however the "appropriateness" changes with the wind effects.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I too have experienced the very different effects of walking away from, and into, even a very slight wind on cold days. The difference can be quite striking. On very cold and windy days, I usually wear a head sock. My cheeks are not exposed.

Appropriate dress certainly changes with the conditions. When out for a long period of time, we always bring a pack with clothes and gear that would be more appropriate if conditions worsened. I don't need to know what the actual wind chill is. I already know that if I don't dress appropriately, I will be cold. Could even suffer frostbite. Might even die. It does happen. But I am a worrier. I always take extra clothes and gear with me that would be appropriate for worsening conditions. I don't go out for long periods of time with just one outfit. It just seems like common sense to me.

Off to split and haul wood now. All this talk is making me cold! Gotta keep that fire going!!

 

[yknpdlr]

I spent a chilly 45 days at Eielson AFB, near Fairbanks AK in 1975. The Alaska oil pipeline was under construction in that area at the time. We arrived at -56F ground temperature. Our engines were so efficient in ultra cold temperatures even at idle that the pilot has to cut off 2 of the 4 as soon as we are confirmed down, to prevent powering off the end of the runway. For the first 8 days the daytime temperature never went above -40F/ (=-40C). on day 9 we had a heat wave at +40F, then the next day it went right back down well below 0F for the remainder of my stay. With no wind common daily, thick ice fog dominated the landscape and curtailed flying missions (Plus we were in a stand down,since an airplane had crashed the night before we arrived, but that is another story).

The local guys told us that no matter how well you bundle up, if you walk around outside, what will get cold is your knees since with every step you push out warm air from that area even when wearing full arctic gear. So in our down time I decided to put on my insulated quilted underwear and wolf hair snorkel hood to hike to the pipeline construction site. At that time of year (Christmas and New Year) we had only about 3 hours of useful daylight. It took me 90 minutes to hike to the pipeline and another 90 to get back to base before dark. Sure enough, the only part on me that got unusually cold was my knees. In my quarters, even though it was officer's quarters, the insulation was so bad that I had a solid foot of ice accumulated from interior humidity on and under my window. Luckily I like to sleep in a cool room.

 

[Odyssey]

I used to think I knew what cold was at -20C until a winter visit to Manitoba. A leisurely walk down a village street out onto the flat as a pancake prairie was beautiful but brrrrr. Barely a breath of wind, more like a ghostly whisper, but it cut right through my layers like a knife. All that blue sky and sunshine was nice, but deceiving. The fear of losing extremities was real. All of my extremities. It was a short walk at -40C. I didn't need to know the windchill, I could feel it, and that was more than enough. It felt balmy standing back in town in lee of the grain elevator blocking the wind but not the view, and it was my Saving Grace.

 

[Mason]

While living in Alaska, I had plans to meet some friends to go skiing in Anchorage (Alyeska). Temps where I was in Gakona were expected to be in the -40s. I decided beforehand that that would be my limit for driving the 4 hours to Alyeska. The morning broke, and it was -42F. That was close enough, so I went anyway. I lived on a bluff, and by the time I got to the highway, it was -45. Uhhh... I kept going, and the temp was -50F in Glennallen. Well, the truck was already warm, so....

Those temps are hard on mechanicals--seals don't like it. I'd throw a -25F sleeping back in the back for travel, and hope I'd never need it. Stranded at -40 in a -25 bag just doesn't seem fun.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Off to split and haul wood now. All this talk is making me cold! Gotta keep that fire going!

The wonder of wood warming you three times or four.. Once for the tree felling , once for the chopping, once for the hauling and once for the relaxing.
The first three can be deadly. Be careful.. Working up a sweat is no good.. That is the bane of winter activities.. you can get too warm and when you stop you are done.. Because I tend to sweat at lunch I often have to change gloves, sox and turtleneck.. Merino wool is my friend and being mindful of windchill I prefer not to change everything.. ( that Arctic Anorak comes in handy.. its like changing in a tent)

 

[yknpdlr]

I've counted a lot more than four. Fell the tree, cut it into firewood chunks, toss the chunks toward the truck or trailer, throw or stack on the truck or trailer, throw off the truck into a pile where they are to be stored and dried. Lift up chunks to the splitter, toss into a pile from under the splitter stack the split chunks to dry, toss dry chunks into wheelbarrow to stack near the house or in the garage, stack near the house (or now that it is winter, load chunks on sled to bring to house),Unload the wheelbarrow into a stack near the house (put a row in the garage for those super cold days or when there is too much snow to get from the outside stack), load from the near thehouse pile (or sled) to temporary storage near the interior door on the garage deck, bring chunks in the house to the wood box near the stove, load into the stove as needed, take out the accumulated ash after burning.

What's that, a minimum of 13 times handling of wood. Try to do the heavy part in spring or late summer (not too late, but when still enough time to dry stacks) when it is not tin mid summer heat. I'm tired.