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Monday, January 18, 2016

How cold was it?

It's so cold out that the icicles are shivering. Well, it certainly has been colder than this, but with an unusually warm winter we are just not used to it. It got up to -3F (-18C) yesterday and the wind was in the 20 to 30 mph range. Walking into it felt like I was wearing a Portuguese man o' war on my face. The horses have been staying out of the wind during the day and spending the nights in the barn with comfortably bedded stalls, heated water buckets, and plenty of hay.

If you want to read a book about some REAL cold temperatures and you like mysteries try this:
Murder 90 Degrees South 
It's chilly at the South Pole!

How cold was it? It was so cold:
we pulled everything out of the freezer and huddled inside it to warm up! 
 terrorists started to stockpile weapons-grade hot chocolate! 
 the politicians had their hands in their OWN pockets! 
 my mail broke when I tried to pry open the envelope! 
 I actually enjoyed it when someone spilled scalding hot coffee on my lap!
 Richard Simmons started wearing pants! 
 Pamela Anderson was downgraded from "hot" to "tepid". 
 kids' grades seemed to be improving at school - when you apply the wind chill factor, a 57% looks like 93%! 
 e-mail was almost useless. It's hard to understand a message when it's typed while wearing three pairs of heavy woolen mittens. 
 I actually enjoyed political speeches. That's how desperate I was for some hot air. 
 the trap-door in my woolly long-johns froze shut. 
 Apple introduced the iParka. 
 Scotsmen were wearing down-filled kilts. 










It is January along the U.S. Canadian border, so, yeah, that's just what it is. On the "warmer" days you may catch a glimpse of the sun. Here it was on the way to work the other day. It only showed itself for a few minutes.
Later in the day, before I left work, the sun exposed a bit of light for a few more minutes. It lit up the sky in a lovely manner.
The next day, back on the farm, we catch the moments before sunset when it breaks through the cloud cover to light things up for a few minutes.
The morning after that, however, the temperature had dropped into the -14F (-27C) neighborhood which causes the lake to produce "sea smoke". When the cold air mixes with the relatively warm air above the lake (above freezing) it makes a type of fog. The steam columns get quite high but dissipate as the temperature gets above 0F (-17C). Ships cannot be seen until it warms up.

So when it warmed up a bit later we got to see this:
This is the Edgar B. Speer heading from Two Harbors, Minnesota to Conneaut, Ohio on Lake Erie. She is 306 meters in length and has a beam of 34 meters. It has a draft (draught) of 8.7 meters and was traveling at about 10 knots.
Here is one of the coolest apps I have ever run across:

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-86/centery:45/zoom:6

You can use it to find every ship on the seven seas. It is a good diversion on a cold winter day.
Stay warm!

 


  

27 comments:

  1. I truly enjoyed this post. That is how I enjoy winter-- sitting inside reading about it. It' about 0F here, but anything below 0C is all the same to me-- too cold.

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  2. It's not the cold that'll kill ya, it's the windchill. Okay, yeah, the cold'll kill ya too.

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  3. Stay warm, Jono! Enjoy some piping hot decaf coffee or hot cocoa today.

    My house briefly had a power outage today, and I worried that the house would grow cold. Fortunately, the electricity came back, so I'm warm and toasty.

    Would someone please tell Butt-Hanging-Out-Woman to wear pants during the winter?

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  4. yikes! 23F when I woke up at 5:30a this morning. at 3p it's 27F. not too much change, although the sun is out in a blue clear sky.

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  5. Love, love, love your skies. And the cartoons.
    And here in the sweaty season you have given me hope.

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  6. I was invited skiing next week and I said no way! In the winter months, I just want to hibernate. The most I'll do is run from my house to the car and from my car to the heated store or restaurant!

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  7. I love the toilet seat with the socks. What a great idea! The sunset photo is gorgeous.

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  8. Vanilla, The extreme cold tends to kill off some of the Bugs of Summer. That is why I tolerate it.

    Debra, Since I am not a slave to fashion I try to dress in whatever will keep me alive.

    Ahab, When I was younger I could laugh at winter. After a few instances of frostbite I developed a new respect. Butt-Hanging-Out-Woman is what you might see at a northern Walmart.

    anne marie, Growing up out your way I remember it got down to zero once. Nobody knew what to do different to stay warm.

    Elephant's Child, Sweaty season lasts for about three days here. Of course, my boss wears shorts until it gets consistently below freezing. He's "different".

    Stephanie, Thanks for stopping by! But it barely gets cold down your way! Although hibernation is never a bad idea.

    Agi, And you can still use them as socks! Might want to wash them first, though.

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  9. It was so cold that you're lucky this is your election season?

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  10. That sea smoke looks fascinating. Stay warm! It only got up into the 60's here today. That's freezing cold to us Floridians. I'm warming up by drinking Glühwein that's left over from Christmas.

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  11. That is some serious fog (sea smoke) you have there; very cool stuff.

    I don't mind weather down to -10 C but then I object. Never seems to make any difference, but it's the principle of the thing.

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  12. P. S. Great funnies - laughing takes some sting out of the weather :)

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  13. Before I say it's cold here (in St. Louis), I'll think about your temperatures first...

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  14. lots of funny stuff in this post, haha. My kids are headed to Canada soon and the natives are trying to prepare them for the weather. Your pictures are beautiful.

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  15. Meteorologists say that the sea is a heat reservoir, but I suppose that doesn't work in your locality, or maybe it's because you only have a great big lake. Very pretty picture of the rising sun.

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  16. It was so cold last night, my teeth were chattering. So I got out of bed and put them back in my mouth.
    Saskatchewan has been posting windchills in the -40's to -50's. I don't miss it but you are right about cold winters making things much healthier.
    Our two day snowstorm is finally over but no cold temps yet. Forecast for -25C but I will believe it when it happens. Right now it is -3C.

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  17. Love the sea smoke! I've seen it before in photos but I never knew what it was called or why it happened. And that app is COOL! We're going to enjoy that the next time we're out on the west coast watching the ships go by. :-)

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  18. I can't imagine that kind of frigidity. Err, yes I can. Wrong word. But don't waste good hot chocolate - drink and enjoy it. Stay hot. Wink.

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  19. Bill, Apparently our election cycle is perpetual with a never ending supply of hot air. Most days I'd rather be cold than listen to it.

    PP, 60's sound lovely. Aquavit is my poison of choice this time of year.

    jenny_o, I can get a rough estimate of the temperature by looking out at the lake. I can be within a few degrees with practice.

    Sioux, I couldn't handle your summers down there.

    Darla, Thanks for stopping by! Tell the kids to wear layers of loose stuff and wicking underwear if they are going to sweat much.

    Gorilla B, Actually the lake is a big factor and a heat reservoir. It has been warming for a few decades.

    Blog Fodder, The cold also keeps the riff-raff out for much of the year and the temperature might get up near freezing in a few days.

    Daine, I zoomed out with the app and found which ships were in Reykjavik, London, Bergen and everywhere in the world!

    Robyn, As long as you smile you will never be cold! Hot chocolate always helps, too.

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  20. Well, at least the weather hasn't cooled off your sense of humor. Love the photos.

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  21. JACKIESUE, If it did that here you'd see a lot of nudity that you would otherwise have to wait until summer to see.

    Tom, If I lose that I'm a goner. I hope my last words are something smart-ass or sarcastic.

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  22. Hilarious jokes and lovely pictures. Stay warm, Jono!

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  23. Donna, Doing my best to stay warm. The days are getting noticeably longer already.

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  24. And I'm just sitting here in 60 degree weather watching my beer get warm. I don't envy your weather.

    BTW, I feel like Pam Anderson hasn't been above tepid since the late 90s, but maybe that's just all that hepatitis.

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  25. Ah yes, it gets a little chilly above the Canadian border, but this year has been downright mild. I saw men in short sleeves just before Christmas. And we haven't had that -25C week of shivering in January that we usually have. Oh waitaminnit, February is still to come, right? I won't put the long johns away just yet.

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  26. thanks for sharing smiles and beautiful pics,i always loved winter even though i am forty plus now still i enjoy cold sharp touch of really cold air when my hubby drops me in my school on bike as inside our town we often avoid driving car as it is so un pleasant experience

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