Posted on 01/07/2014 2:31:44 AM PST by knarf
I have a little Infrared Digital Thermometer. Last night I was checking temps outside and pointed it straight up to check the sky.
It said “Lo”.
Got on the internet to find the range of the thermometer:
“-27F to +435F”
When I’ve tried this before it usually registers about 20 below current air temp.
Was -22 or something like that here in Pittsburgh back in the snowstorm of 94... the -7 or whatever we hit last night was cold, but not unprecedented. Certainly new record for the day, but still a good way from the all time low.
What happens in Lake Geneva STAYS in Lake Geneva! ;*)
Great bulldada quote from the hilariously bad rip-off of Star Wars movie called Starcrash (1978), featuring the rather toothsome Caroline Munro, and the first robot with a grating and hokey southern drawl:
“You must return before the sun sets. At night the temperature drops thousands of degrees!”
It is a low-rated cult movie that is very expensive on DVD because it is so beloved. When you are snockered, it is incredibly funny.
Lived in Wasilla for a number of years tell the winters got so bad I had live in Seattle in the winter. The house was on the lake (Lake St.)next to the boat ramp. The lake would freeze with three feet of ice and people would drive on it and ice fish. Now live in Ga. were it was six degrees this morning. But the coldest place I ever lived was in Japan as it was a wet cold and wet snow.
Well at 6:00 AM our two dogs let me know that Mr. GG2 was playing possum and I had to take them out. It was 6 degrees and thats as cold as I ever need to feel. It was the fastest bathroom break those two mutts ever made. :-)
You seriously maintain that it’s warmer in Norway than in Wisconsin? That’s interesting. I have often wondered how people in Scandinavia could survive their terribly long dark winters. Advice would be most welcome.
We lived in VT in the early seventies and sub zero was common.
California sucks politically, but I am glad to see 79 today.
I don’t know what we would do with 20 degrees or less in the regular areas because the homes and heating were IMO mostly not made to buy you that much heating.
The heater would be going 24-7 if we hit even 30 outside and we had a setting of 70 inside. That is probably because we don’t have the big water heaters throughout or the brick homes like I had in NY.
Most CA homes have walls with zero insulation; just stucco, beams empty air then lath and plaster.
Keep a pencil lead-sized stream of cold water on at all faucets. Open all under-sink cabinets for the night. Keep a small heater with a temperature control in the cellar area on at night, set to around 50 degrees. Our propane water heater puts out enough waste heat to keep the cellar at 40 all the way down to zero. Know where your house plumbing is vulnerable and take steps to add low, consistent heat to those areas. At -25 or lower, we add ceramic heaters in front of the under-sink cabinets overnight. We have a 100-year-old house with no central heat.
Set back up gas heat to 55.
Keep 2-3 large pieces of firewood ready for overnight, plus some medium-small pieces. Actually, you get the most heat when the wood has become a mass of glowing coals. We sleep normally and check the fire maybe 2x a night when one or the other gets up to use the bathroom. If it is beyond the glowing mass of hot coals stage, open dampers, set on a few pieces of small-medium sized firewood, go do your business and then open all the faucets for a few minutes just to make sure there are no ice clogs. Return faucets to pencil-lead-sized stream, check fire, which should have flames, put on largest pieces of firewood and set dampers back to medium-to-medium low. Go back to sleep.
Remember to take the stovepipe out weekly and burn and brush out all the creosote.
Remember to turn the cellar heater off when outside temps rise to 15-20.
We routinely have bad winters with periods of 18-35 below. After 40 years we know when it is cold enough to freeze the pipes (-18 for 2 or more consecutive nights).
Come to think of it, many CA voters are the same way, nothing between the two walls either... LOL Describes their heads in many cases out here.
Don’t forget the aching sinuses at -20.
It is worse as you get older.
That is just a small inland lake.
Lake Michigan froze over, or so I read. It has happened before.
You're an engineer ... right /
/8^)
We need dense calories in this weather, combined with the usual lack of sunlight (altho, it is sunny here, today).
I always make fudge when the temperatures plummet. Made some yesterday. Yum!
Never heard ot 'em
Talk to me .. us
Domestic engineer! ;)
Living in a challenging climate does tend to focus the mind and logical, step-by-step procedures become habit over 40 years or so.
I moved to Milwaukee at age 19 after living in Central Illinois. First morning standing out waiting for the bus taught me the value of wearing warm layers and boots. Moved out here in ‘75 to an old house and hilly driveway. Learned to plan the work and work the plan.
Of course, it helps to have a very handy husband!
The most caloric value for the smallest amount of food.
Sugar/fat/chocolate/flour.
Biscuits and gravy this am for breakfast, for example.
“Never knew there was so much crap on daytime TV until this year. “
—
I’m retired too.
The public library is your friend.
.
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