Back when I was a senior at NC State, I took a TA position for one of the physical geology labs. I had an 8 o'clock lab on Thursdays. Well, during the winter that year, I experienced the coldest weather I had (in memory) ever felt. As I crossed Western Blvd from the US Army Reserve center where I parked, I couldn't believe that people could survive in cold like that. It was 19 degrees at 7:30am. I have no idea what the wind chill was, but I couldn't remember a time when it had been below about 25.
Flash forward one year. I was in the army, stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. A new record... I was standing - outside - in PT formation and it was 4 degrees. I remember standing in a relative shock throughout formation. My company commander even came up to me and asked if everything was okay. I just looked at him, finally getting my frozen face to say I'd never felt such cold. He laughed and told me I'd get used to it. Well, I never did.
Now... fast forward seven years (first of all, I canNOT believe that it has been seven years) and today set a new record. It is currently -2 degree with a wind chill of -14. That is up from where it was at 4am (wind chill was -17). Now, it isn't quite the same, I know. I don't have to do PT in this weather and really don't have to leave the house if I don't want to. I did, however, have to feel it. I had to get the girls on their buses this morning. It is so cold that it took my breath. Funny as it is, today's hi temperature is lower than that first morning in NC when I couldn't believe that it was only 19 degrees. Today is only supposed to reach 16 here.
So it all goes back to -- I can't believe people choose to live in cold like this. We watched a show a couple of nights ago on Barrow, Alaska -- the most northern town in the US. During their 'summer' the hi temps are around -10. Hello?!? WHY? I guess I am glad that people don't mind it, I just don't understand. There are probably people, though, who wonder why I miss the hot humid summers in the south. That is what makes life fun for everybody, I guess.
so-- what is the coldest you can remember??
6 comments:
the winter yall were living in the house you bought in st. roberts. i think one morning walking ross it was 4 degrees. it was so cold it hurt, within 30 seconds of going outside. burrr. it is quite cold here today but not nearly as bad at in KY jelly. stay warm. hope the bus had a heater!
side note... saw on tv last night that in barrow alaska (on the northern slope) that their high was 10 degrees yesterday, which was a record high. they were having a heat wave! (also... anchorage was like 45 degrees, also a record high.)
anyway, its funny how having a garage makes the cold disappear. i haven't worn a coat all winter except when we went to the rolesville parade... and even that coat i couldn't zip up!
the coldest i can remember, recently, was one year in washington when it was more blustery than temperature cold. winters always seemed colder there, probably because of the humidity and the ever-present wind coming off the water.
from childhood, i just remember one winter when the creek froze over and dad walked on it. remember that? i don't really remember it being cold, exactly, just the results of it!
nathaniel said his record low was -30 with -70 windchill at purdue in january of 97 (?)!
uugh. i'm never moving to indiana.
I lived in Ft. Collins, Colorado for 2 years..back when the blizzard of '03 hit. It was pretty cold that year. I think somewhere around -9 is my coldest.
I agree with Katelyn. St. Robert, MO is the coldest place I've ever been. I remember taking Ross out too. I had on long johns, pants, socks, boots, shirts and sweat shirts and a wool lined coat that wouldn't let the wind through it and completely covered head and hands. The wind cut through everything I had on. I don't know what the temp was but it was something I had never experienced before...and neither had my little dog! HE was quick to do his business and get back in the house. I remember calling your dad and telling him that I didn't bring enough clothes for that kind of weather...In fact, the clothes (wool or down) that they sell here is a different weight than what they sell out there.
As much as I love the cold, this one screams for me to comment on... ;)
Coldest I've ever experienced was probably about -6 at my 'rents in VA one winter... I love the cold, b/c I'm an "extreme temperature" lover... Just to see how tough I am, or how well I can take it! I even love the days in ENC when the temp is 100+, and the humidity is 75%+...
On that -6 day in VA, I was out sledding at my grandparents, it was so cold you could walk on top of the snow... And, some of my fondest memories are walking ON the creek (like Analee mentioned remembering your dad do) behind my family's houses, and getting a running start to see how far I could slide...
That was at least 30% of the reason I went to Maine in December... To experience EXTREME cold... ;) This week, the friend I went to visit had a low of -18 (w/chills in the -30's and below), and I called him every day to let him know how jealous I was, and how I'd picked the wrong time to visit... It was only 5 F w/chills in the minus-teens when I was there... ;)
We got down to 10 here in the ENC... Probably not even the coldest I've experienced in NC, b/c the river didn't even freeze... And, my 'rents (who were visiting me to try to get "warmer") house had lows of -1...
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