A warm January Saturday early in the month (42 deg F)!
Schools were closed during the worst two days of the vortex, where nighttime temperatures dipped into the -20s deg F below zero (real temperatures) with wind chills in the -40s (wind chill warning) Daytime temperatures stayed in the single digits and teens below zero. I can't say I've ever experienced cold like that where the temperatures never even hit 0 for a couple of days. Many of the news outlets were reporting that these temperatures in the Upper Midwest were colder than Alaska, and parts of the Arctic and Antarctica! Although to be honest, to me below zero feels like below zero regardless of the temperature and wind chill (still hurts whether it is -10 or -30!). I described the extreme cold feeling in one of my earlier blogs- a slap in the face which takes your breath away, and then your nose hairs freeze in about the first second. Based on my monitoring, the lowest real temperature we experienced was -23 F, and the lowest wind chill was -48 F (see below). At those temperatures, exposed skin can experience frostbite in 5-10 minutes.
Another complication that you may have seen on the news or experienced yourself is that our more recent 10 inch snowstorm happened the day before the temperatures tanked. Most roads stayed snow covered and icy throughout because it could not melt, and most salt products do not work at such low temperatures (below about 15 deg F). So really, secondary roads have been treacherous all week. Another complication (from road salt due to winter weather) is that you literally cannot get a car wash in these temperatures! So no wonder cars rust out when you have to drive around with a salt coated car for weeks on end. Luckily, we are getting a short reprieve after the vortex retreats (heading to the +40s for a couple of days!), and I am thrilled that I might get to wait in line for hours with everyone else to wash my car!
I was keyed in on the severity of the situation since schools closed for 3 days this week (1 for snow, 2 for cold)- snow days are pretty rare (with extreme cold days even more rare), so you know it must be pretty bad. Kids go to school when it's cold unless the wind chill is more than -30 degrees below (a wind chill warning vs. an advisory). Even UW-Green Bay canceled classes 3 days this week!
Of course, at extremely low temperatures, there are always concerns about homes too. Two of our exterior doors are frozen shut with ice in the jambs and around the edges of the door. We have a door to the garage that we have to use for now. Same situation with the interior of the windows, which are all covered in condensation and ice (they are pretty old, so we know replacements are needed eventually!). That said, the windows luckily aren't drafty and the old furnace has been keeping us going pretty well, so our temperature inside has been holding steady! Definitely concerns about pipes freezing with days of below zero temperatures, but so far, so good at our house (other than the cabin fever...).
The real hero in all of this is Teddy, who was so brave to use the outdoor potty facilities throughout these frigid temperatures. I was worried about him, but he did great with going out (despite not wanting to) and being totally cooped up for days. I worked hard to get the back deck and several "tunnel trails" dug for him out into the yard after the snow so he would have some options when the cold hit. He only has about 10 seconds to go before I have to scoop him up and get it back in, so time is of the essence!
I have always wanted to live in Alaska temporarily, so chalk it up to an interesting experience. Alaska came to me for about 5 days...and that's enough, thank you!
Snowstorm walk before the cold set in
