Cold

[olmue]

The good news is, we were not in the blizzard path. The bad news is, it's -20F (real temperature; the windchill factor is -31.)

This is what we're been driving on since the week before Thanksgiving, sometimes with a topping of snow and sometimes polished to this lovely, smooth sheen:



It's like, Little House on the Ice Floe or something.

School has been canceled today due to the temperature, although DH still had to go to work. Fun things to see as you're driving out in this kind of cold: the exhaust from household dryers turns to steam--and then instant ice--outside, making interesting patterns on the sides of buildings. Pedestrians wearing ski masks have frost "beards" from their breathing/condensation. And people going to the grocery store leave their motors on when they go inside for fear they won't be able to get their cars started when they come out. (I stopped at the store but turned my car off. Everything was fine, luckily.)

Happy winter! And if you are having blizzard fun, stay inside and stay warm!

Comments

[robinellen.livejournal.com]

Yeesh! DH had no problem with our car yesterday -- but it was only -11 or so (ha). I hope your kiddos enjoy their inside day!

[olmue.livejournal.com]

I LOVE our (heavily insulated) garage. I would DIE here if I had to park my car outside. We did that in apartments/duplexes in Illinois (see today's blizzard there for a sample of the weather), and NEVER AGAIN.

[anabelgonzalez.livejournal.com]

Oh I am impressed with the temperatures you all are having. I would send you warm temparatures from here if I could. Stay warm and a lot of patience with the kids!

[olmue.livejournal.com]

You can probably see why the book I'm writing involves a character whose parents are from Chile and who goes down there (from Idaho) for Christmas every year. I'm hoping that if I think about the beaches around Vina del Mar, I'll actually start to feel warm... :)

[fandoria.livejournal.com]

You know, as bas as our roads have been (yesterday I drove T to school in 4 inches of unplowed snow), at least they haven't been solid ice. Yikes!

[olmue.livejournal.com]

I've lived in plenty of snowy places, but I've never seen roads quite like these before. (I have a feeling the economy has something to do wit it, coupled with an unusually snowy winter.)

[edawn.livejournal.com]

It hurts to think about that kind of weather.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Tell me about it! The kids wanted to go sledding this morning, and weren't too happy when I told them no...

[jeniwrites.livejournal.com]

EEK! The street looks like a makeshift ice rink. Hope you are staying warm! The snow is falling hard again here; think we're at 19 inches so far.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

It snows almost every day here, but this this day 3 of blue sky! Woohoo! And the house is really warm, so inside you can't tell how cold it really is out there. FINALLY, we're in a house that someone thought about when they built it.

19"!!!!!! Just WOW.

[karenbschwartz.livejournal.com]

Wow. That is extreme!

[olmue.livejournal.com]

It's not too bad--I mean, at least it's all flat. A week or two ago, the plows spent the entire afternoon just on our street, trying to clear away as much as they could. They apparently don't salt here at all, but they do dump a little sand on the intersections so you can at least stop at crucial moments. I don't know, at least things are basically smooth and below the axle... *shrugs*

[barbarabaker.livejournal.com]

Unbelievable! That's amazing. Glad I'm not there.
Stay warm.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

The plows came out a week or two ago and smoothed it all flat. Before that, we had several inches of packed snow on top. Once in a while the city sends out a dump truck to sprinkle a little sand at the intersections...otherwise, this is it. (No salt. And yes, we do live within the city limits!)

[newport2newport.livejournal.com]

Brr...and yikes! I hate being cold, and I'm a'skeered of driving on ice-slicked roads!

Still, that's a beautiful photo!

Stay safe. I'm sending warm thoughts your way...

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Having just driven out again today... I'd say that there is a difference between an icy road at 0 and an icy road at 31. Right now it's more like driving on glass. At 31, it's more like driving on grease.

I'm afraid of driving in winter conditions, too, but it's been so long since we've seen anything different than when I DO get to drive on cleared asphalt...wow. Traction! What a concept! (We don't do road trips in the winter, though! This is all strictly in 20mph zones to the grocery store and back...)

[kathys-shadow.livejournal.com]

Wow. I'm so glad I'm in Utah right now, and that I cannot complain about 16 degrees when it's so much colder everywhere else.

I hope it warms up there soon!

[olmue.livejournal.com]

I never knew what a big climate difference there was between Utah and Idaho. Wow.