That's the most underrated aspect of a non-Texas winter: the fact that the snow sticks around for so long. My first experience with snow at Mizzou came in early December 2006... and it was massive. 16 inches, school cancelled, the whole enchilada. It looked beautiful, we had parties, did snowboarding, etc. All really fun for the first couple days. Unfortunately, for the next 2-3 weeks, the temp never got above 40 (and even the 38/39-degree temps were just for a couple hours). Not enough to even make a sizable dent toward melting all of it. It just gets dirty and nasty and stays there in huge blocks, still blocking the sidewalks and some roads. Plus, most of what "melts" re-freezes overnight and makes walking around a major headache. It really takes a good 50-degree day (with many hours above freezing) to melt significant snowfall, and you can go weeks without one in the Midwest. And after the novelty of snow wears off... it's a major pain in the ass.
Same situation here bud... Born and raised in Houston and now live in Massachusetts. Today is quite possibly the oddest weather day I have ever experienced up here though. The high today is in the 50s!!! which is quite abnormal for Massachussettes winters. However the temp swing tonight is probably the most drastic I have ever personally expereinced. The low tonight goes back to the single digits. The rest of the week is a typical New England winter with lows in the single digits and highs in the teens or 20's.
Exactly. And I don't live in the city. I actually live in a rural town outside of the city. The public works trucks don't plow our neighborhood streets way out in the sticks. That's up to the individual homeowners that own tractors. And since the wind chill temperatures are going to be dangerously low for the rest of today and much of tomorrow, no one (myself included) is going to get out and do that. It all adds up to me not getting out of my house for the better part of a week.
On a somewhat related note, it's like 80 degrees in my office causing me to sweat and probably have some strong BO.
That's really rough, OP. I used to live in Chicago so I empathize. I suggest buying a mini tractor if you have the room because it makes your job much easier. I think large temperature swings are what makes 'very cold' unbearable. I once flew from Indonesia to the middle of Russia, and the difference was 125 °F. My mind and body were overwhelmed. If the temperature change is gradual, -50 °F isn't as bad 50 °F to 0 °F in one day imo.
I left Texas in August when it was 103 degrees outside to come to a place where it was 78 degrees that same day. But right now, it's 74 degrees here...and 35 back in Austin. No regrets on the weather front for me.
Getting into Chicago tomorrow after my flight was cancelled Sunday. Dodging a big bullet by avoiding the temps their today. The best thing about Chicago is that if you can make it out of the winters, the summers are some of the best in the entire country. Also OP, it rarely ever gets this cold in Chicago, so don't expect anything like this for a while again. Pretty historic what's going on right now in the Midwest with some of these temps.
Yep. Snow is all great until you have to shovel it out of the way and it sticks around. It also depends on how much sun you get. If it is sunny for a several days as long as it is above freezing there is significant melting going on. It's not so directly noticeable though but if you measure your snow pack you will see it is decreasing. Generally sunny weather with temps in the upper 30's and low 40's is almost preferable than a sudden swing because then you get a gradual melt than everything turning into slush. I feel sad that I now know more about snow than I ever thought I would.
That's true and as someone who has traveled a lot I've often experienced that. After a couple of weeks I can adjust to colder or hotter temps so when I went to the Philippines this year it felt especially hot because I had gotten used to the cold earlier (on top of the fact that where I was at had no power for AC) Coming back though I was finally starting to adjust to the warmer weather in Asia and am now back in the deep freeze..
Snow is the Rudy Gay of weather. When it first arrives, it's pretty cool to see. But it progressively gets more annoying as it keeps doing the same thing. Then you want nothing to do it and want it gone.
Since I live in Minnesota, I am acclimated. I would wear jeans, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt and a normal jacket. If I was going to be outside, I'd add a hat and gloves. If I am going to be out driving, I'd make sure I had a bigger jacket in the car in case there is car trouble.
Yeah but last summer here in Chicago was beautiful. Most days in the 70s, low humidity and no mosquitoes. Everyone says this cold is unusual.
