Patterico's Pontifications

Check out the expected temperatures in Chicago Monday.

Then check out the expected wind chill.

Wowie!

Patterico (39da75) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:06 pm

BTW, the blog might not be back up to full speed until Wednesday.

I originally said Monday, but, um.

Patterico (39da75) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:07 pm

Chicago. It’s 32 now, and it’ll drop to 10 or so below by Monday am. It’ll warm up a little late in the week to bring us some freezing rain and get cold right away to turn it into a slick sheet of ice on everything. It’s nothing new. It’s an expected pattern that started in December and will last through January. This is not the first time in the last 10 years that we’ve had 10 below or lower temperatures.

Or to use the nk temperature scale: Well-diggers are wearing long underwater but witches haven’t put on their sweaters yet. They will soon, followed by brass monkeys singing soprano, and by Monday morning lawyers will be seen with their hands in their own pockets.

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:20 pm

followed by brass monkeys singing soprano, and by Monday morning lawyers will be seen with their hands in their own pockets.

Comment by nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:20 pm

How can something made for holding cannonballs on a ship, sing?

peedoffamerican (c1890a) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:23 pm

-2 this a.m. on cape cod.
just water the song birds that don’t go south.
bird baths have plug in heaters to keep the ice from forming.
Weather is over rated as a news story.
Climate jockeys make issues out of normal cycles.

mg (31009b) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:25 pm

So it’s “cold enough to freeze the [cannon]balls off a brass monkey”, poa?

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:31 pm

Minus 8 degF near Ann Arbor Friday am. Up to 10″ of global warming predicted Sun/Mon, and temps -10 degF or colder Mon/Tues. Lovely.

Rich B (d68a67) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:36 pm

Sorry, POA, Snopes says a brass monkey, at least when mentioned the way I mentioned it, is not what you say it is but what I thought it is. http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.asp

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:38 pm

Yeppers, nk, that’s where they got the saying, but it got changed by one word. Original quote was, “Cold enough to freeze the balls on a brass monkey”!

peedoffamerican (c1890a) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:39 pm

-2 now in Central MN, -25 sometime before dawn, -32 Sunday nite/Monday morn. High Mon. -14 and -25 again after dark.

The length of the cold spell worth noting not the depth.

Been so dry most nights no frost at all ‘cepting last night freezing rain.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:50 pm

Got some heavy global warmening falling due north of Chicago right now.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:50 pm

As nk said before, temp is mild currently at close to freezing but expected to drop dramatically.

Many schools have already pre-announced closings for Monday.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:54 pm

5. I hear that about our birds needing a drink, none of them sing in this weather.

Too dangerous to breathe deep.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/4/2014 @ 6:55 pm

Call the next blizzard “Hades” in honor of all the cold air that global warming brings.

Hurricanes could be named after politicians – e.g. Moldy Al – in honor of all the hot air that they bring.

ras (be1e0d) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:03 pm

-3 this morning in New Jersey, in addition to 8 inches of snow that fell Friday. The high for tomorrow is 50 but the hgh for Tuesday is 12. Crazy weather!

Pine Baroness (a1d9be) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:04 pm

The worst part for people driving Monday will be that it will be too cold for the salt to melt the snow or the black ice on the pavement. Very hazardous driving and four-wheel drive does not help as much as people think.

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:08 pm

I wonder if the Staten Island Sandy victims have heat yet?

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:08 pm

ras, I don’t favor giving weather systems cutesy names. Give them names that make people pay attention. “Homicide” not Hercules. The New Orleans evacuation might have gone better if Katrina had been called “Killer”. Sandy? That’s practically Atlantic City’s theme song (Springsteen). “Slasher” would have made more sense (New Jerseyians would not know the meaning of “Slayer”).

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:14 pm

The news must be getting to you late, P. the snow hit the northeast Thursday afternoon/evening.
The snow wasn’t bad in Philly, about 6-8 inches (enough to close the schools), but it is unusually cold for these parts, down into the teens and wind-chills in the single digits.

My all time record, on a couple of different occasions, wind-chill -74 (that’s 74 below zero), in Wisconsin. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in 20 below or more.
Once it got so cold the car horn went on by itself, didn’t stop until I hit it so hard the horn assembly came off of the steering wheel.
It happened in the middle of the night, BTW.

But it’s supposed to get to the 40’s and rain tomorrow and Monday, then down to single digits or teens on Tuesday.

Here ya go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u03QcymdCtg

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:15 pm

True, we had a subsequent storm to Katrina, that zipped by her on the way to the Gulf, Wilma some two months later, it came in from the West, the damage it wrought, made one wag rename it ‘Bam Bam’

narciso (3fec35) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:18 pm

Pine Baroness

What a great nickname
(for all you folk who know nothing about New Jersey, like me before we moved to Philly, there is a region called the “Pine Barrens”.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:23 pm

I remember, narciso, she hit the Katrina refugees in Texas?

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:24 pm

No that was Rita, which came right after Katrina, and provoked that huge evacuation from Houston, take care all,

narciso (3fec35) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:40 pm

We have never used this much wood this early in the season.
Oh well, time to put another log in the stove.
Hope your all warm and toasty.

mg (31009b) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:41 pm

Our wind chills are only expected to be in the -20 to -30 range for a couple days. Sounds like we are getting off easy.

JD (fc2278) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:47 pm

Gas stations and grocery store look like a post-apocalyptic world.

JD (fc2278) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:55 pm

When archaeologists are studying this time period, they are going to think that we bought bread and milk in an effort to ward off snow.

JD (fc2278) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:56 pm

NOAA forecast for my area for Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -13°F. Wind chill values between -26°F and -36°F. Northwest wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

We’ll be in single negative digits tonight, and we already have about a half-inch of powder on the ground.

The coldest I have experienced is -19°F (static OAT) about a month ago. Thank God for natural gas.

I live just west of Rapid City, but places in NE SD like Aberdeen will be even colder.

dhmosquito (49ee3b) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:04 pm

I made a mistake earlier in the weather prediction – or maybe it changed. It will be Monday, not Tuesday when the temperature will drop.

It was around 26 degrees or so today. It is now 27 degrees. The 26 degrees, around 6 pm, was actually the high for the day. It is reported to have started out at 8 degrees, I guess during the middle of the night. It did not feel that cold this morning. I think we may be now at the high for the day at 10 pm.

The snow remaining on the ground is not an obstacle pretty much anywhere, and some people were putting out garbage.

The snow fell from about 6:45 pm Thursday till the early am Friday. Different amounts in different parts of the city, but maybe 6 inches in most places.

On Friday, the Long Island Expressway was closed from midihttill 8 am (lest cars get stuck, as even wth Firestone tires they can’t go on soft snow if it is more than about 2 inches thick.

Airports were closed until about 9:30 am, but that didn’t means most planes could take off.

I heard a snippet of de Blasio telling people not to go outside and not to go to their cars if they didn’t have to. Meanwhile, city employees were not given a snow day, but told to report for work, or else take the day off as a personal vacation day. I think budgetary factors are the reason.

Bloomberg did the same sort of thing. de Blasio had asked the Sanitation and Fire Commissioners to stay on temporarily. Alternate side of the street parking was suspended but parking meter rules were still in effect.

Courts were closed on Friday. They closed the public schools on Friday, but the decision was only made in the morning. Buses and subways were running, and the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North (I think) were on a weekend scheedule.

If they had tried to use school buses they woud have hard going in the snow, and been well off schedule. They had to close the public schools.

de Blasio says his 16-year old son had lobbied him to declare a snow day, after his son had spoken about that I think, but that that wasn’t a factor. de Blasio had had a 4 am conference call Friday. de Blasio is still at his home in Park slope – he shoveled a little snow for the cameras. Then his son took over the job.

Then he held a press conference where he kept on mentioning the 4 am conference call. He is quoted as saying:

The snow may have stopped, but we are not out of the woods. If you must go outside, dress wamly and be extremely careful…It’s the coldest it has been all year. I don’t want anyone to underestimate how cold it is.

It must have been at least in the teens by then. He also said that while his son has the physical strength, he doesn’t quite have his technique in shoveling snow.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:04 pm

It’s been an interesting weather week. Single digits and global warmening, then getting milder and clear, then more global warmening and now forecast for chillier temps again. Snow plows have been very busy. Sporty driving conditions most of the week.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:05 pm

The weather forecast is a little complicated and it will be a bit of a rollercoaster. It warms up tomorrow, and there will be rain. In places north and west of the city it may be freeze on contact with the ground, creating a little bit of slippery conditions, but it will get warmer during the day Sunday, going into the 40s.

Monday morning should start out around 50 degrees, but then a cold Arctic air mass will move into the city, and the low for the day should be in the single digits. There will be a drop of maybe 40 degrees from morning till night.

It gradually warms up during the rest of the week (high-lo Tuesday estimated at 13 and 5, Wednesday 25 and 21, Thursday high 35, if I interpret my notes correctly.

It will warm up more and then get colder again.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:05 pm

Comment by nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 7:14 pm

Sandy? That’s practically Atlantic City’s theme song (Springsteen).

That was actually a very good name, on account of all the sand it left on the beaches.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:09 pm

The actual high for the day today in New York was 29 degrees, at 7:51 pm Eastern Standard Time, so the 27 degreees I saw was not the high.

Normal high is 39 degrees. The 8 degrees was not the record low for Janauary 4 – that was minus 3 in 1918.

Rain on Sunday – freezing rain in western New Jersey, then rain everywhere because the temperature rises.

The high Sunday will be 47 degrees, so all the old snow will probably melt. The low is 27 degrees.

It may actually continue to rain into early Monday – any residual moisture in the air later in the day may fall as snow – except that the Channel 2 7-day chart was showing a high of 46 Monday and low of 36 degrees, which is above freexing. Where is that 40 degree drop into he single digits?

For Tuesday the Hi-low is 11 degrees and 3 degrees, Wednesday 23 degrees and 9, Thursday 34 degrees and 22 degrees, Friday 39 degrees and 46, I think.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:30 pm

I hope all of you experiencing the nasty weather stay safe and warm. It’s hard to imagine wind chills are only expected to be in the -20 to -30 range for a couple days is getting off “easy”.

Dana (9a8f57) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:32 pm

Sammy, in Chicago we don’t call that winter. We call it Opening Day at Wrigley Field.

nk (dbc370) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:37 pm

It was so cold here in Arizona today, I had to roll down the sleeves on my shirt! (Runs and ducks)

Gazzer (74e832) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:41 pm

MD in Philly,

Some awful people notice things only when it affects them.

Patterico (39da75) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:42 pm

There were 18 inches on the ground at my place by midday Thursday. Then they predicted a few “snow showers” for Sat. afternoon and evening leading up to the deep deep freeze starting on Sunday and lasting through Monday and part of Tuesday.

Snow showers? Oops. At least 3 more inches have already fallen since this afternoon (21 inches total now) and per the 10 o’clock TV weather guy they’re guessing 1 to 4 more more for my area before the night is over and more further south.

elissa (f61f72) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:46 pm

Well, I must say, earthquakes and brush fires are not usually forefront in my mind either.

Speaking of cold weather, I heard that the Chinese ship that had “rescued” the folk stuck in Antarctic ice is now also stuck. I guess it is only early summer there, so maybe things will get a bit better for them.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/4/2014 @ 8:52 pm

It was so cold here in Arizona today, I had to roll down the sleeves on my shirt! (Runs and ducks)

Meanwhile, California is experiencing record dry conditions and, based on my own preferences, overly warm weather. All caused by a particular yin-yang meteorological condition that global-warming alarmists have yet to hone in on: The way that high-pressure weather systems — which create drought and heat — are affected or not affected by manmade carbon dioxide.

In some ways, mother nature, or planet Earth, is kind of like an idiotic political extremist. So there’s either too much orientation in one direction (eg, heat and drought) or too much orientation in another (eg, cold and wetness).

Mark (58ea35) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:07 pm

Sometimes you live long enough to see these things happen over and over again, even in Texas.

Science!

Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:14 pm

When things get better for those ships stuck in the ice, Doc, it won’t be because of a break in the weather.

It’ll be because the USCGC Polar Star provides an assist. They don’t have an ice breaker down there that could effectively deal with ice conditions on the Great Lakes. The Polar Star will be the only heavy ice breaker south of the equator. Other nations have heavy ice breakers, like Russia, but it’s their busy season in the far North.

We’ve been having quite the lively discussion about it on the MSNBC cretins comment thread, if you’re at all interested in taking a look.

Steve57 (eb0f3a) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:18 pm

I guess I’ve been affected but it just seems like winter to me. It has been cold enough (-14F last night) that I actually dug out a scarf to keep the wind off my neck while shoveling snow and it’s been over 5 years since I’ve had to do that, but still nothing outside of normal for winter. Power’s still on which is always nice for winter storms. While the wood-stove is having difficulty keeping the front room as warm as I like at night that is due to last summer’s renovations and the now uninsulated side door. Thankfully traffic has been light because the roads still have snow on them, too cold for the environmentally friendly salt.

max (131bc0) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:24 pm

the NWS main page is pretty scary…

unless you live someplace that isn’t shaded in.

redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:24 pm

http://www.weather.gov/

it helps to include the link you’re referencing…

redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:25 pm

Thanks, steve57, I just saw the discussion over there.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:27 pm

Several years ago, we in northern New Mexico got hit with a record breaking cold period in February that just happened to coincide with the loss of natural gas for about a week. We had lows in the -20’s and -30’s. Many towns and villages opened shelters but only a few people showed up. The rest of us just sucked it up and dealt with it. There were no cold related deaths and the national media didn’t consider it a worthy story.

Winter weather in the dead of winter shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

Dale (2474f8) — 1/4/2014 @ 9:27 pm

I picture scenes like this unfolding all across NYC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GueWvYfs2Ic

New York City Tow Truck Destroys Parked SUV-Family-Friendly Version!

Or across the N.E. in general.

Good luck, people.

Steve57 (eb0f3a) — 1/4/2014 @ 10:01 pm

Coming tonight -24ºF, high today (Sunday) -7º,
low -25ºF, Monday high -16ºF,
low -21ºF Tuesday high -7º;
low -14ºF, Wednesday high +3ºF (take a deep breath)

Wind chills will be -60..-80 (new wind chill scale, -80..-100 old wind chill scale)

Friday we should have a low above zero; winter in 55122

Unheated garage, that’s cold enough that I’ll plug the car in for an hour or two before trying to start it (engine block heater, synthetic oil.) Blew out the engine in the ’80 Century a couple of decades ago, nylon oil pump part shattered when it started at -35ºF. (tank heater, dino oil.)

htom (412a17) — 1/4/2014 @ 11:01 pm

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=34.221379059037346&lon=-118.49201202392578

global warming, Valley Style

like totally!

redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/4/2014 @ 11:45 pm

It’s slightly above 32 degrees in Brooklyn an raining. Problem is the ground is so cold that the rain hits the sidewalk and freezes immediately. It’s like s skating rink. The 1 hour walk with the dog was curtailed to 10 minutes because otherwise I was taking a serious fall.

Bugg (f0dbc7) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:48 am

The front edge of Snowmageddon just got here. Predictions of 12-15″. If I manage usage properly, me and my antique Toro snowblower (30+ yr old) can keep up with this.

JD (fc2278) — 1/5/2014 @ 5:49 am

Here in Florida we got hit by storm Wimpy. Temps dropped into the 40’s over night.

Jim (145e10) — 1/5/2014 @ 5:55 am

Rain here as well, though temp is below freezing and it is turning to ice when it hits. Wife dodged a 4 car crash on the way to work early this am.
But it is turning more slushy and broken ice at the present, supposed to warm up later today and be melting later today. Ten miles north probably worse.
And then back to teens with wind chill in single digits tomorrow.
Back in the 70’s we dropped about 60+ degrees in <24 hrs in Wisconsin, from 60's or so in an unusual winter warm spell to frigid cold. The change in barometric pressure was impressive.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:08 am

I left out the fact that the nesspapers were not delivered on Friday. I think they did not get to the stores around here, either. Saturday delivery was made, but they haven’t come so far (as of 9:51 am) Sunday. But Sunday delivery is sometimes late.

I thought the freezing rain was really supposed to be in New Jersey, but it was also in Brooklyn.

There was really almost no rain, but there was a very thin coating of ice on some sidewalks around 8 am. The temperature was reported, I think, at 28 degrees at 5:40 am and at 31 now, so it is still below freezing.

They also said yesterday that untreated roads could have a coating of 1/10 of an inch of ice
this morning. As I said, I thought this was really about New Jersey. I don’t think the streets have ice – there’s snow, and ground down and missing snow, but no ice. Just on the sidewalks.

I need to correct or clarify the weather forecast. The rain, if there’s enough to be called rain, should continue, and the snow and ice melt as it gets to 45 degrees or so. There will be a second round of rain on Monday morning. Then it will clear with sunny weather, and then after that interval, the cold air comes in.

Last night WNBC (Channel 4), which had the news starting at 11:30, gave high low predictions as follows:

Monday: High 48 (in the morning or early afternoon) low 6 degrees.

Tuesday: High 13, low 8 degrees.

Wednesday: High 25, low 23 degrees. (Did I get that right?)

Thursday: High 37, low 32 degrees.

Friday, January 10: High 39, low 35 degrees

SaturdayL High 45, low 43 degrees (could that be right?)

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:10 am

The newspapers came, before 10:10 am. Temperature is still reported at 31 degrees Fahrenheit. JFK Airport closed, and will remain closed for another hour, because a plane slid off the runway.

Another plane, a small plane, landed yesterday on the Major Deagan Expressway just below 233rd St. It had engine trouble. It was headed north and landed in the northbound lane, so did not go against traffic. No cars were hit.

The plane was slightly damaged, mainly a tire, and one of the two passengers moderately injured and taken to a hospital. Some construction worker used a truck or something to block the northbound lane and it was closed for several hours.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:15 am

Other weather heard on news last night:

Islip, Long Island had a re3cord low of 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Northern Minnesota at 39 degrees below zero. It broke a record. At that temperature, it doesn’t matter if it is Fahrenheit or ~~Centigrade~~ Celsius.

Dubai was at 65 degrees at the New Year.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:20 am

-40 is exactly the same on both the F and C scales, Sammy. Sixth grade science.

nk (dbc370) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:25 am

I’d say 6th grade arithmetic.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:29 am

THE WINDY CITY TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART

60° F: Arizonans shiver uncontrollably; people in Chicago are still sunbathing.
50° F: Californians try to turn on the heat; people in Chicago plant gardens.
40° F: Italian sports cars won’t start; people in Chicago drive with the windows down.
32° F: Distilled water freezes; Lake Michigan water gets thicker.
20° F: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats; people in Chicago throw on a light jacket.
15° F: People in Chicago have the last cookout before it gets cold.
0° F: All the people in Phoenix die. Chicagoans close the windows.
10° below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico . The Girl Scouts in Chicago are selling cookies door to door.
25° below zero: Hollywood disintegrates; people in Chicago get out their winter coats.
40° below zero: Washington, DC runs out of hot air; people in Chicago let the dogs sleep indoors.
100° below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicagoans get frustrated because they can’t start ‘da car’.
460° below zero: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale); people in Chicago start saying, ‘cold ’nuff for ya?’
500° below zero: Hell freezes over. The Cubs win the World Series.

nk (dbc370) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:38 am

Lambeau Field

Might still be above 0 at game time, with 20 mph winds.

Expected to be 22 below tomorrow morning.

GO, PACKERS!!

paul (cb5e3f) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:55 am

That was very funny, nk, and fairly accurate I’d say –with only a few quibbles with what goes on here at what temperature based on personal taste, experience, or common sense. Did you make it up yourself?

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:22 am

No, it was posted by a Facebook friend, also a Chicagoan.

nk (dbc370) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:28 am

It appears that da Bearss showed great foresight and tactical brilliance in losing their last game (in a squeaker) to The Pack. The team can sit inside somewhere warm and cozy and watch this icy game on the big screen.

If I were SF I think I’d assert that our team plane was unable to land, or was stranded somewhere on a remote runway unable to take off, and just forfeit the damn game.

This is why I am a baseball fan. They’re called “the boys of summer” for a reason.

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:34 am

500° below zero: Hell freezes over. The Cubs win the World Series.

LOL. Then again, who’d have thought the long-suffering fans of the Red Sox would see a day when their team would finally shake off the curse of Babe Ruth? Who’d have thought folks in Boston and their sports franchises in general would be basking in a series of championship glory, becoming sort of the flip side of the Windy City.

Mark (58ea35) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:37 am

Polar whatever sends the thermometer down (yesterday’s high unexpectedly 34.6ºF) to -7.8ºF overnight, continues to fall very slowly.

To comfortably (and safely) be outside in this for more than a couple of minutes (as, you’re going to shovel the driveway, or your car is unexpectedly in the ditch and you’re not able to drive out of the ditch) you have to dress for this. Your body and feet — polypropylene (or wool if you’re not allergic) socks, long johns, long-sleeved Tee shirt. Over that, pile socks, pile pants, pile pullover. Then high boots (keeping snow out of your feet), wind-proof pants, wind-proof pull-over or parka (windproof is usually Goretex or leather.)

For your head — wind-proof baklava and a winter hat (if you have a big head, OR’s Siberia Sombrero size XL is worth a try.) Hands — polypropylene gloves, pile mittens, leather mittens. Mittens are essential. Chemical hand and foot warmers if you’re frost bite susceptible . Sunglasses.

There are polypropylene-like substitutes, and various brands of pile, but cotton is not one of them. Cotton Kills.

htom (412a17) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:39 am

==Who’d have thought folks in Boston and their sports franchises in general would be basking in a series of championship glory, becoming sort of the flip side of the Windy City.==

Mark– you might wish to research and count up the number of championships put together by the Bears, Bulls, BlackHawks and White Sox over the past generation. Just because the Cubs have not been able to find their bats and gloves for over a century does not mean the rest of the city’s teams have been perpetually, hopelessly dismal.

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:50 am

I always use shoveling snow as a proxy for going to the Dr. I figure if a few hours of doing that doesn’t kill you then I have at least another year. So far so good, I haven’t keeled over yet. It hasn’t gotten that cold here in the “City That Obama Built” yet anyway. But 17 below isn’t that bad.

Ipso Fatso (10964d) — 1/5/2014 @ 9:17 am

None of the CFL’s in the garage emit useful light after having been “on” for five minutes. Each of them produces less illumination than the neon bulb at the end of the 100′ 12 gauge extension cord I’d left plugged in.

If I plug in the 250 W halogen work-lights I’d wager it would warm up enough they’d work after an hour or three. I wonder if they’d stay lit, then, if I turned off the work-lights?

A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic; therefore, I declare that CFLs are not advanced technology, merely advanced pricing — as a result of governmental control.

htom (412a17) — 1/5/2014 @ 9:17 am

#69: Htom: I did wiki the issue, and learned that the standard CFL does not work at -10 F . This could be very helpful to the power grid if somewhat unpleasant for its customers, especially since the EPA has managed to close down a lot of coal-fired plants in the midwest.

The insanity of the whole thing is that incandescent lights are “inefficient” because they generate a fair amount of heat. This is not unlike my laptop computer, which being somewhat out of date, can become uncomfortably warm while sitting in my lap. However, because this heat is generated inside my house, it is actually a good thing in cold weather as long as I manage the hot spot. Ditto my incandescent light bulbs. In fact, a lot of people use a light bulb to heat their smaller boats and RVs in the winter.

Having one’s life run by the masterminds that gravitate to government “service” is certainly one of the unpleasant realities of the modern fascist state.

bobathome (c0c2b5) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:36 am

Elissa @64: Stand by, you are about to see football played in a true football environment– outdoors, cold, loud… might be your last chance with the proliferation of indoor stadiums and plastic “grass”, not to mention efforts to make it a non-contact sport.

Gramps, the perpetually disappointed Raider fan who has to at least stick with the other Bay Area team.

gramps, the original (64b8ca) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:41 am

Gramps – Lambeau has synthetic turf injected into their natural grass. It is a hybrid.

JD (5c1832) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:05 am

For your head — wind-proof baklava
I didn’t know baklava came in wind-proof and non-wind-proof varieties. I thought it had more to do with the packaging.
And I prefer my baklava in my head, through my mouth, than on my head.
But then, to each their own, as long as it doesn’t cause impaired driving or other problems that interfere with society at large.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:14 am

For your head — wind-proof baklava and a winter hat
Comment by htom (412a17) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:39 am

I think you mean balaclava. Although you might be the kind of person who enjoys a nice pastry while shoveling snow – who wouldn’t?

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:15 am

I think at those temperatures, asphalt would be softer than grass or artificial turf or a hybrid.
Of course, if they have layers of clothing for warmth it may not make a difference, they may just bounce off of the ground.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:16 am

There you go, felipe, being helpful while I was just trying to be funny.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:17 am

You beat me to it, MD! Whatta guy.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:18 am

I would say “great minds think alike”, but I wouldn’t want to offend you!

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:20 am

I think there should be a Porcelain Bowl in Kohler, Wisconsin in January. The pre-game festivities for the teams could include visiting the Wisconsin Dells in snow mobiles, spear fishing for sturgeon on Lake Winnebago, and cross country skiing around and on Lake Mendota in Madison.
Lets see the SEC dominate that.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:22 am

Had two friends in college (not just two, but in this story), one of whom liked to use the “great minds think alike” quote, the other would retort upon hearing it, “But what’s your excuse?”

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:24 am

Change-up… New Colorado State Slogans:

Colorado: We Wanna Take You Higher!

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:24 am

Colorado: Don’t Tread on My Doritos®

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:25 am

Colorado: Land of 10,000 Munchies
Expand

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:25 am

Colorado: Land of Entrancement

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:25 am

Colorado: They Got the Guns But We Got the Numbers

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:26 am

Colorado: State of Dependence

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:26 am

Colorado: The Chillax State

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:26 am

Colorado: Ground Control to Major Buzz

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:27 am

Colorado: Have You Seen Our Roach Clip?

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:27 am

Heh – I like your friends, MD.

Go Cowboys! hahahaha – It’s O.K., I can say that since I was born in Texas.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:28 am

“Lets see the SEC dominate that.”

MD in Philly – C’mon they would hire the best teams money can buy, just like they do for football.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:30 am

For the Sinatra fans.

Colorado: Doobie doobie, do!

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:32 am

Colorado: Ever Copped a Buzz at 14,000 Feet?

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:35 am

Colorado: Higher than the stadium.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:35 am

Colorado: We Got Blisters On Our Fingers

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:36 am

Colorado: John Denver was right.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:37 am

Colorado: Bet Yer Woman’s Up In Bed With Ol’ Panama Red

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:37 am

Colorado: Come Choom With Us!

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:38 am

Colorado: Get small!

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:38 am

Colorado: You’re Not In Kansas Anymore

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:39 am

Colorado: Voted best brownies.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:40 am

Colorado: Climb Our Mountains From the Comfort of Your Couch

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:40 am

What do our resident Texans have to say about the new Longhorns football coach? Ecstatic? Excited? Meh, cautiously optimistic?

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:40 am

Colorado: A million stoners can’t be wrong.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:41 am

Colorado: God Bless Hickenwhatsis!

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:42 am

Colorado: Dave’s Not Here

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:43 am

Elissa, my sisters are Texas alumni, exes for life, and Longhorn fans. They are still in denial. I will have an opinion after they give it to me.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:45 am

Colorado: I’ll have fifty tacos!

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:46 am

I heard Choom Obama tweeted, “hey Colorado- got any available land for my presidential library?”

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:46 am

Colorado: We don’t harsh your mellow

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:46 am

Colorado: If someone bogarts your joint, there’s more

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:47 am

Colorado: We’re Not Stupid, Just Stoned!

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:48 am

Colorado: Liberte’, ‘egalite’, and smoke all day!

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:50 am

Dang! I should have said “baked all day”!

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:51 am

Colorado: Come For The Legal Weed, Stay Because You’re Too Effed Up To Leave

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:51 am

Colorado: New home of Smokey the bear

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:53 am

Like all the taxes I paid to the gub’mint, “I’m spent”

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:54 am

Colorado: Only Cheech And Chong Film Festival Running 24/7 365 Days Per Year

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 11:57 am

Colorado: If you don’t know where you are, you’re probably here.

or

Colorado: Anyone who remembers us wasn’t here.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:06 pm

Somebody’s private jet just crashed and exploded at Aspen airport. No jokes please. Lee Ann Rimes and Kevin Nealon saw it happen and have been tweeting.

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:06 pm

How terrible.

felipe (6100bc) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:12 pm

felipe and MD — :snickers: Thank you. I blame spell check; I knew what I typed was wrong, that was closest. Bala/clava bala/clava bala/clava

htom (412a17) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:14 pm

The dispensaries are running out of weed.
Stupid capitalist stoners.

mg (31009b) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:37 pm

htom,
I figured spell check or autocorrect got the better of you.
While we’re at it, you do offer good advice for handling the weather for those not used to sub-zero conditions. The natural environment can be deceptively dangerous to those encountering conditions they are not familiar with.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:39 pm

htom – I’m pretty sure baklava is wind proof, but it would be pretty heavy to wear and tough to clean. Otherwise recommendations spot on. Layers baby!

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:42 pm

Coldest windchill I ever experienced was on the back of a dogsled crossing Norton Sound just south of Nome in February. It was around -85 for the better part of the afternoon. Frozen tear ducts. Awful infection.

JD (5c1832) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:43 pm

“While we’re at it, you do offer good advice for handling the weather for those not used to sub-zero conditions.”

MD in Philly – One thing you need to do is eat a lot and frequently if you are outdoors for extended periods to replace the energy your body is burning to keep itself warm, or at least that’s the excuse I use.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:46 pm

I try to teach the utes in my brown-shirted paramilitary semi-homophobic organization how to camp in this type of weather. Works fine if you have appropriate, not necessarily expensive, gear and are prepared along lines htom described. Not many crowds most places this time of year.

Unless utes are older I leave out or alter part about zipping a couple of sleeping bags together and finding a babe to help prevent hypothermia.

For some reason I have yet to figure out teh wimmins do not like using pee bottles in tents during winter camping.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:56 pm

==For some reason I have yet to figure out teh wimmins do not like using pee bottles in tents during winter camping.==

Yeah, that there’s a real head scratcher, daleyrocks.

elissa (8b73eb) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:08 pm

The snow has not meltecd. No sign of anything less. It doesn’t look like teher was much rain.

Temperature reported is 34 degrees. Maybe it is/was a bit colder here. Packed snow anyway doesn’t melt till about 45 degrees.

The New York Times says for “Brooklyn” 35 degrees it also shows on te 5-day forecast a high Sunday of 41 degrees and a low of 40 degrees (??)

http://www.nytimes.com/gst/weather.html?detail=155660

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:11 pm

Colorado: Leave the Glaucoma Behind!

Colonel Haiku (9279e7) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:14 pm

Comment by paul (cb5e3f) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:55 am

Might still be above 0 at game time, with 20 mph winds.

Expected to be 22 below tomorrow morning.

GO, PACKERS!!

I heard yesteday that it might be two degrees below zero at kickoff. The TV does not show the temperature there.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:17 pm

Lee Ann Rimes’ new cd is supposed to be pretty good

happyfeet (8ce051) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:33 pm

128. …For some reason I have yet to figure out teh wimmins do not like using pee bottles in tents during winter camping.

Comment by daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 12:56 pm

How’d you even get teh wimmins to use tents for winter camping?

In my experience, women prefer motels. Which sort of eliminates the need for pee bottles.

Steve57 (eb0f3a) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:40 pm

So far, we are at around 12″ since around 9 this morning. Seems we are in a lull before it starts back up in a couple hours.

JD (5c1832) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:56 pm

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md0006.html

Moderate to heavy snow resuming early evening – 1-5″ per hour.

JD (5c1832) — 1/5/2014 @ 1:59 pm

The Weather Channel is trying to give the winter storms names, but they’re having trouble getting anyone else to go along. I noticed during the no’easter that dumped 6 inches of snow here, and over a foot in Boston, the Weather Channel had been promoting it as “Winter Storm Hercules,” but CNN just ran it as “Nor’easter 2014.” Maybe that means we can’t get another one this year. 🙂

Howsomeever, I wish to give (belated) credit to Katie Couric as the Television Woman of the Decade. Why? Miss Couric’s style choice, to wear short skirts without pantyhose, on the Today show has spread to more than just the Fox News foxes; even CNN is putting its anchorwenches in short skirts these days. Progress!

The Dana who follows Jen Carfagno on Twiter (af9ec3) — 1/5/2014 @ 2:44 pm

“How’d you even get teh wimmins to use tents for winter camping?”

Steve57 – They had to in order to complete teh official BSA training, otherwise you are correct that they avoid it like teh plague.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 3:02 pm

Steve57 – The diagrams of winter pooping really make teh wimmins freak out.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 3:05 pm

The only reason Sandy had a name is that it started out as a hurricane.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 3:40 pm

Have you noticed that there are more named storms now? Must be ~~global warming~~ climate change!

Kevin M (536c5d) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:00 pm

The only reason Sandy had a name is that it started out as a hurricane.

And they were at “S”, so they couldn’t name it Romney.

Kevin M (536c5d) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:01 pm

OT: Wha? Did we do that?

http://www.jammiewf.com/2014/another-obamacare-success-story-49000-nc-medicaid-cards-mailed-to-wrong-addresses/

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:17 pm

There’s actually a list selected in advance. They have a 6-year cycle of names for Atlantic Ocean Tropical storms. They didn’t have names in 1938 or 1940, but they did by 1954.

Anytime a storm becomes too famous, they drop the name. So no more Katrina.

These are always first names. Hurricane Ike was not named after President Eisenhower, but the name “Ike” was a short name for Isaac.

They used to be all girls’ names, but at some point they decided to alternate them. Sandy, I think is a boy’s name – e.g. Sandy Koufax.

In the Pacific Ocean they are called Typhoons and also have names, but the typhoon that hot the Phillipines had a dofferent ame in the Ohillpines than elsewhere.

In the Indian Ocean they are called cyclones. They are all the same thing.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:18 pm

143. Obamacare failire of the week – or is it of the day?

Healthcare.gov cannot make adjustments to policies. It was supposed to be able to do so, but the programminmg for that wasn’t written.

So if a baby is born, it can’t update the policy.

Not to mention dealing with what happens is somebody moves. Not to mention that there’s another problem if somebody moves: proving it.

And then what if somebody loses a job and becomes eligible to enroll after March 31?

A person can update things with an insurance company, but they can’t do with healthcare.gov, which is important in case anybody is receiving a subsidy, or reduced copays.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:22 pm

OT: What was your first clue?

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2014/01/04/msnbc-s-tour-neblett-insists-he-s-living-proof-marijuana-doesn-t-

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:23 pm

Small very still puddles of water on the sidewalk, nothing slippery, bit what will happen after it drops below freezing again sometimes tomorrow afternoon after another rain?

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/5/2014 @ 4:24 pm

Half the world says baklava when they want to say balaclava. The British I suppose are less liable to make the mistake, if they were taught The Crimean War, you know, “Cannons to the left of them, cannons to the right of them, into the Valley of Death rode the Balaclavas”. But why would you want to sound British? Say “ski mask” like a normal person.

nk (dbc370) — 1/5/2014 @ 5:23 pm

Not to mention that there’s another problem if somebody moves: proving it.

Oh, that’s easy. They just use the NSA database, which has everything.

Kevin M (536c5d) — 1/5/2014 @ 6:00 pm

MSNBC’s Touré Neblett Insists He’s Living Proof Marijuana Doesn’t Harm Intelligence

Words fail me.

Kevin M (536c5d) — 1/5/2014 @ 6:02 pm

Minus -19 out there now. Just ran the car.

What do they call the masks Porsche Carreras wear, balaclavas?

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/5/2014 @ 6:13 pm

The one I put on my Fuego, I called a bra.

nk (dbc370) — 1/5/2014 @ 6:25 pm

We’re getting there, too. Cold enough now, that the snow on the pavement has stopped melting despite the plows and the salt and people are driving on frozen custard.

nk (dbc370) — 1/5/2014 @ 6:27 pm

“Yeah, that there’s a real head scratcher, daleyrocks.”

elissa – Teh ways of teh wimmins have always been mysterious and wondrous. I have always been told I would never unnerstan them. That has proven to good advice.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 6:43 pm

Now -14.6ºF; the forecast has lightened (lifted?) five to ten degrees over the next three days.

htom (412a17) — 1/5/2014 @ 7:38 pm

It has been raining all day, though 24 hours from now we are supposed to see the temperature drop to low teens with wind chill in single digits.

Hey, don’t remember where I heard of it, but somebody had developed and was marketing a urinal for women. More than that I didn’t investigate.

One advantage of winter camping is no bugs. Another advantage should be no snakes…
I do not remember just what time of year it was and what the temp was, but some friends (one in particular) had the dubious pleasure of attracting a rattlesnake with their campfire.
Sort of like, “Hey Joe, don’t move, but wake up, there’s a rattlesnake next to you, don’t roll over on it.”

Gary- balaclaverras

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/5/2014 @ 8:40 pm

Wait, NK, you had a Fuego? And you admitted it? takes a big man…

Gazzer (74e832) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:07 pm

“Hey, don’t remember where I heard of it, but somebody had developed and was marketing a urinal for women.”

MD in Philly – I assumed elissa did not want me to explain how teh bottles teh patriarchy typically use inside tents in inclement or cold weather are easily adaptable for teh wimmins nor was I rude enough to ask teh wimmins who teh completed official BSA cold weather training how they answered teh calls of nature.

daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:12 pm

Down to -18.9º F now, out on the front steps. Lithium batteries are essential for such toys. It will be more (that is, less) later in the morning. Minnesnowda, da.

I’ve always thought that pee bottles in a sleeping bag in the winter were too risky. In a tent, OK.

htom (412a17) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:18 pm

tmi is tmi. it just is.

elissa (27bbc2) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:39 pm

Looks like they’ve called off the -32 forecast, now just looking for -26, -23 right now. Fine by me.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/5/2014 @ 10:57 pm

it was 80* in my backyard today, but, unfortunately, the pool isn’t heated.

redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/6/2014 @ 12:35 am

At 11:06 pm last night, the screen said 38 degrees. At 11:10 it was 40 degrees and the weather forecaster said it was the high for the day .

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/6/2014 @ 3:56 am

-13 and -42 wind chill. The old Toro held up yesterday.

JD (5c1832) — 1/6/2014 @ 5:15 am

It’s 57 and raining at 8 am, downright spring-like.
Temps supposed to go nowhere but down, hit freezing after dinner,
and this time tomorrow supposed to be 7 with wind chill in the negative range.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/6/2014 @ 5:20 am

MD in Philly – it was warm enough when we landed back at JFK last night (we spent the holidays in California) that I could still wear shorts and sandals and be ok.

Tonight the low is supposed to be 5 with a negative wind chill. Brr.

aphrael (d09290) — 1/6/2014 @ 5:44 am

for those that didn’t know, http://www.weather.gov/ has a nationwide map that shows any & all current weather related warnings by county for the 57 states, & you can drill down by clicking on it as well.

redc1c4 (abd49e) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:22 am

40 minutes snowblowing and shoveling was my max today.

JD (5c1832) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:41 am

You’re a better man than I, Junga Din. One minute in and one minute out to start the car and warm it up for twenty minutes was more than enough for me. On the bright side, the plows were at work all night after the snow stopped and the arterials are clear of snow (but that black pavement could hide black ice).

It’s not that we haven’t had temperatures of -19 on waking up in recent memory, but it would warm up to the +teens as the day went on. Now we have the cold just sitting on top of us until late tomorrow.

nk (dbc370) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:49 am

We had a 4 foot wall of plowed crap at the end of the driveway this morning.

JD (5c1832) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:53 am

News babe this AM outside truck stop since 4:30 in her snowmobile duds.

“If it were 50 degrees warmer, water would still freeze.”

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:57 am

55 degrees at 9:45 am.

There is some little rain – maybe not really at 7 am but some at 8:40 – small rivers of water going to the sewers – standing piles of snow still there – maybe there won’t be ice to freee later.

There was some heavier rain for about 5 to 10 minutes starting just before 9 O’Clock, then it was back to slightly more than a drizzle. At 9 am somewhere around half or more of the people were out with an umbrella.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:05 am

Comment by aphrael (d09290) — 1/6/2014 @ 5:44 am

Tonight the low is supposed to be 5 with a negative wind chill. Brr.

But right now, it’s 55 degrees. The drizzle will stop, and the sun will shine for a while, until maybe most of the snow has melted and the water evaporated, then the cold air moves in temperature will drop 40 degrees of more in a few hours.

The low (by midnight) is projected to be 8 degrees, not 5 degrees. It won’t get down to 5 degrees till sunrise or so next morning.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:13 am

The New York times says it is 48 degrees (in Brooklyn) CBS had it 55% (in Central Park)

Humidity 89% and raining slightly.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:27 am

Stop rubbing it in, Sammy. 😉

nk (dbc370) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:28 am

Al Roker is sayin’ just now, “Anchorage, AK is warmer than Nashville today, high 10 above”.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:39 am

Overnight, -21.1º F, currently -19.1º F. Wind chills supposedly -45ºF..-60ºF. Garage (unheated, attached) down to -1.2º F.

I didn’t mention, but should have: clothing should be loosely fitting. Tight (especially elastic cuffs) slows circulation slightly, which is not good. Steady gripping of a shovel or especially snowthrower handles can lead to frostbite as well. You do NOT want frostbite, it can last for decades.

htom (412a17) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:57 am

Now that the Fed is trimming QE, why it’s ho-hum:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-06/500-billion-2013-corporate-buybacks-half-qe

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:58 am

177. Provided as a service to snowbirds who’ve forgotten their yout.

Chicago and Indy have twice the snow we do.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 8:05 am

The computer screen that tells me it’s currently -15 degrees at my house also has on it a paid ad from the Hillary PAC headlined, “I’m ready for Hillary” and asking me to “take the pledge”.

That whole screen just depresses the heck out of me.

elissa (27bbc2) — 1/6/2014 @ 8:20 am

In the hunt for the last laugh:

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/01/06/britains-own-version-of-the-tea-party-poised-to-take-2014-elections-by-storm-92502?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 8:31 am

It seems to have stopped raining. Still cloudy or partly cloudy, and no sun. 47 degrees at 12 noon.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/6/2014 @ 9:01 am

It’s warm and sunny here in L.A.: 69 degrees and clear at 10AM. There are reasons to stay in this loony state.

Kevin M (536c5d) — 1/6/2014 @ 9:52 am

Hi,
I am reading about the, “…. Saga” I don’t want to even say his name because he has google alerts. Anyhow, I see you have links to B.U. as well as the the person who’s name I won’t name; do your links link to them directly or by proxy?
I wanted to ask on the posts but your comments are closed.

RealityRow (69f0b6) — 1/6/2014 @ 9:55 am

My brother in law lives in Hutchinson Mn and he told us last night that the forecast was for -60 wind chill. That’s cold.

Labcatcher (61737c) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:06 am

185, et al. I know the Solar Scientists say the Sun has nothing to do with all this Global Warmening, that the Solar TSI only varies 0.1% over the 22 year Solar Cycle but I can’t help but wonder:

Last night when the Sun went down around 5 PM it was -9 and the temp rapidly dropped to -19 by around 7 PM. Thereafter it slowly dropped to -27 in the wee hours before climbing back -18 now with the Sun out.

I’ll check again tonight but it just seems the Sun warms the earth, or am I being stupid?

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:25 am

Clearly you’re deranged, gary.

http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/71-new-papers-reported-in-2013.html

71 new papers reported in 2013 demonstrating the Sun controls climate, not man-made CO2

The new papers were all in peer reviewed journals like Quarternary Science Reviews, Geophysical Research Letters, etc.

Or you can hitch your wagon to the likes of Chris Turney and get it stuck in ice that wasn’t supposed to be there.

The headline on Drudge says the average temp in the US is 14.8 dg. We’re above average in my part of North Texas. When I checked an hour ago we’re at a blistering 18 dg and heading north to a high of 30.

I also noted that Arctic birds have been spotted in Florida. Up in Canada Small Dead Animals blogger Kate thoughtfully put out a wildlife guide for you Floridians.

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/heads-up-florid.html#comments

Steve57 (d35759) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:46 am

I think for the next Mammoth hunt I’ll be swapping out the Greek-style spiked butt plate on my spear for something less dangerous like a rounded butt plate.

I decided that when you stick a spear into an uncooperative, heave animal you really don’t want a spike pointing back at you.

Fine for war I suppose when you want a secondary weapon but…

Steve57 (d35759) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:50 am

You may be on to something, gg. Here’s another clue. When the clouds lifted here this morning around 10:00 a.m., the cats moved off the hard metal floor heat registers where they had spent the night and re-positioned themselves on to areas of the plushy couch where the sun was streaming in through the windows– making it feel like a hot house in there. What do you think?

elissa (27bbc2) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:53 am

+37 degrees by Friday in “The City That Obama Built*!!!” I am goin’ swimmin’!!

*It is pretty sad when you think about Chicago’s contribution to the left wing idiocy that infects this country: Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dorn, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sid Blumenthal, David Axelrod, Saul Alinski, Fred Eychaner, nk, etc., etc,. Pathetic.

Just kidding, nk. (:

Ipso Fatso (10964d) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:54 am

It’s ok, Ipso Fatso. If you don’t want to be part of our Glorious Revolution, no te necessitamos, no te quieremos.

nk (dbc370) — 1/6/2014 @ 11:02 am

Comment by gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 10:25 am

just seems the Sun warms the earth, or am I being stupid?

The sun warms the earth, but there is a boundary between the cold arctic air and the air to the south. This is called the jet stream.

They are trying to attribute the movement of the jet stream further south to global warming somehow.

http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/arctic-blast-linked-global-warming-20140106

(Hat tip: Rush Limbaugh show, now it seems on WOR 710 (!??) – one radio station to the left, wihth better reception.

Sammy Finkelman (dec35d) — 1/6/2014 @ 11:03 am

187. Kate is a comic genius, and consummate multi-tasker.

I’ve often seen Arctic Terns on their legendary migrations, but never a Snowy Owl, or Great Gray for that matter.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 11:04 am

BTW, Bryan should be right on the Whooping Crane flyway.

http://www.masterresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/clip_image0021.jpg

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/6/2014 @ 11:18 am

Once-elusive snowy owls spotted in Chicago
December 10, 2013|By Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune reporter

In what is becoming a common sojourn to the Chicago area, once-elusive snowy owls have been seen at Montrose Harbor and other spots along the shores of Lake Michigan, delighting birders eager to see this beautiful raptor that typically stays close to its Arctic home.

Ornithologists and local birders say snowy owls have been spotted in greater numbers than in past years, both along the lakeshore and in inland counties across northern Illinois. This “irruption,” as birders refer to the migration south, suggests the owls’ diet of small rodents might be in short supply in the Arctic.
For birders, this pale, squat bird that gained fame as Harry Potter’s pet is considered a real find. News that it has been spotted can light up message boards and coax birders outside in even the coldest weather to catch a glimpse through their binoculars.

The fact that it feeds both day and night can make it easier to view, leading to scenes such as one Saturday when a handful of birders arrived together at Montrose Harbor, jumping out of their cars. A snowy owl was resting on a dock, easily viewed through a spotting scope and appearing not to mind the excitement it was causing. The birders generously shared their scopes with passers-by.

“They’re striking birds. They’re obviously photogenic. And they’re fun to see,” said Bob Fisher, president of the Illinois Ornithological Society. “A lot of birders will travel to see one. And nonbirders will, too.”

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-12-10/news/ct-snowy-owl-return-met-1210-20131210_1_birders-owls-irruption

elissa (27bbc2) — 1/6/2014 @ 11:30 am

40 degrees at 3:24 pm.

Temperatures are going to have to drop pretty fast if there is to be any hope of breaking the record of 6 degrees for a January 6 set in 1896.

Sammy Finkelman (9a177f) — 1/6/2014 @ 12:28 pm

My weather website had projected:

7am 50
10am 49
1pm 45
4pm 40
7pm 36
10pm 27
——
1am tues 18
4am tues 13
7am tues 9
10am tues 7
1pm tues 11
4pm tues 11
7pm tues 7

which is consistent with your 3:30 reading, and shows the huge drop being after 10pm tonight.

aphrael (d09290) — 1/6/2014 @ 1:37 pm

High today seems to have been -9ºF, now going down again.

htom (412a17) — 1/6/2014 @ 3:22 pm

Nice and brisk outside. 37 degrees at 7:07 pm.

Sammy Finkelman (9a177f) — 1/6/2014 @ 4:24 pm

@145:
So everyone has to get maternity coverage, but no one can get healthcare.gov to recognize the baby.

Brilliant.

Ibidem (8629e5) — 1/6/2014 @ 4:31 pm

Johnny: “it’s been so cold.”
Ed: “How cold is it?”
Johnny: It’s been so cold, Snowy Owls have not only been seen in Chicago, but as far south as Florida (northern Florida, mind you, but still Florida).

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:10 pm

197. Comment by aphrael (d09290) — 1/6/2014 @ 1:37 pm

My weather website had projected…which is consistent with your 3:30 reading

I am using CBS NEW YORK PLUS (Channel 2-2 – this may not be available on cable)

It’s 34 degreees at 9:08. I think the reading just dropped from 37 degrees at 9:00 – I think they change it a little bit after the hour.

and shows the huge drop being after 10pm tonight.

It looke like we won’t hit 8 degrees, let alone 5 degrees, or even come close before mdnight.

Your projection would show about 21 degrees then:

4pm 40
7pm 36
10pm 27
——
1am tues 18
4am tues 13

They seem to be fairly good at predicting the weather, but where the weather (in this case cold air) will be.

Weather reoort on CBS News Plus said the highest it will be tomorrow is 13 degrees in the afternoon. Well, actually, it will hit 13 degrees in the wee hours too, going down.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:14 pm

* Weather forecasters seem to be fairly good at predicting the weather, but not where the weather will be.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 6:47 pm

High was 58 this morning.
Now 25 with wind chill of 8.
Yes, downright balmy compared to some of you folk, but they don’t know how to handle it out here.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:05 pm

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/06/jetblue-suspends-operations-at-ny-boston-airports/

Meanwhile, conditions have been so cold that American Airlines says its fuel supplies are frozen.

“American will have minimal operations today in Chicago and in other cities in the Midwest and Northeast,” spokesperson Kent Powell said in a statement to CBS 2. “We have already canceled more than 900 flights today (mainline and regional), with more to come.”

Just another problem when it comes to operating in arctic conditions. I’d be curious what the fuel situation is on those two ships stuck in the ice because of the Ship of Fools incident. Ships like the ice strengthened Akademik Shokalskiy and the ice breaker Xue Long have some means to keep the fuel heated, but they have to be able to run their diesels so they can generate power. Otherwise it gels when it gets lower than 15 dg F. The paraffin forms was crystals (and water in the fuel freezes). You can buy additives for your truck that will lower the gelling point about 20 dg, and no doubt the fuel these ships use have additives, but it’s just not enough for ice operations. Lose power, and you’re going to have problems with your fuel and fuel lines.

Steve57 (d35759) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:06 pm

Lose power when you’re operating in or near ice and you’re going to have lots of problems. But fuel problems are one of them.

Steve57 (d35759) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:07 pm

32 degrees at 10:00. I guess they change the temperature more than once an hour.

Weather forecast says it’s the coldest air in 20 years. It will get down to 7 degrees, maybe 6 degrees, overnight. if not a record for the day January 6, at least a record for the overnoight period.

The last time it was this cold was 1994. Could thatbe right? It hasn’t been colder since?

Global warming I guess.

Weather prediction:

Tuesday, High 12 degrees, low 7 degrees.

Wednesday: High 23, Low 9 degrees

Thursday: High 33 degrees, low 22 degrees

Friday High 42 degrees, Low 30 degrees.

Saturday: High 47, Low 41.

Sunday High 00, Monday, High 45.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:15 pm

Nashville Tennesxsee closed its schools till Wednesday. The second time schools were closed because of cold (ever?)

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:16 pm

Sunday High 50.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 7:26 pm

30 degrees at 11:03. It’s not getting down even to 21 degrees by midnight.

It is beginning to feel a little cold. Maybe it is colder than 30 degrees.

You have to start closing windows or insulate with towels.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 8:07 pm

17 degrees at 12:15.

Usually we leave our windows open some, even in the dead of winter – being on the fifth floor of a radiator-heated building means it’s *warm* inside under most conditions even with our radiator valves closed – but we closed them tonight, and it’s noticeably chilly at my computer desk (next to a window).

aphrael (d09290) — 1/6/2014 @ 9:17 pm

25 degrees at 12:08 am. It did not get down to 8 degrees, let alone 5 degrees, by midnight. But the temperatre is falling very fast.

Both in the case of the snowstorm predicted for Thursday, January 2, and in the case of the extreme cold weather, it happened, but it happened later than they predicted.

Things are happening about 1 1/2 hours later than predicted even early today (or maybe midday) by aphrael’s weather website.

And that was already a postponement.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 9:20 pm

I’m inclined to think 17 degrees is more correct.

CBS News Plus – Channel 2-2 – has it 20 degrees at 12:24.

I think CBS gets its weather data and temperature from WINS and WINS gets it from Accuweather and Accuweather gets it from….Central Park?

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 9:27 pm

12 degrees at 2:24.

WINS 1010 rafio supplies the world news (the non local news) for CBS News Plus. I don’t know aboutthe temperature.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/6/2014 @ 11:30 pm

It’s very cold here.

But it’s a dry cold.

Estragon (19fa04) — 1/7/2014 @ 1:33 am

A person can update things with an insurance company, but they can’t do with healthcare.gov, which is important in case anybody is receiving a subsidy, or reduced copays.

And yet, when my mother passed away, they removed the SS deposit from her account 3 days after they deposited it, even though it had been less than a week since she passed, and I’d never explicitly informed them about it…

They can do crap like that when THEY want to.

They just won’t do it because they SHOULD do it.

IGotBupkis, "Still Not Home From The Holidays" (155353) — 1/7/2014 @ 3:32 am

Heated up to -14/-34 this morning. Positively balmy.

JD (5c1832) — 1/7/2014 @ 4:46 am

Had trouble starting the car. Not much, it started.

nk (dbc370) — 1/7/2014 @ 5:52 am

Take that, you East Coast wussies. (The headline.) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-weather-20140106,0,1049815.story

nk (dbc370) — 1/7/2014 @ 7:20 am

Our thermometer read zero this morning. Outside car wouldn’t start, had trouble getting frozen garage door open.

School cancelled because they feared the students would freeze solid standing on the sidewalk waiting for the bus. Seems like an overreaction to me – what will they do tomorrow, or the next day? Shouldn’t the parents be responsible for making sure their children can safely get on the bus? Oh, I forgot – some big bad lawyer would sue if Johnny got too cold, so they all stay home. And now the government schools ensure their personal safety.

Amphipolis (d3e04f) — 1/7/2014 @ 7:52 am

Shouldn’t the parents be responsible for making sure their children can safely get on the bus?

What a cute, if not antiquated, thought. Parents will *not* be held responsible as long as the state still has breath!

Dana (9a8f57) — 1/7/2014 @ 7:54 am

I wonder what the BCS game yesterday in Pasadena and the Rose Bowl game last Wednesday — at least for those with cable and tuned to ESPN — must seem like to people residing hundreds of miles to the east? A sense that mother nature is as much an extremist, if you will, as the guy in the White House is, or the ultra-liberals or ultra-conservatives dotted throughout the world are.

Too damn warm and dry here (and always reeling from drought and fires), too damn cold and wet there.

Planet Earth is a friggin’ ideologue.

Mark (58ea35) — 1/7/2014 @ 8:02 am

What the schools are doing is just common sense. I wouldn’t want my daughter going out of the house in this weather except for dire emergency, and her school is a mile away in a very, very good school district; and she’s gone surfing at Waikiki at age 9, climbed the Great Wall of China in December (its’ cold there too) at age 10, and gone snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef at age 11 — she’s no wussie milquetoast.

So the kids get their Christmas vacation extended by two or three days. Big deal. The missed days will be made up in June, in states which have a minimum number of school days’ attendance. And what would the kids be missing if not?

There’s no lawsuit liability to the school for kids freezing at the bus stop, BTW. At least not in any American jurisdiction. I don’t see where that came from. There is responsibility to have adequate facilities and adequate supervision, and if the schools cannot absolutely guarantee that they can provide both then the kids should stay with people who can — their parents.

nk (dbc370) — 1/7/2014 @ 8:47 am

It was 18 below in Champaign yesterday–the high was about 9 below. Started off today at 7 below and hoping that we reach at least zero. although the roads are bad, the car started and the furnace is working, so it’s all good.

rochf (f3fbb0) — 1/7/2014 @ 9:53 am

4 degrees at 9:15 am, according to CBS News Plus.

At 12:30, 6 degrees, according to the radio, 7 degrees according to CBS News Plus, and 8.6 degrees accoridng to a TV news story running on CBS News Plus from New Rochelle.

It’s colder here now than Fairbanks, Alaska, which is supposed to be at 10 degrees today. (That was yesterday’s forecast.)

Yesterday it was 15 degrees below zero in Fargo, North Dakota, according to a news story in the New York Daily News, and 25 degrees below zero, according to a larger print sidebar, which says it was the coldest temmperature there since January 1887 when it hit minus 48 degrees.

It was 19 degrees below zero in Madison, Wisconsin (or maybe 18 degrees below zero, like the sidebar says) which broke the record of minus 18 in 1912.

It was 16 degrees below zero in Minneapolis, (news story) or possibly minus 20 degrees, which tied the record set in January, 1888.

And it was 10 below, or maybe 15 below (sidebar) in Indianapolis, the coldest there since minus 27 in January, 1994.

It was minus 18 in Toledo, Ohio, the coldest there since January, 1984, when it was minus 20.

It was 16 degrees below zero in Chicago, which broke the record of 14 degrees below zero set in January, 1988.

Tulsa, Oklahoma also broke a record yesterday. It was two degrees below zero. The previous record had been zero degrees Fahrenheit.

In New York City, the high yesterday was 55 degrees.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/7/2014 @ 10:04 am

Even though our clothes are all concealing,
This cold has my blood congealing,
I’d rather stay home
Than go out and roam,
‘Cause the fireplace is so appealing!

The Limerick Avenger (3e4784) — 1/7/2014 @ 11:11 am

This weather outside is so frightful
And these comments are all so insightful
It’s colder than Nome
So let’s all stay home
‘Cause the furnace is just so delightful.

The Limerick Avenger (3e4784) — 1/7/2014 @ 11:12 am

Oh, man! It’s just too cold,
The weather is just for the bold!
Come out they won’t,
The teachers said, “Don’t!”
So the supers decided to fold!

The Limerick Avenger (3e4784) — 1/7/2014 @ 11:13 am

It’s balmy out here in California
Out-of-staters don’t say we dint warn ya
You’ll catch cold and get bad cough
step out and freeze balls off
and lefties eff you, we won’t mourn ya

Colonel Haiku (32b8a6) — 1/7/2014 @ 12:01 pm

https://www.google.com/#q=noome+weather

Nome, Alaska, today: 30 degrees. High and low for Tuesday: 34 degrees and 21 degrees.

Precipitation: 60%
Humidity: 100%
Wind: 17 mph

It gets down to 7 degrees on Thursday, 9 degrees below zero on Friday, 11 degrees below zero on Saturday (with a high of minus 2) and lows of 13 degrees below zero after that.

Sammy Finkelman (7bdfbf) — 1/7/2014 @ 12:17 pm

Belated redundant Chicago weather update:

Despite running the sinks non-stop, our kitchen sink and downstairs toilet froze. Luckily, both were remedied with propane heaters and cutting some drywall. At the risk of bringing up ~~global warming~~ climate change, it’s 55 degrees in northern Germany today. My boss’ roses are coming up, and there seems to be a chance that northern Germany will not have an actual winter at all. This is messed up.

elissa – a snowy owl set up shop in a park near my house a few years ago. It was a news event. They are photogenic.

carlitos (49ef9f) — 1/7/2014 @ 1:17 pm

Ironically;

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/07/gore-ejects-fox-as-climate-reality-project-support-wanes/#more-100654

narciso (3fec35) — 1/7/2014 @ 1:42 pm

Most schools stayed closed in MN today. Some like Sebeka, near the Iron Range, where the trees never get to grow up, delayed opening two hours.

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/7/2014 @ 2:07 pm

Going over the top;

http://twitchy.com/2014/01/07/brr-urn-meteorologist-slams-gma-hysteria-pimping-media-for-polar-vortex-science-fail-pics/

narciso (3fec35) — 1/7/2014 @ 3:04 pm

Overnight was -9.6ºF, high today at least in the single digits. ‘Bye, Polar Vortex!

htom (412a17) — 1/7/2014 @ 3:06 pm

235. -3, we’re as warm as Chicago. Yeah!

gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 1/7/2014 @ 7:29 pm

Ah, Spring-time in Chicago. 31 going up to 39.

TIL. My daughter’s school district includes five “emergency days” in the school year. To make up for days schools are closed for such reasons as too cold. If they are not used, the school year ends earlier — if they are used, the school year ends later. I guess if they go over five, they say, “Forget it, and just be glad we’re all still alive”.

nk (dbc370) — 1/10/2014 @ 6:30 am

5th consecutive snow/ice/cold day. No schools again. Better Half is still out of town. My sanity is waning.

JD (5c1832) — 1/10/2014 @ 6:33 am

Ramen noodles and Oreos for breakfast. The lunatics are running the asylum.

JD (5c1832) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:08 am

I see it. Can you get out at all?

nk (dbc370) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:16 am

I mean I see your weather.

nk (dbc370) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:17 am

Yeah, main surface roads are passable. Secondary and neighborhood roads are horrible. Rural roads are worse. A bad combination of lots of snow, ridiculous temps too low to make salting any good, resulting in inches of hardpack snow, which melts very slowly.

JD (5c1832) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:18 am

Oreos and bacon would be better, JD. You really need to teach these young girls about complementary food pairings.

elissa (c8b349) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:20 am

JD-
Sounds like you need a dog-sled rescue.
Maybe you’ll have to pioneer the ice man triathlon, snowshoe running (for running), cross country skiing (for biking), and speed skating over a frozen lake (instead of swimming). Of course, polar bear club people would keep the swimming, just make it a wee bit shorter (like 10 yards).
My pipe thawed without a leak.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:22 am

Yeah, I remember one intersection in particular in my home town in Wisconsin, the hard pack snow would get polished by cars stopping, making it very hazardous.

Pretend you’re on an expedition, have everyone hold on to a rope while you make it to the local store.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:25 am

Good, MD. I presume it was a galvanized iron pipe? They’re much stronger than copper.

nk (dbc370) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:37 am

Meanwhile, California — which is socially-politically becoming sort of a northern version of a Central or South American society — has been mostly sunny for several weeks, rather temperate and suffering through a record dry spell.

The current difference between the western and eastern/midwestern US is an example that Mother Nature is a damn extremist, sort of like an ultra-liberal or ultra-conservative.

Bah.

Mark (58ea35) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:40 am

Actually, nk, the part that I see coming out of the floor is “hard copper”, what disappears into a stone wall is “soft copper”, and what I can see through a gap in the wall into the crawlspace is covered with a pathetic thickness of attempted insulation.
I was always under the impression that “copper pipes bursting” was actually more to do with the soldered joints failing, but I could be wrong.
The area that is problematic is relatively short, I think, which I assume allows the ice expansion to go forwards and backwards through the pipe, rather than needing to spread “outward”,
but I’m really just shooting from the hip with the explanation rather than knowing about these things.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:44 am

Galvanized pipe may be stronger, but over time it rusts inside and a cross section looks like blocked arteries on autopsy after a heart attack;
really, it does, there are sections of the old original stuff laying around where it was replaced years ago.
Maybe the galvanizing process now is better than it was 100 years ago. Don’t know.

MD in Philly (f9371b) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:47 am

You’re exactly right about the soldered joints. I didn’t want to go ~~Sammy~~ technical. Galvanized pipes have threaded connectors, stronger than the body of the pipe which itself is stronger than copper of the same thickness.

nk (dbc370) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:51 am

Again, you’re right about the iron pipes rusting. I’ve replaced many of them. I’d give them about a thirty-year lifespan. I’ve never soldered copper, mechanical connectors are much stronger even with just plain compression fittings. More expensive in time and material though.

nk (dbc370) — 1/10/2014 @ 7:56 am

1/4/2014

Giant Storm Hitting Northeast

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