For the Australians

[Hal-9000]

So when you guys are struggling with temperatures that make you sweat a little, here's some perspective


It's been an average of -30C all week here. The other night with the wind chill, it got down to -37. Some parts of the States are going through this too.

We have had two big snowfalls. One dumped 32 cms and one was 30 cms. It doesn't happen gradually over a few days, both occurred in less than four hours.

There's a law that says we have to keep our sidewalks clear within 24 hours of a snowfall. If you don't, you can get fined by the city.

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My birdbath Snow-a-meter. It's convex and it reached that level from 6pm - 10pm Friday night




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View out my front room window right now. Arrows indicate about two feet of snow at the neighbors across the street.
To move that much snow sometimes more than once a day, is the number one cause of heart attacks and back injuries in our province.





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This is my shed in the backyard. I have a lock on it, but no need! Those doors won't open until April.





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This is my outside door. It's kind of hard to see, but the entire thing frosts up because the heat inside the house vs the outside cold freezes the glass instantly.





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The sun came out and things are warming up! If you look closely at my thermometer...it's fogged up from the cold





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Guys I realize the heat is no fun. You have to make it from one air conditioned area to the next, or risk getting all sweaty and uncomfortable.
I've played football and other sports in +33C summer weather here (Yes, we get all seasons...good and bad), and it was difficult.
I can't imagine +40C sun and know that I would have troubles sleeping and probably have to shower twice a day.


But just try to remember we can have our indoor heating set quite high ($$) and start the biggest fire ever in your house when the temperature drops down below -25 for a few days, yet your house and your body never gets warm. And God help you if you get stuck outside and have to walk farther than a block. The cold kills vehicles. A percentage will not start in this weather or break down on the road after starting.

It's like being on the moon at times, because we have to do the same thing with the cold as you do with heat. Go from one island of moderate temps to another. Hypothermia and frostbite are no joke. I wore two pairs of gloves yesterday shoveling some snow and had to come in because the tips of my fingers were burning after 20 minutes out there.


love,
hal