For the Australians

[Hal-9000]

Hold up there, Home slice..

I'm not comparing anything to Virginia.. I'm comparing extremes here. You cant live in the desert without protection either. (hats, water, etc). 125 degrees will KILL your ass as well. Now granted cold is going to be quicker without protection, but that doesn't downplay the seriousness of heat. A stroke is nothing to scoff at. At -35 you can put on another coat or some goggles.. At 125 you cant take off but so many clothes, without an A/C or a fan and some water your ass will die as well. Both are extremes .

I caught your gist and see your implication above. I'm comparing extremes too. And while this is not directed at you, it's directed at people who have never had to actually live in extreme cold. Their comments are asinine at best because they're inaccurate. I won't even say that we should agree to disagree. There are facts. A person can survive in extreme heat days longer than a person can in extreme cold. Do we really need to say more?

When a person says you can always put on more clothes, did you read my list above? That was for doing the walks around my house, not working or playing in the cold.

And I agree...in extreme heat lack of water will kill you. After a few days. But when you throw that condition in there (no water for the hot guy) , that's like me saying the cold guy can't wear gloves. If and when you ever step outside in weather that's -30 or lower, let's revisit this conversation


Remember, I'm not saying extreme heat is wonderful. I'm saying one extreme is far worse than the other in terms of tolerance and death.

[Muddy]

Imma tell you what.. Its going to be below freezing here for about a week and it blows!

I was in the garage fixing the heat last night because the condensation line off the heat was frozen under the house and wouldn't drain so water was backing up in the gas fan and faulting out the unit..

I have it diverted to a cooler in the garage for now.. I dump it twice a day..

[Hal-9000]

I've been in -40° weather before, makes you feel alive

Worst I encountered was living in Banff when the windchill drove the temp down to -40 one night. We walked two blocks to Safeway and the heel of my boot cracked from the cold, tore my sock and I had a blue foot covered in blood when I took it all off at my apartment.

The wind is what gets me in the sub -30 temps. You can't even put your face into it without a mask.

[Muddy]

I've been in -40° weather before, makes you feel alive

Im going to say about -5 or -10 for me... But including wind chill it could be more..

[Hal-9000]

Imma tell you what.. Its going to be below freezing here for about a week and it blows!

I was in the garage fixing the heat last night because the condensation line off the heat was frozen under the house and wouldn't drain so water was backing up in the gas fan and faulting out the unit..

I have it diverted to a cooler in the garage for now.. I dump it twice a day..

Well this is it, isn't it? It's all what a person is accustomed to.

When a lifelong Canadian starts telling you living in -30 can be dangerous, and another Canadian chimes in and says - I can't even imagine -30 weather ...there's a message.

Same way I would probably die in +40 weather (figuratively), because my body is just not acclimatized to that kind of weather.

Wild...your temp chart says Virginians reached -30 one year. You guys must have been lighting houses on fire

[Muddy]

Well this is it, isn't it? It's all what a person is accustomed to.

When a lifelong Canadian starts telling you living in -30 can be dangerous, and another Canadian chimes in and says - I can't even imagine -30 weather ...there's a message.

Same way I would probably die in +40 weather (figuratively), because my body is just not acclimatized to that kind of weather.

Wild...your temp chart says Virginians reached -30 one year. You guys must have been lighting houses on fire

Our winter and summer seasons are extremes relative to each other.. We arent the hottest or coldest or Earth but we definitely have a huge range. When I read these stories I feel like I can relate.. I haven't seen the worst, but I've had a good taste.

[Hal-9000]

Our winter and summer seasons are extremes relative to each other.. We arent the hottest or coldest or Earth but we definitely have a huge range. When I read these stories I feel like I can relate.. I haven't seen the worst, but I've had a good taste.

One thing I hate is that we used to get four predefined seasons...like postcard definitions. Spring would feature rain showers, flowers and buds blooming. Summer would continue that idea without much rain, and the temps would stay in the 70-95F range. We'd get a few weeks of hot weather midsummer. Then fall would hit, lower temps, leaves dropping from the trees. Then winter would hit but it would be a gradual accumulation of snow over two months, some storms throughout, the odd Chinook ( temps would go above zero for a few days and melt some snow ) and then a gradual melting approaching spring.


Now it's one night of snow dumping over a foot at once (like I've pictured here), and instant cold weather. Snow will cover our ground and roads until late April....then one day in May or June the temperature will go up to 90F and it's instant summer


ffs there is no seasonal subtlety anymore. Spring and fall are just ideas now.

[Muddy]

What is your average temp for your town? (google it)

Mine is 58.75°F average out over the year.

[Hal-9000]

What is your average temp for your town? (google it)

Mine is 58.75°F average out over the year.

I can't find a yearly average. We get very little rain to the point where it's a big deal to get a rain shower in the summer. We gets tons of sunlight, one of the highest in all of Canada.

Our stats are a little wonky because we've had three really warm winters in a row leading up to this one. This one is predicted to be the worst in the 10 years, which doesn't mean much because we used to get much worse winters when I was a kid growing up. (more snow, colder low average).

I'm looking at a site called Weather Spark and I can't say it's accurate. "Calgary weather is rarely below -13°F or above 86°F. " and then " The cold season lasts for 3.7 months, from November 17 to March 8"

It actually lasts from October to April, with snow in September and snow in May. In fact we've had snow in every month

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Worst I encountered was living in Banff when the windchill drove the temp down to -40 one night. We walked two blocks to Safeway and the heel of my boot cracked from the cold, tore my sock and I had a blue foot covered in blood when I took it all off at my apartment.

The wind is what gets me in the sub -30 temps. You can't even put your face into it without a mask.

Straight cold never bothered me all the years I lived in Vermont. We would always have the stretches of -20F to -35F weather every winter. Usually for a week or three, but never usually longer than that. I miss that sometimes. But like you said about the wind, that just makes it unbearable, especially because with the humidity, the wind blows right thru you and when you get wind chills in the -50F to -60F range, it is seriously dangerous to be outside and have any skin exposed.

Im going to say about -5 or -10 for me... But including wind chill it could be more..

Like I just said above, I never minded straight cold, but wind chill is a whole 'nother animal.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Of course with all that said, after living in Colorado for 25 years, going back to Vermont and -30F weather would kill me now, not used to it at all anymore

[Hal-9000]

Of course with all that said, after living in Colorado for 25 years, going back to Vermont and -30F weather would kill me now, not used to it at all anymore

Sure, and you did mention -50 or 60 would be tough on the skin. You only need to be in -35 for less than three minutes before frostbite starts. We have the skin warnings on the radio constantly when the temps go below -30.

Granted most people don't get caught for half an hour outside in weather like that who aren't wearing facemasks and scarves

Like my Pops said - Once it gets down past -20, it's all just degrees of how much you can take. I tend not to wear a facemask and always wonder - What happens if I get stuck outside?

It happened to me and a friend when it was about -25. His truck broke down, no cell phones, no extra weather gear...and we walked for about an hour before a stranger let us in their house to use their phone to get a ride. We were on a main road similar to a ring road, where we could see the city and residential areas, but had to walk a long way to get to one.

[The Monk]

Why don't you all just migrate to Australia - we have weathers to suit all tastes...

[Hal-9000]

Why don't you all just migrate to Australia - we have weathers to suit all tastes...

So do we have to commit a crime to get a work visa?

You have no idea how many people from North America want to move to your home..

[Muddy]

Not me, baby.. Too many snakes and bullshit..