Miserable is a huge understatement. It’s fatal when not properly clothed. As a kid I recall going to check our mail at the communal mailbox and it was -66C (-86F) with the windchill and every TV channel had a banner saying you WILL get frostbite with 30 SECONDS if skin is exposed. I know people who have lots fingers/toes in warmer temperatures than that so it’s straight up fatally cold.
-49.9°F is insane. A couple of years ago in the upper US Midwest, we set our record for around -45°F (-42.7°C) but that was with wind chill, the base temp. was something like -30°F (-34.4°C). People who’ve never experienced those kinds of temperatures really cannot comprehend how miserably cold it is and just how extremely dangerous it can be. I know there’s probably arctic dwellers that are used to those kinds of temps regularly, but it blew my mind when I had to go out into it and still got cold under 3 layers of clothes.
Oderus@lemmy.world 10 months ago
bassomitron@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Oh, definitely! That’s why I said how extremely dangerous it can be. I had to shovel my driveway during that cold snap (when it warmed up maybe 10 degrees, so it was still like -20F with even colder wind chills. Even with my full winter kit on with only my eyes barely exposed (had my scarf positioned over my face so that my breath went upwards towards my eyes), my eye lashes were freezing together every other blink and my legs were numb after about 15 minutes despite 2 layers (1 pant layer, 1 thermal underarmor I still have from my time in the army).
Moral of the story: Don’t tempt fate when the elements are that extreme.
Oderus@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Eyelashes freezing together… yeah, been there. 😉
dan@upvote.au 10 months ago
in the upper US Midwest, we set our record for around -45°F (-42.7°C) but that was with wind chill, the base temp. was something like -30°F (-34.4°C).
I really can’t imagine how cold that is. I’m from Australia and currently live in California, so 10C (50F) is cold to me lol. I’ve been to New York City during winter and felt extremely cold but I think it was ‘only’ -5C (23F) at the time.
bassomitron@lemmy.world 10 months ago
It truly is the definition of hell, in my opinion. I’ve been in extreme heats in Kuwait during peak summertime when it’s 125+ F, and extreme cold is still far worse to me. I know they’re both dangerous and deadly, but the cold is just painful whereas the heat makes me feel restless and a sense of malaise, maybe.
Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 10 months ago
I got to -20f with very strong winds last year. Froze half the pipes under the house, even through insulating layers. We had to tape up plastic sheets in some parts of the house like one of those walk-in freezers to try and keep the important places warm…
This house is a cheap ass 70s prefab. It was not made for 0F, let alone -20 and blizzard conditions.
FluffyPotato@lemm.ee 10 months ago
I remember walking to school at -29C when I was young thinking it’s really bloody cold only to find out school is closed and walking back. Checked the temperature only when I got home.