To people currently facing extreme cold, how are you guys doing?

Told work to fuck off, fired up the wood burner, and currently petting this cat into submission.

59

Sounds like a good plan!

11
Good man! And best of luck with the cat. That isn't an easy job.

7
Permanently Deleted

6

I stopped walking to work, -50c is too cold for that.

And I didn't shovel the sidewalk of my whole block, just the part in front of my house.

30

Holy crap, that's cold!

12
- I am counting the windchill factor, it's really only like -40c.
  
  The Canadian prairies
  
  24

The snowblower froze up (specifically the mechanism that turns the spout) so I had to drag it into the house to warm it up. The plug cap on my headbolt heater also froze solid. I couldn't bring the car into the house to warm it up because, among other things, I already had the snowblower in there. I spent 20 minutes with a heat gun prying it off instead.

Aside from that it was a normal weekend.

13

I'm imagining your SO entering the living room full of usually outside stuff and you muttering "Don't even ask."

9
- I actually went and talked to her before I started because I knew that was how it'd end up going.
  
  7

It's -5°F over here in Chicago, supposed to hit a high of 2°F later today. Wife and I are working from home, so we're both ok. We care for a feral cat that spends the winter months in a wooden cat house with a bed and plug-in heating pad that my wife installed on the back deck a few years ago. I'm always worried about that cat, she's getting older and isn't as spry as she used to be.

In about six, seven months it's gonna be 100° warmer, which is wild to me.

13

For better or worse at least we all know how to deal with the weather. The trains don't care what temperature it is and life goes on. I feel for the areas that aren't equipped to deal with temps below 30.

3

Too harsh?! It's lovely! -20 where I'm at and it's awesome 😎

11

Fine, born and raised Midwest so switching from 55f to -4f in the space of a week or two is no big deal, it’s supposed to be 50 and raining next week despite it being 1 and snowing today lol

10

I can cope with many layers and staying inside, but my poor old dog is miserable.

10

A box with towels or blankets goes a long way for doggo

3
- Oh he sleeps with me lol. He's just got very thin fur and going outside is hard for him. He's snoozing under the blanket against my back.
  
  8

Man, my house needs sealed better, or maybe it's just finally time to bite the bullet and move. My rent's cheap, house is shit, landlords mostly forget we exist but there aren't tons of problems normally...except when windchill hits and gets in the negatives, then my kitchen is a whole different climate than the rest of the house and I know it's costing me in heating

10

I don't know if you've tried this, but I bought some rope caulk for 7 bucks and used it to seal around my windows. It makes a world of difference if the windows aren't sealing great. You can take it off in the summer when you want to open them up.

6

Upgraded my HVAC yesterday. BRING IT NATURE!!! Hahah

10

should've upgraded the furnace.

1

Hit a snowbank with my car, so kinda shitty. Damage isn't too bad, but it's fucked up my morning.

9

Snow gets hard, doesn't it.

3
Did some dope 360s on the highway first snow, second snow like a week later I bonked some dude who was stopped across all the lanes. Great fun, at least I wasn't any of the like 20-30 cars i saw off the highway during my like 16mi drive there and back.

1

Already had one power outage, another is on the way.

I actually kinda like power outages. They're sort of an adventure.

The only gut-punch is that I've been looking for work for a while now. Hoping on a miraculous break-through soon. But I had to ask for money from friends for non-perishables.

9

I had to pry my car door open yesterday because it was frozen shut. I also couldn't open my window when I went through the drive up pharmacy.

8

the drive up pharmacy.

I think I heard an eagle scream outside when I read that assembly of words 🇺🇸

5
- It actually makes sense, sick people aren't going into the store and getting everyone else sick. Elderly people also don't have to walk and risk slipping on the ice.
  
  3

Sprinkler in the attic burst due to the cold and flooded 10 condos including my own. Great way to relax on a Sunday night, losing a battle to water rushing in from vent, sprinkler heads, lighting fixtures. Currently living out of a Best Western while they are drying out my apartment. Next step demo and restoration, yay.

8

Why do you have a sprinkler in the attic?

3
- Fire code in Canada, all new buildings need a pressurized sprinkler system. The pipe runs through the attic to a sprinkler head on the ceiling. But the dick head contractor did not insulate the pipe portion that was running through the uninsulated attic.
  
  Oh and when the sprinkler is triggered only the fire department can turn it off.
  
  5

Took two personal days because I can’t get out of my driveway and it’s not safe to stay out to shovel until Wednesday (when the temps and windchill will finally be above negative). Haven’t been out of the house since Thursday, but I have plenty of food, internet, and things to do.

8

it’s not safe to stay out to shovel until Wednesday (when the temps and windchill will finally be above negative)

i grew up in michigan and, yeah i shoveled snow in negative temps when i was 12... it's safe IF you bundle up properly.
some long johns, or even sweat pants, two pair of jeans... boots... (you can put breadbags over your socks if they leak or you don't have boots...
tons of layers of shirts, a ski mask, and gloves...
no problem... you want the outermost layer to be waterproof/windproof...
trench coats are actually quite functional and not just for murderers hiding guns...
and the more you shovel, the more you warm up...
of course, if the wind is real bad it gets kinda pointless, but you can kinda throw the snow with the wind and it'll fly away... (unless there's not one prevailing direction of wind)
ummm... road salt is pretty important... sand helps too....
also the layers help when you fall down on the ice...

13
- Yes, this perfectly sums up why I took the personal days.
  
  3

It hit around -60c or -76f for the Americans. I spent hours outside looking for the neighbors cat, :(

7

Wow, where are you located?

3
- Good old Canada. It's much warmer now though.
  
  3

It's -3 this morning. It used to be a fairly regular temperature during winter, so I'm doing alright. The reason it's so bad though is this winter up to this weekend has been in the 40s, extremely warm for the season.

7

We've had some highs in the single digit negative (F). I'm lucky enough that I can just stay in. This isn't terribly unusual weather for this time of year. The rest of this season has been so warm it feels like a bigger deal than it is.

7

I've lived in an area that gets cold every year my whole life so it's kinda strange to me to see people struggling with cold.

Don't get me wrong I feel for them because the cold sucks but I just can't wrap my head around not knowing how to stay warm because you've never had to before.

Like it seems intuitive to know how to stay warm but I also know that's only because I've been doing it my whole life ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

7

I'm currently living in the PNW and people are struggling with 18F. Why? Because this entire area is built around a temperate climate. A lot of house have single pane windows and no insulation. Most people don't have AC (so the extreme heat kills). We will adapt, but it's going to take people waking up to the new reality.

8
So have I but extended dives into negative °F are new and very unfun. We might have had one day every other year that went -3 or so but for the last week almost it's been 0 or -15 no real in-between and the road salt my city uses is better for your car but doesn't have enough oomph to go much below 10°F.

4

2/3s of my city had power outages. Not from the snow, but from fallen trees because of strong winds. I was lucky and had power.

Stayed home with a portable heater with my kids and family. Surprised they didn't want to go play in the snow, and mostly played video games together.

5

Outdoor temperatures have been between -10C and -29C for the last few weeks, I don't think it's going to get really cold here this year.

Cold doesn't really bother me, I don't normally even wear a jacket if it's warmer than -20C. Woollen sweater and a warm vest will do just fine.

5

And now I am become slug: I'm goopy, slow, and melting. (Someone poured salt on me.)

I'm in South America, facing the exact opposite - this summer has been extremely harsh, often going past 30°C in a rather wet city. To make things worse, a certain four-legged arsehole doesn't get that humans don't want to cuddle when it's too hot, so she keeps jumping on my lap:

(She's an arsehole. Cute, but an arsehole.)

5

We were just finally coming out of the cold snap, it warmed back up to around -20C, and my power steering line went -_-

4

This temp breaks a lot of cars, which sucks. My own car always breaks something in the yearly cold snap. This year it's the block heater.

4

I have thermal underwear, thick flannel shirts, a heated vest, and thermal coveralls. It feels like a mild spring day when I go outside.

4

it's alright. Got my carhartt overalls on and a good coat. it's about -2 now.

3

I bought a cold weather carhart jacket. They do not fuck around.

1

Impromptu week long vacation. At least I have food.

3

It's -4°F this morning before the wind chill. I put the shell on my jacket so I have a hood and my hair won't freeze. I start the car at least 10 minutes before going anywhere. I give the steering wheel a good minute to warm up once I'm in the car, since that doesn't turn on until I push the button.

So, yeah, it's not too bad if you're a bit boogie.

The house I'm renting leaks like a sieve, though. I'm up to 7 blankets and a comforter at night.

3

Ugh that's awful for you with the house.

Our gas Fireplace crapped out when it was coldest and we are waiting on repairs. We have baseboards as a back up but they aren't keeping up and I'm not looking forward to the hydro bill when it comes.

It's nowhere as bad as your situation by any means but we are glad to have them.

I bought electric blankets for the bed and couch this winter based on a gut feel in November and with how warm it's been this up until this point the gf has been right that we didn't need them. That was until this cold snap. Bloody thankfully to have them as they can't be found in the stores now.

I hope those leaks get sorted out soon!

1
- Leaks aren't going to get sorted out. I'm moving. This house is a cheap rental, but it's not worth it. I took possession of the new place yesterday, so the rest of the month is going to be moving. It's a cold time to move, but better than staying and gotta take the opportunities where they come.
  
  2

Capital District of New York, here. Weather isn't out of the ordinary for a typical January (yet). I did crank the pellet stove up a few degrees just to help heat the house a little better. I'll burn through more bags that way, but it's better than supplementing with electric heat.

3

It's alright here, it's cold but I can always add layers.

3

Our bedroom was actually kinda warm during the day because of the computer (generates a lot of heat) so I cracked the window a tiny bit (like 2cm). Got cold later (-18C) and I went to close said window. Frozen in place :/ Its only a little chilly, but I really do wish the window would close...

2

It's only -11⁰c here in southwestern Ontario and I currently have my window cracked open. I run hot.

So far can't complain about the winter, it didn't start to snow until the second week of January so that's a huge plus. Did catch up with us but considering what winters are usually like here l can't complain too much.

2

Pretty good! -20 here. We made crock pot dumping soup, my new snow boots and gloves arrived, and I am gonna bake coffee cake later to warm up the house.

2

What extreme cold? Is is January, this is not unusual weather - other than maybe unusually warm. Sure it is colder than average, but there is and always has been a large variation that makes up the average, we have seen lower temperatures in the last 10 years.

-3