Can we all agree that "you think that's cold? It's (fill in the blank) where I am right now!" is not helpful....???

[TheReader]

And is, in fact, maybe one of the most annoying stupid things one can post in response to someone else's "holy cow, we're expecting record-setting cold weather here" posts???

 

Shared a post from my weather guy on FB. Like, literally just "shared" the forecast and a reminder for folks to get prepped and ready. Because, when it's going to be "3rd coldest Christmas in recorded history" that's a thing to sort of pay attention to, ya know? Whether that's in the teens in a place that often runs 60s for Christmas, or minus sixty gazillion in a place that runs minus 10 or something. 

Or, a drop from highs in the 60s down to lows in the low teens, over a very rapid drop, is a big deal. 

So posting "it's all relative, it's -14 here" (when you have a wood stove, deal with that all the time, aren't breaking records with those temps, etc., etc., etc....) is just....annoying.  Yes, Dad, I know it's colder in Colorado than on the Texas Gulf coast. But, ummm, it's supposed to be. And people here need to be reminded what to do when it gets like this, bc it's not a thing we deal with all the time. We don't all have wood stoves and fireplaces and winter clothes to wear that can actually withstand those temperatures. Our apple trees are *blooming* right now b/c it's been so warm. Heck, my *hibiscus* is still blooming. 

So, yea, when I  mention it's gonna be cold, maybe just tell me "stay warm!" or something instead of "ah, pshh, that's nothing..."   It's not nothing here. 

(rant over. I'm a little saucy about this ever since our Brazil time, anyway, b/c no one ever sympathized with my winter posts then, either, but....ugh. My dad is just annoying anyway....)

[scholastica]

Yes!!

[ScoutTN]

Yep. Dealing with winter weather in places without the governmental infrastructure to help handle it and without the personal/home equippage to ameliorate it’s effects is not fun, not a joke. When it gets so cold so quickly in the south, it is dangerous. Even if a similar  scenario in northern state would be nbd.

And at Christmas is even worse! 
 

Our roads will be a sheet of ice tomorrow morning and may stay that way til Monday. If the power goes out bc of ice and wind, with the wind chill below zero, it will be ugly.

Hospitals, assisted living, utilities, government road crews, first responders, here are calling in all their available staff tonight to be ready. Staff at my mom’s AL place were told to bring clothes and personal items for three days. They ordered  an extra food delivery earlier this week, since they normally get two trucks on Fridays.

Edited December 22, 2022 by ScoutTN

[DawnM]

Anything that starts with, "oh, you think THAT is bad?   Well let me tell you all about me so I can one up you" is NEVER good.

[mommyoffive]

I think if I was in the Texas area I would invest in some winter clothes.  It seems like this is going to be a new thing with global warming.  Better to have it and use it once a year or every other year, vs not having it when you need it.   Those are some cold temps.

But I live in the midwest have all my life.  Hate the weather here.  But kids don't.  They love the snow and I did as a kid too.  My kids are so depressed that we are not getting the foot of snow that was predicted.   And people here think they are tougher because they deal with this and use it as a bragging thing.  I would rather live somewhere tropical and be a wimp.  And also enjoy where I live from Oct through April instead of hating it.

[TheReader]

4 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

I think if I was in the Texas area I would invest in some winter clothes.  It seems like this is going to be a new thing with global warming.  Better to have it and use it once a year or every other year, vs not having it when you need it.   Those are some cold temps.

But I live in the midwest have all my life.  Hate the weather here.  But kids don't.  They love the snow and I did as a kid too.  My kids are so depressed that we are not getting the foot of snow that was predicted.   And people here think they are tougher because they deal with this and use it as a bragging thing.  I would rather live somewhere tropical and be a wimp.  And also enjoy where I live from Oct through April instead of hating it.

We do have assorted jackets and things, stocking hats, various gloves.....but not the kind that can really withstand subzero windchill. Like, we have scarves, but I don't think they'd be wind-blocking scarves if we had to be out and about in this tomorrow. And we have gloves, but not waterproof ones, if it were to snow (no precipitation predicted, but then my weather guy just now posted that Abilene got snow they weren't expecting, so....who knows).  We can add sufficient layers, ya know, in an emergency....but a lot of *truly* cold weather stuff isn't even readily available down here.  

We should find some, probably, for future years. We do have cold weather camping stuff so even during our 4-5 days w/o power in 2021, we were warm at night. I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I could find winter gear for everyone in case we couldn't avoid going out sometime in this stuff. 

[TheReader]

11 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Yep. Dealing with winter weather in places without the governmental infrastructure to help handle it and without the personal/home equippage to ameliorate it’s effects is not fun, not a joke. When it gets so cold so quickly in the south, it is dangerous. Even if a similar  scenario in northern state t be nbd.

ha! yes, the TX DOT isn't even *planning* to pretreat anything, b/c we aren't supposed to have any precipitation.  So, no salting or pretreating of any of the (many) overpasses, etc. because "they should be fine."  

[Faith-manor]

Thank you! I get tired of the smug attitude that is, "We deal with worse, sucks to be you you pansy!" attitude. If nothing else, have some concern for the many kids who are going to get hit with this, and whose parents are too poor to buy them Carhart, REI, LLBean, Columbia, Lands End parkas. These kids have frostbite warnings on the west side of my state and no good gear.

I just want people to be safe, and after two years of pandemic holidays and people constantly trying to weigh options and figure out what to do and how to do it safely, now the triple demic and insane weather, the country is weary. We need to remember to have mercy.

[Faith-manor]

10 minutes ago, TheReader said:

We do have assorted jackets and things, stocking hats, various gloves.....but not the kind that can really withstand subzero windchill. Like, we have scarves, but I don't think they'd be wind-blocking scarves if we had to be out and about in this tomorrow. And we have gloves, but not waterproof ones, if it were to snow (no precipitation predicted, but then my weather guy just now posted that Abilene got snow they weren't expecting, so....who knows).  We can add sufficient layers, ya know, in an emergency....but a lot of *truly* cold weather stuff isn't even readily available down here.  

We should find some, probably, for future years. We do have cold weather camping stuff so even during our 4-5 days w/o power in 2021, we were warm at night. I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I could find winter gear for everyone in case we couldn't avoid going out sometime in this stuff. 

It is definitely problematic. Our daughter was trying to find snow gear for our grandsons because they are spending Christmas with family in the Albany, NY region. Northern Alabama stores and thrift have none. I looked around here, and really what was available was junk, not worthy of anything below 30°, and most of it not waterproof. I got lucky and managed to find ski coats and pants on ebay, and we just cringed at the price and bought Columbia boots for them from the outlet center here then shipped them to their NY grandparents. They bought hats, scarves, socks, and mittens. I did manage to buy nice, warm pajamas at the thrift store here and shipped those as well. The grandsons normally sleep in t shirts and boxers, but grandma and grandpa's house is drafty, and the heat is set at 65 due to the cost of fuel so I figured their usual sleep garb was NOT going to cut it. Grandson wanted a sleeping bag so he could sleep outside in the snow! We said, nope. His mother said something along the lines of, "Son I was raised in the snow and ice and am NOT willing to sleep out in this. You for sure are not allowed to do it!" I love his sense of adventure, but she has her hands full with that one because he is a Bear Grylls wannabe.

[fraidycat]

Yes, this. And I will be the annoying person who once again reiterates that dry cold and damp cold feel different.

One time when we lived in San Diego and my parents were coming (from Canadian prairies) for Christmas, I told them to bring warm clothes and coats. They didn't believe me that it was that cold... until they got there and experienced it. The temperature reading in a more humid climate can seem a lot warmer, but it gets right into your bones.

I'd rather have -20f in a dry climate than +40f in a humid one! It's easier to stay warm in the dry one.

[TheReader]

2 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

It is definitely problematic. Our daughter was trying to find snow gear for our grandsons because they are spending Christmas with family in the Albany, NY region. Northern Alabama stores and thrift have none. I looked around here, and really what was available was junk, not worthy of anything below 30°, and most of it not waterproof. I got lucky and managed to find ski coats and pants on ebay, and we just cringed at the price and bought Columbia boots for them from the outlet center here then shipped them to their NY grandparents. They bought hats, scarves, socks, and mittens. I did manage to buy nice, warm pajamas at the thrift store here and shipped those as well. The grandsons normally sleep in t shirts and boxers, but grandma and grandpa's house is drafty, and the heat is set at 65 due to the cost of fuel so I figured their usual sleep garb was NOT going to cut it. Grandson wanted a sleeping bag so he could sleep outside in the snow! We said, nope. His mother said something along the lines of, "Son I was raised in the snow and ice and am NOT willing to sleep out in this. You for sure are not allowed to do it!" I love his sense of adventure, but she has her hands full with that one because he is a Bear Grylls wannabe.

Oh, gosh! I'm glad y'all were able to find them stuff. 

 

[TheReader]

1 minute ago, fraidycat said:

Yes, this. And I will be the annoying person who once again reiterates that dry cold and damp cold feel different.

One time when we lived in San Diego and my parents were coming (from Canadian prairies) for Christmas, I told them to bring warm clothes and coats. They didn't believe me that it was that cold... until they got there and experienced it. The temperature reading in a more humid climate can seem a lot warmer, but it gets right into your bones.

I'd rather have -20f in a dry climate than +40f in a humid one! It's easier to stay warm in the dry one.

oooh, that's true too. 

I should verify with a real weather station, but according to my thermometer/weather unit thing, our humidity right now is 99%. That seems awfully high and makes me think maybe the sensor is wet, but, yes, wet cold is a lot colder feeling. I'll let you say that 🙂 

[stephanier.1765]

That bothers me, as well. Two of my sons have in-laws living in the NE and they think it's hysterical that when the roads get icy here everyone is told to stay home AND we do (exceptions, I'm sure). That's because we don't have the trucks to put sand or whatever is put on icy roads to help keep them safe for driving. It's a very rare thing to need here so of course we don't have them. So, ugh, it is so annoying when they start make fun of it.

[fraidycat]

3 minutes ago, TheReader said:

oooh, that's true too. 

I should verify with a real weather station, but according to my thermometer/weather unit thing, our humidity right now is 99%. That seems awfully high and makes me think maybe the sensor is wet, but, yes, wet cold is a lot colder feeling. I'll let you say that 🙂 

Whatever the actual reading is, your humidity on the gulf coast is most likely way higher than Colorado's right now. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Faith-manor]

6 minutes ago, TheReader said:

Oh, gosh! I'm glad y'all were able to find them stuff. 

 

I am too. They have been there since the 9th (son in law flying in today), and frolicking like crazy. She says they come in to eat, use the bathroom, and bam, right back outside. Their are multiple zany snowmen in the yard, and grandpa D has been compelled numerous times to go heft around huge snowballs that N makes and can't pick up. Having spent the summer and fall caring for my grandboys while their mother recovered from covid, I can honestly say I sincerely hope they don't kill their grandfather! I swear if I could hook N and C up to the electrical system of their house, they would power everything!

[gardenmom5]

Some people seem to just need to make things a competition or make things about themselves.  Not everything is a competition . . . 

 

I do have what I consider a funny . . . 

I pulled out my phone and looked at the weather app.  It said it was 45 with an expected high of 63  . . . um, I just looked at my outdoor thermometer.  It most certainly is NOT 45 F outside  . . . . . Not even close . . . .  Yep, my correct city (I thought it might have been stuck on Phoenix as I was there two weeks ago).  

The sun is out and skies appear clear - so I'm hopeful that means we're not getting the forecasted ice storm today.

 

[ScoutTN]

18 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

It is definitely problematic. Our daughter was trying to find snow gear for our grandsons because they are spending Christmas with family in the Albany, NY region. Northern Alabama stores and thrift have none. I looked around here, and really what was available was junk, not worthy of anything below 30°, and most of it not waterproof. I got lucky and managed to find ski coats and pants on ebay, and we just cringed at the price and bought Columbia boots for them from the outlet center here then shipped them to their NY grandparents. They bought hats, scarves, socks, and mittens. I did manage to buy nice, warm pajamas at the thrift store here and shipped those as well. The grandsons normally sleep in t shirts and boxers, but grandma and grandpa's house is drafty, and the heat is set at 65 due to the cost of fuel so I figured their usual sleep garb was NOT going to cut it. Grandson wanted a sleeping bag so he could sleep outside in the snow! We said, nope. His mother said something along the lines of, "Son I was raised in the snow and ice and am NOT willing to sleep out in this. You for sure are not allowed to do it!" I love his sense of adventure, but she has her hands full with that one because he is a Bear Grylls wannabe.

That boy would love Scouts when he’s older! 

[Brittany1116]

I agree. People laugh when Floridians mention low temps that "feel like spring!" to others. Sirs and mams, we are not equipped for teens. Texas wasn't ready for that big freeze. People in parts of Georgia literally can't drive if they get 2 inches of snow because there is no infrastructure for managing it. 

[TravelingChris]

3 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Some people seem to just need to make things a competition or make things about themselves.  Not everything is a competition . . . 

 

I do have what I consider a funny . . . 

I pulled out my phone and looked at the weather app.  It said it was 45 with an expected high of 63  . . . um, I just looked at my outdoor thermometer.  It most certainly is NOT 45 F outside  . . . . . Not even close . . . .  Yep, my correct city (I thought it might have been stuck on Phoenix as I was there two weeks ago).  

The sun is out and skies appear clear - so I'm hopeful that means we're not getting the forecasted ice storm today.

 

Last month, I went to the second to the last Alabama game that we had free tickets for.  Dh and I decided to bring warm clothes because we thought the weather app predictions were wrong-and since I am a weather junky among other interests,, I have a lot of weather apps. Get to our stands and it keeps being cold, high humidity and very overcast. Yep, yep. yep  = they kept having the wrong temps and the wrong description of what was happening= it was at least 10 degrees colder, and they kept saying sunny.  It was so overcast, the only reason we werre  wearing hats was because it was cold, not sunny.

[ScoutTN]

We have gotten some good gear at Lands’ End and REI after Christmas sales over the years. It’s tough with growing kids like @Faith-manor’s gkids, who need new gear (at least the oldest) every year. So expensive! Consignment sales (not stores) in upper middle class neighborhoods have been a gold mine for us over the years. People who take their kids to Vail annually trying to recoup a bit and feel thrifty ! 😎

Edited December 22, 2022 by ScoutTN

[Dmmetler]

52 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Yep. Dealing with winter weather in places without the governmental infrastructure to help handle it and without the personal/home equippage to ameliorate it’s effects is not fun, not a joke. When it gets so cold so quickly in the south, it is dangerous. Even if a similar  scenario in northern state would be nbd.

And at Christmas is even worse! 
 

Our roads will be a sheet of ice tomorrow morning and may stay that way til Monday. If the power goes out bc of ice and wind, with the wind chill below zero, it will be ugly.

Hospitals, assisted living, utilities, government road crews, first responders, here are calling in all their available staff tonight to be ready. Staff at my mom’s AL place were told to bring clothes and personal items for three days. They ordered  an extra food delivery earlier this week, since they normally get two trucks on Fridays.

Yes. And a lot of people have plans to have family travel in or to travel. People here can't drive on ice or snow, but often don't realize that they can't. 

[ScoutTN]

Just now, Dmmetler said:

Yes. And a lot of people have plans to have family travel in or to travel. People here can't drive on ice or snow, but often don't realize that they can't. 

Dh’s niece and her husband are driving to Nashville from Chicago tonight, in the yuck! She is a medical resident and cannot leave earlier. 

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Anything that starts with, "oh, you think THAT is bad?   Well let me tell you all about me so I can one up you" is NEVER good.

Truth. Also applicable to relatives with kids just a bit older than yours, so that you can constantly hear how whatever problem a slightly older child has is worse than whatever your current problem may be. 

[gardenmom5]

24 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Thank you! I get tired of the smug attitude that is, "We deal with worse, sucks to be you you pansy!" attitude. If nothing else, have some concern for the many kids who are going to get hit with this, and whose parents are too poor to buy them Carhart, REI, LLBean, Columbia, Lands End parkas. These kids have frostbite warnings on the west side of my state and no good gear.

I just want people to be safe, and after two years of pandemic holidays and people constantly trying to weigh options and figure out what to do and how to do it safely, now the triple demic and insane weather, the country is weary. We need to remember to have mercy.

we get that all the time here with people from snowy areas when we have snow.  (we have lots of hills - some of them are very big, we have wet snow that turns to ice, lots of overpasses that will get ice, etc.)  big eye roll at the sanctimoniousness of the "uninitiated". 

one year when the girls were flying home for Christmas (they attended school in upstate NY, we live in the Seattle area) - they were sitting behind a couple people who were talking about Seattle area snow. (we had snow on the ground at the time)  One guy was a transplant and had experienced it firsthand.  He was warning the other person - when they tell you ____, believe them.

[Bootsie]

51 minutes ago, TheReader said:

 but then my weather guy just now posted that Abilene got snow they weren't expecting, so....who knows).  We can add sufficient layers, ya know, in an emergency....but a lot of *truly* cold weather stuff isn't even readily available down here.  

 

I am in the DFW area and it has been snowing here for the past hour; as of early this morning, I wasn't seeing any in the forecast.

[TheReader]

1 minute ago, Bootsie said:

I am in the DFW area and it has been snowing here for the past hour; as of early this morning, I wasn't seeing any in the forecast.

oye. 

Our weather guy here keeps posting all the things going on in other parts of the state, that the predictions have gotten wrong, so that hopefully when it happens here, we're ready. 

He's already warned of avoiding any bridges that go over water (in case the lake effect makes it colder/those bridges freeze), and of possible lake effect snow, and that the temps will be worse than predicted, etc. 

We're keeping a close eye; supposed to go to fencing tonight, and while we won't cross any bodies of water, we'll have to use several high fly-away overpasses on the way there. They *shouldn't* be icy, if things remain as predicted, but since everything keeps being wrong......who knows. 

[Carrie12345]

I mean… yeah, I’m sure it’s obnoxious in most contexts.

I’m still gonna poke fun at my son in FL and my mom and sister in GA. And they’re gonna laugh at me on the few days we break 90* on my mountain.

[mommyoffive]

16 minutes ago, Quill said:

Truth. Also applicable to relatives with kids just a bit older than yours, so that you can constantly hear how whatever problem a slightly older child has is worse than whatever your current problem may be. 

Or a really extended family member who is just slightly older than you and has older kids.  Wait till they are toddlers.  Wait until they are grade schoolers.  Wait until they go to middle school. Wait until they are teenagers. 

And then wait until you start menopause, it is the worst thing ever.

[mommyoffive]

26 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

We have gotten some good gear at Lands’ End and REI after Christmas sales over the years. It’s tough with growing kids like @Faith-manor’s gkids, who need new gear (at least the oldest) every year. So expensive! Consignment sales (not stores) in upper middle class neighborhoods have been a gold mine for us over the years. People who take their kids to Vail annually trying to recoup a bit and feel thrifty ! 😎

Love your tips of going to a consignment store in a upper middle class neighborhood.  We don't anything like that local.  But in bigger cities that would be something to do. 

It is so tough with growing kids.  Some can be passed down, but this year and last my older 3 all needed new everything thanks to growing like weeds.  And in our area it is like you need several kinds of winter coats and boots.  Each kid has several of both as do dh and I.

Edited December 22, 2022 by mommyoffive

[Vintage81]

26 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I am in the DFW area and it has been snowing here for the past hour; as of early this morning, I wasn't seeing any in the forecast.

Oh dear 😞

[gardenmom5]

41 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

Last month, I went to the second to the last Alabama game that we had free tickets for.  Dh and I decided to bring warm clothes because we thought the weather app predictions were wrong-and since I am a weather junky among other interests,, I have a lot of weather apps. Get to our stands and it keeps being cold, high humidity and very overcast. Yep, yep. yep  = they kept having the wrong temps and the wrong description of what was happening= it was at least 10 degrees colder, and they kept saying sunny.  It was so overcast, the only reason we werre  wearing hats was because it was cold, not sunny.

Husky stadium is right next to Lake Washington.   It is COLD.  The only time it isn't, is a hot day - and we don't have those in the fall.
If dh goes to a game (usually prefers to watch on TV) - he will wear wool long underwear, wool socks, scarf, hat, etc.  just to be warm.

[gardenmom5]

37 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I am in the DFW area and it has been snowing here for the past hour; as of early this morning, I wasn't seeing any in the forecast.

dds got in at 11pm last night . . . . I was glad 2dd would be there during your deep freeze (they lost power in February).  The moving truck is supposed to arrive today? tomorrow?  at least she knows where everything goes.
- yes, it's snowing at her house.

Edited December 22, 2022 by gardenmom5

[TravelingChris]

6 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Husky stadium is right next to Lake Washington.   It is COLD.  The only time it isn't, is a hot day - and we don't have those in the fall.
If dh goes to a game (usually prefers to watch on TV) - he will wear wool long underwear, wool socks, scarf, hat, etc.  just to be warm.

I had put on long underwear and was so happy.  And it kept getting colder too, of course.

[Clarita]

Yes! Same with all the other weather like rain too. I live in a wimpy weather state so essentially every type of weather we have here people make fun of. 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

I think if I was in the Texas area I would invest in some winter clothes.  It seems like this is going to be a new thing with global warming.  Better to have it and use it once a year or every other year, vs not having it when you need it.   Those are some cold temps.

But I live in the midwest have all my life.  Hate the weather here.  But kids don't.  They love the snow and I did as a kid too.  My kids are so depressed that we are not getting the foot of snow that was predicted.   And people here think they are tougher because they deal with this and use it as a bragging thing.  I would rather live somewhere tropical and be a wimp.  And also enjoy where I live from Oct through April instead of hating it.

I'm questioning how much insulation is in the walls of their houses in Texas.   Someone gave dsil their night scope (his friend bought a snazzier one) - I could clearly see every single stud in the exterior wall. (house is <10 years old)  no fireplace for emergency heat.  we have friends who moved to the seattle area from colorado in the 60s and had a house custom built. They demanded significantly more insulation than was code at the time.  (code was pretty paltry.)

when they lost power last winter, dsil took the boys to his cousin's house.  2dd stayed at the hospital - apparently a lot of people had called saying they couldn't make it in.  She's at a hospital 30 minutes away, and she slept there probably two nights.   

[gardenmom5]

years ago, mil still lived in a snowy state.  She was telling him about their new snowblower.  dh responded: "what's a snowblower?"

 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:

That bothers me, as well. Two of my sons have in-laws living in the NE and they think it's hysterical that when the roads get icy here everyone is told to stay home AND we do (exceptions, I'm sure). That's because we don't have the trucks to put sand or whatever is put on icy roads to help keep them safe for driving. It's a very rare thing to need here so of course we don't have them. So, ugh, it is so annoying when they start make fun of it.

sometimes sanding a road isn't enough.  And then the stuff freezes, and the plows are worthless because they scrape snow - not ice.

seatac is a geographically small footprint airport - so they don't have the space to spread out to deice planes.  So they've been delaying and cancelling.

 

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

Yes. And a lot of people have plans to have family travel in or to travel. People here can't drive on ice or snow, but often don't realize that they can't. 

my friend from the midwest would often make fun of all the SUV drivers stuck on the side of the road.  People will think they can go anywhere with one . . . um . . many are just about looks, but have no performance differences from a car.

and you better believe tires make more of a difference  . . . .

1 hour ago, TheReader said:

oye. 

Our weather guy here keeps posting all the things going on in other parts of the state, that the predictions have gotten wrong, so that hopefully when it happens here, we're ready. 

He's already warned of avoiding any bridges that go over water (in case the lake effect makes it colder/those bridges freeze), and of possible lake effect snow, and that the temps will be worse than predicted, etc. 

We're keeping a close eye; supposed to go to fencing tonight, and while we won't cross any bodies of water, we'll have to use several high fly-away overpasses on the way there. They *shouldn't* be icy, if things remain as predicted, but since everything keeps being wrong......who knows. 

it's bridges/overpasses period.  they get colder than regular roads because there is nothing to insulate them from the bottom and the temp on them drops faster.    . . . they are a big flag for black ice.

Edited December 22, 2022 by gardenmom5

[Faith-manor]

13 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I'm questioning how much insulation is in the walls of their houses in Texas.   Someone gave dsil their night scope (his friend bought a snazzier one) - I could clearly see every single stud in the exterior wall. (house is <10 years old)  no fireplace for emergency heat.  we have friends who moved to the seattle area from colorado in the 60s and had a house custom built. They demanded significantly more insulation than was code at the time.  (code was pretty paltry.)

when they lost power last winter, dsil took the boys to his cousin's house.  2dd stayed at the hospital - apparently a lot of people had called saying they couldn't make it in.  She's at a hospital 30 minutes away, and she slept there probably two nights.   

Insulation is such a big thing. Codes need to be updated, and there should be public assistance for getting homes insulated to much higher standards. In the end, it will be better for everyone. Heating and cooling costs and fossil fuel use to provide both of those go way down when insulation is done properly. Money is saved in the long term when people are safe in their own homes. We seem to be a country that prefers the reactionary, expensive post apocalypse response instead of "an ounce of prevention".

 

[TheReader]

14 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I'm questioning how much insulation is in the walls of their houses in Texas.   Someone gave dsil their night scope (his friend bought a snazzier one) - I could clearly see every single stud in the exterior wall. (house is <10 years old)  no fireplace for emergency heat.  we have friends who moved to the seattle area from colorado in the 60s and had a house custom built. They demanded significantly more insulation than was code at the time.  (code was pretty paltry.)

when they lost power last winter, dsil took the boys to his cousin's house.  2dd stayed at the hospital - apparently a lot of people had called saying they couldn't make it in.  She's at a hospital 30 minutes away, and she slept there probably two nights.   

Ours is fairly new, and during the winter freeze last Feb (2021), our indoor temp didn't really fall below 55 even on the 5th day w/o power.  So, I mean, cold, but we weren't in danger at least. 

Older homes though that are draftier....I don't know. We paid for upgraded insulation when we built this house, so that likely helps in our case.  But also, yea, no fireplace, etc. either. We managed fine.  I'd much rather be w/o power in the cold, here, than in the heat. 

[TheReader]

57 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I mean… yeah, I’m sure it’s obnoxious in most contexts.

I’m still gonna poke fun at my son in FL and my mom and sister in GA. And they’re gonna laugh at me on the few days we break 90* on my mountain.

If your family knows *and appreciates* the joke and that's the kind of relationship/rapport y'all have, probably that's fine. 

My dad isn't joking, we *don't* have that kind of rapport, and it's annoying as hell. Like, yes, Dad, it's colder where you are. You win. Because *of course* what I should compare my temps to are your temps, not my normal temps. Obviously that means that my cold weather isn't actually cold, because, *relative to yours, in Colorado* it's nothing. 

Gee, what was I thinking? (Oh, I know...I was thinking that relative to the 60* it is right this minute, the 14* or even lower in the morning is going to feel like quite a shock....nevermind the however-low-it-gets when the front hits and plummets over the course of an hour this afternoon.....)

(not a dig at you, Carrie; I'm sure that you & your family do enjoy ribbing each other over this stuff.....but do trust me when I say, my dad's just being an ass......)

[Faith-manor]

Oh, and the number one vehicle found in ditches in our area???? Pick up trucks. 4 wheel drive pick up trucks. This is because the "I have a big truck with 4 wheel drive" gives the drivers the bravado without the back up of skills. So they drive like bats out of you no where and end up stranded or wrecked. Meanwhile, we little Chevy Equinox/Ford Taurus/Dodge Dart/Sienna mini van kind of people putt putt, stay off the brakes and keep distance so we can simply get off the accelerator to react to people ahead of us, don't overdrive for the conditions, and stay home when it isn't fit for man nor beast, and are NOT in the ditch. 

[LaughingCat]

36 minutes ago, TheReader said:

  Yes, Dad, I know it's colder in Colorado than on the Texas Gulf coast. But, ummm, it's supposed to be. And people here need to be reminded what to do when it gets like this, bc it's not a thing we deal with all the time. We don't all have wood stoves and fireplaces and winter clothes to wear that can actually withstand those temperatures.

While I completely agree that the way it was said was annoying and dismissive AND that warm areas have unique difficulties when cold weather hits...  

... I just have to add that -14 is not actually something most of CO deals with all the time as you are saying.  Perhaps up in the mountains -- but those of us down on the plains (Denver/Colorado Springs/Boulder/Ft Collins) are used to a lot warmer weather.  It is actually rare for temperatures to get below 0 here. 

Businesses are closed, schools would be closed if they were still in, this is not our normal weather-- it is COLD!!! 

[TheReader]

33 minutes ago, LaughingCat said:

While I completely agree that the way it was said was annoying and dismissive AND that warm areas have unique difficulties when cold weather hits...  

... I just have to add that -14 is not actually something most of CO deals with all the time as you are saying.  Perhaps up in the mountains -- but those of us down on the plains (Denver/Colorado Springs/Boulder/Ft Collins) are used to a lot warmer weather.  It is actually rare for temperatures to get below 0 here. 

Businesses are closed, schools would be closed if they were still in, this is not our normal weather-- it is COLD!!! 

Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to misspeak.  

My dad is up on a mountain, and I know has mentioned temps like that to me before, so I was just basing it off of that (he's about 5 miles from the Wyoming border, way way up a mountain, as in, it's 4 miles from his house down the mountain to where the mail boxes are, which is still several miles from where the paved road is.....). 

But you are right - -14 is still super cold, and not normal everyday temps. 

[ddcrook]

2 hours ago, Bootsie said:

I am in the DFW area and it has been snowing here for the past hour; as of early this morning, I wasn't seeing any in the forecast.

Oh wow! Have you had any accumulation? We were surprised to see flurries here in my part of dfw, but nothing is on the ground. 

[rebcoola]

So annoying yes I know that it's not that cold I've lived colder places but in those places I bought gear for that weather my house was set up for that weather.  Here we have to prepare and improvise and think things through.  Plus some people have who live here have never dealt with these Temps they don't know.

[Lawyer&Mom]

It’s 23 degrees here in Seattle, which is not *that* cold.  But I live on a hill and all of the roads surrounding my house are covered in ice.  I own nice gear, I can walk to the grocery store just fine, but I can’t take the car out of the garage to pick up my kids from grandmas house, because I don’t want to slide downhill.  It sucks.  When I lived in Minneapolis where it was sometimes -20 degrees my neighborhood was also flat as a pancake…. 

[KSera]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

 And they’re gonna laugh at me on the few days we break 90* on my mountain.

I was going to say, this can be obnoxious in the other direction as well. When places that don’t normally get above 90 are hitting 100° and people that hit that normally are laughing at their wimpiness. But all those places that are regularly in the hundreds have air conditioning everywhere, whereas in parts of the country where those temperatures used to be unheard of, the majority of people have no air-conditioning and the conditions inside people’s houses are something that people in hot areas don’t ever deal with in their houses. It’s easy to laugh when it’s 115° outside but you’re inside your 68° house, while it’s 98° somewhere else both in and outside the house.

[TheReader]

3 minutes ago, KSera said:

I was going to say, this can be obnoxious in the other direction as well. When places that don’t normally get above 90 are hitting 100° and people that hit that normally are laughing at their wimpiness. But all those places that are regularly in the hundreds have air conditioning everywhere, whereas in parts of the country where those temperatures used to be unheard of, the majority of people have no air-conditioning and the conditions inside people’s houses are something that people in hot areas don’t ever deal with in their houses. It’s easy to laugh when it’s 115° outside but you’re inside your 68° house, while it’s 98° somewhere else both in and outside the house.

I promise you I never laugh at my northern friends/family when it gets hot where they are. Because  of exactly that - they aren't set up for it (their homes, etc.)  I should maybe have said that I meant for this in both/all directions, but yes. Obnoxious whether laughing at the "cold" that isn't, the "hot" that isn't, or the "whatever" that isn't all that bad. 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Lawyer&amp;Mom said:

It’s 23 degrees here in Seattle, which is not *that* cold.  But I live on a hill and all of the roads surrounding my house are covered in ice.  I own nice gear, I can walk to the grocery store just fine, but I can’t take the car out of the garage to pick up my kids from grandmas house, because I don’t want to slide downhill.  It sucks.  When I lived in Minneapolis where it was sometimes -20 degrees my neighborhood was also flat as a pancake…. 

It was 15* when I got up this morning - at least the snow is done (and no sign of that forecasted ice storm). . . Lots of hills in the seattle area.  dh forbade me parking my car at the top of our hill so I could get out.  His is parked uphill (he doesn't care if his car is damaged, he doesn't want mine damaged), he begged me to wait until at least friday to go anywhere.  it was extremely slow going getting his car up on tuesday with lots of backing up and restarting, when he drove up it after the very wet snow had barely started to stick.  He lived in a snow state for 10 years, he knows how to drive in the stuff.

Port Angeles had a foot.  

[Lawyer&Mom]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

It was 15* when I got up this morning - at least the snow is done (and no sign of that forecasted ice storm). . . Lots of hills in the seattle area.  dh forbade me parking my car at the top of our hill so I could get out.  His is parked uphill (he doesn't care if his car is damaged, he doesn't want mine damaged), he begged me to wait until at least friday to go anywhere.  it was extremely slow going getting his car up on tuesday with lots of backing up and restarting, when he drove up it after the very wet snow had barely started to stick.  He lived in a snow state for 10 years, he knows how to drive in the stuff.

Port Angeles had a foot.  

I know the round-about roads to take to avoid the “big” hills in my neighborhood,   and that’s usually enough on a snow day, but this week I slid backwards on my “little” hill… Not that much you can do when it’s all ice.  Hopefully the warmer temps are still coming on Saturday so I can rescue the kids from the horrors of being well-fed and entertained at Grandma’s house…  (My oldest was beside herself that she will have to stay an extra day or two.  Kid, trapped at grandmas with cookies and Netflix is not the end of the world!)

Edited December 22, 2022 by Lawyer&Mom