Today, the skies are achingly clear, and the sun is strong and bright, it beckons one outside. Unfortunately, the message of sky, sun! is a treacherous one. -18 F today; there are frostbite warnings if you stay outside for over 10 minutes, and you can see every breath you take. Photos taken from the safety of my studio.
© C. Ford.
Clear skies: Check.
Sun: Check.
Beckons outside: Check. Sat in the restaurant’s outdoor patio for lunch. In short sleeves. (Ok, Ok, I could only do that because it was in the sunshine, otherwise a sweater would have been advisable.)
Dragon: Still won’t start.
I was in -32 (not wind chill) in Minnesota one winter, and it was beautiful and surreal -- one does not expect to feel the inside of the nose begin to freeze when you inhale. So you breathe in your mouth, which only makes it worse. Very interesting!!
It’s raining and freezing here in North Central Pennsylvania -- which means: time to work on writing assignments, drink tea, and make another batch of liquid soap.
Marcus:
You’re supposed to breathe through several layers of scarf!
Since becoming an atheist, I am on the outlook for religious based phrases that I use or see used. Occasionally I find other things.
“see every breath you take.” is one of those phrases we all use that is technical wrong. It is ever breath we exhale that we see.
Fred Tully:
Yes, yes, we mustn’t have poetic license, or consider that you cannot see an exhaled breath you did not take. Well, here’s hoping you’re all toasty warm in your smug pedantry.
Isn’t that called asphyxiation?
Blf:
No!
marcus
We usually have fun running outside and tossing a cup of water into the air, before dashing back indoors. Sublimation is cool.
That reminded me of the 300 club.
The scarf will get wet, but yes it’s still better than the cold wind at the face.
Even at higher temperatures, those of us with a beard or a moustache will experience ice forming onto the facial hair.
I wonder if the 300 clubbers run barefoot in the snow, because the cold snow feels extremely cold, even if the air is much warmer. In fact, I’d recommend not running barefoot in snow if it’s colder than -18 °C/0 °F.
Also, the sudden change from hot to cold may be dangerous if one has cardiac problems. I’m not sure whether it would be easier to first run around the pole while one is still dry and not sweaty from sauna and then go to sauna. I’ve experienced much more wind chill from wind hitting the wet naked skin than from the wind hitting dry naked skin.
This is why I like wool scarves, they get wet, but they’re still wonderful at keeping the heat where it should be: closer to you!
No, it is mandatory for them to wear insulated boots. Optionally, they apparently can also wear a neck gaiter: “The neck gaiter is worn over the mouth and the nose to prevent frostbite in the lungs” (The 300 Club Is So Much Worse Than You Can Imagine).
On the caradic arrest problem: Keep in mind the individuals who overwinter at the South Pole are cut off from outside assistance for several months. Whilst there is on-base medical facilities, the overwintering people are carefully evaluated and quite healthy. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a problem, but it is not a lumbering obese goofball nearing retirement who overwinter or apply to the 300 Club. (I vaguely recall reading someplace the usual problem was a spending too much time in the bar, which is not as funny as it may sound in those circumstances.)
The only time that I’ve experienced seriously sub freezing conditions was in 1978 when I visited my maternal relatives in Germany for Christmas. Hamburg harbor was covered in ice floes and the electric trains were having trouble with ice hanging off the wires. As a 17 year old I managed well enough, but of course slipped and fell and did my spine some damage. Luckily I got better. It certainly was very different to the country that my parents moved to in 1963, Australia. I’m quite glad that ice and snow aren’t a common feature of my abode.
It’s -5°C this morning.
Positively tropical!
Lofty @14
I’m guessing frost in Hamburg must be pretty harsh even if the temperatures may not be that extreme as it must be quite humid there, North Sea won’t freeze that easily.
Apparently, people who grow up in icy conditions will learn how to walk on slippery surfaces as kids. Even then, we slip, fall and break our bones and spikes or studs for shoes are available.