I live in the metro DC area...temps are the lowest I've seen in ages...15 at 9 am and windy. We got about 3-4" last night and schools are closed. Admin offices came in 2 hours late. Even the admin offices had a day off in December because of snow.... I love the fact that we are wimps! lol.

Wimps or over litigious society that has created a CYA culture?

Well, I don't know about CYA.....our parking lot was a sheet of ice this morning and still is....it's a lawsuit waiting to happen!

Here is some fun for all of you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter fun

Impassable/dangerous snow or ice - fine. Cold - I don't think so. And the actual temperature isn't going to be that low - only minus 17. It's not like we're riding horses and wagons to work these days and exposed to the wind chill for extended periods of time.
Great video cyn!

I've read that the result of global warming is that we are getting weather at both extremes--extremely hot and extremely cold, with more "super storms" added in to the mix.

When my sister was a school teacher in Milwaukee, they sometimes closed the schools because the temperature with the added wind chill was too cold for the kids to stand outside waiting for school buses. They were afraid the children would get frostbite standing outdoors.

Looks like they are predicting a high of -14 on Monday, with wind chills down to -50.

I do think it's unusual for a governor to close all the schools--don't they usually leave this up to the individual school districts?

And my sister just informed me that Milwaukee has closed the schools on Monday, as well.

Here in New Hampshire, the kids were supposed to go back to school on Thursday, but they got both Thursday and Friday off due to the snow. And we only got a foot and it mostly fell at night. But keeping as many people as possible off the roads allows the snow crews to do their job better and get the roads clearer faster.

Like joanie, I am glad we are wimps here in the DC area. I am hoping that Fairfax County closes on Tuesday since temps are supposed to be in the single digits that morning (some of our kiddoes don't have the winter jackets etc. they need for those temps-mostly our immigrant children-rich county with lots of very poor families). Always happy to have another day off. ;)

I feel as though Faron has sent his cold weather down here. You may have it back, my friend! Love the snow, hate this single-digit or teens cold! Of course, I can hardly wait to watch the 49ers trying to beat my Packers at Lambeau this weekend. Hehhehheh.

...global warming....hee-hee!....I thought of that bunk when I was taking recyclables out a few nights ago in Fargo.
It was MINUS 18...

WITHOUT windchill.

Faron

Wisconsinite here, and schools are starting to close here on Monday too. They don't close for wind chill advisories, but they often do for wind chill warnings released by the National Weather Service.

On Monday, wind chills are expected to be 55 degrees below zero. Frostbite occurs in under ten minutes to exposed skin. That's downright dangerous, and wind chills that low are not typical, even in Wisconsin (This will be the coldest blast since 1996 in our area). Cold kills more people every year than any other weather condition. So, I don't think it's unreasonable or wimpy at all to close schools or businesses in this situation. Things can go wrong, despite all of our modern technology, etc., and it's just not worth it.

Cyn, that video is hilarious. Why is watching people slip around on ice so funny? I've taken a couple of headers myself, in my driveway. Usually I am so bundled up I just bounce.

It's a balmy 7 degrees outside Philadelphia. My furnace just keeps churning and churning. I think I shoveled 16 tons of snow yesterday.

I believe we are undergoing climate change, not just global warming. Although the trend toward warmer weather is most prevalent, some areas will undergo weather extremes which include major storms and extreme cold.

Our kids went back to school for one day and then had Friday off due to snow. It was hardly worth opening the schools for that one day!

When I worked in a hospital there was never a snow day. If the medical staff had to be there, then everyone had to be there. A couple times I took a personal day because I couldn't get out of my driveway.

...global warming....hee-hee!....I thought of that bunk

I find it strange that some people think that human beings burning millions of tons of fossil fuels - at ever expanding rates it seems - has NO EFFECT on the earth and the atmosphere. It must be comforting for them to simply disbelieve.

Our schools have more closures due to snow/ice/temps in the last 2 years than ever remembered. Actually, I can't remember school being closed when the kids were attending. Or my missing a day of work due to weather...except for the 6 ft snow blizzard that shut everything down with drifts to 3 stories...and never went away for a week. Sort of a 100 year exception.

What does Alaska do? Or we just don't know how to traverse extreme weather?

I do agree with not leaving our kids in the cold being predicted and we have had some treacherous ice on roads/parking lots which no one should be on. Plus the public entities to deal with this are overloaded compared to normal years.

I guess places that normally get a lot of snow, ice and frigid weather make the investment in the proper equipment to deal with it on a regular basis. Whopping snowstorms and single digit weather only occur here occasionally and it makes more financial sense to just tell people to stay home than invest in things that would only be used every couple years at most. If the temps ever dropped below zero during the day, we would all turn into Chicken Littles!

I am with Graywings on global warming. It's real and it's scary. We are leaving a horrible legacy for future generations.

Yes. It is very comforting to ignore global warming but it is similar to sticking your fingers in your ears while screaming "LALALALALALALA" while your smoke alarm is going off in your house.

Faron, you are smarter than that.

I realize my thoughts on this "fad-science" depart from many of you.

Obviously, the Earth has endured untold millennia of hot & cool cycles. I'm not a particularly "religious" person either. I'm very scientific about things. Science & research fascinates me.

HOWEVER-
All this "the sky is falling" silliness over a few decades of barely warmer than usual weather....and all of a sudden...."the world is ending"....

Media can really add to & hype things can't they...;-)

I'll bow out of this now, & apologize for ruffling feathers.
Just sticking to MY opinions here...not necessarily believing EVERYTHING that I'm told to. I respect others' rights to do that however.

Faron

Hi everyone! Faron, I laughed at global warning also until the past year. I can't remember what I read, but it opened my eye's.

What scares me the most is how it will be for my grandchildren and their children in the future.

It's not just the extreme temps that are worrisome, it's the "Super Storms" coming at us left and right. That's a cause of global warming.

The tornados in OK are no longer like the tornado we see on "The Wizard of Oz." No, they're category 5-6 tornados now. Category 6 is new. That size of tornados were rare, and now they appear several times a season.

It's been mostly freezing here since before Christmas, it will be almost zero in the morning. We've hit that several times already the past month. A rarity.

I was a hold-out, but now I'm a firm believer.

We are set to go back to school tomorrow and it is -35 here (without the windchill factored in). Last night someone's car alarm kept going off because of the cold - lasted for hours. Streets are like skating rinks and we've also had more snow than than I've seen in a long time and it's only the beginning of January. Not looking forward to weeks of indoor recesses coming up (the kids get absolutely squirrelly and the classroom becomes a disaster zone because I never have a chance to clean it up). Wish my principal would cancel school for Monday, but I doubt it because the same temps are predicted all week and there is only so much you can cancel. Sigh - putting on my big girl long johns.

There are a host of problems that can happen in the cold. Sometimes when the temperatures are low enough, school buses don't start. If they wait too long to call off school, it puts an extra burden on parents to make arrangements for their kids. My community has a mix of dirt and paved roads. The ice clings to the dirt roads for some time and it is quite treacherous and I have seen a school bus going down a hill sideways before from ice (thankfully no one was hurt). I prefer things to be done smart rather than see how tough we really are.

I do have a sister who lives in Barrow, AK. It is very, very cold there. So cold that they keep their cars plugged into electricity overnight so that they will start the next morning.

Well, my office was even officially "closed" today. I had work to do so I came in anyway along with a bunch of other people including those who provide service to our customers who need it regardless of how cold it is here in Minnesota. One guy walked to work - probably a mile or more - bundled up including goggles. Some referred to the people who came to work as the "cold weather warriors". Others took advantage of the opportunity to take a paid day off when absolutely not necessary for most people.

Not to negate global warming but this cold is scientifically related to lower than normal sunspot activity. NASA published its findings in early summer that they were very concerned that solar activity was being recorded at very low levels. The last time such low activity was noticed was during the Maunder Minimum, which coincided with the mini ice age which occurred between 1570 to 1820. Before that was the sporer minimum which coincided with an unusual cooling period between 1450 to 1560. Mix in volcanoes and we too could experience another mini iceage again. We are not big enough to compete with the sun and Mother nature and we might have to learn to go on as usual during it:( .

Hey Oak!!

I was just in OK...see my "Bison" thread(s)!

I noticed that we "brought" some good-ol' FRIGID ND-type temps with us on the way down...AND BACK...;-)

And yes...I had to chuckle at all the drama on the News-shows all weekend. Somewhere down there, I almost blew pop out my nose when there was a TV-headline describing the "Artic-outbreak"....with "temps approaching Zero"! Even my normally reserved DW & DD were rolling their eyes...;-)

At the 9pm Fargo NWS reading, we're "up" to -12F now! Earlier this evening, we were -16. We'll slowly rise to a "high" of -5F Tuesday!

Tues. nights low however...MINUS 23F.

Who's gonna come visit me tomorrow night...;-)

F-f-f-f-f-aron

Office closed again tomorrow. I will be there again since I had no problem going today. Even stopped and ran errands on the way home - also no problem.

Yesterday the news mentioned MN primarily...a lot of times. I will not complain now as we are having high 40s and 50s. A norm in my area after -20s at night.

I do feel badly for many who cannot traverse the terrible weather, got caught in terrible road conditions and those who are having to work in it to keep us safe. My son is one of them and worry like heck.

Although the sports arenas are not stopping 1,000s regarding priorities in life. Not singling you out Faron, you have always been the go for it guy. If you hadn't gone, then I would have worried about you.

Faron, my friend who moved here from Iowa would laugh at our reporters too! It gets to zero here, but not often. We'll stay below freezing for a week at a time, lows in the teens, but rarely do we get into the single digits. Maybe once a season.

They closed OKC schools yesterday. Mainly because of kids waiting for busses. Just too dangerous.

I'll go to the Bison thread. GO SOONERS! ;)

Good point Technicolor!
People whose jobs involve cold-weather exposure do get me worried sometimes! Training & equipment are vital too...for sure!

We never had a thought of NOT going to Texas! Knowing it would be a cold drive (both ways!), we had warm boots/mitts/etc. in the trunk. On the way up from St. Joseph, MO, the temp just kept easing...dooooowwwwnn. For most of SD, it was at least -10.

Faron

Thank you, Jan. Just because the upper midwest is cold in the winter doesn't mean we get, or are used to getting, these cold of temperatures very often. The last time it was this cold the then-governor closed schools as well. That was '94,'96, and '97.

My school district is rural and a lot of kids take the bus. Imagine standing outside (busses don't drive down every long farm driveway) in the dark and in air so cold that any exposed skin will freeze in minutes. It's incredibly dangerous.

As an aside, this morning when I brought my kids to school the wind chill was -10 and yesterday it was -26. We are hardly wimps! :-)

Our school district (DC metro area) decided to open on time on Tuesday when the temp was 1 degree and with wind chill -13. The superintendent has taken a lot of "heat" (excuse pun)via Twitter for this decision. I work for the schools and did not come in because my garage door would not open. I felt so bad for HS and MS kids waiting for schools buses in the dark starting at 6:30 am. And there were reports that some buses broke down, as well as bursting pipes and no heat in some schools. Many parents decided to keep their kids home.