Folks, there's no other way to describe it....it's fucking cold here today. -57 with windchill. Jesus Christ.
Yes, it's profanity level cold. And as we're on at least Day 4 of an Extreme Windchill Warning, with about another 36 hours of it left, then I think it at least should be met with an extreme amount of profanity. It's God damn, fucking cold here and there's no way around that. And this just isn't some transplanted southerner bitching and moaning about the cold. People who have lived up here all their lives are complaining about the cold.
I did some checking around earlier, and while I stand to be corrected, I think Iqaluit was the coldest place in Canada today. By a lot. I couldn't find anywhere in Nunavut that came close. And that included checking Grise Fiord, Eureka and Alert. The northern tip of Ellesmere Island, within spitting distance of the North Pole, was warmer than Iqaluit today. That's just deeply wrong.
About the only people happy with this kind of cold are the garages. This is the kind of cold that killed our car's transmission last year. This year it just took out the battery. I called the garage today to see how it was going on getting that replaced. They haven't yet as they spent most of the day running out to tow in vehicles that have died. They must be making a fortune.
Actually, I'm wrong. There are other groups happy with this level of cold are kids and teachers. Seems there are new regulations that says when the temperatures drops below -50 with windchill, they close the schools. They don't want kids waiting for the bus out in these kind of temperatures since you can get frostbite in a matter of minutes. So Cathy got an unexpected day off. That made her happy.
Me, I had to go to work. Getting a taxi was a challenge because:
1. No one wants to walk to work in this kind of cold
2. About half the cars in town are probably in a garage for repairs.
You know things are deeply wrong when you're wishing for the balmy temperatures of -25 like we had in Ottawa last week, let alone the mind-blowing warmth we had in Fort Lauderdale when it was a scorching 9 C. The 35 we had in the Caribbean? Might as well be the surface of the sun to us right now.
It's going to be a long winter, I think.
Last Five
1. Down on Rodeo - Lindsay Buckingham*
2. Dance hall days - Wang Chung
3. Not about to lose - Ron Sexsmith
4. Love is a place - Metric
5. Underneath days - Bob Mould
8 comments:
It's below -50 again with the windchill but the schools are open today (Tuesday). Why is that? What other factors are involved?
Ya know, it's a bit nippy here this evening, it actually dropped to somewhere around 10-15 and I had to wear a jacket. I'm understanding how Lisa became so accustomed to the heat that anything under 30 seemed a little cool. There's nowhere near our front door to hang jackets, people wear them so rarely.
Yeah, i know you're swearing on me. I might me singing a different tune come 50C though.
I suspect I know what factor is involved, but I'm going to refrain from mentioning it on the blog. If you want to know, drop me a line.
And Mireille, I always knew you had a cruel streak, but coming here and complaining about being cold when it's 10C is a new level....
"Yes, it's profanity level cold"
Now that is a good line. Have to remember that one.
wow, crazy coldness.
Nice music choice, I love Ronnie Sexsmith.
One question : I've been reading for a little while now (since I may be joining the ranks in order to make the numbers swell up there) and what kind of outerwear does one need in this kind of cold?
Surely not just an ordinary winter coat. What do you and your girlfriend wear for protection from the cold on days like these?
My wife is amused to be a girlfriend again...;)
And no, you can't wear ordinary winter coats up. You need cold weather gear. Our Woods coats are rated to about -70 (and have fur-trimmed hoods, which is very important). Our boots are rated to about -100. And the gloves are rated to about -70. We also have scarves, stocking hats and face masks. You don't mess around with cold weather clothing. You spend the money because frost bite sucks, but that's still better than what comes after that.
In St. John's/Mount Pearl (if you live in Newfoundland) I recommend going to the Army/Navy store They regularly supply people moving to Nunavut. But there are places online you can buy these things.
It's very important you buy them before moving here. If you buy this stuff up here you will pay an arm and a leg.
Wow. I was thinking Labrador City cold was tough but -50. That is just crazy. No wonder you were so pissed off when someone unplugged you battery a while ago.
ARG!
Peter
I find that my sealskin kamiks are still too cold for me (maybe I need a better inner slipper made with caribou skin) but my sealskin mitts are the BEST! They are warmer than any synthetic mitts I have every tried.
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