How cold is it?
Forum rules
- This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
- Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
- Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
- Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
- nyker
- Posts: 3235
- Joined: 12/5/2007
- 14ers: 58
- 13ers: 25
- Trip Reports (69)
How cold is it?
There are some fronts moving in around the US. Wondering how cold it is by you or the coldest its been?
Tonight in upstate NY temps in residential areas have been down to -28F, winds 15-20mph lower down to 30-35mph higher up earlier, then on the summits -38F with gusts to 40-45mph+ making wind chills around -80F, which is the coldest in quite some time around here.
Tonight in upstate NY temps in residential areas have been down to -28F, winds 15-20mph lower down to 30-35mph higher up earlier, then on the summits -38F with gusts to 40-45mph+ making wind chills around -80F, which is the coldest in quite some time around here.
-
- Posts: 94
- Joined: 8/7/2022
- 14ers: 26 3
- 13ers: 4
- Trip Reports (0)
Re: How cold is it?
It was roughly -25 with -45 windchill in the front range area a month or two ago that missed upstate NY area. Little bit up north in WY it was -75 wind chill.
Re: How cold is it?
I live in Grand Junction and the cold air missed there as it only dropped down to 8. Where I used to live in Craig though it hit -42 at the official weather station, but some friends reported -50 on the outskirts of town. These were without the windchill.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
-
- Posts: 162
- Joined: 5/10/2020
- 14ers: 34
- 13ers: 14
- Trip Reports (0)
Re: How cold is it?
Mount Washington apparently recorded the lowest windchill ever in the us today at -108.
- Ed_Groves
- Posts: 142
- Joined: 6/6/2019
- 14ers: 25
- 13ers: 11
- Trip Reports (4)
Re: How cold is it?
I saw that yesterday. Pretty wild.
The coldest ever recorded in Kansas City, MO was -23 with wind chills more than 60 degrees below zero. This occurred on December 22nd and 23rd in 1989. At the time I had not switched to an IT career yet and I was a dock supervisor for Roadway Express trucking company. I worked over 12 hour shifts both nights with other supervisors and crews on the dock with open doors. Beards were frozen in ice from our breath and the dock workers spent quite a bit of time warming up in the bathrooms. We supervisors were supposed to keep people working to get the freight moving and keep production up, but most of us didn't have the heart to tell them to get out of the bathrooms. We were just as cold as they were.
"Education is the process of moving from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty." (Utvich)
- blazintoes
- Posts: 322
- Joined: 9/4/2012
- 14ers: 58 58
- 13ers: 327 3 73
- Trip Reports (16)
Re: How cold is it?
That's likely the lowest wind chill ever recorded in the United States since meteorologists began calculating wind chills, said Brian Brettschneider, an Alaskan climate scientist.
Mt. Washington is an overachiever. Highest wind and chill. Crawled and stood up there with 85mph winds.
- Attachments
-
- B441BDE4-FED4-4FD6-ACA3-D02B053AA535.jpeg (296.95 KiB) Viewed 865 times
- Ed_Groves
- Posts: 142
- Joined: 6/6/2019
- 14ers: 25
- 13ers: 11
- Trip Reports (4)
Re: How cold is it?
This is true. I have seen that sign myself. I had just awakened this morning and didn't see the "lowest wind-chill ever" in the statement.blazintoes wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:56 amThat's likely the lowest wind chill ever recorded in the United States since meteorologists began calculating wind chills, said Brian Brettschneider, an Alaskan climate scientist.
Mt. Washington is an overachiever. Highest wind and chill. Crawled and stood up there with 85mph winds.
"Education is the process of moving from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty." (Utvich)
Re: How cold is it?
At an official weather station/observatory, yes.
The windchill on the first winter ascent of Denali (which is in the book -148) calculates out to be -130 on the new wind chill calculation (and much less using the old). There's no official weather station or observatory there though.
The -108 is still very impressive though.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
-
- Posts: 1727
- Joined: 9/28/2006
- Trip Reports (8)
Re: How cold is it?
I've been out in -20F and that was pretty bad.
Coldest I've ever actually been was ice climbing in New Hampshire, -10F.
Water seeps from the rock under pressure even when it's that cold, so there's liquid water that soaks your gloves and jacket and freezes.
The rope got caught in a puddle, then froze solid.
My friend on lead was out of sight and kept pulling the rope to tell me to start but I couldn't feel it since the rope wasn't moving.
Meanwhile I wouldn't start because the rope was still loose and I had no screws or anything.
After like 30 minutes of the coldest I've ever been, running in place on this little ledge, he finally pops over the edge. He had to rap down on what was left of the rope and then try to chop the rope out of the ice without cutting it.
God, what a mess.
Coldest I've ever actually been was ice climbing in New Hampshire, -10F.
Water seeps from the rock under pressure even when it's that cold, so there's liquid water that soaks your gloves and jacket and freezes.
The rope got caught in a puddle, then froze solid.
My friend on lead was out of sight and kept pulling the rope to tell me to start but I couldn't feel it since the rope wasn't moving.
Meanwhile I wouldn't start because the rope was still loose and I had no screws or anything.
After like 30 minutes of the coldest I've ever been, running in place on this little ledge, he finally pops over the edge. He had to rap down on what was left of the rope and then try to chop the rope out of the ice without cutting it.
God, what a mess.
- Carl_Healy
- Posts: 271
- Joined: 7/29/2020
- 14ers: 19 3
- 13ers: 50 1 3
- Trip Reports (4)
- Contact:
Re: How cold is it?
The coldest I've ever been is -35° F working on the North Slope of Alaska and I swear everything below 0° F "feels" the same.
The only real difference is the secondary stuff, like -30°F you'll have frost form inside your vehicle's windows even when the defrosters are on full when at -10°F you might not.
Obviously frostbite times differ the colder it gets but once your extremities get numb it's not like you can feel the difference. Then the only difference is time.
The only real difference is the secondary stuff, like -30°F you'll have frost form inside your vehicle's windows even when the defrosters are on full when at -10°F you might not.
Obviously frostbite times differ the colder it gets but once your extremities get numb it's not like you can feel the difference. Then the only difference is time.
If you can't run, you walk
If you can't walk, you crawl
If you can't crawl, you find someone to carry you
If you can't walk, you crawl
If you can't crawl, you find someone to carry you
-
- Posts: 115
- Joined: 5/5/2022
- 14ers: 43 1
- 13ers: 27 3
- Trip Reports (0)
Re: How cold is it?
Got down to around 0 a few times this week in Southern Michigan. Coldest it’s been all winter. Shaping up to be the warmest winter in my memory. Supposed to be above average now until March. Typically this time of year we have highs around 30. 35 today. Have only gotten about 19” of snow. Boring
Re: How cold is it?
I respectfully disagree, or at least my experience is different. Once it starts dropping way below zero, it seems the effect or misery level is exponential. At our old house the coldest we got was -48 (actual temp, not wind chill) and zero would feel really warm after that. Even -10 would feel pleasantly warm after it drops into the -40s.Carl_Healy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 2:39 pm The coldest I've ever been is -35° F working on the North Slope of Alaska and I swear everything below 0° F "feels" the same.
I find keeping warm to be very easy at zero (in fact when I'm working hard breaking trail I even sweat), but not when it's way below zero. If I really bundle up I can still stay reasonably comfortable down to a -50 wind chill, especially while moving, but after that it's really hard for me to keep warm even no matter how hard I bundle up (and I have a pretty high tolerance to cold too).
This is also true of camping, but since you're not moving, my temperature tolerance is lower. I can stay nice and toasty at zero, but I have spend some cold nights with at least some shivering while camping when it's in the -20s, even with a warm sleeping bag.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.