Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Coldest Weather I've been in

Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
I guise my mother was lucky, growing up in Iowa. When it got that cold, my Grandfather would hook the Clydesdales up to the slay, and go and get the girls from school. Wish I could have seen and heard that, slaybells and all!

That would be a great memory to have. I have fantasies about going up north and having a place like that. My wife does not like cold and snow. But my Dad's ranch in CO is awesome and he has enough animals for the grandkids and a river to fish. I'm bringing my oldest granddaughter there this summer. It's almost God's country. That's still Montana - even though it's a little rougher.
 

wquiles

Familiar Face
Messages
72
Location
DFW, TX
For me the coldest was when I lived in Indiana - temperatures stayed at around zero F, but with the windchill factor, they got into the -20F range. That was very cold for me!

Here in Texas the coldest seems to be around 20F or so. Then again, summers go past 100F, so there is a trade-off as always :eek:
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
That would be a great memory to have. I have fantasies about going up north and having a place like that. My wife does not like cold and snow. But my Dad's ranch in CO is awesome and he has enough animals for the grandkids and a river to fish. I'm bringing my oldest granddaughter there this summer. It's almost God's country. That's still Montana - even though it's a little rougher.

They will have fun here! Remember, Colorado is Gods country, why do you think sunsets are Bronco Orange?
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
Bloody hell, that's an unsavoury remark, straight after what has happened.

What on earth is wrong with you. Would you have felt the same with people making sick remarks like that about 9/11 the same day?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Stand By

One Too Many
Messages
1,741
Location
Canada
I've just returned from 2 weeks in Mexico where it was a delightful 28C every day - we completely missed the ice storm that crippled the power grid in Toronto while we were away and plunged our home in to darkness with no power for 3 days (!). We've returned to -20C at nights ... <shiver> but at least the lights and heat were back on !!!

-43C was the coldest I've ever felt, on my first winter out here in 1996. You don't forget that kind of RAW cold - it leaves an indelible impression. I ran for all I was worth up University Avenue to get to the hospital where I worked, with the one primal urge keeping me going: "Shelter! Shelter! Shelter!" Desperate. Only felt that once here since then ... and IMO, there's a stark difference between -30C and -40C. You know it when you feel it.

The older I get, the more I've been able to invest in good flight jackets and gear (Irvin, B-3 and C-3s) - but the trouble is, I feel my tolerance for the raw and bitter cold diminshes just a little with each winter (and Winter is my favourite seaon) - to the point that I'm now thinking of finding a great condition, original USAF N-3 parka to go OVER my B-6 !!! I'm wearing my Irvins and B-3 and C-3s and am just warm enough - but Winter has only just begun !!!
 

archbury918

One of the Regulars
Messages
223
Location
wisconsin
I can recall one of the dumbest things I ever did was in the extreme cold.
It was -45F, bright and sunny but dead still, near the upper Michigan border. We mounted our snowmobiles to grab breakfast across a 2 mile stretch of frozen lake.
Since we all have high performance sleds, going 120mph + is no problem. We started racing each other across the lake....NONE of us wearing our helmets!
When we got to the lodge to eat it wasn't long before we noticed large white splotches on our faces. All of us got deep frostbite on chins, cheeks, and ears.
We estimated the windchill at minus 250F at the speeds we were traveling.
To this day, I have no hair follicles on my chin......
 
Last edited:
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
Can't complain, but shoveling and working outside at my moms house in Pennsylvania has been from teens to 40°s.
Gotta say I love the N-1. Bit I wonder how it would fair nearer to 0°? It sure knocks out the wind too.
 

archbury918

One of the Regulars
Messages
223
Location
wisconsin
Gotta say I love the N-1. Bit I wonder how it would fair nearer to 0°? It sure knocks out the wind too.

I'm guessing it would fare well. I sometimes wear my issue MA-1 when its below freezing. Its warm enough to go from car to store, etc. I've yet to get the N-1. It would have to be surplus tho....I just can't see spending several hundred for the repros out there including my former AF issue.
We just don't have any good Army/Navy stores like I did growing up.
 
Messages
10,181
Location
Pasadena, CA
I'm guessing it would fare well. I sometimes wear my issue MA-1 when its below freezing. Its warm enough to go from car to store, etc. I've yet to get the N-1. It would have to be surplus tho....I just can't see spending several hundred for the repros out there including my former AF issue.
We just don't have any good Army/Navy stores like I did growing up.

Tell me. Our entire wardrobe in junior high was from "Jim's Army & Navy". Most stuff was like $1-$3.
I've looked for original N-1 jackets in my size and nothing. But the ones I did find were 2x what I paid for this or more.
 
Messages
13,672
Location
down south
My apologies. Poor choice of words to convey my meaning but I assure you no insensitivity was intended. Again, I apologize.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2
 

rippsnorter

New in Town
Messages
45
Location
Olympia, WA, USA
Coldest for me was -40F out in Indiana when I was about 10.

There is however some debate about it, my father saying that it was -40 plus the windchill which put it at 60 below, and my remembering that the 40 below was with the windchill. Darned cold whatever it was. As a kid though, I of course, loved it.
 

cw3pa

A-List Customer
Messages
336
Location
Kingsport, Tenn.
During the winter of 1976 while on a government funded trip to Ft. Wainwright, Alaska our team spent a night "camping". We were told the temp. with the wind chill was -75. Cold enough to cause the dry cell batteries in my flashlight to stop working. I had to warm the flashlight in my sleeping bag before it would function.
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
During the winter of 1976 while on a government funded trip to Ft. Wainwright, Alaska our team spent a night "camping". We were told the temp. with the wind chill was -75. Cold enough to cause the dry cell batteries in my flashlight to stop working. I had to warm the flashlight in my sleeping bag before it would function.

That reminds me of living in northern Norway where several times in very cold temperatures my mobile phone stopped working altogether. And I'm pretty sure my phone's battery was permanently buggered one time when I was outdoors in seriously cold temps - the thing was never the same afterwards and couldn't hold a charge.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,293
Messages
3,078,154
Members
54,244
Latest member
seeldoger47
Top