Checkin' in

[Emily]

Hehe. You're a true Minnesotan!

[Falena Porter]

Thanks! I’d wondered if it was to stop the cupboard doors become frozen shut lol.

[Overcome]

Currently is snowing horizontally outside ! It never snows in December and they predicted rain for today….. it’s not sticking it’s way too warm for that, about 45 degrees. It will be 5 degrees here tomorrow though as the storm coming in. That’s colder that it ever has been in December but not abnormal temp for February.

[Emily]

lol Falena. Now THAT would be a predicament!

Oh yeah, Overcome. The sideways snow is always interesting, isn't it?! That makes sense re the temp being more like a Feb temp. I was saying to someone yesterday that this weather and temps are more like January and early February weather than December.

Stay warm!

[Starship]

Bombogenesis! Sounds like a good word for a Balderdash game. Ha! I learned a new word today - thanks for that!

You know, I am realizing how much I have adapted to my tropical environment when Emily says she’s got a HIGH temp of ZERO and my bones immediately start aching at the thought. We are in the 20s as I type, but will be back to the 70s next week.

I’m glad to hear everyone is ok!

Wondering if my plants will survive this spell.

[Emily]

Lol. You can win with that one Star! lol.

Hmm...if your plants are outside...20s is pretty cold. I don't grow loads of stuff outside, so not an expert. But will be interesting to hear. Low 20s would be a hard freeze upper would be light freeze, so outdoor plants might not survive. But I'm sure it also depends on how long it stays that cold, where the plants are, if they're covered or not, etc. Good luck!

[Falena Porter]

I’ve heard that in some places in the States, the wind chill factor makes it feel like minus 47.

Today I heard on the news that there is a major ice storm in Texas.

I hope everyone is safe.

[Emily]

It's been super cold Falena. Mount Washington in New Hampshire actually had wind chills hit -108 (last number I heard last night). That's the highest peak in Northeast US, so known to be brutal, but that's a record...The air temps there were at that point around -45 I think.

All that said, the cold was brutal in New England, with frost quakes and trees cracking from the cold.

The ice storm in TX, I think last numbers I saw yesterday was that there were 500,000 without power. I hope they're getting that resolved. That was a big storm, and stretched over several states, I think up into Tennessee (not sure if they all got the ice).

I sure hope everyone's doing ok too. It's been a pretty brutal winter--and it's not done yet.

[Tulip]

that all sounds really scary i sure hope everyone is ok!

[Falena Porter]

I cannot imagine experiencing anything like that. I sure hope everyone is safe.

Is the cracking of trees in the cold something which would happen in ordinary seasons?

[Emily]

It really depends on how cold it is. Interestingly, here where I live, when it's super cold, the wood in the house pops and cracks really loudly, as the wood contracts. So I expect that it's probably somewhat 'normal' for the trees to crack from the contraction depending on how low the temps go. But I think that it's just those kind of temps just aren't particularly normal, especially in certain parts of the country. Here in winter, we have some days and nights where the temps can be well below 0, with wind chills as cold as -50 or -60 when it's extreme (much more rare). That usually is a few days or nights per winter. We regularly have stretches of subzero (f) temps here in winter, but not as extreme as those.

[Overcome]

It’s so funny because here it has been abnormally warm and mild. We have usually had a blizzard or two and average in the teens, and yes we’ve had some winds this weekend, but nothing like our normal winter. It makes me really nervous about the summer…. We had our first major tornado here … ever, last year.

I do hope the parts of the country experiencing the severe weather are safe!

[Emily]

It is odd, isn't it Overcome? Our winter's been colder and snowier than we've had for a few years. This week we have a warming trend into the 30s. Today we were around 30 for a high, but yesterday morning it was -12 ....

Tornadoes can sure be scary! Hopefully you won't have more and they won't become the norm for your state.