As the news and weather broadcasts were filled with horror stories from the frozen and snow-surfeited North of our country, I was congratulating myself on escaping it all in Dixie. Right until I found myself in the mid-South, Memphis, where the TV stations were talking about “polar” weather in the South and Memphis was undergoing an ice-storm with roads like skating rinks and one local paper with one word in big all-caps for its front page headline: “FROZEN.”
Share the misery and see if it helps. (Our friend Miggy in Miami is even welcome to share his warm-weather smugness.)
How’s the weather where you are, and what are you doing to cope?
Hi, Mr. Ayoob!
We’re in southeast Louisiana here and it’s been in the lower 30’s the last few nights and in the 50’s during the day. It’s supposed to be in the 70’s this weekend but rainy. I’m ready for more sunshine myself. Stay warm!
Chad
Dearest Mas:
No record breaking cold temps down here in Miami. Just a drop to the low 40s in my area. But I am guessing I am getting older and my biological thermostat cannot handle even that.
Then again the only piece of winter gear I have is a wool cap. Shorts, long Sleeved T Shirt and tennis shoes are not what you may call “cold weather clothing.”
Near Buffalo, -30 wind chills today, but bright sunshine. We’ll get through it, like every other year.
Well, it was -11° F last night. Other than that, it’s great… ah hell, who am I kidding, IT SUCKS HERE IN WISCONSIN! %&$#!!!
Mas, we just hit -2 here in North Carolina on Thursday night. It actually makes the snow we had earlier easier to drive on – drier and less Crisco-ey. Big issue for many around here is keeping the water pipes from freezing. Don’t get smug with Mother Nature – she will kick you in the crotch if you don’t stay sharp. “Know where the attack will come and have a counter in place”, I once heard from a smart guy I know…preparedness is key. Stay Warm!
Sam & Bonnie
Well, my motorcycle ride home from work down here in Orlando the last two nights was actually a bit nippy. I even added the last layer into my bike jacket.
It was -2 in my part of Virginia Thursday night with 6″ of snow on the ground. It’s 6 degrees now with more snow, sleet, & freezing rain on the way later today. I’m staying home as much as possible, catching up on things around the house, resting, reading, & eating warm meals. It’s a good time to do some reloading, but I don’t feel like it. I run hot water through the plumbing from time to time when it gets down into the single digits to keep the pipes from freezing up. I also have a snow blower & a 4WD if I really need to go anywhere. As long as we don’t have a power outage, everything is pretty cozy indoors. Outdoors, it’s another story, but I still have my down parka, insulated snow boots, & other cold weather gear from when I used to live up north.
Orlando is colder than a Mother-in-Law’s kiss!
We scratched down the chimneys and put more wood under the eaves before this cold spell hit. Sub-zero in February is unusual in Southern Illinois where we expect mud more than snow. I never cease to be amazed by the number of trees we can put up the chimney.
Well, Uncle Mas, the Weather Channel says it will be 72 here at your house today and 80 tomorrow. We COULD be out back testing something! However, it is also going to get colder again…just in time for your return. And it looks like it will be a cold and damp class this week. Your favorite! (Sorry Boss.) John and the Blaze, on the other hand, need to have their heads examined. THEY are heading into the deep freezer for the S&W match.
Yesterday I was asking one of our distributor reps about the availability of a gun for someone and he said that it will likely be available “when hell freezes over.” I replied, “Well, so you’re saying I should have it pretty soon, then?”
Have a great time with the gang in Memphis and a safe drive home!
I was in Memphis while in the Navy in the 80’s, and an inch of snow shut the place down for three days. Wreaked havoc for emergency vehicles back then. So I can easily believe ice would be a real problem. Just a couple hundred miles north where I am now (and grew up)? Inches of snow and ice and we just carry on. Yeah, the inept still manage to get out, but we just drive around them and whatever unlucky soul happened to be around them at the time.
Good luck, grab some BBQ and catch some blues!
Shorts, long Sleeved T Shirt and tennis shoes are not what you may call “cold weather clothing.”
Sure they are. Everybody in coats and mukluks will be cold. You’ll be comfortably numb.
Last night, here in central Texas, we went out for pizza. I wore a sweater.
But I know we’ll get ours eventually.
It’s been in the 60’s and even low 70’s here a few times in February, mid 20’s to 40’s the rest of the time. Typical weather for western South Dakota this time of year. People have been out golfing between snow flurries. Feeling sorry for those folks in New England, but on the other hand, Massachusetts gave us decades of noted underwater motorist and late night bay swimming enthusiast Ted Kennedy, so TS for them.
The trouble with being anywhere around I-40 is that it always rains first, then freezes. Those people are chilled to the bone at +40 though. I’ve bow hunted deer at -20 so I don’t take them too seriously. You know the road is getting icy because some idiot (or more likely, several) will not turn off the cruise control and go for a wild ride. Hopefully not when passing you.
I’m not relaxing though. Got the snowblower full of gas and standing by. Ol’ Mom Nature can do anything she wants any time she desires.
You’ll never believe this Mas, but here in the beautiful Bitter Root Valley (The Banana Belt of Montana), we’ve been having weather up into the 40s, 50s, and even one 60 plus, during the daytime, and down to the teens, and twenties at night.
Really glad that most of you all are sharing what we usually have during the winter season, and we are basking in spring like temperatures instead.
Here in Hinsdale outside Chicago -4 F only and they are threatening to close school…really? Wow. I guess I spent too much time in Quebec but anyway I don’t prefer cold weather. I sure love my Nike Stay Warm long underwear/running gear…I use for a good part of the year and have been blessed without getting sick. Good for Texas too when the air conditioning is too strong and can’t be turned down. June will be here all too soon!
Here in Lewis County Washington (home of the Firearms Academy of Seattle) it is: Clear, blue skies, and about 50 degrees. Probably too cold for Miggy…
Spending the winter in La Quinta, California and the weather here is spectacular. Clear blue and bright sunny skies most days with very low humidity. Beautiful mountain and desert scenery, but alas, it is a political climate that I do not fit into very well. (Not the desert valley, just Cally.
I hail from western PA, ad it has been one brutal winter there.
No worries in Alaska, Mas. 20’s-30’s with lots of blue sunshine and no snow to speak of. While the rest of you southrons are freezing, we’ve been heading out to the range to “perform the indicated response.”
Nothing is new as I peer out of my picture window, watching the snow fall and the temp hovering right around 15. I am having serious jealousy pangs towards individuals who live in warmer climes and can SHOOT OUTSIDE! I can go to my local indoor range, I know, I know – not the same and we all know it. I am going to try to keep my initial trip to the range under 200 rounds and two pistols, but I don’t know if that will work – can anybody give me some tips on how to temper this?
Here in the People’s Democratic Republic, Central Md. has been deep below freezing all but one day since Valentine’s Day. BWI airport temps broke all-time records, down to 3°f.
6-8″ of powder Gorebull warming and no melting at all. Coldest I’ve seen it in 50 years. Dealing with it? Lots of blankets and coffee/coca.
Beautiful. Been doing lawn work and getting a garden ready for planting in the coming week.
The highs are in the 60’s and 70’s in this area of Texas. I’m thinking of hitting a local lake for a little fishing tomorrow or driving out to the shooting range. On the down side, my backyard is a muddy mess (clay) and is pushing the front yard into the road.
Mas, great to see you at the Tac conference in Memphis. Although everyone was slip sliding away, it was a successful event. Thanks for coming and I appreciate you signing my two books.
Regards,
John Barb
-10 degrees below zero her in NH, but enjoying the farm, and the snowmobiling. Hoping to get a day in the teens or twenties when we will hit the range. In the meantime, coyote and criminal hunting makes life certainly worth living…
Last Friday morning, 0900, as I drove to my group cycling class it was -14F. But we had a heat wave today, reaching 27F. I swear this is the truth…today I felt too warm in my car and at the local library, having adapted to single digits over the last month!
5 below zero this morning in central Connecticut. Probably doesn’t seem so bad to a Granthamite, but this is about as cold as it ever gets in southern New England! The oil truck can’t get up my driveway, so I’ve had to turn the thermostat down to 60, and may have to start buying diesel 5 gallons at a time to keep the furnace going. My feelings are neatly summed up by the video that my sister sent me this evening, “The Grounds for Violence”:
http://youtu.be/MoYrxmxFnio
Hmmm. Yes, winter has the Ability to harm us, it has the Opportunity to harm us, and is manifesting the intent to harm us, so Jeopardy is in place too. AOJ! We are now weapons-free on winter!
Yes Sir, Welcome, to Memphis, and the ‘mild winters’ of the south! I’m a couple hours northwest of you, and we had done real well until about last Sunday, when we started paying for our having enjoyed a mild winter so far. Since then, polar like conditions! I’ve been nursing a case of cabin fever since, and thinking I will definitely head to the (indoor!) range Monday to get rid of some of the frustration. Had just built a new AR, and was so looking forward to getting it out and dialing it in, but it isn’t to be, I guess, for a while. Oh, well, the 1911s will have to suffice for now!
Stay warm, and don’t eat too much Bar-B-Cue while you’re in Memphis!
Rick
You can winter here in sunny Cape Cod if you like snow. Lots of snow.
In Alabama traveling to and from work in the ice rink last night and this morning. We nurses have to be at work regardless of the weather. Hope you are safe and warm.
70 and sunny today for the Appleseed near Castro Valley CA.
The weather is one of the few good things about this state.
Its cc’cold in NE TN to Officer Ayoob, if I could find a way to post pics from up here in the mountains NE almost to NC.
You know its cold when the ice turns Blue!
Semper Fi, D’doc
Sitting here on the outskirts of the Peoples Republic of Philadelphia with the snow having changed over to freezing rain after depositing a base layer 4 inches thick. Should be a hell of a mess by tomorrow morning. Plus, the bays at the range that hosts the local IDPA matches look like a winter wonderland – no match this month!
FROZEN…….
Here in Quartzsite, Arizona, it’s been 75°-80° every day for the last couple of weeks, with overnight lows down to 50°! The snow has all been on TV…
Uh, let’s see. Here in East Texas, I went out this evening and it was about 76. What am I doing to cope? Well, I added some ice to my soda.
Must be 80 below now in central Arizona, with sleet, hail, deep snow, and howling winds. Yep, typical February here. Coyotes freezing solid, bullets bouncing off them like they were steel silhouettes. You all probably wouldn’t like it here, even if you could make it through the snowdrifts.
What am I doing to cope here in Chicago? I’m shivering.
Around 0°F and below at night, double digit wind chills, and snow piled on ice covered with snow. Shoveling, scraping, or otherwise maintaining my driveway and my mother’s every few days or so while simultaneously doing 15-20 extra hours at work each week due to people calling off because they can’t get in and I can. Not a big tragedy really, just coping and looking forward to our first warming trend!
4 hours to clean the snow off my roof yesterday here in Tilton New Hampshire and I woke up to 5 more inches of snow. there si about 5 feet of it on my lawn.
Down here in Florida dampness kills you and my thermometer at the house has had its share of 30 degree mornings lately. Running my propane heaters off the chain especially at night.
Just keeping warm and glad I installed additional heating to my home being propane heaters, I have a newer house however the high efficiency heat pumps are just not designed to heat well when the Florida weather drops below 40 degrees.
Thankfully it’s warmed up in Florida and I am outside again enjoying this weather.
I had -30 Friday morning. Plugged my truck in, but it didn’t start. Had to wait until about 10 am, when the temp came up to -15 before I could get in to work. Wife’s Jeep wouldn’t start, either. It has a new battery now, so that should help. We really got blind sided by this winter. Got to love northern Michigan.
Here in Northern Illinois its been about -10 with 25 mph winds, so the wind chill is around 35 below. We managed to fit in our .22r silhouette match at our club on a Sat. when it warmed up to 34 degrees. Long underwear, woolen socks and Snow Pac boots do the trick, but try running and gunning.
Mas, you’re lucky you have an experienced winter driver!
It has been absolutely gorgeous up here on the Pacific coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Instead of our usual cold and copious rain, we’ve had a lot of sunshine and temps in the mid 50’s to low 60’s during the day, which is unheard of for February. As for coping with that, I’m enjoying it right now by going out in shirtsleeves with a light sweatshirt for the evening.
Unfortunately, we’ll be paying the piper come this Summer because we have hardly any snow pack in the mountains, which means the farmers will be hating life. I also expect we’ll have a really bad fire season on top of that. All said and done, I would much rather have the cold, windy, rainy days here on the coast with lots of snow in the mountains. I’m pretty sure the folks down in California will be paying the price too, as their drought is expected to worsen considerably due to the crazy weather patterns of late.
Yeah, yeah…just call me Debbie Downer. I prefer to look at the consequences of things, even if they’re pleasant for me at the present time.
thirty below this AM warmed up to fifteen below this afternoon w/15mph wind. Getting basic cattle chores done and loading some 40-60 ammo, and putting more wood on the fire!
– 20 here in northern Minnesota. A day above zero is a warm treat up here!
Here in NE Ohio (Cleveland), we set 5 new record lows over 7 days. Normally it’s in the 30s but the only time we’ve seen that is when it’s been -30 with the wind chill! Been kept busy many days shoveling snow out of the drive. Otherwise doing more dry firing and reloading. Got out last night for a local practical pistol match at an indoor range and finally got to try out a new to me S&W 1076.
It’s 30 here in Connecticut, that’s warm compared to the -2 it’s been the last week!
Here in the Western suburbs of Portland, Oregon, all week we have had beautiful weather. Bright sunny skies, highs in the upper 50s and low 60s, and lows down around 30 to 35. Almost no wind.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you it always rains here.
Here in northern NJ we don’t have as much snow as last year. Just cold temperatures. However, I notice that the colder it gets, the more the sun shines, so that is a plus. As long as the electricity stays on we’ll be fine.
Two years ago I wanted to test an Army surplus sleeping bag system. You have three bags combined for the coldest weather. So I slept out in my backyard one night. It was 16 degrees F when I went out to sleep, and 11 degrees in the morning when I woke up. The sleeping bags worked great!
There are some good things about cold weather. No bugs, no mud and no sweat. A lot of powdery snow makes everything look better, especially evergreen trees and hills. Once in a while ice will freeze on the branches of trees. When the sun hits the ice it sparkles. Makes for spectacular photos.
It helps me to get outside to avoid cabin fever. Last week here in Michigan I played hockey with my Golden Retriever out on the lake and rode my bicycle 6 miles to my office in sub-zero temps. As my Yooper buddy says “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.”
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