One issue I have had in the cold is that when I open the rear door on my hatchback car, expecting it to stay open when I get it to a certain height, the door disagrees and starts to fall on me. Fortunately, I have not been trapped or decapitated.
Yay! After 54 hours we are no longer below zero. Paying for it with a few inches of snow, but I’ll take it.
DS '20 back to school tomorrow, so far as we know. Several nearby districts still closed because the buses won’t start. Forecast says 52 and rainy Monday. I remain skeptical.
I grew up in Central Wis. My mother kept our house at 61 during the day but turned it up to 63 during the TV watching hours in the evening. Our schools were also kept ‘cool’ because we went into school bundled up, often wearing long underwear, thick socks, many layers. When Carter asked people to turn their thermostats down to 68, we tried to talk my mother into turning our UP to 68. She told us to shut up.
“When Carter asked people to turn their thermostats down to 68, we tried to talk my mother into turning our UP to 68. She told us to shut up.”
@twoinanddone, that made me chuckle. :))
We had a new furnace installed a couple years ago and it’s been very efficient. We usually keep our thermostat no higher than 64 degrees during evening hours and it’s comfortable. At night we keep it at 60 but, with this crazy cold, I had it up to 68 and left it there. DH tried to turn it down a few times but I’d turn it right back up. Didn’t want to risk frozen water lines. Right now, it’s a balmy 6 degrees outside!
Bermuda shorts and ice tea are right around the corner - here’s to 40s and 50s this weekend for a lot of you!
That has to feel warm after all this.
We are officially up to +4! Yes, 48 on Sunday will feel downright balmy!
The Detroit Free Press used the weather channel’s list of Michigan cities and temperatures yesterday
Kalamazoo -14
Battle Creek -13
Lansing -10
Marquette -10
Flint -9
Detroit -9
Grand Rapids -5
Traverse City 0
for a very silly series of social media posts pretending it was scores for the Polar Vortex Invitational golf tournament.
"Kalamazoo is white-hot on the links at 14-under. Battle Creek right on its tail after some clutch drives on the fairways. Lansing & Marquette missed some key putts in the early going and sit 4 strokes back…
"UPDATE [as the temperatures warmed yesterday]: It is utter chaos on the course. The wind is blasting golf balls into the lakes & bunkers. Everyone’s scores are dropping. No one is safe. …
“UPDATE, 2:05 p.m.: This is starting to resemble a U.S. Open leaderboard now. Only two below par now. Anger starting to settle in on the links. … We saw Grand Rapids chuck their clubs into the lake and put on some shorts.”
I can’t link, but you can search for the entire series. Kalamazoo (brrr) ended up victorious, at par. OK, now I’m a parent of a Midwest kid, happy that the temp at his school has soared to zero.
It’s 39 at our house today, was 4 and 5 on Wed. and Thurs. nights. Got 2" of snow yesterday, but I am about to take the dog on a walk. We both need it. Streets are clear.
Gorgeous day here too. Temps still in the 20’s but it’s supposed to be near 50 on Monday and near 60 on Tuesday.
Gotta love New England winters!!
20 yesterday; 40 today. It’s a heat wave! Have the curtains drawn back and faucets shut off. Hearing constantly running water and living in a cave is not for me!
If there’s a storm drain near your house and lots of snow around it, consider shoveling the drain clear, so that flooding chances are reduced.
I guess it has warmed up in the midwest already, but it was 65 and gorgeous in Charlotte today. Everyone was running around in shorts. Hard to believe it was -25 in Madison WI 2 days ago.
It was 42 today, and the snow has been melting steadily. We are no longer struggling to keep our house warm, and I’ve put my extra blanket away.
I’m going to get a T-Shirt saying “I survived the 2019 Chicagoland Polar Vortex”. Underneath it will be a grey direwolf on a white background.
@MWolf. I was joking around about creating similar t-shirt but assume many have made them by now.
Just got back from North Carolina for the weekend. It was 60 and sunny but Chicago wasn’t bad and got back tonight. No broken pipes. I had water going with dripping in two sinks. Going to be great to take my dog for his normal walk tomorrow and not a quick hurry up and make 2 minute walk.