Arctic dipping south

[ny biker]

My space heater just blew the circuit breaker. I have the thermostat for the heat pump set to 66 in order to keep it from running aux heat non-stop, and now I can't run the space heater. It's down to 63 on the other side of the room from the thermostat. My home simply was not made for this kind of cold.

I already had insulated window coverings on all the windows and a clear vinyl shower curtain over the balcony door. Last night I tacked a fleece blanket over the balcony door, and this morning I hung a fleece throw across the doorway to the kitchen, which is usually cold in winter.

I cleared the snow off the car and shoveled around it enough to get it out of the parking space. There is ice on the windshield and back windows. I will deal with that later -- my fingertips were hurting from the cold and I was only outside for about 20 minutes.

[Crankin]

I wore full nordic ski gear to push the snow away, at 8 degrees. Didn't heat up enough, like real shoveling!
I think I am developing Raynaud's in my fingers. I noticed this on my last cold ride of the year. Today, I had on my monster x country ski mittens, wool liners, and a chemical heater. My index and middle fingers were hurting like hell because it wasn't hard enough work to heat me up. This usually goes away after a few minutes and it's getting worse. NOOOOOOOO!
The rest of me was fine. I even wore my Terry fleece balaclava that I've only used once for riding and it lasted about 10 minutes before I got too hot.

[katluvr]

I am so sorry for anyone putting up with this winter, snow and arctic temps. I am pretty whiny with my cold FL temps. Not used to running heaters (no real functioning heat in this FL home) and wearing so many clothes. But it could be worse....most of you up north are having it. Sending warm thoughts!

[tulip]

I'm keeping my heat pump at 64F and its having trouble keeping up. I'm bundled up inside, with a hat and two sweaters. It's not so bad, and when I get too cold, I drop down for some pushups. I decided to keep my meager supply of firewood for an emergency, so I haven't been running my wood stove. We only got a couple of inches of snow, but it was on top of a layer of ice and it's been in the low 20s all day so nothing has melted. I would like to have my studded tires so I could go for a bike ride.

[Helene2013]

It's really cold in Montreal too. Heatpump is no longer working under this cold as it is the electrical system that kicks in. I just finished my workout in the basement and I'm so hot! After shower I will be getting chillier from cooling down and I'll do a nice fire (wood) and we'll all be toasty and warm. ahhhhhhh I love winter. I'm a winter person. But not this freezing cold dipping we've seen for a good month now, except for a little relief of a few days.

[Catrin]

Dipping below zero again for the next few days, windchills well below zero and they are talking about about a -15 air temp next week..... All I have to say is thank God for the budget plan I have with my electric company!

[Crankin]

I can't get warm, although my house is fine, at 68-69 degrees. I have not been feeling well, but it's not enough to really keep me down. Stomach was bad on Monday, it's better, but not right. I keep thinking my lungs are affected, but I'm not coughing, sneezing, don't have a fever. I do feel achy. For about a week before this, I had a lot of allergic stuff, my eyes were itching and I discovered I had to change my contact lens solution; all of a sudden my eyes were killing me, itching, crusty and I was a wreck. I've been wearing contacts for 35 years and i don't even think about it! I am sure some of it is stress with the upcoming job transition, plus DH is away (in San Diego ) this week. My exercise today was shoveling snow. I could not bring myself to get on the trainer or go to the gym. The cold just seems to be bothering me, and I love winter!
Hopefully, I'll wake up and feel better, but I am going to boot camp no matter what.

[skhill]

It's in the mid-40s in my house, even though the thermostat is set in the 60s. The joys of an old house! And I've given up on trying to get my car to run when it's this cold. Wish I were brave enough to try the bike in the partially cleared streets, but that'd be even colder than walking. At least my pipes haven't frozen (yet). But I think my dog might be a bit hypothermic-- she's willing to sleep under a blanket and she's had some icky diarrhea (tmi, I know). BRRRR but it's supposed to be warmer each of the next 3 days before it gets colder again.

[ny biker]

I put a thermometer on the floor near my thermostat last night. It is showing the temperature is 5 degrees lower down there. No wonder my feet are always so cold. (The HVAC vents in this condo are near/on the ceiling.

[emily_in_nc]

I am so so so thankful to be in Corpus Christi this month! I would have a hard time even tolerating the cold up in my old 'hood of Orange County, North Carolina, which has not been nearly as cold as what most of you are dealing with (tho' it's been much colder than normal there as well).

We have been having 60s and even 70s here during the day and only dipping into the 50s at night. Today the latest front is finally coming through and temperatures have dropped from 72 to the 50s with a STRONG northern breeze. Supposed to hit 39 tonight and only low 40s tomorrow. But then 60 on Saturday, so it's a short cold wave. Still, it's gonna feel pretty darn chilly since we've gotten used to wearing shorts again!

I do not like winter one bit.

[SheFly]

Just arrived at our house in Maine. Temp is currently 2, and headed towards -17 tonight. Tomorrow's high is predicted to be 8, with windchills feeling like -35
It's gonna be cold for our fat bike race on Sunday!

Hope everyone's pipes are all set, and people are keeping warm.

SheFly

[skhill]

I hate this winter. My pipes froze again last night, I'm becoming a regular customer of the plumber.

But it's supposed to hit 20F today, 30F tomorrow, and 40F Sunday, before it crashes again. Thinking longingly of Tucson and the So Arizona desert...

Hang in there, everyone!

[ny biker]

Last night I asked a local meteorologist on twitter if there was any end in sight. He said we were looking at 10-14 more days of this.

I can handle below-average temps if they would just stay above 20 degrees or so at night. The prolonged single digits and teens are causing the problems with the heat pump. This morning it ran non-stop with the aux heat clicking on and off every couple of minutes for an hour, and that was just to maintain a temperature of 66. Of course 66 at the thermostat means 62-63 in other parts of the condo and 60 or lower at floor level. I've started wearing Uggs around the house because my LL Bean shearling lined slippers with extra shearling insoles are not able to keep my feet from being ice blocks.

I'm also finding that my car is having problems accelerating to highway speeds, especially if the heat is on. So I have to leave the heat off.

My office, on the other hand, is very warm. I'm planning to go the the fitness center here after work tonight. It's usually Africa-hot there. Normally I can't stand to be that hot when I'm trying to exercise, but in this weather I'll make an exception.

[Crankin]

I would not be happy if I was having heat/pipes/car problems in this weather, as the weather itself can cause enough stress. Spending the $ for new insulation, roof, windows, and doors has made my house so tight that nothing escapes, so I don't feel so bad now about all the work we had to do, despite how I felt while we were doing it.
Yesterday it got up to 21 and it felt "warm." Today, I just finished my workout on the trainer, as the high is going to be around 16 and there's not enough snow for snow shoeing. Local hiking wouldn't warm me up enough! Tomorrow is going to be around 30, with snow showers, so I will definitely do something outside. But then, we are plunging back into the deep freeze for about a week. Some little snows forecast, but now I am obsessing about there not being any snow in Stowe, VT for my x country ski trip.

[skhill]

We finally got decent snow to go along with the cold! Maybe 3 or 4 inches, hard to tell with how it's blown around. And it's gloriously warm, mid-20s. Between the dog and hiking to the gym and choir practice, I've walked almost 10 miles in fresh snow today, and my hip flexors are letting me know about it.

It's supposed to be the coldest yet of the season on Tuesday, so I'm waiting until after that to turn the water back on as the pipes will just freeze again. I'm really feeling for what the folks in WVa went through; at least here I can go to the gym and have a shower and fill up water jugs at a friend's house. What they've gone through is so much worse.