cfntmpn

another vote for Quebec - I had to be in New Hampshire for two weeks and thought it would be romantic for the hubby to join me. We DROVE to Quebec....it was the coldest place I have ever been. I could not get warm - not romantic either! We ended up leaving a spending a couple of days in Vermont - THAT was romantic!

OldSouthernBelle

Yellowstone on snowmobile with DH and two teenaged sons! We all loved it, but since the kids weren't car driving age, it was particularly fun to them, as they were allowed to drive.

The hand warmers and toe warmers on the snowmobiles made all the difference!

The little frozen johns along the way could have used a warmer!!
It brought new meaning to freezing your A...off!

Belle

AuntAnnie

Ok, I live in Minnesota and cold is a given here....it is below zero a lot here in the Winter. I am used to it. I dress for it. Camping in Glacier Park in July and letting my daughter have my good mummy bag and sleeping in her "cute" sleeping bag is the coldest I have ever been. It was like sleeping in a napkin!! When the sun finally peeked out I went to my brother's tent and woke him and forced him to take me to the village for a latte'. My girls and DH were nestled in as snug as bugs and still asleep when we got back. I have upgraded the family gear since then!! (so of course the next trip was to Colorado where it was in the 100's every day and here we are with our new "super warm" gear!! *see my posting on Statia's hottest trip ever; Gunnison Canyon!!)

Cali

We go to NE Minnesota almost every winter (live in Southern CA so we are the opposite of snowbirds who head to the warm temps) and have had some really cold temps. The coldest actual temp I remember was about -40 degrees but have had -50+ wind temperatures. Surprisingly, we really don't mind it - we just make sure we aren't out in the weather too long when it is that cold, but do enjoy sitting by a fire and having a hot drink. For some reason I always feel colder here in S. CA when we have some cool weather but think it is because we don't dress the same way we do in cold weather in MN. We are heading there for the Holidays so I am getting my cold weather clothes all set. Happy Holidays Everyone!!

jetset1

Sandpoint Alaska, 1999. It was March, and I went there on a school conference with my three year old son.
There was a severe blizzard which lasted a full three days, during which time we were at a small motel. One night, after going out for pizza, the door would not unlock, so I had to summon the grizzled lady inkeeper to use her blow torch thing on the door. I had a beat up Suburban to drive around, which, with the icy hills, was rather nervewracking.
It must have been about -20 with wind chill. It felt like a Twilight zone episode.
Our last two nights were spent in a cozy hilltop b&b, eating fresh baked cinnamon rolls at 8 pm, watching satellite tv, and wondering if the plane would make it in to get us out the next day.
I'll never forget the sounds of the blizzard howling all night and the swish of the blowing snow on the roof. It was kind of like The Day after Tomorrow, except in a remote Alaskan village.

elizabeth_reed

I think the lowest temp I've been in is -42 . Worse, perhaps, was the time when the DAYTIME HIGH was -23. Have also experienced windchills to -100. Can't remember having winter-numbed toes because I dress/equip for the weather. (This morning it was -8.)

cd

Glasgow Montana where we lived for three years in the 60's. 40 below zero temps. We did not have a garage so had to plug our car in every night. We did this by placing a light bulb under the hood next to the engine and running the cord to the house.

Daniel_Williams

Hi

I live in Montreal, and it would be here or Quebec City. In mid-winter, can get temps below -20 lasting for weeks (excluding wind chill). Frost bite can be a concern. You know you're in trouble when that Fahrhenheit number is close to that Celsius number.

I'd not experienced such temperature until my early 20s and realized there were some things I didn't know about existing in such temperature...

1. Your nose hairs freeze.
2. Ice *looks* different than at closer to zero Celsius.
3. You're happy when it's *warm enough* to SNOW!
4. I have to take my glasses off because they feel painfully cold against my face.
5. NONE of your face is exposed except for a little space for the eyes, peeking out between a scarf... this I knew. I didn't realize that I find I need to blow into my scarf though to keep that eye area from getting frostbitten.
6. Macho young guys visiting from points south who refuse to wear hat because they think it's not cool look ridiculous...
7. Weather forecasters saying in earnestness... "and today will be a balmy -6! (Celsius)"... relatives down south laugh about that one!
Stay warm! DAN

zootsi

Here at my place in New Hampshire, it plunged from +25f to -32f one night. We frequently get below 0 f, but when it stays that way for days on end is the worst. I enjoy winter sports, but doing any outdoor work that involves manual dexterity can be very trying.

LordBalfor

- 40 with a 50 MPH wind in North Dakota (-88 wind chill).

No wonder I love the tropics so much.

Ken

mrsd2fan

Syracuse NY winter of 2003-2004...was colder than Mars one day.. I thought I would die!

otto

i've skiied, and lived w/new york winters (nor easters) my whole life, it may not sound like much, but the coldest i've ever been was in seattle, august 2000. it was damp, raw, and air conditioned hotel room!

LadyOLeisure

We took our grown children (21 and 18 at the time) to Montreal and Quebec, including a dogsled trip in teh Charlevoix region for Christmas vacation one year. It was about -22F at the coldest, and maybe about 28 on the "warmest" day. We had a blast.

Robespierre

January 20, 1985 - the coldest day in Chicago history. The air temperature was "only" -27F, but the wind chill was -88F. ORD was shut down for much of the day because it was too cold for the ground crews to work.

I was staying at the Hyatt in Oak Brook, and the heating system running full blast couldn't get the rooms above 40F. I slept in my overcoat.

mrsd2fan

"January 20, 1985 - the coldest day in Chicago history. The air temperature was "only" -27F, but the wind chill was -88F. ORD was shut down for much of the day because it was too cold for the ground crews to work.

I was staying at the Hyatt in Oak Brook, and the heating system running full blast couldn't get the rooms above 40F. I slept in my overcoat."
____________________________________
Burrr....YOU WIN!!! LOL

Gilbert

Camping out on a dog sled trip in the Gates of the Arctic (Alaska) the temperature dipped to 60f below !!!

Gilbert

jorr

Daniel_Williams, I'm from Minnesota but for a few years I worked in San Antonio, Texas. One time in January a couple of guys in my department got sent to Montreal for a one week training session. They both had never experienced cold weather.

When they got back they couldn't understand how anyone would want to live in temps like that. But the funniest thing they said was so obvious to me that I never thought about it before. They complained about how the snow "squeeked" when they walked on it and it drove them crazy. The squeek only comes with very cold snow.

sunbum1944

Grew up in Saskatchewan Canada where it was -40 at times. BRRRRRR!
Even the tires freeze flat on the bottom. We walked to school when it was -14 ( after that my dad would consider driving me)
Dont care to go back except in the summer

Emucom

January in Detroit during the Auto Show it once was 5 below...

Daniel_Williams

Jorr--

Yeah I never thought about that squeak before either, but I think you're right. I mention that the ice looks different at closer to -40 than at zero, and I think the same can be said for the snow... the appearance of it too is quite different (harder?). If you took photos of the sidewalk in front of my place, I think I'd be able to tell right away if it were minus 3 (Celsius) or minus 30. I was not aware of such differences before living in Quebec. Cheers, DAN.