I know I live in the Arctic, but -40 and below is just wrong. I tell people all the time that it really is no colder here than the Prairies, and it’s true. It’s just colder longer. Normally, we receive about a week of -40 weather up here each winter, and it was much the same when I lived in Manitoba. Of course you can expect -30 weather up here for much of November through to March.
Having experienced weather that has dipped into -50 (actual not windchill) I sort of believe that it doesn’t matter what the temperature drops to once it reaches about -39. They should just dispense with the scale after that and put "F’ing Cold!!" (note the two exclamation marks Townie). -40 is wrong because it’s just hard on everything, no machine likes -40 and you can almost hear them scream as parts snap or shake off of their mounts. Although I’ve discovered that I can guess the rough temperature in the morning just by starting Leah’s snowmobile. If the machine pulls rather easily and starts after 3 or 4 pulls its -20. Hard to pull on the first try, and the cord stays out for 1 or 2 pulls, it takes at least 5 pulls for the first time it fires and three times starting it before it stays going its -30. At -35 it takes at least 7 pulls and the cord stays out each time until it starts. -40, back wrenching strength needed to pull the first two pulls, probably 20 pull before it sputters the first time, at least five sputtering attempts before it stays on and it will back fire at least once. This morning the back fire was so loud, if it had been someone else starting the machine I would have hit the ground thinking someone was shooting at me. I actually considered calling the members in case they got a call about shots fired. It will also stop at least once after I’m safely and warmly ensconced back in the House.
The truck? It will not start, although I’ll try again tomorrow, as Leah’s machine died at lunch, its now thawing out somewhere. Of course you don’t need a temperature sensitive snowmobile or even a thermometre to tell when the temperature reaches -39 or below. If it’s calm, there will be ice fog. Voila. Ice fog = "F’ing Cold!!" (there’s those two exclamation points again).
Environment Canada hasn’t shown Arctic Bay’s current conditions for the past 3 months or so, as their automated equipment isn’t working. But Nanisivik’s current conditions work just fine, it is usually even a little colder there due to the elevation (2200 feet). And today’s low? Without any windchill it was -41. Well into the "F’ing Cold!!" range. Here’s the proof… Oh yeah, note how it only takes a 4 km wind to take it down to -47.
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13 responses
Say, around when did northerners start applying windchill? I remember back in the 90’s (the decade, not the farenheit), temperatures were just a number. And without the minus, it was just thirtysomething for all of February (except for those magical rare twentysomething days!).
When I’d return south the southerners would all make me twitch when they’d exclaim “it’s minus thirty out there today” when no it WASN’T, it was minus eighteen and kinda windy. There IS a difference, but they don’t know that because they’ve never felt the real thing.
But now northerners do it too! Is it because the fake enhanced temperatures of the south were starting to match the real temmperatures of the north?
I find it funny that we (southerners esp.) don’t apply windchill in summer to similarly moderate the temperature, instead we only enhance it upwards again with humidex. Us Canadians are proud of our extremes, and hell bent on having them no matter what the thermometer has to say about it!
But please get rid of your genuinely ridiculously extreme weather by the end of March, I’ve got a contract scheduled!
p.s. I do know your temps are without the windchill in your post! It is very very cold, I’m glad I’m not north right now!
Clare, what a great post! It’s true – we have had similar temps here the past two weeks, windchill or not. Our poor skinny greyhounds are NOT amused. The weather forecast keeps dangling warmer temps about four days ahead of us, but they never materialize!
Nancy,
I’ve long been conflicted about Windchill. In many ways it doesn’t make sense to me. -40 is -40, and if I froze to death at that temperature that would be my bodies temperature, not -49 if that was the windchill. I actually thought the system they had in place a while back, in between use of a temperature windchill was much better. I’m not sure what the unit of measurement was but it was a rate of cooling, and it was accompanied by warnings. I think somewhere around 3000 the warning was “exposed skin will freeze in less than 10 seconds.” There is no denying the wind makes a big difference, I can go out in a t-shirt to take out the garbage at -40 and it is no big deal. Add even a breeze of 5 kms and it is painful to go out dressed like that, the wind takes that sheltering halo of warmth from around you and whips it away.
And the extreme cold should be gone by the end of March, the sun is pretty warm by then.
Hey Terri,
I’ve been following your low temperatures with interest. I can’t imagine Greyhounds not liking cold weather, what with their wooly shaggy coats, and heavy set bodies. Oh wait, that’s a husky.
Clare,
You have put my exact thoughts into words! Thank you for doing so, as I don’t think I could have written it any better. And yes, -40 is “Fing!!” cold. I’m from NB where if it hits -25 it’s “Fing!!” cold. No more to me though, not after being outside in the -46 we had earlier this week.
I personally thing the wind-chill issue is more of a conspiracy between Enviro Canada and teachers (haha – I know, I’m a teacher and I know many great people working in Enviro Canada …). Teachers like seeing the wind-chill, as a “good” wind-chill equates to school being canceled because it is just to freaking cold out to send kids to school. At least that’s how it goes down South … up here I have yet to see that happen – and I don’t want to either… as I’m not too sure I want to see -45 with the wind-chill of -66 like some other communities in the North.
Every writer has their twitches. Two of mine are the use of exclaimation marks and the word “pro-active.”
I remember an editor added an exclamation mark to a column I’d written. I didn’t catch it until it ran in the paper. I went up one side of him and down the other. He didn’t make that mistake again.
As for windchill…it’s mostly a “macho” thing to impress people down south. And it appears to work. When I tell people I walked to work one particular morning because the car wouldn’t start and it was -60 with wind chill, there was much comment among friends and family that I was nuts.
And hey, who doesn’t like to be thought of as a little bit crazy from time to time.
Oh, and they cancel schools “down” here when the temperture dips below -55 with windchill.
Kennie, I can sometimes see the point in Windchill Days. I imagine that it is born out of fears of a child lingering on the way to school and getting in to serious trouble. Cold kills as witnessed by the recent tragedy on the Yellowquill (I used to work there and no the families involved, it is so sad.)
I used to hate when we would have outdoor runs cancelled at training due to windchill (I can’t for the life of me remember what the cut off was on the old rate of cooling scale). The make up exercises they put on inside were far worse than the run, I was actually crying during one)
Craig, I had such a good chuckle when I read your aside on the exclamation marks in your “Such A Shame” post, that I couldn’t resist. And you’re right, everyone wants to be thought of as crazy once in awhile. I actually have a pretty good story involving me that I should post some time in “True Crime”
I was thinking, oh well hey this is probably C we’re talking about, not F, so I looked up on my handy-dandy temperature converter, only to find… that -40C = -40F!
Hey Rurality, yeah -40 is the great equalizer. It is cold comfort that below -40 things just get worse for those of us that use Celcius (and yes I did intend the pun).
I’ve been thinking about this post since I read it way back when. I think about it every morning as I walk to school. I’ve been trying to figure out why windchill would create a conflict weather-wise. Why is it considered by so many to be silly…or whimpy…or just plain wrong? For a long time I had a mark on my leg where my snow pants got hiked up a little on the top of my boot and exposed my shin for a few seconds resulting in a burn. That wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been windy. I’ve walked to school when the temperature was in the negative fifties (ambient) without any real discomfort at all because there was no wind. (you mentioned being able to take out the trash without pain).
This morning it was -34 with a slight wind (like 10 mph) and I got one of those brain-freeze headaches almost immediately. Wind DOES make a huge difference. So why SHOULDN’T windchill be reported and taken seriously? This is a sincere question; I’m not trying to be sarcastic. 🙂
Wind definitely makes a difference, and personally I don’t have a problem with windchill, just its expression in terms of temperature. You cool faster in a wind, but you don’t cool below the ambient temperature.
The problem I suppose with the system that Canada used briefly that did express it as a rate of cooling as it wasn’t as tangible to many people as the former and current system of expressing it in temperatures. People seem to prefer hearing its -50 with the windchill rather than the windchill is 3100 today.
Hi, I love reading your blog! Wow, -40 (dont’ even need to use a ‘ sign) is just…well, you already said it. lol.
I am always fascinated with the arctic. I admire people that can live there. I often think to myself, “Hey, I could live up there…”. Then I remember that I’m saying this during the summer…then winter comes (S. Ontario), and well,,,I quickly change my mind. Hmmm….
Keep up the good posts! (I do follow the recent posts too).
Thanks Melodie. New one coming as soon as my fingers unthaw.