Just how cold is it going to get?

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Tobyn

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Here is an blurb from our local paper today:

[size=large]"You were hoping it wouldn’t get any colder.

But it did.

The National Weather Service sent out a notice this afternoon reporting some stunningly low temperatures, including an unofficial mark of 70 degrees below zero at Tok at 8 a.m.

The last time an official temperature of 70 below or colder was recorded in Alaska came on Jan. 1, 2000, when a reading of 72 below zero was recorded at Chicken, the tiny community on the Taylor Highway in the Fortymile country east of Fairbanks and toward the Canadian border.

The coldest official temperature recorded in the state this morning was 67 below at O’Brien Creek, another spot on the Taylor Highway.

Readings of 50 to 60 below zero were common throughout the Interior overnight.

Chicken posted a temp of 65 below; Chalkyitsik and Fort Yukon had lows of 60 below; Northway and Beaver, 58 below; Eagle airport, 54 below; Manley, 51 below; Fort Greely, 50 below.

And how are the people in Tok taking it? Like normal.

“We’re generally close to this temperature at this time of the year,†said Sgt. Freddie Wells of Alaska State Troopers post in Tok.

Troopers have been getting calls about people running out of fuel. He added that people have been staying inside more, that the concern is greater for the community’s older residents, and that troopers are placing a priority on responding to calls from stranded motorists.

Residents of the Fairbanks and North Pole areas also found themselves in the deepening freeze. The Woodsmoke subdivision in North Pole had the coldest temperature in the urban area at 52 below at noon. The noontime temperature at Fairbanks International Airport stood at 45 below.

The weather service didn’t have any promising news, warning that the region will remain in the grip of extreme cold until early next week."[/size]

Yep, that Emerald cruise can't come soon enough . . .
 
Wanna switch places, Tobyn and Barbara? It's a balmy 47 degrees here in Scottsdale.
 
I think I will stick with Montreal's weather, It has been very mild this year so far,
but more snow than normal.
 
I certainly wouldn't want to be anywhere where it is that cold.

Yesterday we had a record high of 63 here in western PA.

Today we will be lucky to get out of the 30's.
 
Ain't no way, ain't no how, I'd be up there. I just can't even imagine that temperature. Well, I certainly wouldn't be going outside for anything. D would have to do all outdoor chores!!

So, Tobyn, does your newspaper and mail get delivered in temperatures like that? Each day we get a morning and evening newspaper delivered to our door, and the mail delivered to our mailbox which is on our porch. :) And I feel bad for the deliverers when the weather is bad here. How is it handled up there?

We have slightly entertained the idea of retiring there and having a cozy little cabin somewhere in the woods. But I dunno, I just don't know if I can handle it. I am such a baby when it is cold. :)
 
Wow....I won't complain anymore when it gets below zero around here! Stay bundled up, and keep warm Tobyn.

We were in Alaska on a cruise a while back, and of course it was in July. But it was the most beautiful country I have ever seen, and the wildflowers everywhere were stunning. I will never forget those beautiful blue flowers. I don't know what they were, but I had never seen flowers that color before, they were everywhere. It's the picture I see in my mind, when I think of Alaska.

So for the sacrifices of winter, nature pays you back with all that beauty.

(ps...my dear mother used to say "Below zero is good, it kills all the bugs")
 
And it was 80 here in Richmond VA yesterday.

70 below? You would not see my face for months.
CJ
 
There is no way I could stand those temperatures. I don't know how you guys do it. Just too uncomfortable for me. And the costs to heat your homes must be extreme.
 
One Sourdough to another - The coldest I remember was -45 a few times. Colder w/wind chill, but -45 was the actual temperature. Of course, I lived down south, in the warmer part of the state (Anchorage/Ft Richardson).
 
You can keep it!!!
It's cold enough down here, they say we will be back in the freezer this weekend.
 
Heard this on the radio this morning. Was going to post and make sure you, bread and the loaves are okay!

Stay warm and safe - - cruise is on the way! lol
 
I would still like to try living there, because the summers are so beautiful. Just call me crazy!
 
Corky, that blurb was actually on the internet site for the paper. We do not actually get a paper delivered here to the house. When we did, they delivered it to t box at the end of the driveway. We would get it on the way to work. As for mail, we have a mailbox that is out on a street adjacent to our neighbor's house. We choose not to use it, and have a post office box at the post office on post at Fort Wainwright where we work. The mail is delivered out in the rural areas by contractors, not postal employees. There are a few folks that have purchased jeeps or subarus with right hand controls so they can deliver the mail out of their vehicles. So I guess the best way to say it, is that it is handled just like in the lower 48, just colder! :lol

Honestly, this was one of the warmer winters we have had for a few years until this acrtic mass landed. Most winters only have a couple of days of -30 or colder weather. But when these deep freeze masses hit, they usually stay a week or so. And when it gets like this, I ask "WHAT GLOBAL WARMING?" :lol :lol
 
John remembers the one year he lived there and he said you just cover every inch of your body,you get so you dont even notice it,come on John! But he LOVES cold weather,my mom has -25 today in WI and I have done that so maybe,but -70? You and John can have it,seriously though he told me to tell you,stay safe!
 
-40 was a pretty common winter temperature when we lived in such places as Winnipeg, Manitoba and Cold Lake, Alberta! You just put on more clothes and keep going! At -70 I think I would just stay home. There is nothing that I have to do that is important enough to make me go out at those temps!!
 
Man oh man Tobyn, that sounds unreal!
Couple questions:

1) Curious to know how the cars get started, or do you have block heaters for em?

2) Also interested to know what they do as far as measures to help reduce home heating cost. That must be brutal!
 
Our cars have block heaters, battery pads or blankets, and oil pan heaters for transmission and engine. When not in a heated garage, we plug them in and "usually" do not have trouble getting them started. Of course, there are those days . . . .

Our heating costs ARE brutal. Our most recent monthly heating oil bill was over $900. There is no federal, state or local program for assistance in lowering those costs that we qualify for, I am aware of. The local utility does offer to help show folks how to better insulate their homes, and other ways of reducing electrical costs. Our home is heated by hotwater baseboard heaters fed from our boiler. When the temps get this low, the bolier is running almost constantly, hence the expense of the heating oil. Add to that, the boiler is also used to heat the water for use in the house (showers, dishes, laundry etc).

Now for the flip side, in the summer, unless we need hot water for showers and such, the boiler almost never runs. So our heating oil bill is non-existant for a couple of months.
 
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