74 thoughts on “At Least It’s Above Zero (Open Thread)”

1. Walmart. Dreo Space heater. $39.00. With remote. This heater can go for 8 hours and never gets hot. Knock it over & it stops. I have 2 & one is keeping me toasty warm. It’s14 degrees here.

   • Those take electricity, right?

     • Supposed to hit -3 here in Tennessee. Have over 8″ of snow at the moment. Quit coming here for milder weather. If you do your ass better vote red or you will just end up with what you fled from.

2. Like I’ve said before, I’d rather spontaneously combust rather than freeze to death. YMMV. Cold is not my friend. Actually, cold is my enemy, my kryptonite. And do even talk to me about absolute zero, Kelvin or otherwise.

3. +1 on the Buddy heater. Get a hose so that you can run it off a 20# tank as well as 1# bottles.

   I’m in central Wisconsin. It’s gonna get nasty here. I’m too old for this shit.

   • I was in the Fox Valley in Jan. 2020 and we hit 50 below. Not counting the windchill coming off of Lake Winnebago.
     So glad I moved. The summers here are horrid, but if I never see 50 below again it will be too soon.

4. Hehehehe…..this is your internet buddy up in Can-eh-da…nvm -45C tonight…its going -47C and tomorrow night -48C. Furthest the truck moving is to the local liquor store or grocery store and back. Woodstove going full bore. Unfortunately the only wood to burn around here is tamarack and poplar. Takes all off half an hour to burn a cut thick branch of poplar and same with the tamarack. Id kill for a few logs of oak. Otherwise we doing just fine. Always good to have back up if the electricity dies to keep the furnace fan running….even if me and wife have to get up every two hours alternatively to feed the woodstove…worth it. We catch up on sleep when this cold snap is over.

   • My place in AB is sitting at -47C with wind right now. Atco had an outage and people south of me a mile lost gas.

5. I have extra propane tanks for the grill, heat and ventilation for the fumes will not be a concern.

6. In Houston area we are forecast for 19’ for the low on Tuesday morning been wrapping the palms and uprooted my lemon and lime trees to put in garage with the other tender plants but now it sounds like first world problems stay warm out there and happy birthday to the wifey unit

7. Suppose to be in the upper teens here in the Florida panhandle next week…talk about people loosing their shit.
   I could give a fuck…as if I had any. I’ll bundle up and go out in the front yard eating an icecream sammich just to screw the heads of the neighbors.

8. Yeah, we get -5 on Monday. That is BEFORE the wind chill. (That’s near Chicago).

   What with wind chill should be -25 ish.

   • Meh, winter in Illinois……..

9. Wyoming, western part, -12 tonight with temps going -6 for the weekend and a low of -17 for Tuesday, all at night.
   No one cares, it’s winter.
   (we happen to live indoors with heat, so we don’t freeze to death. Kind of a neanderthal thing).

10. hills of pa here. about 34 or so, freezing rain on old packed snow- shitty walking
    anyway, after moving here. I put in 2 woodstoves. my neighbors thought I was nuts
    told me I should have installed pellet stoves instead. fast forward 2-3 years the power went out for 4-5 days here. the generator was running to keep lights and whatnot on and the woodstoves where cooking ! we where nice and warm. unlike some who left to find heated places to stay. pellet stoves are great. but they need power to work. I did a lot of thinking before moving here and had a good idea about what I wanted to have on hand. I hear that next week it going down to single digits, doesn’t matter as I have about 3-4 cords of firewood on hand already. BTW, cast iron cookware works great on the stoves too.
    takes a while some times. I don’t even use the damn oil furnace anymore.
    it loud, runs forever and the house cools down too fast and it runs again.
    the wood stoves are quiet, even heat. even 4 hours after the stoves goes out, the house is still warmer than the damn oil furnace can make it. why use it ?

    • We heat with wood. Western Wyoming. 6 cord a year heats 2500SF.

      • yeah. it is a nice even heat after you get it going.
        takes a bit of work though. and some mess.
        the wife even likes it more now.
        and around here, it is cheaper than oil or propane
        2-4 cords will last the winter easy here.
        I lost count of how many oil and propane trucks go by on the road here every week. funny thing, I have 2 full oil tanks
        but I don’t even think about using the damn furnace.

11. January, north Central Ohio.
    Cold, windy. Maybe snow.
    35 or so years up here and I am almost used to it.
    Have 2 large and 2 small kerosene heaters and plenty kerosene if the power goes out.
    Have 6 electric barn heaters if the furnace goes.
    Plenty propane and full tank of gas for the motorhome if the house burns down.
    And both cars full of gas for the ride south of I was to get my way!
    Cold sucks.

12. Just checked weather.
    40, with 22 wind chill. 23 mph wind, 32 gusts
    By 9 am 26, with a wind chill of 2, 28 mph wind and 41 gusts.
    Living the dream

13. https://www.ventusky.com/?p=62;-125;2&l=temperature-2m&t=20240113/0600

    I dont think Deathray feeling any pain…the eastern half of Alaska where everyone lives is doing fine according to Ventusky

    • errr…western…duhhh

      • I don’t live where everyone else lives.
        I try to avoid even going there if I can.

        • Ahhh ok…my bad for presuming…:(

          Hope it isnt too bad wherever you are

        • Does Stacey get much thinner by spring, before you pack her off to Georgia again to fatten up? She must come in awful handy for warming up your cans of soup, holding them between her knees, I mean. (I’m not so uncouth as CederQ would have you believe, except when I’m writing of Cederq’s secret squeeze.)

        • If ever you break down in the Palmer area give me a call. Stay away from Wasilly though. That place and Anchortown are unrecognizable.

          • Give your details to either one of the guys and have them send it to me if you’re serious. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve been in that area. I stay in Palmer when I do go that way. Unless I’m in some hospital type situation. errrrrrr‼️

14. Got up at 5, before the weather rolled in, refilled the log rack in the garage, brought in enough wood to fill the boiler, and laid the fireplace. Food in the pantry, ready for anything.

    • Lucky fireplace!

      • I see what you did there.

15. But it’s a dry cold! Hehehe!

16. I guess I better not say it is 45 degrees here in the Roseburg area… I keep my warmer butt quiet.

    • Q,
      Well, I’m 20 miles inland in Coos County, 47F and raining like hell (as usual)

17. Finally, Truth in Reporting! Honest Record breaking temperatures! The odd thing to me was how it rolled in at 10 AM yesterday. Usually COLD weather arrives at sundown or during the night. We got down to 5 today, now it’s a Balmy 8 at midnight. No idea what the wind chill numbers are. It really does not matter when you’re layered up as much as possible.
    Robot milker rooms have 6 propane heaters & 6 Reddy heaters burning kerosene. Average 6 gallons per hour kerosene. Icicles on the milkers. Putting down salt to give cows traction on icy spots. No manure removal, it’s just ice cubes getting deeper.
    Would have 3 more Reddy heaters going but the circuit boards have gone bad. One thermocupler was bad in a propane heater. “Ace is the place with the helpful….”.
    It’s going to be a long weekend if this is not breaking until Wednesday.
    Oh, and the shower is frozen in the house.
    At least the shitter still flushes.
    Life is Good.

18. Here in Arizona we are the polar opposite, no pun intended. This is our glorious time of year. Just turn all the environmental controls off and enjoy the cool temps. Although this week it did get down to freezing outside. But our homes are so well insulated for keeping cool in the summers that just plain body heat is enough to keep the inside tolerable. This week I did break down and turn on the small personal space heater to warm up the entire house.

    But come summer, my situation is as dire as yours is right now. The electricity grid gets stressed out when temps get above 118 and failures are not uncommon. I can’t tell you how many times the power has kicked off during the summer and all I could do is go to a movie theater that still had power and hope the linemen crews had everything hooked back up by the time the movie is over. Last year, we had to go 2.5 days with no power. We spent our time filling all the ice chests with stuff that would expire and then making trips every 8 hours to the ice vending kiosk in town to refill all the melted ice.

    There’s no free lunch no matter where you live.

19. 5:30am middle of nowhere Kansas. currently negative 3 degrees with projected negative 15 later today. two electric heaters and the propane heater kicks on when needed. we are doing good heatwise at the moment but no hot water. stay warm out there!

20. About 13 years ago, standing on top of the fully extended ladder, 12 degrees F, 20 mph winds, yet again raking 12 inches of snow off the roof of the homestead in NE PA I had a moment of clarity: FUCK THIS.

    I moved to Florida a year later. I too have the horrible arthritis and even here, it gets down in to the 60’s it bothers the hell out of me any more. I can’t IMAGINE what it would be like if I were still in the north.

    I truly do hope everyone up there takes good care, is prepared and stays SAFE.

21. Here on the right hand side of England it’s the first sunny day for weeks so I’m doing the brake job the red rocket has been telling me about for a month.. Otherwise we’ve had miserable overcast and double helpings of rain. Last night was only the second frost so far; we had a nighttime sprinkle of snow “PANIC!!” just before Christmas which disappeared by lunchtime The joke Met Office keeps “forecasting” weather calamities but, being England, “forecasting” means guessing and it just keeps pissing with rain. Some poor buggers have been flooded out and the idiots and profiteers keep putting new builds on known floodplains . . .

22. Expected single digits here in NE Alabama. Having to make sure plenty of food and water for the critters. Adding extra insulation to the chicken coop. Chickens will go outside and get frost bite no matter the heater in the coop to keep it warm. We’ve got a wood stove and more wood than I need for this winter, even keeping the house in the 70’s. Propane as a backup (I’ve got more trees that need to come down, anyone wanting some wood, yours if you come get it)

23. Buddy heaters use a lot of Propane. The small bottles won’t even last a night.

    • The adapter to a standard 20 lb or 30 lb tank is about 17 bucks online 😉

    • When living in Idaho with my travel trailer, I used a single Buddy Heater with a 30# tank and it lasted a lot longer had I used the furnace in the trailer. I used it during the day when I was up and the furnace and electric heaters during the night or when away from the trailer. Damn Buddy heater on the low setting and would cook me out of a 30 footer and would need to open a window a crack.

24. -49F in Central Alberta
    Gas stove doesn’t need electricity to light the burners

25. Chicagoland:
    Won’t be as cold as other places, but going to get nipply.

26. Partly sunny, teens all week, after a little flurry today.
    Northern Maine
    You guys stole our weather.

27. Here in SW MI we are currently at 30F but heading for 5 or lower by Monday (high temp).

    Lessons learned from the past 40+ years here, must have gas furnace backups. We have a wood burner in the living room, a non electric blue flame NG on one of the basement walls (to keep pipes from freezing) and one of those little Buddy units to move about where the missus is freezing most.

    Since we do on occasion go 3 or 5 days without power (usually bad ice storms), finally put in a manual transfer switch and have a propane/N gas/gasoline tri fuel 9KW generator that patches into the key circuits of the house to allow it to be functional and even powers the natural gas furnace. BTW, the FIRMAN unit was on sale as factory refurbished when I snagged it for 400 bucks. Always keep an eye out for this kind of deal.

    The short of this is that all of this was accumulated over time as $$ allowed. The genset being the last item added pre-retirement. Unless we face Armageddon, should be pretty well prepared. I encourage everyone in north country to follow this path. Famous last words of every tool (hoarder) owner, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. YMMV

28. High in the low-60s today in my little part of Texas…

    20’s and teens for a few days starting tonight with wind chill touching the negative teens. A little sleet thrown in the middle of it just to make things interesting.

    I have a fireplace, a Coleman stove and plenty of fuel for both along with a healthy pantry. We’ll be fine.

29. -10 this morning with -40 windchill in SD. All the snow we had is in NE or IA by now. Wood stove doing nicely with geo in floor slab running as backup. Coldest I’ve been in was Canora, SK …-40F air temp…no wind. That was cold.

    • I was a SD resident for a number of years. Huron and Mitchell were my stomping grounds. I remember the cold and snow and actually I want to go back into it! I moved back to Oregon and it is right, that quote: “You can never go back home.”

      • Would you move back to SD permanently?

        • Yes, in a heart beat!

30. Last major power outage here in my AO was the Oct 2011 snow storm. Power was out for five days in my neighborhood. However, not 200 yards down the hill on a major roadway through town, power was back in 8 hours and it was only off as a precaution as that roadway and the businesses along it all have underground power. Right at the bottom of the hill is a gas station. It was one of the few of more than 50 or so local stations with power to pump gas. Cars were lined up waiting for gas 25 deep with their engines running of course.

    I was able to keep my place at a reasonable temp using my piloted gas stove and the sun shining through the S facing slider. I no longer have that stove as the oven control valve died January23.

    The weather forecast from last night indicated we’re supposed to get rain and MAYBE some strong winds. It’s pouring right now @9:30AM EST, temp is 44F. Wind calm. The next week is forecast to be “seasonably cold” so daily temps in the 30’s and low 20’s to teens overnight. Nothin’ new for central New England in January.

    But, you know, the local TV weather people are hawking the fear porn. OMG OMG OMG it’s gonna be cold and it might snow six inches or so, with the unstated implication We’re ALL Gonna Die!!!

    Makes me ill.

    I remember one winter back in the 70’s when temps never got above freezing the whole month of January and one of those weeks it never got above zero.

31. In the trailer by the river outside Needles, CA it gets down to high 20s overnight. An electric fireplace keeps temps inside to 50s-60s. Days are sunny & bright. Summers in Magic Valley, Idaho.

32. Up on the Rim in eastern Az here..it may be comfy down in the valley but it was 6 below night before last up here 150 miles East of Phx.. Balmy 14 this morning. Still about 4-5 inches of Snow on the ground…Three Cheers for wood stoves.

33. Here in CO the cold has arrived sooner than forecast. If it goes out the same way, I’ll be happy, since it’ll mean Monday AM won’t be quite so bad when I have to go to work. No personal backup heat in the apartment, but the landlord has a generator, so he can keep the heat going if the power goes out. Power has been much more reliable since Xcel Energy made some apparent upgrades and did tree maintenance.

    My outdoor thermometer tend to err on the high side, due to solar effects, so it’s probably colder than the 2.8F indicated. Officially, it’s -9 last I checked, but that station is out East from me, and doesn’t match local.

    Definitely sympathetic on the pain in the fingers.

    I’m with Jimmy Buffet – I wanna go where it’s warm!

34. 20’s last night and tonight. 70’s during the day today and 40’s tomorrow.
    Teens until Wed for lows, and highs from mid 30’s to 40’s.

    No insulation in most of the older houses like mine. Too far south and too old. Add in double hung sash windows, it’s like living in a fishnet. But you can burn a tire in the living room and not gag on the fumes. 😉

35. Here in central Texas it is dropping below freezing Saturday night and not getting above until Wednesday. I have three 30,000 BTU propane Mr. Heaters and a dozen large bottles of propane. I have a Coleman propane camp stove. I have a generator that runs on propane, hooked to a 250 gallon tank. I also have about 150 gallons of water stored where it will not freeze. I learned from the big ice storm in Feb 2021, when the power was off for 10 days straight, and water was off for 7 days.

36. Southern MO. here. Up in the Ozarks. It’s hard to get a decent weather report. Supposed to be 21 and windy with a wind chill of 9. However when I walked a couple blocks up the dollar general on a cookie run and for a 9 volt battery there was no wind and it was actually nice out.
    The weather station is I’m guessing 60 miles away.
    Other than that we’re supposed to be in a cold snap. Not frozen by Badger Land standards but close enough I guess.

    • I used to live in Mountain Home, Arkansas and I had considered your corner of the woods. How is the weather summer and winter and people? Is it jammed up with people from other less desirable blue states?

      • I’m 20 miles from Rogers AR on the MO side. In a small town of 3k. It’s a beautiful area. We’re about 10 miles from a state park. I don’t have a car, but I haven’t noticed any touristy problems from that area. Summers are HOT and HUMID! I don’t mind heat. I used to live south of you in Redding CA and it would get up to 120 but, as they say it was a dry heat. lol I’m still learning to adjust. lol
        Here? 0500? 80% humidity already. Kind of saps the will to do much from ya. I also noticed that the sun raises later down here. 1st time I HAD TO have air conditioning ever.
        But the kids and grand kids are here. So I moved down here 3yrs ago. I’m not gettin any younger or prettier. lol
        The town seems fairly conservative. Voting is easy and no nonsense.
        Taxes are much higher than WI. Almost twice as high. They even tax groceries here! Groceries are cheaper in Rogers AR and I shop down there when I can.
        We do have a HUGE drug problem down here. Apparently it’s so bad that my county made National news last year
        Don’t want to sound like I’m complaining too much. I’m still adjusting to being down. The people I meet are for the most part very nice. I ride bicycle a lot and the motorists are nice even though there are absolutely NO bike trails.
        I’m going to try and get a vehicle this year and enjoy the 1.5 million acres that is the Mark Twain National Forest. There are a lot of opportunity’s here that I can’t take of advantage of because I don’t have a vehicle . Fishing, hunting, camping, etc.
        Where I’m at is Much better than any big city. The BBQ is fantastic.
        Any questions, feel free to ask. Feel free to email me if you want.

37. Three words: Phoenix Metro Area.  We had a frost warning a few days ago, so I brought Medusa (a cactus) in for her 6-week stay inside while we do ‘winter’.  Do not miss freezing my patootie off in south-central Kansas.

    • Do you name all your succulents?

      • Yes, since I only have 3 potted plants.  Naming your potted plants helps them grow. Frick-n-frack are Mexican pole cactus.  Medusa, of course, and Gutter found him in the rain gutter of the apartment complex we lived in. I had the maintenance guy dig him out so I could pot him up. 

38. Heater buddy’s are the bomb. Got a two panel meself. 13 last night, gonna get some single digits for a day or 3, maybe a sub zero even

    • ps Tell the wifey Happy Birthday from Bear Claw

39. Here in Vancouver, WA we are at 15 F and it’s a bit windy. Had to wrap a few small fruit trees. Not too big of a deal if you can stay near the warmth.

    brentg

40. What exactly are these ‘heater’ things of which you speak? It’s 24 – 29C or 75 – 85F in far north Queensland today, mild temperatures but humid.

    • In six months you’ll be waking up with a stubby.

      • In six months it’s July, the middle of Southern Hemisphere winter, proper whitefella weather.
        Today, Monday, the temps on the coast are forecast as 24 – 28C, up on the Atherton Tablelands where the mountain men live, it’s supposed to be 20 – 24C.
        I’m not complaining, it’s the middle of summer! Usually I have the aircon going, but it’s off and I have a light blanket on to keep my legs from freezing in these low temps.
        This is due to a tropical low pulling moisture from the Coral Sea up high to cool off, then dumping it as precipitation as it moves west over Cape York Peninsula. It’s lovely, so long as you don’t mind 97 – 100% humidity.
        I’m glad that I’m no longer truck driving, get literally soaked first thing in the morning, resoaked at every stop. Barely able to see the slick roads through the rain, washouts or piles of driftwood on the roads from floods, crocs waiting to ambush you if you’re checking the flooded roads, risking drowning if the truck is swept off the road, then when you get back to the warehouse the boss who’s been shuffling paper all day, says “What’s the hold up?”

      • Frozen stubby

41. N of Seattle – amazing the difference 150 miles makes, we have dim sun, high clouds, 19F. Looking at the Portland weather where Phil is, 35mph winds, snow, and 14F. In eastern WA where I watch the weather at a vacation resort in the desert, -1F with a high of 1F and wind chill of -15 to -25, going down toward -10 tonight. Good times. Stay safe, Phil!

    .

42. -60f Miles City MT. Pretty much straight thru till tuesday. The term “Dickshrinking” gets bantered around a lot more often.

    • Well diggers ass in Montana round here

43. Hang in there, Phil! We’re getting slammed in Northern Colorado, too. I didn’t get above zero today, and was -13* last night. We’ll be in the deep freeze until Tuesday. Only got a couple of inches of snow, with another 3~6″ expected Monday and Monday night.

    It’s THIRTY FOUR freakin’ degrees in the garage, so I can’t do much out there but go have a smoke when I need to!

44. Since I moved to the Roy/Layton area (above SLC) the weather for me and my kin has been “mild’. I see it got to -5F in Spokane the other night, but since I spent 4 years in Minot ND you have to go below -40F/-40C to get me excited. Here it gets to 15F at night and near/slightly above freezing during the day. Like I said, “mild’.

    Not really familiar with the Wasatch Front but it affects the weather a lot – but then, so does The Great Salt Lake which is 10 miles due west of us…

    I sure don’t miss Minot, where (on a Minuteman missile site) one night it got down to -72F (no, that wasn’t the wind chill – we had calibrated thermometers with us). Do you blame me for not wanting to re-up when my 4 years was up?!

    Never again.

    Y’ll stay warm – especially Judy, ;P

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