Received an email from Mike V. in Chicago this morning. He wrote to tell of the minus 30 degree temperatures the area has experienced, and to tell me that it was colder than anything I could possibly imagine.
In my reply I reminded Mike that I had lived in Fairbanks, Alaska from September of 1993 until February of 1994, and that temps had dropped as low as minus 58 before I made it back to the relative warmth of Anchorage (only gets to about minus 20 there).
Of course, freaking' cold is freakin' cold, and differentiating between minus 20 and minus 58 is fairly difficult, as once you're frozen, your frozen.
All I really remember of those cold temps, from the brief moments of walking from the car (which I not only cranked the heat full blast on, but also warmed up with a 12V hairdryer for a half hour before driving) to the house or wherever, was that it took less than a minute for your ears and fingertips, if they were exposed, to start stinging.
So layer up Mike, and stay warm.
I can say that because of humidity and dewpoint factors, cold in the midwest does feel a little different than it does in Alaska, same way that the heat is different. But once you get to -10, cold is just cold.
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