Coldest temperature you've experienced?

[HawkFanISUalum]

Just last week when I told me wife she might want to think about plastic surgery to help bring some things back to where they were before she had 3 babies. Boy if looks could kill...

 

[Gizmo]

There is a sign outside Wasta, Iowa that says Coldest Spot in Iowa. That took place on January 12, 1912 when it hit -47. This was tied by Elkader in 1996. Personally I am thankful that I have never been out in colder than about -26.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

Apparently in Vostok (i don't know whether russia or antarctica) in 2004 recorded a wind chill of -185 degrees F

How does a temperature that low get recorded? Are there special thermometers, or was it an estimate based on other quantifiable factors? That's mind-boggling to even think about.

 

[clones_jer]

This two block walk to my car is gonna suck - I hate cold.

 

[CycloneSupt6]

Last year, January maybe. It was around -30 and we blew bubbles outside. The bubbles had the consistency of blown up ziploc bags.

 

[CycloneErik]

Not sure what the coldest is, but I was around in '82, so that might be it. I'm still ****ed at my parents- they met in freaking San Diego, and both being Iowans, decided to move back here. What the hell were they thinking?

We all wonder that.

 

[terryk]

-47, 3 years ago. St Paul ice fest. Great time to go, no body was there.

 

[jbhtexas]

How does a temperature that low get recorded? Are there special thermometers, or was it an estimate based on other quantifiable factors? That's mind-boggling to even think about.

Windchill is not "recorded" per se. It is a calculated apparent temperature based on measured ambient temperature and measured wind speed. It would be interesting to know what formula they were using to calculate that -185°F windchill...

 

[Haverhill]

I fly into Minneapolis this evening from Salt Lake; will likely be the coldest I have experienced.

 

[Haverhill]

Windchill is not "recorded" per se. It is a calculated apparent temperature based on measured ambient temperature and measured wind speed. It would be interesting to know what formula they were using to calculate that -185°F windchill...

The same formula that tells us 2+2=5

 

[cstrunk]

Since I have been paying attention, it was last January of 2009 in Ames. I believe one night it was -27F. It was f'in cold!!

 

[jbhtexas]

It would probably be -40 ish °F up in ND, on several occasions. On one of those mornings my dad and I were out feeding cattle. At the time, he had a 4020 JD with a Du-Al 320 loader. The loader had its own hydraulic reservoir and pump, and up there they used to mix gasoline with the loader hydraulic oil in the winter to thin it out. One of the hydraulic hoses busted, which normally leads to oil spraying all over the place. On that morning, the oil oozed out of the hose with the consistency of nearly dried out caulking...

 

[IceCyIce]

Mason City IA 1987 or 88. It was colder than now and high winds producing -75 to -80 degrees. It was documented on TV to be the coldest place in the USA on that day. Walk to campus and you only see red and your eyelids freeze together. BRRRR

 

[Jerry1982]

I lived in Bagley, MN (near Bemidji) at the time. Tower was -60 and we were somewhere around -50. Wind chills were in the -80s. School was canceled but my dad walked a mile and a half to work that day and eventually wrote a book about it.

I'd like to buy that book. :yes: Is it still available?

 

[spanny]

I remember Christmas Break of my freshman year, I know it was at least 10 below, not that cold, I know, but we were setting trusses all day, I slept like a baby that night. Grateful for carhartts and long underwear!

 

[JRE1975]

My dad was involved with the pipeline in Alaska in the 70's and they had several camps just north of the Brooks Range that were consistently in the -60 to -70 range. BTW he says it does not freeze before it hits the ground!