What's -40* feel like?

Jefe's Dope · Dec 31, 2019

F or C? Doesn't matter, they're the same.

-40 fahrenheit to celsius

Like this.

This Is What Life in -40 Degrees Actually Feels Like

The fact of the matter is I don't know exactly how cold it got at my house today.

www.sciencealert.com

Got down to -48*F at Antero Reservoir near South Park, Colorado the other night. It's not far, high or remote. At least by Colorado standards. Many parts along that N/S corridor got pretty cold that night.

Colorado Weather: Park County's Antero Reservoir Hit -48 Degrees

Bitter cold air settled into Colorado's high country after a weekend snowstorm hit the state.

denver.cbslocal.com

The National Weather Service in Boulder says the temperature fell to -48°F(ambient) at Antero Reservoir in Park County. A trooper with the Colorado State Patrol in Alamosa tweeted a picture of his car thermometer reading -28°F. Other low temperatures include…

-35°F (2.2 miles NW of Cowdrey)
-29°F (2.8 miles SE of Coalmont)
-26°F (6 miles NW of Kremmling)
-25°F (6.4 miles NE of Kremmling)
-23°F (Highway 40 at Fraser Flats)
-18°F (10.7 miles S of Rabbit Ears Pass)
-18°F (Vail Pass)
-18°F (0.6 miles E of Highway 91 near Copper Mountain)
-18°F (Highway 40 at Red Dirt Hill)
-18°F (1.2 miles N of Granby)
-16°F (0.7 miles W of Highway 9 in Silverthorne)
-15°F (State Highway 9 at Summit County/Grand County line)
-15°F (8.2 miles S of Walden)
-14°F (Keystone)
-14°F (1.3 miles W of Frisco)
-13°F (1.9 miles SW of Jefferson)
-12°F (2.4 miles E of Silverthorne)
-12°F (1.1 miles W of Copper Mountain)
-11°F (8.9 miles SE of Spicer)
-11°F (Silverthorne)
-11°F (2.9 miles W of Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels)
-11°F (Kremmling)
-10°F (West Portal of Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels)
-10°F (Silverthorne)
-9°F (0.6 miles N of Berthoud Pass)
-9°F (Tabernash)
-9°F (MM 210 on I-70)
-8°F (Hermans Gulch)
-7°F (Hartsel)
-7°F (Wilkerson Pass)
-5°F (Black Hawk)
-5°F (2.9 miles W of Alma)

All the places listed have year round residence. Some are somewhat larger towns/cities for the mountains. Many are popular ski areas heavily visited this time of year.

It's fucking cold. There's no other way to describe those temps. Your will won't save you. Without the proper gear or shelter you will last minutes.

Edit: ALL temps listed above are ambient. At this point, wind chill is a non factor.

Maggot · Dec 31, 2019

Ive been in -15%F, or so and that sucks.
Should be scubadiving in Belize.

Badfinger · Dec 31, 2019

At -40* you can't feel anything

Rthur · Dec 31, 2019

Saw -38(ambient) many years ago near Frasier Co.
Snow was extra crispy and you could feel the moisture freezing in your nose.

R

Jefe's Dope · Dec 31, 2019

Rthur said:
Saw -38(ambient) many years ago near Fraiser Co.
Snow was extra crispy and you could feel the moisture freezing in your nose.

R

Frasier is cold spot for sure.

W54/XM-388 · Dec 31, 2019

You could always go do some cryotherapy at your local center for a brief couple minute idea of what real cold would be like if you don't happen to be in a place where you get to experience it for free....

The DFC · Dec 31, 2019

I ran a 5k in -40F with my Sister a few years ago. We regularly run well below 0.

FS1 · Dec 31, 2019

In my youth I worked in commercial refer repair. Took care of ice cream warehouse -30. Could do nothing with gloves on so had to take them off. I think ten minutes was my limit before my hands ached so bad I could not use them. Then stepping out into 80-90 degree temps dressed like a eskimo, never felt so good. Recovery was like 20-30 minutes and then do it again.

So -40 is scary to me.

Jefe's Dope · Dec 31, 2019

The DFC said:
I ran a 5k in -40F with my Sister a few years ago. We regularly run well below 0.

About the only way to stay warm.

The DFC · Dec 31, 2019

We call it "weather that tries to kill you"

kthomas · Dec 31, 2019

I've been in -60* with the windchill. I've lived in places where my former diesel Jetta wouldn't start for months on end because it was too cold, even if it was plugged in.

It sucks. I've learned to hate winters, part of the reason why I moved to AZ.

Jefe's Dope · Dec 31, 2019

kthomas said:
I've been in -60* with the windchill. I've lived in places where my former diesel Jetta wouldn't start for months on end because it was too cold, even if it was plugged in.

It sucks. I've learned to hate winters, part of the reason why I moved to AZ.

I had a diesel Rabbit that wouldn't start in the middle of Summer.

But that was more of a glow plug issue.

zeroz · Dec 31, 2019

Im not that far from Antero. Its been coldAF.

Said fuck it and went for a float to whack some ducks and geese this morning. Launched at -9F. River was a slurpee. Had to portage 2 ice dams. When water would splash up on the boat it would freeze almost before getting in and definitely before being able to bail out. Had about 100lbs of little Sonic iceballs in the bow. Paddle had an inch of ice around it after a half hour. Wondered a couple times what the fuck was I doing for a damn goose, or 3. The pastrami I make is so delicious though and there is only 2 weeks left in the season.

All that said I was pretty cozy. Two layers of fleece and drysuit over it. Waterproof fleece gloves with big heavy elbow length dish gloves over them. Toes were the only thing that got cold.

Everything went fine but if I had tipped over, even with the drysuit on, shit would have gotten bad real quick. Keep the boat upright at all costs.

sirhrmechanic · Dec 31, 2019

Once you get to about -10F... it all feels about the same.

My nipples get hard.

Cheers,

Sirhr

Blutroop · Dec 31, 2019

Meanwhile in Alaska... it started raining today and melting snow.. I usually see 10 most days this time of year with a few days dipping down to -‘s

pmclaine · Dec 31, 2019

But......Global warming!

ken4570tc in WY · Dec 31, 2019

I worked aircraft maintenance at Eilson AFB and every year we would try to have one or more deep cold (-30F to -40F) war game exercises. Tires and struts were going flat. Hydraulic and fuel o-rings were leaking. When far away from a warm building and needing to pee while digging though four to five layers of clothing one's pecker didn't want to cooperate. It was challenging for people and equipment. The worst was when my Blazer mechanical fuel pump quit at -35F. The trick of using grease to hold the push rod in was useless. Clearance made it impossible to wear gloves while trying to get the new pump in. It took many many trips back and forth from a warm running vehicle to get it out and replaced. I wouldn't look forward to subjecting me and my wife to it again. We might take a cruse that way in the middle of summer.

Waorani · Dec 31, 2019

Put myself through college working in the freezer at an ice cream plant in Columbus, GA. Think I remember -25F and even w/ the polar suits/gloves/boots of the day, you could only stay in 30-45min max. Local TV/papers would do a story just about every summer about the best job in town. Don't care much for ice cream to this day!

rjacobs · Dec 31, 2019

Ive been in -40c a few times...

Moncton, NB
Winnipeg
Fairbanks

Been in -10c to -30c a lot in various northern climates.

Once its that cold your body cant tell the difference, its cold as fuck... but physically it is more and more damaging to your body.

Landed in Winnipeg one time at -38c and instead of flying back to Chicago(was currently blizarding) the company says "just reposition the airplane to Omaha". Guy im flying with says "if you do the walk around of the airplane with a coat on, im buying beer and dinner in Omaha"... Fuck it, walk around in a short sleeve shirt... shortest post/pre flight walk around ever... and I got absolutely hammered that night for free.

I swear my eye lids froze OPEN in Anchorage one morning walking to breakfast at -10f... Couldnt blink...

isofahunter · Dec 31, 2019

-40 is cold that what it is. Doing anything in that kind of weather takes a lot of effort and time.

Bradu · Dec 31, 2019

Coldest I've worked in is -20 weather and it sucks. I don't know what the temps were when I pipelined by Wells, Nevada but up in the top of the hills or mountains at night with the wind chill was miserable. It was not what I imagined when I got the call to go work in Nevada ?

MadDuner · Dec 31, 2019

Many years ago.... -38*F with no idea how much wind chill factor while working in the oil patch outside of Tioga ND.

I had two useless clubs where my hands used to be..... and they friggin’ hurt bad!
No matter, I still hate Arizona summers!

264win · Dec 31, 2019

Plenty of hunting in 0 to -20
Below zero it all feels similar to me. I am always wearing several layers of merino from head to toe at this point.
I like the challenge, but I’m glad I don’t have to live with those temps for months at a time

BCX · Dec 31, 2019

-28 snowmobiling once. My sled trailers door was frozen shut. Took a half hour to kick it open. Rode all day and deep into the night, thank god for KLIM gear lol.

Alphatreedog · Dec 31, 2019

IIRC I worked in -20F round about 87 or 88 in Freehold NJ . We were retrofitiing underground gasoline tanks and MPD's for vapor recovery . We had to jack hammer the dirt to remove it with a backhoe . As I recall we bundled pretty good and were comfortable .

PinesAndProjectiles · Dec 31, 2019

Quite a few years back, we lived in the Northern part of Minnesota. It was nothing for it to get -20 or -30 before the windchill factor.

The brother in law and I were ice fishing in my portable shack while outside it was -24. The propane heater kept us plenty warm and we sat in sweatshirts and caught a few trout.

BCX · Dec 31, 2019

Working outside in temps below 0 w minimal movement sucks. My winters in the NE are coming to a end.....getting harder and harder to keep the feet and hands warm working outside.

rgv · Dec 31, 2019

In the mid 90’s when diamonds were first discovered in the Canadian Arctic, there was virtually zero expertise in North America, and the geologists were largely South African or Russian.

It was a pretty funny contrast how those two groups dealt with -40 plus wind temps.

Me, glad I experienced it but have opted out of further winter jobs where it gets that cold.

While it’s mostly true that anything below -20 feels the same, there is a huge difference in how fast your stamina, exposure limits, and energy levels drop as the temperature drops.

Tree · Dec 31, 2019

Come to Minnesota we get to -20 at least once a year. It sucks

Alphatreedog · Dec 31, 2019

rgv said:
In the mid 90’s when diamonds were first discovered in the Canadian Arctic, there was virtually zero expertise in North America, and the geologists were largely South African or Russian.

It was a pretty funny contrast how those two groups dealt with -40 plus wind temps.

Me, glad I experienced it but have opted out of further winter jobs where it gets that cold.

While it’s mostly true that anything below -20 feels the same, there is a huge difference in how fast your stamina and energy levels drop as the temperature drops.

Regail us please . Curious at the struggles and cultural differences .

Waorani · Dec 31, 2019

If you ate any Baskin Robbins anywhere in the southeast 1976-80, I either stacked it, counted it, loaded on truck, or stuck my tongue in it!

fx77 · Dec 31, 2019

Back in the day when I lived on Lake Michigan it was -20 with a 20 mph wind in your face...skin freezes in 10"

That is the F'n coldest I ever was.

Seed tick · Dec 31, 2019

My pipes will freeze at +

Seed tick · Dec 31, 2019

Dam it ! +20 if I don’t let them drip!

BCX · Dec 31, 2019

Had many pipes on concrete pumps start to freeze under -5, usually when we are pumping under -20 or below we insulate pipes w concrete blankets or pipe wrap

Doc68 · Dec 31, 2019

Go to fort drum, soldiers from Alaska go there for cold-weather training. -46 my first winter there in 2010

clcustom1911 · Dec 31, 2019

-31f in Great Lakes, IL first week of February 2004, my graduation week from Navy boot camp.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Never again will I willingly subject myself to such buffoonery without some serious $$$$ in return.

Soulezoo · Dec 31, 2019

X2 on the comments on Eileson AFB above. It's next to North Pole.... and gets cold. I've been to Cold Lake AB when it's-40*. No irony in that name.
The coldest I've been in was -75* (with wind chill) at Mcmurdo Ice Station. Broke my damn mustache off. That's right: O-F-F OFF! I had kind of a reverse Hitler.

Foul Mike · Dec 31, 2019

I got to visit the Ice Core research center at the Denver Federal Center years ago before 9-11 shut down anything like that.
I was a guest of a man retiring from the USGS that was in the same building at the time.
They have ice core samples from all cold areas all over the world that they study there as to global warming etc. that go back for thousands of years. It had to have been cold drilling and collecting them.
The sample cores come out of the vault and are studied in a room at -20 F. then back to the vault for future studies.
I got to go in the vault where they are stored, in protective gear, and don't remember the numbers but it was around -60 runs in my mind.
What I do remember is going through the double doors and waiting for the temp to equal out, then going into the vault.
When I took my first breath the snot in my nose froze and my next breath through my mouth my spit froze and I had seen all I wanted to see but spent about 3 long minutes in there learning all about stratification etc.
-20 felt good after that vault.

I did learn that global temperatures vary a lot over thousands of years,

abn31c · Dec 31, 2019

I spent 3 seasons fishing crab around the Pribolof islands in the Bering, January to March. Always felt warm at Dutch Harbor ?

10ring'r · Dec 31, 2019

Can't FEEL it! Mac

woogie_man · Dec 31, 2019

What's your point? It will get that old, and colder, more than a few times a year up here in ND. Preheat the truck and put on an extra layer before going out to either shovel the driveway, or go in to work.

Cold is cold, and it all sucks! Getting tired of it, but it does tend to keep the riffraff out and the undesirables out though.

If it wasn't for my young kids that ate just starting school, pre-k and 2nd grade, i would be out of here. This cold sucks and I am about sick of ir6.

ubettcha · Dec 31, 2019

Worked at Killington when the high of the day was -42. Snowmakers saw -53. We had to sit at the top of the lift of the Killington base chair to send people into the lodge due to the start of frostbite. Had Women with no hat on and worse men with earrings that had already made black marks around the damm things. It was the first full week of December. I had 2 misfires and a hang fire using the #11 caps. That was when I earned about condensation and muzzleloaders.
You dehydrate so fast when it's that cold and every breathe not through a gaitor or mask hurts like hell

Chandalar · Dec 31, 2019

Living and working out in -40 all winter makes 0 feel lake a fall day. You get use to it. Here in interior AK we usually don’t have to much wind and -40 with the right clothes on is doable and bearable. Turn up the wind even 5 mph and things become painful.

HayStax · Dec 31, 2019

It hasn’t been -40 but it’s not rare. You can’t fight the cold, it always wins. Shit just breaks if you try to work. Hydraulic hoses crack, if you can keep machines from gelling up. We basically keep all necessary equipment running, shop heat at full blast and drive around thawing stock tanks and cussing.

I’ve heard that at -50 spit bounces, never had that occurrence so I guess I have something to look forward to.

@Bradu - Wells is a windblown shithole in the winter, I can’t imagine welding pipe in that weather

Bayoubigcat · Dec 31, 2019

Damm that’s cold! Been in the minus teens...once was enough!

chevy_man · Dec 31, 2019

Why do you think my beard is 4" long?

If anyone had to go to the cold grow whatever hair you can. Amazing how stupid cold my face is in the spring when I shave the winter beard. Yet I never need a facemask.

Proper layers are key. Too many drags you down and makes you just as cold as too few.

-60* my piss froze before hitting the ground. Then again in the ND wind it flew 10' sideways before it hit.

Chandalar · Dec 31, 2019

Just as a side note on the evening of Dec 28th, a young lady from Alakaket AK reported -72 in the low lying areas around the village around 5:00pm. The official temps for that day were -65 reported in from Manley AK.

captainmorgan460 · Dec 31, 2019

Definitely not uncommon in northern MN and ND. Big thing on the farm was keeping water not freezing up for cattle. Doing construction in those temps sucks too. First hour or more of the day was getting all the equipment started. Air compressors and hoses are constantly froze. If it's not a gas engine the probability of starting gets pretty low. I remember hanging trusses on a twin home at -40 temp who knows what the wind chill was. Miserable, sucks all the energy out of ya. But a hot coffee and a smoke never taste so good.

Bradu · Dec 31, 2019

HayStax said:
It hasn’t been -40 but it’s not rare. You can’t fight the cold, it always wins. Shit just breaks if you try to work. Hydraulic hoses crack, if you can keep machines from gelling up. We basically keep all necessary equipment running, shop heat at full blast and drive around thawing stock tanks and cussing.

I’ve heard that at -50 spit bounces, never had that occurrence so I guess I have something to look forward to.

@Bradu - Wells is a windblown shithole in the winter, I can’t imagine welding pipe in that weather

I was running a lube truck and playing mechanic, I changed careers after that job ? I started that job January 2nd in 2010 and worked 7 days a week, 16 hours a day for 10 weeks straight before I got a day off. Spit froze as soon as it hit metal on that job so I could honestly believe that about it bouncing. I almost went to Bemidji, MN the year before and they said you worked 20 minutes and sat in the truck for the next 40 minutes. They had nurses constantly checking on people from what the boss said.

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