The Ongoing Super Mega Weather Thread v3

[PepsiFree]

So, fun fact time. Because we were talking earlier about people living in extreme cold/extreme heat I thought I would look up the most extreme temperatures of inhabited places on earth.

The coldest place? Oymyakon, Russia.
Coldest month is January, with an average high of -42 and average low of -49 (records of -16 and -65 respectively).

The hottest place? Dallol, Ethiopia (though it says it might be a ghost town? Close enough).
Hottest month is June, with an average high of +46 and average low of +30 (records of +48 and +25 respectively).

Imagine being acclimatized to one of those!

[curves2000]

I know this has been a very heated topic and everybody has their own opinion on the matter, but the reality is already settled for the global population.

The Canadian prairies are very sparsely populated given the size of the land and that is also a result of the cold winter weather.

I believe Edmonton is the coldest, most northern city in the world with a large population. At 1+ million and change, it's not a large city per se. Calgary, with a little warmer temp in some ways and a similar population and location is not far behind.

I can deal with the cold and I am not a big cold weather complainer, don't like excess heat either. The fact that so few people live in climates that are as cold as we are generally speaking is all the proof we need.

Let's consider the matter settled and go on bitching about other weather events! LOL

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

OK, well moving on...one thing we can all agree on is -5 is better than +5 in winter.

Oh there's always something to debate. Is this for the purpose of snow related outdoor activities or for slush mitigation?

If it hasn't yet snowed for the winter, I'd be fine at +5 throughout. But boy +5 turns downtown into a dirty slushy mess if there's a lot of snow on the ground.

Originally Posted by curves2000

I know this has been a very heated topic and everybody has their own opinion on the matter, but the reality is already settled for the global population.

Yeah I tried to use this angle earlier. Didn't get me very far.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Acey

I've worked outdoors in Alberta for decades now and I do just fine, but I'm not surprised you think I can't handle it because for you it always has to be that your preference is one that elevates you over the contrary positon.

I didn’t say you couldn’t handle it, I said people who could explained to you how they could because you were acting confused.

I don’t know why you have to make this personal or use this as an excuse to play psychologist when we’re just trying to have fun here. It’s weather, something none of us can change, so might as well waste some time and laugh a bit. You don’t have to drag it down like this.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

OK, well moving on...one thing we can all agree on is -5 is better than +5 in winter.

+5 ftw. -5 creates the dreaded snirt that I hate riding in. +5 will get temporarily slushy/snirty but lead to clear roads/paths.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

the heatwave in 2021 was comfortable. how often can you be out in day and night in beach-wear in this region and not feel chilly?

I was backpacking in +38 and it was glorious. what I was most grateful for was not being cold at any point, which has never happened out there

also lounging outdoors, enjoying a frosty cold beer or soda in toasty conditions is one of the better small pleasures of life

I do like layering clothing, however. but that can be done in milder temperatures than this awfulness

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by Acey

This reasoning has been presented multiple times and is perfectly sound, but specific to this debate I think we're just questioning whether or not +30 is a degree of heat unmanageable with normal clothes to conduct regular outdoor activities. In my opinion, the answer is no... and given how busy every park and outdoor establishment is when it's +30 vs -30 most Calgarians would say the same, but it's personal preference.

My house has heating. It does not have AC.

When it is -30 (ok it isn’t ever -30 where I am now - but havent always lived here), I sleep just fine.

When it is 30, or it has been 30 and my house retains heat, my sleep is often disrupted.

Extreme cold is just easier to manage - even easier than managing 30, which I agree isn’t even extreme heat - depending on the time of day/night.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Yeah, that's sad.



Just like in the summer all the animals who burn to death during the forest fire season when it's hot and there's no rain. Poor things.

Fair enough, though I'd argue every time it's +30, it doesn't result in a forest fire. Every time it's -30, strays are freezing to death. We had 30+ a bunch of times this past summer, and zero smoke in the city until September.

I'm actually impressed this debate is lasting this long, I have a feeling it's going to outlast the actual cold snap haha.

[you&me]

In the course of my day, I'll talk to people all over the US and today is the first I can remember where it seems like nearly everyone is bringing up the weather, at least those affected by this arctic-whatever that they're experiencing. The gist boils down to "It's even colder there? Why do you live there?" LOL.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

the heatwave in 2021 was comfortable. how often can you be out in day and night in beach-wear in this region and not feel chilly?

I was backpacking in +38 and it was glorious. what I was most grateful for was not being cold at any point, which has never happened out there

also lounging outdoors, enjoying a frosty cold beer or soda in toasty conditions is one of the better small pleasures of life

I do like layering clothing, however. but that can be done in milder temperatures than this awfulness

I think +25 is the best beers temperature and +15 is the best exercise/high output activity temperature, personally. For me, +20 is gold with overnight lows around 5-10, that’s a range where I am never cold and never too hot. In winter anything +5 to -10 is very easily comfortable. +38 would just be way too hot for me to be comfortable without retreating to AC.

But, just in case someone else is reading this who might have trouble, I would also like to emphatically state that I respect and acknowledge your temperature preferences and that me sharing my temperature preferences is in no way meant to be an objective statement, nor is it meant to discredit or dispute your temperature preferences which I recognize as valid.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

temperature anomalies and the destructive consequences that come with them undeniably suck for the other inhabitants of the planet that are genetically evolved to handle certain conditions and don't have defenses for extreme condition changes

as for us, looking at the population distribution of humans on earth it is evident that regions that fall between 15 and 35 degrees are the most settled in, which probably indicates the general "comfort zone" of humans

so yes the 4 months or so that we get to enjoy that range in temperature are great. and many people on earth live in the upper range of those temperatures year-round and do just fine

I also think it's possible to adapt to -5 to +10 as a range of comfort and many here have done so. but it's not for everyone, or we would see the vast canadian prairies boast a greater population than they do

comes down to what you're adjusted to and your lifestyle (e.g. winter sports)

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think +25 is the best beers temperature and +15 is the best exercise/high output activity temperature, personally. For me, +20 is gold with overnight lows around 5-10, that’s a range where I am never cold and never too hot. In winter anything +5 to -10 is very easily comfortable. +38 would just be way too hot for me to be comfortable without retreating to AC.

But, just in case someone else is reading this who might have trouble, I would also like to emphatically state that I respect and acknowledge your temperature preferences and that me sharing my temperature preferences is in no way meant to be an objective statement, nor is it meant to discredit or dispute your temperature preferences which I recognize as valid.

those are reasonable temperature preferences .. even human.

I think more people share yours, to be honest. especially those born and raised in Alberta's climate

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think +25 is the best beers temperature and +15 is the best exercise/high output activity temperature, personally. For me, +20 is gold with overnight lows around 5-10, that’s a range where I am never cold and never too hot. In winter anything +5 to -10 is very easily comfortable. +38 would just be way too hot for me to be comfortable without retreating to AC.

But, just in case someone else is reading this who might have trouble, I would also like to emphatically state that I respect and acknowledge your temperature preferences and that me sharing my temperature preferences is in no way meant to be an objective statement, nor is it meant to discredit or dispute your temperature preferences which I recognize as valid.

Maybe we should petition the mods to add a pronoun like feature to our usernames. But instead of PepsiFree (he/him), it can be PepsiFree (+20/+5) so people know what your comfort temp range is and can adjust their language accordingly.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

My house has heating. It does not have AC.

When it is -30 (ok it isn’t ever -30 where I am now - but havent always lived here), I sleep just fine.

When it is 30, or it has been 30 and my house retains heat, my sleep is often disrupted.

Extreme cold is just easier to manage - even easier than managing 30, which I agree isn’t even extreme heat - depending on the time of day/night.

That's because you're not set up for any kind of heat. It'd be like someone in a hot climate without a heating system saying that 45º is easier to deal with than 10º because they have a powerful AC.

For anyone that has both, 30º is far, far easier (and significantly cheaper) to manage because it's only an ~8º differential from room temperature vs. ~50º when it's -30º.

The last couple of summers in BC have had long stretches with highs in the 30º range, and keeping my house at 21-22º through them cost almost nothing with a heat pump, as it's roughly equivalent to heating in 10-12º weather in terms of energy used.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

+5 ftw. -5 creates the dreaded snirt that I hate riding in. +5 will get temporarily slushy/snirty but lead to clear roads/paths.

So we can't all agree? I find +5 leads to more ice snakes, and a consistent high of -5 leaves less snirt, it's only when it gets closer to zero that occurs, but maybe I'm not paying close enough attention. But since you disagreed, we will need to debate this until Christmas, so I'm going to have to say you are wrong. Those appear to be the rules.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Maybe we should petition the mods to add a pronoun like feature to our usernames. But instead of PepsiFree (he/him), it can be PepsiFree (+20/+5) so people know what your comfort temp range is and can adjust their language accordingly.

kind of like personality enneagrams but more accurate, because weather preferences are the real windows to the soul

[Barnet Flame]

The countries with the highest standards of living and the happiest people tend to be colder northern countries.

Believe it or not, Canada is one of the happiest places on the planet - not that you would rush to that conclusion here.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

My house has heating. It does not have AC.

When it is -30 (ok it isn’t ever -30 where I am now - but havent always lived here), I sleep just fine.

When it is 30, or it has been 30 and my house retains heat, my sleep is often disrupted.

Extreme cold is just easier to manage - even easier than managing 30, which I agree isn’t even extreme heat - depending on the time of day/night.

Manage is an interesting word because I find it harder to manage in -30, especially with kids. It's not really about survival, it's about time. I have to do a ton more prep, getting kids dressed. It's harder to grab stuff with gloves or mittens like keys and stuff in your pockets/purse. You're continually dropping stuff and getting frustrated. If you wear glasses, they fog up when you go indoors.

And then everything is slow, driving is slow, walking is slow. So a quick trip to the pharmacy 1km away to pick up some medicine takes 3 times as long.

[Icantwhisper]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

The countries with the highest standards of living and the happiest people tend to be colder northern countries.

Believe it or not, Canada is one of the happiest places on the planet - not that you would rush to that conclusion here.

Top seven were Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Sure three of those are colder climates but I think there are a few factors here that are much more important than climate.
Bottom 5 were Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Botswana, and Lesotho.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

The countries with the highest standards of living and the happiest people tend to be colder northern countries.

Believe it or not, Canada is one of the happiest places on the planet - not that you would rush to that conclusion here.

Yeah....the people with nowhere to go and nothing to do but save their money.