# Winter



## drpraetorus

We are having our first real cool down of the year. It will be in the 30'sF for the next couple miornings but getting to the 60's in the day. It's not bad but it is a reminder that winter is coming. I truly hate winter. The cold, the dark, the snow, the treacheous roads and bad drivers. I would hibernate if I could. I live within a half hour of some of the worlds best sking, but I don't ski. So, I just hunker down and try to endure to spring. 

I know we need the winter snows here. We live in a desert and the valleys only get about 18-20 inches of precipitation a year. The high mountains get hundreds of inches of snow and much more rain than the valleys as well. I am fond of a cool drink of water now and then so I put up with the snow. 

I did live in Los Angeles for a few years. The weather was marvelous, especially in the winter. I would go out on a "cold" LA morning in my shirtsleves and all the natives would look at me like I was nuts. It was after all only 40 F. Brrrrrrr. They are weather woosies there. The best thing about LA was the weather and the coast. Wonderful sandy beaches. Are there any sand beaches in britain? All I saw there was pebbles. Anyway, if i could I would have our snowy mountains and LA's warm beaches. 

So this is what winter is like here. It starts to really cool down in October so that by Halloween we have low 30's or high 20's in the mornings and 50's in the afternoon. I just found a converter so i can translate. Ain't the internet wonderful? That's like 0 in the mornings and 10 in the afternoons. It sounds colder in centegrade. By New Year we are about 10 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon. That's -12 to 0. Wow it really does sound colder. From there it is a long slow warm up to spring. Sometimes it can get very cold here. I remeber standing in the snow waiting for a bus to go to school and it was -20F (-28c). Then there was one week just before Christmas that never got above 10 (-12) and nights went down to the negative teens. But that is rare. At least in the lower valleys. 

I guess it could be worse. I could be in Toronto or Point Barrow, Alaska. Or Spitzbergen. At least I could see the Northern Lights. 

So what are your thoughts on winter? Give me Summer anytime. High 90's in the day and 70's at night. 30's and 20's  humidity at 10% Ahhhhh.


----------



## Crudblud

I like winter, although I am quite sensitive to the cold.


----------



## Kopachris

Kopachris said:


> O Winter, thou season of _night_, how I long for thee! most of all during Summer, that season of _day_. The soul is awakened only at night, of which winter is well-endowed--for, in the words of that prophet, "the world is deep--deeper than day can comprehend!"
> 
> O Winter, how I long for thee!--and thy crisp weather. Winter is the season of triumph--of man's triumph over mere weather. It is easy to conquer the cold when going out in winter, and it is much less easy to conquer the disproportionate heat of Summer. It is easy to layer extra clothing; above a hundred degrees, no amount of _un_-layering will save a man from the heat which makes for laziness!
> 
> O Winter, how I long for thee!--and thy melancholy inspiration. The greatest works, pastoral and otherwise, are inspired by the chilling emotions brought only by winter and winter's night. The chill of the Earth kindles passionate fire in the heart and brings about fully-pregnant emotions in the mind!
> 
> O Winter, how I long for thee!--and thy joy. Winter is not only the season of cold, bitter emotions, but of joyous festivities, when the heart and mind are awakened even more by the early nightfall. What festivities of summer could compare to the joyous symphonies and hallelujahs of mid-winter, when all the past comes alive to build a pedestal for the next year?
> 
> O Winter, how I long for thee!--and thy bitterness. What could be greater than the reflection at the beginning of a new year, when the festivities have all ended? What grand opportunities to soar to new lofty heights, where the wind blows sharp and rude! Blow, blow, thou winter wind!--thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky! To soar to such heights can only be possible with a cold winter's wind under one's wings.
> 
> O Winter, how I long for thee!--and thy solitude. When the festivities have concluded and I return to my home, I am the freest I will ever be. To be free to seek the company of friends and revel in noisy festivities, then to return at once to my solitude and reflection--that is true freedom! But Summer imposes too many restrictions, too many pressures for me to feel free.
> 
> O Winter, how I long for thee!--and thy pregnancy, which causes my own rebirth. The philosopher unwittingly prepares for death every moment of his life. During winter am I most philosophic, and winter brings about my death each year. But without death, how could I be reborn in the Spring, that time of rebirth? Without my death brought on by winter, winter's pregnancy will go to waste and Spring will bring no rebirth!
> 
> O World, how I long for these things!


Filler text.


----------



## Chrythes

What are these numbers you are talking about, i don't understand.


----------



## Lunasong

I like winter. Last year we didn't have much of a winter. It didn't get too cold and we hardly got any snow. I missed it. If it's going to be cold it might as well snow. Our typical temperature range in January, our coldest month, is from 32F daytime to 20F nighttime.

Snow is a problem that resolves itself, given enough time 

Late Winter Early Spring

Your love covers my barren landscape like a blanket of snow.
You protect me from the harshness of the cold.
You bring a new beauty to my bleak outlook.
Your shelter initiates the stirring of new life.
As the snow melts, I am renewed by all that is essential for re-creation.

Be patient - I will be reborn.

Two Snow Haiku

The snow falls--pieces
of the sky, it gives us a
chance to start anew.

Snow falling again.
A clean slate, but even so
this chance won't last long.


----------



## Kopachris

Lunasong said:


> Two Snow Haiku
> 
> The snow falls--pieces
> of the sky, it gives us a
> chance to start anew.
> 
> Snow falling again.
> A clean slate, but even so
> this chance won't last long.


At the risk of being pedantic, the word "pieces" in the first haiku should probably go on the second line to form a better _kire_ with the first line. The 5-7-5 syllable form isn't fixed in haiku, and almost any combination that adds up to 17 syllables will do. I would actually write it:

_The snow falls--
pieces of the sky, it gives us
a chance to start anew._

But to each their own.


----------



## Kopachris

It's only 19 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now. Luckily, it's also very dry, so I won't have to scrape frost of the windshield this morning.


----------



## jani

I don't like winter.


----------



## Ukko

Winter is for children - and philosophers. For the elderly, each winter may be the final straw.

[edit: I forgot to mention that, in Vermont and New Hampshire at least, winter is the prime logging season.]


----------



## pierrot

There's is really no winter down here, so I can't say.


----------



## Crudblud

Kopachris said:


> It's only 19 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now. Luckily, it's also very dry, so I won't have to scrape frost of the windshield this morning.


Is it true that desert areas are blisteringly hot in the day and freezing cold at night?

I've never been outside the UK, so I know nothing about stuff like that.


----------



## kv466

As much as I love winter, I always fear for the life of my exotic palms. Sure, there is barely any winter at all where I live but it is enough to produce a chill cold enough to kill delicate palms. I love Spring!


----------



## Ukko

kv466 said:


> As much as I love winter, I always fear for the life of my exotic palms. Sure, there is barely any winter at all where I live but it is enough to produce a chill cold enough to kill delicate palms. I love Spring!


Seems like I read somewhere that there are no palm species native to the US. True?


----------



## kv466

Hilltroll72 said:


> Seems like I read somewhere that there are no palm species native to the US. True?


False, methinks. Right here in Florida and in South Carolina there is the palmetto sabal palm. And down here there are thatch palms and coccothrinax and roystonea regia and there is washingoniana filfera, native to California. I could be wrong but this is how I know it.


----------



## Cnote11

Hilltroll72 said:


> Seems like I read somewhere that there are no palm species native to the US. True?


You would be wrong.


----------



## kv466

A really good winter palm is pindo palm (butio capitata), windmill palm and any phoenix variety.


----------



## Cnote11

kv is corect that there is only a single palm native to the southwest of America.

Here is a website on Florida palms if you're interested, Hilly.

http://50.57.99.44/ms/archive/NewsNativePalms.html


----------



## Kopachris

Crudblud said:


> Is it true that desert areas are blisteringly hot in the day and freezing cold at night?
> 
> I've never been outside the UK, so I know nothing about stuff like that.


Well, sometimes. We still have seasons, just like everyone else. During the summer, it does get over 100 Fahrenheit here, but then the lowest I've seen it get overnight during the summer was in the 40s. During the winter, it's been known to go down into the low teens here, but it'll usually stay below freezing all day in that case. Spring and Fall have the widest extremes, I think. The past week, the morning low would be around 35 Fahrenheit and the afternoon high would be in the mid-eighties.

You'll find wider extremes as you go higher in altitude, since less atmosphere blocks the sunlight during the day, but less atmosphere also holds less heat at night.


----------



## elgar's ghost

I like winter days and nights when they are cold and still. Don't mind crisp snow so much but icy conditions underfoot give me the vapours - the last thing I want to do is to slip and fall awkwardly and have another titanium screw inserted to keep my ankle ligaments together.


----------



## drpraetorus

Crudblud said:


> Is it true that desert areas are blisteringly hot in the day and freezing cold at night?
> 
> I've never been outside the UK, so I know nothing about stuff like that.


Some deserts do have swings from freezing to 70's or 80's. The dry air doesn't hold the heat well. Tomorrow they expect it to go from low 30's to 70's. So you wear a jacket in the morning and carry it around for the rest of the day.


----------



## drpraetorus

Hilltroll72 said:


> Seems like I read somewhere that there are no palm species native to the US. True?


There aren't many but there are a few. The Washingtonia is native to a small are in the Palm Springs CA area. The Sabal Palm is from the Carolinas south. The Washingtonia is the tall and spindly palm you see in the picture from southern CA. It makes a great home for rats. They are actually one of the hardier palms. The city of Saint George in the extreme south of Utah has them growing. Saint George gets down to the 20's and upper teens in the winter, but they will warm up to the 40's or 50's on winter days so the palms are not frozen solid like they would be any further north.


----------



## drpraetorus

kv466 said:


> A really good winter palm is pindo palm (butio capitata), windmill palm and any phoenix variety.


I'm not a big palm lover, but I do like the Queen and the Royal palms. I got turned off off the phoenix palms from living with them in L.A. But you're right, they are hardy.


----------



## Kopachris

drpraetorus said:


> Some deserts do have swings from freezing to 70's or 80's. The dry air doesn't hold the heat well. Tomorrow they expect it to go from low 30's to 70's. So you wear a jacket in the morning and carry it around for the rest of the day.


Winter in St. George was just like that when I was in school. Cover up big time in the morning, leave your coat in your locker throughout the day, and forget to take it home after school so you have end up freezing the next morning.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

I love winter! I fact I prefer -30 C to the +30 C we often get in summer. The cold makes me feel somehow more alive, full of energy, more able to get things done. I would hybernate from mid-May to mid-September if I could (and wake up in case it suddenly gets chilly and rainy). And the natural beauty... there is mothing like listening to the Tannhäuser overture or to Bruckner's 1st while standing in the middle of a large frozen lake with nobody for miles around, just you, the ice, the cold winter sun overhead and the Great White Stillness...

I would gladly move to Alaska, to Canada or anywhere else, where winter lasts longer than here.


----------



## Ukko

Cnote11 said:


> You would be wrong.


Wow. The first time in years! It's good to have these occasional reminders that Sheldon Cooper and I are of human stock.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

G


Crudblud said:


> I like winter, although I am quite sensitive to the cold.


You were out in a t-shirt at 10.8°C


----------



## jani

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> G
> You were out in a t-shirt at 10.8°C


That's not even Chilly.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

jani said:


> That's not even Chilly.


Yeah I know if you got three days of that Finland would get a record-breaking heat wave, but here in Australia 10.8°C is quite cold and something I would expect in August.


----------



## jani

SiegendesLicht said:


> I love winter! I fact I prefer -30 C to the +30 C we often get in summer. The cold makes me feel somehow more alive, full of energy, more able to get things done. I would hybernate from mid-May to mid-September if I could (and wake up in case it suddenly gets chilly and rainy). And the natural beauty... there is mothing like listening to the Tannhäuser overture or to Bruckner's 1st while standing in the middle of a large frozen lake with nobody for miles around, just you, the ice, the cold winter sun overhead and the Great White Stillness...
> 
> I would gladly move to Alaska, to Canada or anywhere else, where winter lasts longer than here.


The country where i live would be great for you then, we only have population of +5,000,000.
So we have lots of forests etc...


----------



## SiegendesLicht

jani said:


> The country where i live would be great for you then, we only have population of +5,000,000.
> So we have lots of forests etc...


I am definitely going to visit Finland, at least for vacation, sometime in the future. Awesome nature, beautiful language, plus some of my fave metal bands (Nightwish, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Finntroll) hail from that country. And Sibelius, of course. Some chapters of Finnish history (the Winter War) are very fascinating to me as well.


----------



## jani

SiegendesLicht said:


> I am definitely going to visit Finland, at least for vacation, sometime in the future. Awesome nature, beautiful language, plus some of my fave metal bands (Nightwish, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Finntroll) hail from that country. And Sibelius, of course. Some chapters of Finnish history (the Winter War) are very fascinating to me as well.


8th day of December is the official Sibelius day here.


----------



## regressivetransphobe

Every winter it goes below 0 degrees F here, turns into a goddamn ice land and stays that way well past the beginning of Spring, and we all seem to make it out okay. Meanwhile the midwest or the south get a single snowflake and everyone there starts crashing their cars into telephone poles and hiding in bomb shelters.


----------



## Ukko

regressivetransphobe said:


> Every winter it goes below 0 degrees F here, turns into a goddamn ice land and stays that way well past the beginning of Spring, and we all seem to make it out okay. Meanwhile the midwest or the south get a single snowflake and everyone there starts crashing their cars into telephone poles and hiding in bomb shelters.


I've spent some winter time in the upper Midwest. Seems like at least half the snowstorms come with a steady wind, so the snow moves horizontally in one direction; makes for some impressive drifts, and lousy visibility. It snowed once when I was working near Huntsville, Alabama; I was told that the state owned two plow trucks, and they weren't near Huntsville.

I did notice on another occasion in central North Carolina, that when the roads were snowy the locals tended to drive slowly upgrade and fast downgrade. This is poor operating procedure.

But it's all a matter of what you're used to. I never figured out how to get through thick kudzu without a machete.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Winter set in here last week. Right now there is a bit of sunshine and a bit of snowfall - perfect Christmas weather.









I am sitting in my office and thinking just how much I would love to be outside, in a park or out of town just now and to walk in that snow...


----------



## clavichorder

Seattle has a terrible reaction to the snow, much worse than the midwest. In the last decade, there have been inevitable snow days for schools, things that wouldn't phase the midwest but get Seattlelites worked up. Meanwhile, 50 miles east in the Cascade Mountains, Washington is getting 10 feet of snow, no joke.

Its still pretty mild around here, though the rain is and gray is getting pretty bothersome, more so than usual. Depression seems to rise in everyone during this season.

Back when I lived in Des Moines, Iowa, they would get the snow plows and the salt out and the worst of snow storms wouldn't keep us down for more than a day.


----------



## neoshredder

Love winter in Texas. Best time of the year over here.


----------



## clavichorder

neoshredder said:


> Love winter in Texas. Best time of the year over here.


If skies are clear and it is crisp and cool out, that's the best kind of weather there is. We get a few weeks of that in Seattle, and I always want more!


----------



## Mesa

I've noticed a few things when i look around:
Leaves are brown.
There's a patch of snow on the ground.
The sky is a hazy shade of winter.


----------



## Cnote11

It still isn't snowing here... these last two years have been incredibly mild; It is still pretty warm outside!


----------



## drpraetorus

So far, it's been a mild winter. No complaints from me. Upper 40's and lower 30's mostly. Any winter day I don't have to scrape ice off the windshield is a good day. 

If you want to talk weather wussies, I would add Southern California. If it rains, the freeways become parking lots because they have all become nervous nellies. Temperatures in the 40's are considered absolutely freezing. They don't have the usual 4 seasons. They have Fire season and Mudslide season.


----------



## drpraetorus

The Mid West has an interesting winter phenominon (sp?). The ice storm. It leaves everything coated with crystal clear ice. Very beautiful but it is impossible to walk or drive on and it bring down trees and powerlines.


----------



## KenOC

Had ice storms in Portland occasionally when I lived there. They were called "silver thaws" for some reason. Everything collapses under the weight of the clear ice. Believe Nashville was hit by a big one a couple of years ago, some places were without power for weeks.

Where I live now, I've seen frost one time in 14 years, on the top of a high hill nearby...


----------



## drpraetorus

sounds like paradice to me.


----------



## presto

Don't like the winter!


----------



## violadude

This time of the year always makes me depressed. It gets dark really early and it always looks gloomy and I can't take walks because it's always raining or too cold so I just stay inside and feel lonely.


----------



## Vaneyes

It's all within. Could be August, could be January.

View attachment 11033


----------



## Ravndal

Winter is way too long and cold in Norway. I don't enjoy any activities connected to snow - at all. also, i need a lot of sunshine in order to be happy. And january is probably the darkest month here... not looking forward to it.


----------



## violadude

Ravndal said:


> Winter is way too long and cold in Norway. I don't enjoy any activities connected to snow - at all. also, i need a lot of sunshine in order to be happy. And january is probably the darkest month here... not looking forward to it.


Agreed. ..........


----------



## clavichorder

violadude said:


> This time of the year always makes me depressed. It gets dark really early and it always looks gloomy and I can't take walks because it's always raining or too cold so I just stay inside and feel lonely.


A good time to be mildly sick. Then you feel excused and even justified for all the movie watching, light reading, video games, ect. that you do.


----------



## clavichorder

Ravndal said:


> Winter is way too long and cold in Norway. I don't enjoy any activities connected to snow - at all. also, i need a lot of sunshine in order to be happy. And january is probably the darkest month here... not looking forward to it.


Do you have any day? Even though I am fascinated with the poles, I must admit it would be rough to not have much or any day.


----------



## Ravndal

At its worst: Sun goes up 09:00 AM, and goes down 03:00 PM. it is approximately 6 hours with sun (if its not cloudy), which could be okay if it wasnt in the middle of the day when people were at work and school etc.

But this is for oslo.. if you travel far north in norway, its dark 24/7 the whole winter. and in the summer its bright 24/7 hehe.


----------



## neoshredder

Alcohol and Winter go together so well for me. Unfortunately, we've been getting semi-warm weather.


----------



## clavichorder

neoshredder said:


> Alcohol and Winter go together so well for me. Unfortunately, we've been getting semi-warm weather.


I'm having a hard pear cider right now. Odd thing was in the fridge. Its not bad as far as alcohol goes in terms of taste.

Edit; also I'm fully aware of the double meaning in your post. I liked it because I agreed that I am enjoying some alcohol this time of year.

And: For those who would patronize me because I'm 4 months shy of 21, I have about 3 beers a week and at night in front of the computer. This time pear cider was available. I read that it improves brain function to consume small amounts of alcohol like this, and I'm buying it for now.


----------



## PetrB

Right now, where I am, it is my least favorite sort of weather - low 40's Farenheit (5 Celsius) and raining: Wet, clammy cold. 
Just splendid: I much prefer snow, where the damp is captured, so to speak, and the air itself is dry. Bah Humbug 

for anyone interested or in need: Temperature converter, Fahrenheit & Celsius...
https://www.google.com/search?q=fahrenheit+to+celsius&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a


----------



## clavichorder

PetrB said:


> Right now, where I am, it is my least favorite sort of weather - low 40's Farenheit (5 Celsius) and raining: Wet, clammy cold.
> Just splendid: I much prefer snow, where the damp is captured, so to speak, and the air itself is dry. Bah Humbug
> 
> for anyone interested or in need: Temperature converter, Farenheit & Celsius...
> https://www.google.com/search?q=fahrenheit+to+celsius&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a


I fully agree! We are suffering with day time rain in the mid 30s and mild night time snow fall. A few days ago it wasn't raining and the air had a little of that crisp feeling. That's pretty much my favorite kind of weather all year, especially when its clear and in the mid 20s to 30.


----------



## Ravndal

clavichorder said:


> I'm having a hard pear cider right now. Odd thing was in the fridge. Its not bad as far as alcohol goes in terms of taste.
> 
> Edit; also I'm fully aware of the double meaning in your post. I liked it because I agreed that I am enjoying some alcohol this time of year.
> 
> And: For those who would patronize me because I'm 4 months shy of 21, I have about 3 beers a week and at night in front of the computer. This time pear cider was available. I read that it improves brain function to consume small amounts of alcohol like this, and I'm buying it for now.


that 21 year old limit is retarded and juvenile lol. i wouldnt dream of patronizing you.


----------



## clavichorder

Ravndal said:


> that 21 year old limit is retarded and juvenile lol. i wouldnt dream of patronizing you.


Oh you europeans! I agree fully.

edit: and pretty much everywhere except the U.S.


----------



## Ravndal

if i were in the US, i would have just packed my things at my 18th birthday and travel to berlin, or something...


----------



## neoshredder

Or Amsterdam. lol


----------



## Ravndal

nevermiiiiiiiiiiiiiind


----------



## PetrB

Vaneyes said:


> It's all within. Could be August, could be January.
> 
> View attachment 11033


This photo is of a man known to by an extreme hypochondriac, who took dozens of preventative vitamins and tonics each day to 'ward off' perceived threats to his health (a fat lot of good it seems to have done him) and who, in late April, with moderate temperatures, could be seen, dressed as in the photo, because he was so obsessed with 'catching something.'

So there, in that photo, is your 'all weather all year round' portrait of Glenny Boy


----------



## PetrB

neoshredder said:


> Or Amsterdam. lol


Lived there near eleven years - exactly the sort of more or less over freezing, wet rainy winter I complained of as my least favorite winter weather - the compensation was living in continental Europe in a beautiful urban center where there is the liveliest of arts scenes 

People may tend to forget just how much further north a lot of north Europe is, say, compared to the 'live in zone' of Canada, north Europe having that much more extreme 'The Long Dark" in winter.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Ravndal said:


> At its worst: Sun goes up 09:00 AM, and goes down 03:00 PM. it is approximately 6 hours with sun (if its not cloudy), which could be okay if it wasnt in the middle of the day when people were at work and school etc.
> 
> But this is for oslo.. if you travel far north in norway, its dark 24/7 the whole winter. and in the summer its bright 24/7 hehe.


*Checks out prices and availability of airplane tickets to Norwegian far north*


----------



## presto

violadude said:


> This time of the year always makes me depressed. It gets dark really early and it always looks gloomy and I can't take walks because it's always raining or too cold so I just stay inside and feel lonely.


Yes, I get a bit SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) at this time of year too. 
I'm very much a summer person, I miss wearing vests and getting nice tanned arms.


----------



## Crudblud

I like Summer and all, especially the mild nights and early long sunrises and late long sunsets, but I hate the bugs and if I'm out in the heat for too long I get a terrible headache. Winter is much more enjoyable for me in the daytime, it's nice and cold, the air is sharp and clean and I can wear my beloved long coats without getting too hot. I love the way the sky looks, it takes on all these magical colours, and when blended with those stretched out bands of thin translucent cloud... it's just unbelievable. I like when it snows; in the day time you can see the landscape totally illuminated like that, and the whole world is monochrome but defined, so well defined, almost like a drawn image, not the dreary brownish green of Spring and Summer's muddied grass. At night, snow on the rooftops hits the sky and it takes on this cloudy purple quality, and you can see so well it's almost as if it wasn't dark, and if the sky is clear then the stars are brighter than elsewhen in the year. In my estimation, Winter is nothing short of outstanding.


----------



## PetrB

Crudblud said:


> I like Summer and all, especially the mild nights and early long sunrises and late long sunsets, but I hate the bugs and if I'm out in the heat for too long I get a terrible headache. Winter is much more enjoyable for me in the daytime, it's nice and cold, the air is sharp and clean and I can wear my beloved long coats without getting too hot. I love the way the sky looks, it takes on all these magical colours, and when blended with those stretched out bands of thin translucent cloud... it's just unbelievable. I like when it snows; in the day time you can see the landscape totally illuminated like that, and the whole world is monochrome but defined, so well defined, almost like a drawn image, not the dreary brownish green of Spring and Summer's muddied grass. At night, snow on the rooftops hits the sky and it takes on this cloudy purple quality, and you can see so well it's almost as if it wasn't dark, and if the sky is clear then the stars are brighter than elsewhen in the year. In my estimation, Winter is nothing short of outstanding.


The only thing you missed is the frozen temps combined with the bright days, those with a blanket of snow being a mighty refract of what light there is -- and it becomes -- with the air dry, a dazzling and etched clear spectacle. See that clear: feel and think that clear.


----------



## clavichorder

I just like the cold, crisp and clear. Its refreshing to see that it is a popular kind of weather here on talkclassical.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

I saw the tiniest shower of flurries today! Does that count as the first snow?


----------



## drpraetorus

So was that Pear Cider intentional or just some pear juice that sat in the refrigerator too long? 

Longest night of the year tonight. All our lights and revelry will force the south to return our sun soon. Can't happen too soon for me. 

Looks like we survived the Mayan doomsday. Now the History chanel can go back to its real history programs, like Ancient Aliens.


----------



## drpraetorus

The answer is always aliens because humans are too stupid


----------



## elgar's ghost

This morning it's very mild here with an incessant, 'greasy' rain - more like autumn conditions at their least pleasant.


----------



## jani

I went to a store today one of the main entry doors was frozen so i had to use an other one.


----------



## presto

Anyone else feel the cold really bad?
I do and it’s not in the mind, if I’m out on a cold day with my wife I physically get much colder than she does.
My nose, ears and hands get quite uncomfortable yet my wife isn't the slightest bit cold and she’s not as wrapped up as me.
If I go for a meal in an air conditioned restaurant I make sure I’m well away from the fan, if not the draft really gets to me. 
I’ve always been like this, always cold when everyone around me are not.
I went to the doctor about it a few years ago and had a check up and was told I’m in excellent health and just one of those people that feels the cold. 
I still don’t think that was a good enough explanation!


----------



## emiellucifuge

There was a thick blanket of snow here in Amsterdam but that was while I was still in London. Now I'm here it's just wet and cold and unpleasant.

i look forward to the snow or to the spring, but I can't stand this 'indecision'.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Right now it's -10 C, clear skies and lots of snow - the best weather I can think of.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

It's pretty hot where I am.........


----------



## drpraetorus

presto said:


> Anyone else feel the cold really bad?
> I do and it's not in the mind, if I'm out on a cold day with my wife I physically get much colder than she does.
> My nose, ears and hands get quite uncomfortable yet my wife isn't the slightest bit cold and she's not as wrapped up as me.
> If I go for a meal in an air conditioned restaurant I make sure I'm well away from the fan, if not the draft really gets to me.
> I've always been like this, always cold when everyone around me are not.
> I went to the doctor about it a few years ago and had a check up and was told I'm in excellent health and just one of those people that feels the cold.
> I still don't think that was a good enough explanation!


I hate the cold. Cool is refreshing but the cold, anything lower than about 35F (I would guess that's about 1 or 2 C) strats to wear on me. I seeps into every extremeity and joint. Even with warm clothes and coats, if your in it long enough your cold and uncomfortable moving on to miserable. From about mid December to mid January, here, the normal high is 35 and the lows are in the teens.

It could be worse, we could be in Russia. It seems to have been brutal there the past few weeks.


----------



## Chi_townPhilly

regressivetransphobe said:


> ... the midwest or the south get a single snowflake and everyone there starts crashing their cars into telephone poles and hiding in bomb shelters.


'Pends on _where_ in the Midwest...

The old NFL "Black & Blue" division cities of Minneapolis/St Paul, Green Bay, Wisconsin (and their followers in Milwaukee), Detroit, Chicago: typically know their way around a snowstorm. Roads tend to get cleared. Politicians' jobs are at stake if they don't- and in fact, one notable 'fail' in that regard in Chicago actually cost a sitting mayor an election.

I don't know where the 'Mason-Dixon Line' of snow-clearing competence lies (guess it sort of varies, like a pseudo-mystical ley-line), but my best friend *swears* it never gets as far south as Columbus, Ohio. There and in St Louis is where we got the stories of people leaving for the office with a bedroll when light flurries hit, in case they had to sleep over.


Hilltroll72 said:


> I've spent some winter time in the upper Midwest. Seems like at least half the snowstorms come with a steady wind, so the snow moves horizontally in one direction; makes for some impressive drifts, and lousy visibility.


Oh, yeah. Careful readers know I went to college in the Land of Corn, DeKalb, Illiinois. They've nicknamed Chicago "The Windy City," but I've NEVER felt winds that compared to the ones I experienced in DeKalb. Freshman year there was the first time I personally witnessed people getting _knocked down to the ground_ by winds. Spent a little time in South Bend, Indiana, too. It's not quite like Buffalo New York for lake-effect snow- but it was still pretty memorable to walk from building-to-building on paths that weren't so much sidewalks as Snow-Trenches... with the snow over my head either side of the walkway.


----------



## clavichorder

Des Moines IA has an excellent response to snow as far as keeping the city moving as normal. Seattle WA, not so much... Not sure about their overuse of chemicals and salts, I don't know if it is "green" or not.


----------



## cwarchc

its wet wet wet here in the UK 
flooding all over the country


----------



## Cnote11

I think it snowed...


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Unusually cool Christmas. Yesterady was 34 degrees celsius and today got to about 21 and rained for most of it.


----------



## drpraetorus

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Unusually cool Christmas. Yesterady was 34 degrees celsius and today got to about 21 and rained for most of it.


If I had the money I would winter where you are.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

It did snow yesterday for Christmas Eve! There was a tiny layer everywhere, and this morning some of it's still there. The Sun is shining and everything is calm. It's part of my family's tradition to celebrate on Christmas Eve anyway, so Christmas Day is the day for relaxation.


----------



## Iforgotmypassword

Hilltroll72 said:


> Winter is for children - and philosophers. For the elderly, each winter may be the final straw.
> 
> [edit: I forgot to mention that, in Vermont and New Hampshire at least, winter is the prime logging season.]


Indeed. I cannot agree more that winter is the season of philosophy and deep thought.


----------



## aleazk

My favorite seasons are Autumn and Spring. Winter comes third, although I really like those cold, dry, but very luminous days. I really _hate_ Summer, mainly because of the bugs, particularly mosquitoes (they fly near your ear when you are trying to sleep, argh!), and the suffocating heat (in hot days, the temperature here can raise to 40ºC!, add to this a 
humidity of the 80% and the result is the very hell).


----------



## Cnote11

Well, there was a snow storm today.


----------



## samurai

@ CNote, How many inches did you get in your part of Michigan?


----------



## violadude

samurai said:


> @ CNote, How many inches did you get in your part of Michigan?


I thought he lived in PA now.


----------



## Cnote11

violadude said:


> I thought he lived in PA now.


Nope, not yet. You'll know when I change my location down there under my avatar. That will be on January 7th.

As for the amount of snow, well... I've no idea actually. I'd have to report back to you on that. I don't have a window in my room so I tend to lose track of these things.


----------



## Cnote11

We got about 6 inches or something like that.


----------



## violadude

Cnote11 said:


> We got about 6 inches or something like that.


We have none so far, which I'm quite ok with. I'm not a fan of snow...


----------



## Cnote11

Me neither... but I don't have to deal with it, so whatever.


----------



## violadude

Cnote11 said:


> Me neither... but I don't have to deal with it, so whatever.


The only thing that I DID like about snow was that my dog looked really beautiful in it. I wish I had a picture to demonstrate but I don't think I do.


----------



## Cnote11

Fly out to somewhere with snow with your dog and take one.


----------



## violadude

Cnote11 said:


> Fly out to somewhere with snow with your dog and take one.


My dog is dead. That's why it's something I did like about the snow rather than something I do like about the snow lol.


----------



## Cnote11

Well, I thought you were just saying that because you currently have no snow. 

This is one of those times when those people who never put down the camera can feel justified.


----------



## Flamme

Snow rain sun and grey clouds hot and cold alternate as traffic lights...


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Having a really nice summer! Most days under thirty degrees celsius.


----------



## Flamme




----------



## Huilunsoittaja

I'm gonna go visit my brother and sister-in-law in a few days, and they have snow right now where they are. Will be lovely to go walking out in the snow, and in the mountains.


----------



## cwarchc

It's rather damp here in the UK
Officially our wettest year since they started keeping records
Lots of people flooded out of their homes and business


----------



## drpraetorus

Well, winter has set in with a vengence. Starting about New Year, the weather turned cold and then colder. We got our first nasty inversion of the season and and didn't get above freezing for a bit more than a week. lows in the single digits F. We finally got the storm we all wanted to clear the air but it left 8 inches of snow and the temperature has fallen. Today our morning low was -2(-19 c). The coldest in 5 years. Our afternoon high was 15 (-9). It is expected to stay like that for at least a week, probably longer. We won't get above freezing for a while. January is a month to grit your teeth and endure. At least with February you can see some change in more light and maybe a bit warmer.


----------



## clavichorder

violadude said:


> We have none so far, which I'm quite ok with. I'm not a fan of snow...


Yeah dude, but we've had that nice cold and clear weather quite a bit in the last week or so. I am really enjoying the weather for the most part. Frost the last few nights and light snow that didn't stick today. Less dreary drippy weather. And it might snow soon in a relatively significant way.


----------



## clavichorder

Cnote11 said:


> Fly out to somewhere with snow with your dog and take one.


I wish I could fly.

In other news, you can drive to the mountains around here and find absurd amounts of snow that might be a little wet too...


----------



## Flamme

Cold and grey here wind blows hard carrying all sorts of dust and paper in the air making small vortexes...


----------



## Crudblud

This morning, on the horizon, there was a dazzling clash of white and pink. Spectacular.


----------



## jani

As you may already know that i don't like snow at all but i have to say that it looks good on trees.
I took this pic few days ago with my phone.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Beautiful! But the snow seems to be not very deep, right? We have it up to the knees around here now.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

My University's Performing Arts center in the snow:


----------



## Vaneyes




----------



## elgar's ghost

Four days ago it was about -3 deg. C and there was thick-ish ice on the pavements and snow in the house guttering that looked like it would deny any attempts to shift. Two days later it had all but disappeared as the temperatures rose to a spring-like 8 deg. C. I got drenched in a cloudburst walking home on Friday night but that was infinitely preferable to slipping over and the possibility of another visit to the operating theatre and a re-acquaintance with a drill and titanium screws.


----------



## drpraetorus

Well, our inversion finaly broke. we were socked in for over 2 weeks with it. Now we have our blue skys and mountain vistas again and a couple feet of new snow. I am convinced that in the winter days lengthen to 48 hours while in the summer they shorten to 12 hours. It seems that winter lasts twice as long as summer.


----------



## opus55

Very little snow so far, just like last year. My nephew from Southern California will be very disappointed if there is no snow when he visits this weekend.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

It was 70 degrees F here today.

Where did winter go????


----------



## jani

Huilunsoittaja said:


> It was 70 degrees F here today.
> 
> Where did winter go????


Don't worry it decided to visit my country, It snows like crazy at the moment.


----------



## drpraetorus

Finally, January has ended. It was the coldest January in 60 years and the 4th coldest on record. The avetage high was 19 degrees. It is usually 29. Temps are back to noraml. And as an added benefit, Ground Hog day marks the mid point between the solstice and the equinox. The sun returns to the northlands.


----------



## clavichorder

Huilunsoittaja said:


> It was 70 degrees F here today.
> 
> Where did winter go????


I liked this for some reason, so I unliked it. That kind of frightens me. Depressing.


----------



## OboeKnight

Negative degrees today. Had some freakish snow storm last night that really didn't amount to anything but pissing people off. It got school delayed though, so oh well. Here in Ohio, we can experience pretty much every season in the course of a week. Only two days ago I was wearing shorts and driving with the windows down. Today, there is snow on the ground and it is unbearable to remain outside for more than five minutes. Oh Ohio, how fantastically confused you are.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja

clavichorder said:


> I liked this for some reason, so I unliked it. That kind of frightens me. Depressing.


Winter only took a 2 day vacation, and came back last night. Snow on the ground again, currently below freezing.

This weather is wack!  It has bi-polar issues or something! :lol:


----------



## drpraetorus

OboeKnight said:


> Negative degrees today. Had some freakish snow storm last night that really didn't amount to anything but pissing people off. It got school delayed though, so oh well. Here in Ohio, we can experience pretty much every season in the course of a week. Only two days ago I was wearing shorts and driving with the windows down. Today, there is snow on the ground and it is unbearable to remain outside for more than five minutes. Oh Ohio, how fantastically confused you are.


I well remember Ohio winters. Youngstown. Ice on the inside of the windows


----------



## Lunasong

I was driving home from work Thursday night (same storm as OK's) and had a car spin out right in front of me. I was on the highway and another car passed me in the passing lane. A wee bit further up the road it hit something slippery and did a 180 across my lane and off the road. I was very lucky.


----------



## Harmonie

Where I live I can't really fathom why anybody would prefer any of the other three seasons. It's hardly ever cold here. The cold only comes in waves and usually only sticks around for a few days, if even that. Occasionally there's a winter storm (hasn't been the last couple of years, though =( ), and I can't deny that they sometimes can get quite messy.

But... Seriously. Here in my area we hardly ever have what I'd consider nice weather... Aside from during the winter. For you see whatever season it is, there's always a tendency toward being warmer than the "average". Like, always. For winter this means lots of 50s, 60s, and 70s. That's nice weather! You won't see so many 50s, 60s, and 70s during the autumn or Spring. Spring hits long before winter is over, and by the time it's actually Spring on the calender we're already hitting the 80s.

It was actually pretty cold early in the winter. (Relatively, I know) But now it feels like winter has abandoned us once again, just like it did last year, and the forecast is all 60s and 70s. =/ We really didn't get a winter at all last year, so I'm getting frustrated here. Where's our winter storm?!


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Here it's summer and 35deg C (that's 95 degrees Fahrenheit) and the weekend will be 38-39deg C (102degrees Fahrenheit), not much chance of snow here I think.


----------



## drpraetorus

If I had the bucks, I would spend october through mid march in Australia. I might even bring some prickley pears as a present. I understand they do quite well there.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

prickley pears- you'd get lynched- the introduction was attributed to Governor Phillip at Port Jackson in 1788- don't think you would want to repeat it.









almost choked out half the farm land in Queensland and New South Wales (infested millions of hectares of rural land by the 1920s), bloody stuff is still all over outback Qld.


----------



## drpraetorus

Well, if you don't want prickley pears, how about some jack rabbits or toads or camels? Just trying to be helpfull. That picture of the house with all the prickley pears looks like some I have seen from Texas. In the drought years there, they will go out with a flamthrower and burn off the spines so the cows can have something to graze on. I have an ornamental patch of several species in my yard. Did Australia get the Kudzu vine that is swallowing the American south-east? It is litteraly covering everthing in it's area. Now we hear that the Florida Everglades is being taken over by Burmes Pythons.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

You certainly come up with some good suggestions there but unfortunately we have had those lol including camels - many of which roam the centre of Oz, left from early days of Afghan traders using them here - hence the main rail line to Alice Spring is called the Ghan.


We got many vines - might be different name but one bad one in Queensland is called locally "wait a while" - and it certainly does that to you.


----------



## drpraetorus

Finally. March. Snow has melted and the daffodils are coming up. This has been a winter we will all be glad to see the butt end of.


----------



## OboeKnight

Update on the fickle weather of Ohio:

*This week*
Sunday was actually hot. Monday warm, bright, sunny skies with a smell of spring in the air. Today, freezing with snow flurries all day.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

On this day in the middle of March we are having the worst blizzard we have had for at least a decade. It's been snowing hard all night and all day, and now the snow is up to our knees and still falling, and the traffic on many streets and highways is paralyzed. By tomorrow morning the snow is expected to stop and the temperature to fall to -30C. This year winter is not giving up without a fight.


----------

