Cold

[Tony S]

Wonder what everybody's whining about. I remember milking at -39F in the 80's. (Not wind chill). One morning I went out and the thermometer said -15. Felt good. My Mom said she remembered -47 in the 50's or 60's. I went to a friend's wedding in Alberta, the thermometer said -19F at noon. Nobody even seemed to notice.

 

[Bruce from Can.]

Coldest I ever remember was 40 below, and son tells me -40 is same on both scales. Milked cows nearly my whole life, and the dairy barn always feels like paradise compared to outside at these temperatures. Take heart, spring will come, snow will melt, it will all be good again.

 

[Deere Scotty]

I AGREE!!! The US mail is not being delivered for the second day in a row in Central, Indiana where temps reached around -5! Its been a whole lot colder than that in my 47 year lifetime. Probably mail was halted for the Blizzard of 78; But not in weather like this. No snow is even on the ground for crying out loud!!!

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Maybe you should Homestead the North Pole

 

[flying belgian]

I know but it's hard.

 

[jeffcat]

Yes yes and yes. Minus 40 f + c are the same. When I was a kid just GUESS Who took the grain shovel and dug the pathway to the barn alllll the way from the back door of the house????? The greatest thing the week before your dad bought you a brand new pair of black Tingley boots at the agway for around $4.oo Dont forget a coating of canning sealing wax on that shovel. After you clean the cow poo off of it. When you got into the barn the milking was about a third done and the humidity had to be in the high 80% range. Remember the beautiful ice and frost patterns on the windows where the tiny air leaks were. Can remember some times they were almost an inch think. Next was hopeing the Clay and later Badger silage unloaders wasn't frozen solid and the frozen stuff on the walls would at least let the machine turn. Then a couple of days later the sun would thaw the southern facing side of the silo and all of that crap falls right on top of the machine. Go up and dig it out. After the girls are fed and grained. GLF and then later Agway used to call it Sweet Sixteen mix. Had that really disgusting thick molasses in it. The stuff even had strands of sugar cane in it. Smelled great though. A little latter in the day you were praying the s,*** elevator wasn't frozen and The patz barn cleaner was free too. How many buckets of hot water from the milkhouse and a crow bar do you need to break it loose? You ever try to back a spreader up on a sheet of ice? Next thing is try to get out. The sunlight is so blinding bright even sunglasses are hardly enough. One really bad thing is you get the new idea spreader full and the tractor will not start. The damn heffers have pulled all of the ignition wires off the 460. But the whole side of the tractor is licked clean. By the way...electric fences don't work too good when they are burned in snow drifts. Then you hear on the barn radio..... There is going to be another 10 to 12 inches tonight.

 

[Crazy Horse]

You think that's bad, that ain't nuttin' ......... I remember one morning when I was a kid when the temperature was "absolute zero on the Kelvin scale" ...... don't know what that is? The old firewood supply on the farm got used up pretty quick and even our Essex Tri-Directional wouldn't start. Here ya go (from Wikipedia) .....

At the physically impossible-to-reach temperature of zero kelvin, or minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), atoms would stop moving. As such, nothing can be colder than absolute zero on the Kelvin scale.

 

[JF in MI]

You are witnessing the 'woosification of America'. If you think it's bad now just wait 20 years and you'll talk about 'the good 'ol days of 1-31-2019'.

 

[Russ from MN]

I read yesterday where the North pole was only 17F, way warmer than the upper Midwest! The arctic ocean is way warmer than normal and that has pushed the polar vortex down into the northern states.

 

[db4600]

I agree with that. I recall during the 80?s on the dairy farm we had a stretch where the thermometer was broke below 0 for 6 or 7 days straight. We went to school, milked cows, and went about our daily lives. Visited the wood stove a little more often maybe. The difference now is we are inundated with social media and national media blowing the horn. Back when it was the local polka and farm report station and the big 3 at 5:00 we learned to be seen and not heard.

 

[centash]

Describes a typical day here when we milked cows. Ahhh, the memories....!
Ben

 

[jeffcat]

This was driving home last night.

 

[rrlund]

Could be worse.

 

[gab]

There was an old boy on PBS talking about life on the farm in the old days, your story is a lot better.

 

[Janicholson]

Good idea, nothing but sea bottom under the water under the ice. Not much sunlight gets through the ice, so all the plantings must be night shade based. Jim

 

[Northvale PA]

Maybe. What we are told and what is true may not be the same. Besides, who is going to the North Pole to check any of this info???

 

[BradyW]

-34 Below coldest I have felt, Northwest Wisconsin

 

[JMS/.MN]

So what caused similar temps 25 years ago? Coldest day on this farm in 47 years was -46, 4th tuesday of Jan, 1992.

 

[Madisonbob]

JANUARY 30, 1951 IT REACHED -53 at our farm in South Central Wis. That was the air temp, not wind chill. All the water in the barn froze up, had problems with the well on the farm. Was a very miserable few days on a dairy farm.

 

[sms]

In the winter of 78-79 upstate NY went a week it never got above -10F, was 35-40 below at night. I walked to class at -40, (at least 3/4 of a mile) college was still in session.
record cold in NY

 

[Part Time Pete]

SMS - I remember that winter - I was a senior in high school driving a 68 VW bug with almost no heat. My hair would be frozen by the time I got to school
Pete