What does -30 or -40 fahrenheit feel like?

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If anyone reading this is from North Dakota, Minnesota, or Canada, where temperatures in the -30s and -40s happen, I'm curious what that feels like. And also, the forecast for this coming week is supposed to dip down to the -30s again in those places (they call it a polar vortex, and get about 2 or 3 each winter). I'm in Kansas where lows less than around -10 are very rare (-12 is the coldest I can remember), and not even every winter does it dip below zero at all (5 or 10 above zero is bitter cold to many of us, and can't even imagine -35). But I'm curious, so if anyone answering this question is in North Dakota or Canada right now, I'm just curious what the -30s and -40s are like, what you all do to prepare for those temperatures, how do you keep your homes warm (is regular central heating alone enough?) How do you all handle it, do you despise it? Or do some of you not mind so much because you've gotten used to it? I know that adaption can play a role, my mom lives in Florida and she can't handle the 30s up here in Kansas city in the winter, but I don't mind the 30s so much. I guess that us Kansas citians look at Grand Forks, ND or Winnipeg, Canada in the same way that Floridians look at Kansas city or St. Louis. What's too cold for one isn't so bad for another who's more adapted to it. I guess, what do you all think?

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Comments ( 33 )

CozmoWank

5 years ago

A bit chilly.

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- [Old Memory]
  
  5 years ago
  
  A bit nippy.
  
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  - CozmoWank
    
    5 years ago
    
    Better wear a scarf.
    
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chrysocolla

5 years ago

winnipegger here
have a small heater on hand and crank it up in your room
don’t bother heating the rest of the home because you’ll only go out of your room to eat and poop

you get used to the cold but usually if it’s -40° you don’t go outside
-30° is on the chilly side of normal and a lot of people still go out
-20° is average and anyone in this city who thinks it’s cold needs to go outside more often
-10° is warm
0° is literally shorts weather
the first day it reaches -1° or 0° you’ll see a bunch of people walking around with shorts and sweaters
that being said, summer, spring and fall are a whole different story

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  Are alot of people in Winnipeg only able to heat their bedroom and not the rest of their home?
  
  You all think -10 is warm? And you'll see shorts at 0? Are you talking about Celsius? I know that many Canadians go by the Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. I was talking about Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Even in Kansas city when it's about 32 Fahrenheit, 0 Celsius, I'll sometimes see people in shorts and sweatshirts, but I never see that at 0 Fahrenheit (-17 Celsius), not here, that's too cold. It looks like you're talking about Celsius since it seems you're saying what a big difference between 10 degrees is, and 0 and -10 not being that cold. But if you're talking about Fahrenheit, than you guys have a tolerance and toughness to the cold that is very uncommon down here and quite admirable.
  
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  - ThirdTesticle
    
    5 years ago
    
    I'm from upstate New York, and he definitely meant celsius. Nobody would go out in shorts anywhere if it was 0 degrees farenheight, you would most likely get frostbite.
    
    0 degrees Celsius is freezing or 32 degrees. It's pretty unusual to wear shorts if it's that cold, but 32 degrees isn't that cold at all. Actually would be a pretty nice winter day most likely.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      5 years ago
      
      Yes, I thought Chrysocolla meant celcius when saying nobody goes out at -40 (-40 celcius is also -40 fahrenheit, dangerous cold which will cause frostbite in less than one minute, and breathing -40 air will damage lungs if mouth and nose not covered with a very thick scarf).
      
      -30 is still very cold (-30 celcius is -22 fahrenheit) but he said people will still go out (since it's not as dangerous as -40 if wearing like 5 layers of clothing, thick wool hat, scarf, and gloves. But without being covered in all of that, there's still a danger of frostbite within 5 minutes or so, but I'm sure most Canadians know better).
      
      He said -20 celcius (-4 fahrenheit) is normal for Canadian winter (exceptionally cold and only once in a long while in Kansas but regular in Winnipeg (20s and 30s above zero fahrenheit is normal Kansas winter)).
      
      He said that -10 celcius (14 above zero fahrenheit) is warm. Maybe for Canadians, but it's too cold for some Kansans (I don't mind that too much).
      
      0 celcius (32 fahrenheit) is almost a heat wave for Canada winter (but normal winter temperatures for Kansas). I've seen people in shorts once in a while here at that temperature, but not that often, and I won't. I start really seeing more shorts and lack of coats here when it's in the 40s, and I'll go out without a coat when it's 45 or 50, that's not too cold anymore, that's comfortably cool for me.
      
      My Mom lives in Florida and she thinks 50s is too cold, but it's not for me. The same way 20s is cold for me but not for a Winnipegger. The further north you go, the colder temperatures people can handle, and the lower the temperatures have to get for people to consider it too cold. It's all about adaption.
      
      Sorry for going on and on, I've always been fascinated with weather.
      
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      - ThirdTesticle
        
        5 years ago
        
        Where I lived in upstate New York, it would get down to close to -30 Celsius at times. That kind of cold is still very dangerous, and with somewhat more time would produce the same effect on the body as if it was -40.
        
        It just would take a bit longer. (e.g. would take a half hour or so give or take to get frostbite on exposed skin as opposed to more like 10-15 minutes if it was -40). Same with hypothermia. Same basic effect, just would take a bit longer.
        
        The other thing to consider is the wind. Theoretically, if it was -40 and completely calm, it actually could be less dangerous than if it was -20 with a breeze. However, if there was a strong wind, it could be possible to get frostbite in a minute or two on exposed skin as opposed to the 10-15 minutes that one would expect to get frostbite from that temperature if it was calm.
        
        Even if the temperature is not in the extreme cold territory. Say, 15-20 degrees or so, just normal winter temperatures...…. if it is windy, it can be quite uncomfortable.
        
        Also, there is variation in terms of how different people perceive the cold, which is why sometimes you'll see the people wearing shorts. I've seen it too, and they don't seem phased by it. Whereas if I were to walk around in shorts during the winter, I would probably be shivering and starting to feel the effects of it.
        
        Age can make a difference too. People who are elderly and/or in poor health can be much more vulnerable to cold weather and experience problems when it is significantly warmer than what would be dangerous for the average person.
        
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        Anonymous Post Author
        
        5 years ago
        
        When people get older, generally extremes in temperature too hot or too cold starts to bother you more. Your comfortable temperature zone keeps getting narrower
        
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Whatintarnation

5 years ago

I'm from Minnesota. The temp is minus 8 right now. They are talking 20 below for a high on Wednesday and 32 below for the low. I live in the country and burn lp. The house stays fine. You just burn a little more gas is all on the super cold days. Honestly the first couple weeks of cold temps suck but then you get used to it. In my state it can be 40 below to 100 in the summer. So we're pretty resilient here. You just let the vehicles warm up for 10 to 15 minutes before you go somewhere. You just have to be careful to not be breathing to heavy when it's this cold or your lungs can freeze.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  Yes, I heard that Minnesota and North Dakota is dropping to the -30s this week, even touching close to -40. That's what got me interested in posting this post. Being from Kansas and never having been to Minnesota or the Dakotas before, I've never personally experienced anything below -12 before. So it is true that breathing air at -30 something can damage your ability to breathe even when just taking a few breaths of air that cold?
  
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  - ThirdTesticle
    
    5 years ago
    
    I've never experienced it either, but I don't think that breathing the air is the main issue. It's the fact that when it's that cold, you can literally get frostbite in a few minutes.
    
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curious-bunny

5 years ago

It's bad depending on the wind chill, I'm not saying it's not cold but it's tolerable. Well I used to be for me till my second puberty now it's way to cold for me, my tolerance went down. Just dress apropriatku and you'll be fine. Nice heavy sweater, hat and gloves maybe some leggings all will be good

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  As long as you have a scarf covering your mouth and not breathing it, -30 or -35 fahrenheit probably doesn't feel too awful until the wind blows, and that would feel like getting snapped with a wet towel, it would almost hurt
  
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xxLucifer

5 years ago

-40 degrees Fahrenheit feels like -40 degrees Celsius.

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- [Old Memory]
  
  5 years ago
  
  I don’t why somebody downvoted you. Because what you say is right. -40•F IS -40•C. Maybe they don’t know conversions well?
  
  Some people are so petty on this site.
  
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LloydAsher

5 years ago

Imagine thowing boiling water in that weather. By the time it hits the ground it’s snow/ice. Now it’s not all bad by the first gust of freezing wind any skin contact with the air already went numb. The only times it sucks is suddenly going from a -35 outside to a 65 degree home.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  Didn't you mean from suddenly going from a 65 degree house to a -35 outside? I did hear somewhere that you wouldn't feel -35 that badly for the first minute or so if there was no wind, but then a gust of wind would feel similar to being snapped by a wet towel, like a prickly pain feeling. But I'm just going by what I've heard because I've never personally experienced any colder than -12 before. And I do know that at -30 something, your breath would be so thick that you would see it fly half a mile away, I have noticed that the colder it is, the thicker your breath is and the further away you'll see it float away.
  
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  - LloydAsher
    
    5 years ago
    
    Depends on the moisture in the air. If it’s particularly dry then yeah you should see your vapor float for a while before it dissipates. Either or honestly from going in or out of 100 degree difference. Hate it to the shock of going into the cold and hate it for the headache from the brain freeze and ear defrosting of going back inside. Honestly the best feeling is going from the cold ass outside to a 40 degree garage.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      5 years ago
      
      Yeah, that's less of a shock to the system compared to going from -40 to a 70 degree inside warmed by central heating, that's a 110 degree change. I've never been out in -40 before so I don't know it.
      
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lordofopinions

5 years ago

-30 or -40 is cold but not too bad as long as there is no wind. Its the wind that makes it feel much colder than it really is.

Up here is Canada we used to get temperatures like that in a normal winter but now with global warming it is rare to get temps that low except in the high arctic.

In Ottawa a winter festival called Winterlude used to be held in March. As the winters got less cold the festival got moved to February and even then towards the end of the festival its not unusual for it to get warm enough to start the ice carvings melting.

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[Old Memory]

5 years ago

Wouldn't know, havent experienced temperatures below about 4C at the absolute coldest. 8-10C are the winter temps round here. Enjoy freezing ya bastards :)

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  Are you in Florida, or Southern California?
  
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LordFreeholder

5 years ago

Hurts to breathe when you first go out into it. I imagine it’s comparable to Beyond the Wall in A Song of Ice and Fire. The cold seeps into your bones and layers upon layers only mitigate that effect.

I admit I haven’t experienced-40 celcius since I left Ontario, but from what I remember, it’s awful. Nothing good about it. Homeless people who don’t get into a shelter have a pretty high mortality rate in that kind of cold, sadly.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  If you experienced -40 in Ontario, you must've been further north in Ontario than places like Toronto or Ottawa. Were you living somewhere up near the Hudson Bay?
  
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  - LordFreeholder
    
    5 years ago
    
    No, it happens fairly infrequently in Ottawa and the surrounding areas, but it happens and that’s where I’ve experienced it.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      5 years ago
      
      They should never refuse homeless people shelter when it's -40F outside, they will die being left outside in that. I was outside for about 20 minutes last week when it was 4 degrees F above zero, and I tried to imagine myself being stuck outside all night in that, and I don't know if people would even survive being outside all night in even that. I wouldn't be able to do it, being outside in 4F for 20 minutes was enough for me, but there was also a wind though. Maybe I'd be able to handle being out all night in 4F if there was no wind
      
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megadriver

5 years ago

Coldest it's ever been in my town in Bulgaria was -25C.
For that weather, I wore more clothes, a scarf covering my mouth and nose, gloves and a winter hat.
Breathing the super cold air makes you nostrils stick to each other and breathing feels almost like swallowing ice. It's not nice.
As for heating, the heating bill does go up a bit, but if you have good insulation, it will still be warm and comfy.

I was happy about the cold, cause I could do a cold start test of my car.

In Bulgaria, whenever the weather drops under -5C, most cars don't start. Mine started like a champ from the first try with only one glow cycle.
I was looking forward to a cold start test this winter in my E-class, but it was only -2C this Christmas.

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[Old Memory]

5 years ago

I’d rather not even imagine it

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  5 years ago
  
  I can't, minus 12 is the coldest I've ever felt, but I felt that I could handle a little colder than that, for like two minutes tops that is. At -12, I felt my fingers getting numb just from being outside for 5 minutes.
  
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  - [Old Memory]
    
    5 years ago
    
    I was in upstate ny one winter, outside was -17 with a windchill of -25 degrees and that felt like death
    
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    - ThirdTesticle
      
      5 years ago
      
      I lived up there for most of my life, and yeah, it's awful when it gets below zero. It doesn't really become tolerable for any length of time until it's in the teens or perhaps high single digits.
      
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[Old Memory]

5 years ago

This is why I choose to live in a place that is comfortably habitable

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Are You Normal?

What does -30 or -40 fahrenheit feel like?