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Windchill Danger
Now that we are seeing severe cold punish particularly the Plains this morning, strong winds blowing through 10 to 30 below zero air is making for extremely dangerous windchills. Wind chill danger must be taking seriously. Many folks year in and year out go outside unsuitably dressed and they suffer frostbite. The warnings aren’t there for just the fun of it. Minneapolis this morning was seeing wind chills in the 30 below range, Duluth 40 below and some areas of northern Minnesota and the Dakotas likely saw wind chills of 50 below zero. That is the kind of conditions where you could suffer frostbite within 10 minutes. I have included above a windchill chart which I suggest you take a look at if your not familiar with this and when the air temperature outside drops into the single digits or below zero with a wind blowing, you MUST dress accordingly to avoid endangering your health. Luckily, we here in Scotland, despite enduring a tougher winter don’t endure both the extreme cold nor wind the accompany the extreme cold because we are on a small island surrounding by mild water but Midwesterners experience the wrath of both continental Arctic air masses but also wind is a regular accompaniament which often brings dangerous conditions. Of course folks in this part of the world can’t just stay indoors until it warms up, but it’s simple, dress accordingly and when conditions become severe enough, wear a face mask and dress in layers. Do not have ANY exposed flesh, it would amaze you how rapidly your skin can start to freeze, enen without you knowing it.
I remember walking around Chicago back in February 2008 with air temperature of between 10-14 degrees but wind chills weren’t all that bad compared to the 30 below just the week before my wife and I arrived in the Windy City. With windchills slightly below zero or even ABOVE ZERO, it hands turned blue and I can safely say I had never felt pain in my hands like it…. DON’T RISK IT THIS WINTER SEASON… Keep yourself and your family members safe this winter… By M.V
Lake Ice Safety
From Enterprize Dispatch Blog: http://www.hjblogs.com/ed/what-is-recommended-ice-thickness-on-lakes/
Published
by
Lynda Jensen, Editor
on December 18, 2009
in Cokato, Dassel & Darwin and News.
Herald Journal looked up the recommended ice thickness for lakes by the DNR, as reported below.
When is ice safe?
According to the DNR, there really is no sure answer. You can’t judge the strength of ice just by its appearance, age, thickness, temperature, or whether or not the ice is covered with snow. Strength is based on all these factors — plus the depth of water under the ice, size of the water body, water chemistry and currents, the distribution of the load on the ice, and local climatic conditions.
For New, Clear Ice Only
* 2″ or less – STAY OFF
* 4″ – Ice fishing or other activities on foot
* 5″ – Snowmobile or ATV
* 8″ – 12″ – Car or small pickup
* 12″ – 15″ – Medium truck
Remember that these thicknesses are merely guidelines for new, clear, solid ice. Many factors other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe.
Checking ice thickness
No matter what you are going to do once you get on the ice – like fishing, snowmobiling, skating or even ice boating, it’s a good idea to contact a local bait shop or resort on the lake about ice conditions. It’s also important to do some checking yourself once you get there. Several factors affect the relative safety of ice, such as temperature, snow cover and currents. But a very important factor is the actual ice thickness.
For more information, check out the DNR recommendations by clicking here.
>I have no idea, but a recent heavy snowfall has boosted the snow depth to 2 inches here in Kirkcaldy. Over an inch fell in as little as an hour.
I would imagine if the temps drop to -11 degrees C tonight here in Fife as forecast, then milk would surely freeze.
>Any reports of frozen milk yet? Please let us know when it happens and if it was semi-skimmed or full fat?
During a bad winter, semi-skimmed will freeze, during an extreme winter, full fat will freeze.
Dairy D
>Severe snow has struck Kirkcaldy today. We have about 1 cm of new snow on the ground now from today alone. THis may not seem bad, but the lack of grit/salt, and the icy conditions have made the driving conditions tonight to be very dangerous. I would recommend that residents in Fife should not drive unless in an emergency situation. Even then, a sledge should be considered. Temperatures are set to fall to -11 degrees C tonight over Fife. I have my heating on to prevent my gas supply turning to a liquid and my mains water supply from freezing.