Extreme weather

[Kypriotha]

At the moment, parts of the northern hemisphere are being hit by extreme cold and parts of the southern hemisphere are being hit by extreme heat.

Does anyone have any tips or stories about coping with extreme weather conditions?

[devilinthedetails]

In northern New Jersey we are getting the milder version of the polar vortex experienced in the Midwest. The milder version still means whiteout conditions with snow blowing in your face like a blizzard but so far not accumulating on the ground where I live too much so that is good. It also means that it feels below zero with windchill and the wind is howling.

Where I am, it's still safe to go outside. You should just bundle up in a down coat with a hood, hat (because your hood will blow off), gloves or mittens, boots, and a scarf. You should probably also wear a sweater or a windbreaker under your down coat. It's also important to be careful where you walk because you don't want to slip on ice. If you're driving, slow down on roads and again be cautious of ice.

At home, have blankets, non-perishable food, a charged cell phone, and flashlights ready in case you loose power. Keep some of your water running overnight or your pipes will freeze. If there are elderly or sick people in your community, consider checking in on them and volunteering to shovel out there driveway or pathways as needed.

For extreme heat, I recommend staying inside as much as possible and drinking as much water as you can (try to always have water with you). If you don't have air conditioning, I recommend seeking out places like public libraries or businesses that do have air conditioning.

The most extreme weather conditions I've experienced are probably Hurricanes Floyd, Sandy, and Irene (the three major hurricanes that hit New Jersey in my lifetime). My proudest story is probably after Hurricane Sandy when I organized community donations to help people affected by the hurricane. I know that the food and clothing that was donated made a big difference to many people. I think that is my best coping technique in the end: to try to do something to help your neighbors come out of the extreme weather. Look out for your community and hopefully they will do the same for you. That's what I believe in tough times when we need to rally together to survive and recover.

[Lisa]

I just got through the worst of the polar vortex in the midwest, and it was a doozy. My recommendation to anyone in the cold is to pay attention to the wind chill - that number is how your body will interpret the temperature. In our case, we were at -36 F with the windchill, so it was important to *always* bundle up, even if you were just running outside to check the mail. And my MO is to always have a blanket in my car during the winter, since I'm in a region that gets a lot of cold and enough snow to make it dangerous when driving.

[devilinthedetails]

Feb 2, 2019 0:40:25 GMT 10 Lisa said:

I just got through the worst of the polar vortex in the midwest, and it was a doozy. My recommendation to anyone in the cold is to pay attention to the wind chill - that number is how your body will interpret the temperature. In our case, we were at -36 F with the windchill, so it was important to *always* bundle up, even if you were just running outside to check the mail. And my MO is to always have a blanket in my car during the winter, since I'm in a region that gets a lot of cold and enough snow to make it dangerous when driving.

The wind chill numbers I was seeing for the Midwest on the news were crazy. Glad you came through the polar vortex all right, and that's a great tip to keep a blanket in the car during the winter since you never know when you might have engine trouble or something especially when it gets so cold out.

[Idleness]

Yeah, it's been pretty hot here this last week, as the air from the heat wave in Australia reached us. Luckily the hot air cools down a bit as it crosses the sea on its way to New Zealand, though it does pick up humidity as it goes over the water. It's been hard to sleep, though my city doesn't get as hot as some other parts of the country. We've reached afternoon temperatures 31-32 degrees Celsius a couple of days last week, which is hot but not unbearably so, but there are certainly other localities that have had above that or that have had more consistently high temperatures. I'm just glad to live close to the sea as that moderates the temperature a bit.

[mageprincess]

Ugh its been disgustingly hot here in South Australia. We had a day that got to 46.8 degrees celsius and it was completely revolting to be out and about in.

[Idleness]

That's awful, mageprincess. I hope it cools down soon.

[Kypriotha]

Following the news has just been full of extremes...heatwave in Australia, polar vortex in North America, fires in Tasmania, floods in Queensland.

I hope it's cooled down for you now mageprincess! We had four days straight of 41°C here, a new record, and it was awful. My usual strategies for staying cool (keeping the curtains closed, fan for air movement, cool drinks, cool showers, least number of clothes possible) all failed and I resorted to the air conditioner for three days, which I've not done before or after.

[Idleness]

There are bush fires in my hometown at the moment too. A really big one is burning to the south of the city, but there was a second fire in the city which was quite near to my parents' house, so that was pretty alarming. Luckily that one was contained quickly. It's so dry, the whole region is just a tinderbox.

[devilinthedetails]

Those fires sound scary. I hope you and your family stay safe.