The Polar Vortex

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"WINTER STORM ION" is going to be brutal on the mid west and north east. Sad
 
NW cannonball said:
The NWS probably has records for 24-hour temperature drops around the country.
Click to expand...
Here are some records for the biggest temperature drops. The biggest 24 hour drop, as mentioned is 100 degrees, at Browning, MT on January 23-24, 1916.

I almost feel guilty as I live at roughly the same parallel of latitude as Quebec City, and it's in the low 30's here and that's the chilliest day of the week forecast. It's supposed to be near 40 and above starting about Wednesday.
 
I don't think they gave the winter storms names back in 1916.
 
My favorite new website www.google.com says you are incorrect.

Naming Storms is not a new idea and it's a good one.

Clearly The Weather Channel is not the only one who thinks so. Change is good! :)
 
Not that it's any surprise, but schools across southern Michigan are closed tomorrow because of the snow and windchill, and many northern Michigan schools are closing due to the windchill alone. Even MSU and EMU have announced closures, which is surprising since our universities never close due to snow. I'm thinking it's in anticipation of the windchill. MSU in particular is very spread out, so you can't just duck-and-run between buildings when it's that cold. The University of Toledo is closed too, but their medical center will remain open, so my friend (a med student) still has to show up.

I'm still waiting to hear about my office and WMU. My office's weather line keeps repeating, "All facilities are open and operating as normal, but we are monitoring the current weather conditions across the Midwest." I have a bet with a co-worker that we'll be closed. If we're open, I have to buy him lunch tomorrow. ^_^

We've received approximately 10" of snow in the past 24 hours and are supposed to get another 5-10" by 8:00 PM Monday. I'm stoked. :D Brent's thinking about working from home tomorrow, so I told him we should go sledding if I don't have to work. This is the weather we used to get every winter when we lived in our respective hometowns; we've missed it so much.
 
As a Born and Bred Southerner who Dislikes Cold Weather but Lived in the NE for Many Years, I Dont understand wanting to be Outside in Weather Conditions like this! :eek: I'm watching the Idiots, er Fans in Green Bay @ the Freezer Bowl and Some of those Fools even have their Shirts Off! :rolleyes: It's Sunny but 40 with a Wind Chill of 20 here due to the Strong North Wind, supposed to go Down into the Low 20s Tonight and Teens tomorrow Night with Wind Chills Below 10!!! That's Darn Cold for Austin!!! :help:

Too Bad Alan B lives so far away from Michigan! He'd Love to come Shovel your Snow! :lol:
 
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I live on top of a hill, which if Jackson ever solicited a Winter Olympic bid, could be used for the ski jump. Went to town this afternoon, and when I returned took the ultimate precaution, parking at the bottom of the hill. They have changed the snow prediction to less than one inch, with temps dropping to -9 tomorrow with a -29 wind chill. I just wish the damn batteries were in the backup generator,,, technology is great when it works. As I am currently working from home recovering from cancer surgery, I won't have to battle the elements, but it makes me fondly remember the brutal winters in Northern Illinois and Iowa, where four inches of snow would give you five foot drifts. And for those who need a touch of humor, remember Uncle Frank's warning "watch out where the Huskies go"

Hope all fare well through this adversity.
 
It's the wind that's going to wreak havoc tonight and tomorrow. Those gusts are going to lower visibility and create drifts on the roadways.

I'm sorry you had to have surgery. I hope you feel better soon and that you have a good prognosis. :)

Jim - our neighbor used their snowblower on our driveway and sidewalk this afternoon while I shoveled the porch and walkway. We've gotten 2-3" since then, but at least we got ahead of it. I actually like shoveling. :)
 
I don't mind shoveling, and, except during the night, I will shovel while it's still snowing to make it easy each go around. But I certainly did not chase away my neighbor with his snow blower the other day, especially considering how cold it was.
 
jimhudson said:
I'm watching the Idiots, er Fans in Green Bay @ the Freezer Bowl and Some of those Fools even have their Shirts Off! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
1) The fans are used to cold weather, but more importantly

2) The ones with their shirts off are, most likely, drunk ;)
 
SarahZ said:
Not that it's any surprise, but schools across southern Michigan are closed tomorrow because of the snow and windchill, and many northern Michigan schools are closing due to the windchill alone. Even MSU and EMU have announced closures, which is surprising since our universities never close due to snow. I'm thinking it's in anticipation of the windchill. MSU in particular is very spread out, so you can't just duck-and-run between buildings when it's that cold. The University of Toledo is closed too, but their medical center will remain open, so my friend (a med student) still has to show up.

I'm still waiting to hear about my office and WMU. My office's weather line keeps repeating, "All facilities are open and operating as normal, but we are monitoring the current weather conditions across the Midwest." I have a bet with a co-worker that we'll be closed. If we're open, I have to buy him lunch tomorrow. ^_^

We've received approximately 10" of snow in the past 24 hours and are supposed to get another 5-10" by 8:00 PM Monday. I'm stoked. :D Brent's thinking about working from home tomorrow, so I told him we should go sledding if I don't have to work. This is the weather we used to get every winter when we lived in our respective hometowns; we've missed it so much.
Click to expand...

I had to drive right through the worst areas of the storm (St. Joseph/Niles/New Buffalo/Northern Indiana) on the way back from Wisconsin. Thank goodness it was yesterday morning. Sounds like the first real snowstorm in the last couple of years for you guys. Our problems here in Wisconsin is the dangerously cold temps (Low here tonight is predicted -27 with wind chills the next three days -40 to -50 and below, and the next time we'll see above 0 temps is Wednesday when we hit a balmy 5). Most churches cancelled services today and most, if not all schools are closed tomorrow.

I told my mom while I was there, I couldn't wait to move to "warmer climate". She said she never heard of Holland as being referred to as that until I moved out here in 2006.
 
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WMU and my office are both closed tomorrow. Yay, snow day.
 
Amtrak has posted a service alert on changes to the Chicago trains with a number of cancellations. The EB is getting shut down for 2 days. Welcome to the deep freeze of 2014!

Amtrak Makes Additional Chicago Service Modifications for Monday, Jan. 6 Federal and State Officials Call for Reduced Travel in Severe Winter Conditions; Some Freight Railroad-Owned Routes ImpassibleJan. 5, 2014
9:00 p.m. CT

Due to severe weather conditions and decreased travel demands in several states where travel advisories have been posted by the National Weather Service and state officials, Amtrak plans to operate modified service to and from Chicago on Monday, Jan. 6. Also, some of the freight railroad-owned routes used by Amtrak in the region are temporarily closed due to weather conditions or other issues.

Passengers with plans in the region on Monday, Jan. 6, are urged to consider deferring their travel and/or confirming their train's status. Significant delays are likely. A range of tools – including Amtrak.com, smartphone apps and 800-USA-RAIL – are available to assist in travel planning.

This Service Alert will be updated by 7:00 a.m. CT on Monday, Jan. 6, if necessary. Alternate transportation is not available.

The following Chicago Hub Services will not be available on Monday, Jan. 6:
• Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301 & 305 are canceled.
(Trains 302, 303, 304, 306 & 307 and Trains 21/321 & 22/322 will maintain service on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor)
• Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337 & 340 are canceled.
(Trains 330, 331, 334, 335, 338 & 339 will maintain service on the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor)
• Wolverine Service Trains 352 & 353 are canceled.
• Pere Marquette Train 371 is canceled.
(Trains 350, 351, 354 & 355 will maintain service on the Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit-Pontiac corridor)
• Carl Sandburg Trains 381 & 382 are canceled.
(Trains 380 & 383 will maintain service on the Chicago-Quincy corridor)
• Saluki Trains 391 & 392 are canceled.
(Trains 390 & 393 and Trains 58 & 59 will maintain service on the Chicago-Carbondale corridor)


These National Network Services are also modified on Monday, Jan. 6:

Empire Builder Trains 7/27/807 are canceled from Chicago to Whitefish, Mont., with Train 27 represented by buses as alternate transportation between Spokane, Wash., and Portland, Ore.

Empire Builder Train 8 will operate from Seattle to Whitefish, without service east of Whitefish. Empire Builder Train 28 will be represented by buses as alternate transportation between Portland and Spokane, connecting with Train 8.

Lake Shore Limited Trains 48 & 448 from Chicago to New York/Boston are canceled.
Lake Shore Limited Trains 49 & 449 from New York/Boston to Chicago are canceled.

(Service between Chicago and Cleveland will be maintained by Trains 29 & 30 and service in upstate New York will be maintained by Empire Service and other trains.)
 
NW cannonball said:
It was actually one degree above freezing here in Saint Paul at about 4 AM with no wind. Now it's 2F with wind chill -13F and expecting at least 15 degrees downward by morning. Then 3 days of really cold.
Click to expand...
Naive question from someone who grew up on the more logical Celsius scale of temperature- when you guys say "above freezing" or "below freezing", whose freezing point is being referred? Are temperatures below 32 F called "below freezing" since that's where water freezes, or when the temperature actually drops below 0F its called "below freezing"? Because the latter does not make any sense, after all 0F is defined as the lowest temperature an arbitrary guy was once able to achieve using brine :unsure: It is not the freezing point of anything common :help:
 
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