Long Cold Winter This Year [Archive]

dado potato

11-15-18, 7:16pm

We have a cooling trend. Chalk it up to reduced solar irradiance. One indication is the absence of sun-spots. The linked chart graciously provided by the Royal Observatory of Belgium shows the number of sunspots observed per month peaked in 2014 and now hover around zero.

http://www.sidc.be/silso/dayssnplot

Toronto (the Good) has a winter plan :idea: to shelter the homeless from extreme cold. Beginning December 15 prefabricated overnight shelters around the city will be able to accommodate singles, couples, families, and pets.

There will also be 11 all-day respite centers with a combined capacity of 600 persons. The respite centers will open the doors when the outdoor temperatures drop below -15C (5F) with wind-chill, or -20C (-4F) with no wind.

(Based on reporting in the Toronto Star.)

Tybee

11-16-18, 6:30am

i am glad Toronto is doing this. We live in a cold climate and have already had a week of snow and cold temps and it is showing signs of being a rough winter.

Teacher Terry

11-16-18, 2:02pm

Tomorrow I am bringing a 100 scarves I made to a homeless event.

happystuff

11-17-18, 8:22am

Tomorrow I am bringing a 100 scarves I made to a homeless event.

Nice!!!

dado potato

11-30-18, 7:48am

I see on KARE 11 TV news that the Minneapolis fire department put up a heated tent near the homeless encampment (a dense cluster of tents) at Hiawatha and Cedar avenues. One hot meal per day is available inside. There are tables and chairs and a straw floor.

I understand from coverage in the St Paul Pioneer Press that there are year-round homeless shelters in the Twin Cities, but they are filled to capacity every night. There are different shelters for men or women, and homeless people are not permitted to bring their personal belongings inside with them for the night. So a number of tent encampments have "developed", so to speak.

The second blizzard of the season is forecast to hit the Twin Cities tonight and continue into Saturday.

razz

11-30-18, 10:03am

[QUOTE=dado potato;314623]We have a cooling trend. Chalk it up to reduced solar irradiance. One indication is the absence of sun-spots. The linked chart graciously provided by the Royal Observatory of Belgium shows the number of sunspots observed per month peaked in 2014 and now hover around zero.

http://www.sidc.be/silso/dayssnplot

Dado, I looked at the chart and am somewhat confused. I moved into my house in Sept/14. That winter we had massive amounts of snow that drifted everywhere and it seemed a long winter. A year later, with fewer sunspots, it was a very mild winter with little snow and frequent melting periods. Last winter was much longer with frequent snowfall and little melting. I wonder if the Great Lakes modify the weather to that extent?

pinkytoe

11-30-18, 10:28am

In our city, there are a sizable number of beds that go unfilled on really cold nights. It seems some homeless prefer their encampments to going to a shelter that has "rules".

Teacher Terry

11-30-18, 10:32am

Ours are full every night. We have also put up a heated tent but it’s still pretty cold in there.

dado potato

11-30-18, 12:07pm

razz

I can't claim any expertise on lake effects. Further to your observation that the winter of 2017-2018 was long and cold, I see that Toronto broke a 60-year record on January 5, 2018 with a minimum temperature of -23C. Also, Toronto had a snowfall and -5C as late as 4/6/18.

The link below is a lecture by Prof Valentina Zharkova on Solar Irradiance (SI). She predicts a Grand Solar Minimum 2020-2053, with less SI and reduction of the area of cloud cover, potentially bringing on a "mini ice age" similar to the Maunder Minimum. She leaves it to climatologists to work out predictions of how cold the winters will be, but she predicts that agriculture will be affected, with the worst global food shortages expected in the years 2028-2032.

Her lecture and the Q/A run about 1:43, so I might suggest tea and scones.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/11/winter-is-coming-super-grand-solar-minimum.html

razz

11-30-18, 12:36pm

razz

I can't claim any expertise on lake effects. Further to your observation that the winter of 2017-2018 was long and cold, I see that Toronto broke a 60-year record on January 5, 2018 with a minimum temperature of -23C. Also, Toronto had a snowfall a -5C as late as 4/6/18.

The link below is a lecture by Prof Valentina Zharkova on Solar Irradiance (SI). She predicts a Grand Solar Minimum 2020-2053, with less SI and reduction of the area of cloud cover, potentially bringing on a "mini ice age" similar to the Maunder Minimum. She leaves it to climatologists to work out predictions of how cold the winters will be, but she predicts that agriculture will be affected, with the worst global food shortages expected in the years 2028-2032.

Her lecture and the Q/A run about 1:43, so I might suggest tea and scones.

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/11/winter-is-coming-super-grand-solar-minimum.html

Thanks, Dado. I will make the time to listen as I find this research really interesting.

nswef

11-30-18, 4:49pm

I think every winter is long and cold...piedmont Maryland- probably 10 days of snow, lots of icy mornings but I hate planning anything in the winter because I am a chicken on the roads....I grew up in Pittsburgh adn remember just going out in the snow all the time but now I just won't. I don't know how you Northerners do it and enjoy it.

SteveinMN

11-30-18, 5:00pm

In our city, there are a sizable number of beds that go unfilled on really cold nights. It seems some homeless prefer their encampments to going to a shelter that has "rules".
About a year ago we met a homeless person who wintered through in a tent on the east side of the Twin Cities. He used a propane stove; one of his few possessions beyond the tent and some clothes and an inexpensive mobile phone. He mentioned the "rules" about possessions at the shelters (besides not being allowed to drink and not tolerating fighting, the possessions thing is a practical issue; some of the homeless here have commandeered shopping carts for their belongings and shelter staff prefer placing an additional cot or sleeping bag in the shelter rather than parking a shopping cart). He also mentioned being thrown out "permanently" from the biggest downtown shelter, for fighting (after, he said, someone used the n-word in an argument with him; the other party was thrown out, too).

After a while he met someone and sheltered in her car for several weeks. By then it was warmer. His appearances became more sporadic as the weather improved; I hope his prospects did, too. He was a really nice guy, but there was just something in him that wasn't up to settling down to a room or an apartment.

pinkytoe

11-30-18, 6:29pm

We notice that here there are quite a few folk who appear to be living in their cars and old RVs. They move them around daily so as not to get ticketed. One fellow at our neighborhood park is living in a little old Toyota pickup crammed to the roof with stuff. I can't imagine trying to sleep in there when it is 15 degrees outside. I would love to know their stories and why they choose to stay in such cold places if homeless. I think I would figure out a way to get to a more temperate climate but maybe they are just stuck - in more ways than one.

sweetana3

11-30-18, 7:40pm

Just imagine those who are homeless in Anchorage Alaska. The police and advocates spend all winter trying to keep them alive. It is a struggle to overcome the drugs, alcohol and mental illness and there are always some who usually drink and die in the cold. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/24/alaska-homeless-deaths

nswef

11-30-18, 8:28pm

And now there's been an earthquake. I don't know how people survive.

Greg44

12-1-18, 2:50pm

Tomorrow I am bringing a 100 scarves I made to a homeless event.

100! i am sure they will be greatly appreciated! What a kind thing to do.

Teacher Terry

12-1-18, 3:00pm

Greg, it takes me a entire year to make them. I knit at night while I watch TV.

Greg44

12-1-18, 3:23pm

Greg, it takes me a entire year to make them. I knit at night while I watch TV.

I am just amazed how you can do that and watch TV at the same time! Your hands must just take over! So cool to share your talent like that.

Teacher Terry

12-1-18, 10:54pm

I am not crafty. A friend taught me to knit 10 years ago and I can only do the basic stitch. It took me forever to learn. It was hard but I got good. I made them for everyone I knew. My son was making fun of me and said I should have my own label since all the homeless people were wearing them. I ordered labels that said handmade with love by Terry.

dado potato

12-2-18, 9:16am

Aw-w-w-w. Brilliant!

Gardnr

12-2-18, 9:23am

Snow! We finally got some snow. Albeit, timing wasn't fabulous. It snowed through our championship football game (which we lost). But this morning when I took DH to the airport I got to make first tracks in the 'hood.

LOVE me some snow! Bring it on:cool:

Teacher Terry

12-2-18, 11:06am

We got ours yesterday too but it didn’t last the day. My husky/shepherd mix loves it. He runs around and then lays down and makes snow angels:))

Gardenarian

12-3-18, 1:53am

We've had a mild and beautiful Autumn and now winter has arrived, right on schedule, with snow on the mountains and lots of rain in our valley. Just wonderful. Time to dig out the long underwear!

pinkytoe

12-3-18, 10:00am

Teacher Terry

12-3-18, 1:11pm

We keep ours at 68 but set it to 58 at bedtime. Then we close our bedroom door and turn that heater on 68. It lowers our bill without freezing.

Gardnr

12-3-18, 9:40pm

As a newbie to snow, I am still fascinated by it. Watching it fall silently is mesmerizing. The cold has taken some getting used to though - right now I have tights, thermals and sweats on to feel toasty inside. Then again, we set the heater at 63 to keep the bill down.

Always makes me chuckle. I get out my coat when it's below 30. I went out and scraped snow this morning with my ski gloves, my sweatshirt and fleece pants. 27 degrees.

I've lived in snow country since 1971.

Teacher Terry

12-3-18, 9:45pm

I have spent most of my life in a much colder climate so these are sissy winters here:))

happystuff

12-4-18, 7:18am

I love the snow... as long as everyone is somewhere safe and sound. I hate the snow when I have someone trying to make their way home in it.

jp1

12-4-18, 9:44pm

Greg, it takes me a entire year to make them. I knit at night while I watch TV.

You must watch a lot of tv...:~)

jp1

12-4-18, 9:53pm

I can't imagine being homeless in Minneapolis. The cold, living outside, would just be too much. And having to decide between not being able to bring one's few possessions inside and potentially losing them vs. staying outside and potentially freezing. Ugggh. I get it that homeless shelters want to maximize space for people. It's a shame they can't have the equivalent of transit station bike lockers outside for people to be able to secure their belongings for the night.

Personally, I grew up in Denver and decided to go to the U of Miami in part because of the weather. (Loved the weather in Miami. Everything else, not so much...) Another 18 years in NYC and I finally moved to San Francisco where it never snows. Although tahoe is one of our potential retirement locations I'd really just as soon never see snow again. The only reason I'm willing to include tahoe on our list is because retired people don't have to go out when it's snowing. And tahoe in the summer is awesome!

Teacher Terry

12-4-18, 10:03pm

JP, you could live in Reno and go up to Tahoe when you want to. Much less snow. Greg, if I am home I usually watch tv from 5-10 pm. I don’t read at night usually because by then I am tired. I do that during the day. When I worked full time I didn’t have the time to do either.

SteveinMN

12-4-18, 10:06pm

I can't imagine being homeless in Minneapolis. The cold, living outside, would just be too much.
I suspect there is a fair amount of self-selection. Those who can't handle (or just don't like) the cold migrate further south. The homeless guy we befriended had a pretty decent winter coat, boots, a wool cap, and gloves; he had a propane stove for his tent.

As many people have said, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes." There are times, however, when even the right clothes only hold you for so long.

Teacher Terry

12-4-18, 10:09pm

I went to graduate school in northern Wisconsin and I cannot imagine being outside in that all night. We have had people freeze and die here or lose their limbs from frostbite.

jp1

12-6-18, 9:53pm

JP, you could live in Reno and go up to Tahoe when you want to. Much less snow.

Actually Reno is on the mid-tier list of potential retirement locations. There are a lot of things we're juggling on our wish list and reno doesn't meet all of them, like walkable neighborhoods (feel free to set me straight if I'm wrong on that) but it does meet some of them, like state taxes. At this point we have ten-ish years to make our decision so there's plenty of time for information gathering.

Teacher Terry

12-6-18, 11:57pm

We live in the old North West which is nice and 1 mile from downtown. We walk to tons of things. Retirees and young people are moving in to our neighborhood like crazy for this reason. Midtown is closer but the prices are much higher than ours because it’s closer. I have lived all over the country and I love this area. Something going on all the time. So fun. I love the mild 4 seasons.