Posted on 01/17/2005 11:01:41 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Temperatures plummeted across the eastern half of the nation Monday, approaching an all-time record in northern Minnesota and freezing the Gulf Coast as a river of Arctic air pushed southward.
Thermometers registered a low of 54 degrees below zero at Embarrass, Minn.
"You keep living, but it gets old after a while," said Christine Mackai, the town clerk for the community of about 1,400 people in northeast Minnesota.
Minnesota's record is 60 below, set on Feb. 2, 1996, in Tower, about 10 miles north of Embarrass.
The cold at Embarrass didn't stop the regular customers from getting their morning coffee at Four Corners, a cafe and gas station.
"Everybody left their cars running," waitress Trish Roggenbuck said. "It was pretty much breathtaking when you walked outside."
While below-zero readings stayed in the upper Midwest, thermometers dropped below the freezing mark all the way to the Gulf of Mexico coast.
The morning low was 28, with wind chills in the upper teens, at Mobile, Ala., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla. A hard freeze warning was in effect overnight into Tuesday morning for parts of Mississippi, the weather service said.
Mackai said Embarrass had been prepared for bitter cold as early as last Thursday. "It only got down to 28 below, and that's nothing. That's no big deal," she said.
Elsewhere in northern Minnesota on Monday, Babbitt chilled to 51 below, and International Falls — which calls itself the Nation's Icebox — dropped to 44 below, the national Weather Service said. Farther south, Minneapolis-St. Paul bottomed out at a mere 11 below.
The arctic blast followed several days of subzero temperatures. Weather service meteorologist Greg Frosig in Duluth said Monday's high would still be below zero in northern Minnesota.
___
On the Net:
National Weather Service (news - web sites): http://weather.noaa.gov/
Current Temperatures-Ohio State University: http://www.weatherimages.org/data/imag226.html
Global warming out of control.
wouldn't want to be bare assed in embarassed MN.
That's cold. Anything colder than about -40 is seriously life-threatening.
I've been in those conditions - they're not for the faint-hearted, or the ill-shod. ;^)
Due to sub-50s temp,, they called off the meeting of the Polar Bears chapter.. Wimps! (/sarc)
The moisture in your eyes and inside your mouth starts to freeze at about -30, so you can imagine how bad it is at -54.
I grew up in West Central MN and remember a few cold snaps, close to -50, and well into the -40s,, Yup, best to not travel unless necessary and be prepared and properly coifed.
The air literally crystallizes the nasal and lung membrane,.
And I complained about -15 wind chill this AM when I walked the dog.
And for good reason. It was COLD!
My house is on Lake Superior about 20 miles northeast of Duluth. The lake serves as a heat sink this time of year. It was -21F at my house this AM but when I drove up to the highway, less that 1/2 mile away, it was -37F.
Thermometers registered a low of 120 degrees below zero in Siberia for the world record.
That's cold. Anything colder than about -40 is seriously life-threatening.
FMCDH(BITS)
We have an old, old family story about some trapper ancestors who worked for the Hudson's Bay company, in Montana somewhere. Apparently their group was headed back to the fort and one of the guys decided he needed to take a dump in the -50 degree temps. Fearing for his life, they allegedly prevented him from completing the task, but also didn't give him a chance to pull up his pants -- supposedly they chased him home with his pants around his ankles. Never heard if that fellow was able to have kids after that.....
-40K
Smarty pants.....
Well, it's suppose to be about 76 degrees today in my area of California, sunny, a few scattered high clouds, and a lazy, on-shore pacific breeze. Really nice with unlimited visibility. Flowers are all blooming. Very pretty.
-40 Kelvin.
When I was an undergraduate taking a class in thermodynamics several of us discussing things over adult beverages wondered how cold it really would have to be for urine to freeze before hitting the ground? Our theoretical discussions didn't get beyond the second round of beverages, but the poor residents of this town may have a good idea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.