Good morning… today is the last day of January. I can’t remember if this is out like a lion/in like a lamb, or if there are ides to beware of, or if there are showers that bring flowers, or what. I don’t know. We’re sort of getting spring-like weather, so maybe we’re just going to skip February this year, and march onward.
Road hazards are absent today… no wind, no rocks, no ice, no snow, no fog. There’s a thin haze that you might notice when you look down from the top of the mountain, slightly obscuring views of the valley floor, but that never manifests itself as any visual hindrance on your drive.
Well, we recently had National Opposite Day, but apparently the powers that be were not satisfied. So, today is National Backwards Day. I had thought about being super-clever and actually writing the title today backwards, but that was so ridiculously predictable that I doubled back on that idea.
The Northeast U.S. is getting a very thorough chill right now. They’ve got temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero, and many places have wind advisories on top of that. Wind does not actually bring the temperature down, but can remove warmed air away from objects—like people—who would otherwise have some insulation value provided by still air.
By comparison, the weather at the South Freakin’ Pole reached -16 degrees on Wednesday… somewhat warmer than what many Americans are experiencing right now!
The coldest that I ever experienced was in Germany one night… I had a thermometer with me. I stepped outside, and the thing bottomed out in about a minute, at -25 degrees. That’s where the capability of the device ended, but I presume it was much colder than that outside.
So, here’s some trivia: Spearfish, South Dakota once experienced a temperature change of 49 degrees… in two minutes! They went from -4 to 45 degrees… but then, a couple of hours later (after the temperature has risen to 54 degrees) it plummeted back to -4 in a 27 minute period of time. Now that’s some pretty wild swinging.
Many years ago, I was driving through South Dakota on a very cold and snowy night. I came across a vehicle that was upside-down, laying in the middle of the highway. I stopped to render assistance, but found the vehicle to be empty. I searched the area, but found nobody, so I continued on.
Shortly after that, I came across three vehicles crashed into each other… also abandoned. Then I found a car in a ditch… and one on its side… all abandoned.
Over the next 60 miles, I counted 65 abandoned crashes. It turns out, in those extreme weather conditions, when a crash happens, the first order of business is to get away (even if you have NOT been drinking!). The cold can injure or kill anybody who waits around for the usual after-accident procedures. People involved in accidents—and there are plenty, given the icy roads and poor visibility—simply catch a ride to safety, with the next vehicle that comes along.
Back to temperature extremes: There’s a place in North Dakota that recorded a low of -60 in 1936… and, five months later, the same place reached 121 degrees. That’s 181 degrees of change… wow!
Loma, Montana, once recorded a swing of 103 degrees over a 24-hour period… they started at -54, and 24 hours later, they were at 49 degrees.
Another town in Montana, Browning, holds the record for the greatest DROP in 24 hours, 100 degrees, once going from 44 degrees to -56 in 24 hours.
I’m guessing that by now, you are feeling pretty warm and cozy, enjoying our 40 degree-ish temps. You are welcome!