I had an outside task to do this morning. I nearly froze my fingers even though I was out there only about ten minutes. It's a whopping 12°F right now. I didn't think I'd be out there long enough to matter so I skipped wearing gloves. Halfway through I came back inside to warm up and find a pair. Even my work gloves were better than nothing.
I needed to bring in some plant pots from the front steps before snow covers them. I forgot about them last year and had to dig them out after the first snowfall.
I also had to put down some ice melt. That rain we had a couple of days ago has turned to ice and left some treacherous slippery spots. Don't ask how I know this.
I think parts of Montana get some really brutal cold. I'd say North Dakota is worse though, because they have so much wind - all that wide open prairie with nothing to slow it down.
We are supposed to have a hard freeze starting tomorrow evening (Tues). We are across the street from the beach on the Gulf. I think the low will be 28 deg; windchill 19 deg. The house is on piers so we have to run water from the downstairs faucets. Tomorrow evening we have to turn on every hot water faucet to run until the freeze is over.
Apparently the plumbers who plumbed the house weren’t too smart. The tankless water heater is installed on the outside north wall....without a cover! Water pressure ignites it so that’s why the water has to run. I have an outdoor handheld shower for rinsing off sand & salt water. I had them install a hot water line...who wants to rinse off with cold water? Anyhow, that has to run. One year we had an icicle from the shower head to the ground.
On the north side and no cover?? That's not good. Poor planning, poor execution by that plumber, I'd say. I've had a small icicle on an outside faucet once or twice, but nothing like you did.
I've been in my current home for six and a half years now. The first winter I was here it was unusually cold and snowy. The second winter it was colder, but with less snow, so no insulation to keep underground pipes from freezing. The deep freeze lasted for weeks.
Most older homes (like mine) didn't have too many problems, but some newer homes around town sure did - a lot of frozen and burst water pipes. And it cost thousands to fix, if you could get someone in to do it. All the plumbing companies were inundated with calls.
The city finally said everyone should run their water 24/7 - one faucet with a small stream to keep the pipes open. Running water for a month - I hated wasting all that water, not to mention hearing it running all the time. But it was better than risking that frozen pipe me$$.
“The city finally said everyone should run their water 24/7 - one faucet with a small stream to keep the pipes open.“
In Florida that would work with a well, but we didn’t have a tankless water heater. Whenever we were to have a hard freeze we covered the plants and tented the well. My husband would cover all exposed pvc pipe with the tubular foam and hang a light inside the tent. We learned the hard way just flushing the toilet during the night didn’t suffice. It froze and we lost the prime. We also lost power. We had a gas range so we would heat water from the pool to pour over the well and pipes. Folks in town who let the water run paid a fortune for their water/sewer bill. Thank goodness we don’t have a water/sewer bill here. The next city does.
I lived in Arizona for eight years. Yep, it's great - this time of year. But the summers! If I had the money I'd be a snowbird. Mr and Mrs Neighbor are just 3-4 years from retirement. I believe their plan is to spend summers at their lake place in northern MN and winters in AZ somewhere. Nice for them.
Well, I've been out here for 15 years and I'm fine with the summers. There's quite a few snowbirds arriving now, including some neighbors down the street. I'd probably do that if I could afford it.
I have clothes for cold weather, but sometimes it's a pain to put everything on, especially when you think you'll be outside for just a few minutes. Today, because the sun is out it looks warmer than it actually is. The wind doesn't help. At least this time I had my jacket on. Sometimes I don't bother if I'm just putting the trash out or something like that. Besides, it makes the house feel really warm once you get back inside. 😁
it's about -14c here today, which equates to about 9f, about the same as your more or less. i went out for a brisk 90 minute walk this morning, & needed about a half hour to warm up once i got home.
it's supposed to be hovering around 0 by the weekend according to forecasts, though.