Coldest winter on record coming up (Portland, Presque Isle: school, move, smog)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Flash pictures depict snowflakes as big white fuzz balls, but there is something else to do in falling snow at night. Ever take a laser pointer out in falling snow? It's a regular psychedic winter event. The ice crystals in snowflakes really dazzle. It also works in rain, but it's more impressive in snow.

A laser can also help somebody find you if you get lost. These are not toys for kids. Never point one at another person. Especially NEVER point one at a police officer.

[Bydand]

Snow is all over. Big whoop. We got another 2 or 2 1/2" is all. Just measured it, and we now have 9" even on the ground here in Washburn. Another month or so it will be 30" or more on the ground. By April, I'll be more than ready for Spring . Someplace I have a couple of pictures of my ol' trusty CJ-5 way out in the woods the day after Christmas. The snow was OMG deep, but I kept real wide tires on the beast and if you just took your time and slowly eased down the trail, it would pack it tight enough to carry the weight of the jeep without digging in. I went about 7 or 8 miles back to a campsite, had a small fire to cook Supper, then we turned around and headed back on the same tracks we made on the way in. The Air Force friends I had with me couldn't believe it. One was from Tennessee and the other was from Florida . All the guy from Tennessee could say when we got back to a real road was "And I thought we had rednecks in Tennessee!".

[AliceT]

Portland forecasters are obviously not from around here. If they were, they wouldn't talk like that. Fifty below is normal for Maine in the winter. Blizzards are normal for Maine winters. Maine hasn't seen a normal winter in a LONG time. Perhaps the forecaster was just dreaming of how it should be in Maine in the winter.

Oh, and one more thing. It doesn't matter if Maine gets back to having a normal winter. Mainers are always ready for it.

[Elcarim]

Ahem! 50 BELOW? Joking?

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by AliceT

Portland forecasters are obviously not from around here. If they were, they wouldn't talk like that. Fifty below is normal for Maine in the winter. Blizzards are normal for Maine winters. Maine hasn't seen a normal winter in a LONG time. Perhaps the forecaster was just dreaming of how it should be in Maine in the winter.

Oh, and one more thing. It doesn't matter if Maine gets back to having a normal winter. Mainers are always ready for it.

I'll call it out here. -50 normal for Maine winters? Try again, wrong. If you are talking wind chill temps. then yes that is not real unusual, but actual temps. Nope. I will agree there hasn't been a real "regular" winter for a few years. -50 actual is NOT normal anyplace in the State of Maine.

Lowest Temperature: The lowest temperature in Maine, -48°, was recorded on January 19, 1925 at Van Buren.

From these sites: Maine Geography from NETSTATE
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0113527.html
USATODAY.com

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I'll call it out here. -50 normal for Maine winters? Try again, wrong. If you are talking wind chill temps. then yes that is not real unusual, but actual temps. Nope. I will agree there hasn't been a real "regular" winter for a few years. -50 actual is NOT normal anyplace in the State of Maine.


From these sites: Maine Geography from NETSTATE
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0113527.html
USATODAY.com

I don't believe I have seen an actual temperature of 50 below in Maine and I've been here almost 54 yrs. Windchills yes, but not actual temp. 20 below is more like normal, and then it doesn't last too long.
It never got above 19 here today, might as well be 50 below as far as I'm concerned. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Bydand]

I hear you! Stayed right at 12 all day after the sun came up this morning. The only thing that changed was if the wind was blowing or not. Right now with a light wind the wind chill is about -5. Some days I could go for a warm beach with palm trees and a mint Julip or three.

[Elcarim]

20 above will be quite an adjustment for us! If you don't see us out for a few days when the wind chill gets 20 below, someone better come check and make sure we're not frozen in our beds!!

[mainebrokerman]

it was a bit nippy today...could have used some of that global warming i keep hearing about...

[7th generation]

My favorite trick to pull on those real cold days,(-12 including the wind chill), is to fill a 20 ounce cup, microwave it for 2 minutes, go outside and throw it straight up over my head. The water returns to the ground as ice. It's neat to have the ice crystals land on your head and shoulders. Of course I've got wet before by miscalculating the throw or miscalculation of the temperature!