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Where are we going to get our rerun documentaries about the Alaskan Coast Guard?
LOL
Another thing that annoys me is when people talk about the wind chill or heat index temp as if it were the actual temperature.
My mom is notorious for doing this, one time when I lived in North GA I asked her what the temperature outside was, and she says "0 F" I was like "wow!", I looked it up, it was 14 F with a windchill of 0 F. My excitement was about half gone.
Many Canadians seem to have a psychological thing about -40 degrees.
When someone arrives here from another country, they always say things like "wait till you get a taste of -40 in the winter".
Except that, it's never been -40 in recorded history anywhere in the part of Canada where I live (southern Quebec and southern Ontario). The record low for where I live (across the river from the coldest city in southern Ontario, Ottawa) is -38C. And that was in 1933. So not many people who are talking about -40 around me were around to see that.
And yet people from Quebec City all the way to Toronto and beyond talk about -40 as if it was an annual occurrence.
(Now, Canadians further north and in some parts of the west would see -40 on an annual basis - or close to it.)
If it was someone from Thompson, Manitoba saying that I would take them seriously. But someone from Toronto? Come on. Toronto struggles to get below even -20 C, when was the last time Toronto even hit -25 C?
I hate when a completely normal warm front comes through followed by a cold front and people say "It's that unpredictable [insert state here] weather again" Or, "Only in [state] will it be 60 when you go to work and 30 when you go home" I heard it all the time back in Georgia and I here it all the time in Texas now. For one thing, anyone paying attention to the forecasts would know that a front was coming through so it's not unpredictable. And it happens so frequently at certain times of the year but for whatever reason it takes people by surprise every single time.
Another thing that annoys me is when people talk about the wind chill or heat index temp as if it were the actual temperature.
My mom is notorious for doing this, one time when I lived in North GA I asked her what the temperature outside was, and she says "0 F" I was like "wow!", I looked it up, it was 14 F with a windchill of 0 F. My excitement was about half gone.
I hate this too. To be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of windchill readings, or a "feels like" index, or a heat index, or any of that stuff. It's pretty simple. If it's, say, 25F here, it seems to always "feel like" some lower value, so say it "feels like 18." But then if it's actually 18F, it "feels like" some lower value yet. So how do we know what 18 or 25 feel like in the first place if it doesn't usually "feel like" what it actually is?
Hopefully that makes at least some sense. Windchill factors can be useful, for sure, but maybe it shouldn't be expressed the way it is. Maybe it could be like the UV index where lower temperatures and stronger winds give higher values and there's some calculation behind this to give it some validity, but the values aren't expressed in terms of temperature. Same with the heat index.
If it was someone from Thompson, Manitoba saying that I would take them seriously. But someone from Toronto? Come on. Toronto struggles to get below even -20 C, when was the last time Toronto even hit -25 C?
This winter I think. But this one has been a bit special.
Many Canadians seem to have a psychological thing about -40 degrees.
When someone arrives here from another country, they always say things like "wait till you get a taste of -40 in the winter".
Except that, it's never been -40 in recorded history anywhere in the part of Canada where I live (southern Quebec and southern Ontario). The record low for where I live (across the river from the coldest city in southern Ontario, Ottawa) is -38C. And that was in 1933. So not many people who are talking about -40 around me were around to see that.
And yet people from Quebec City all the way to Toronto and beyond talk about -40 as if it was an annual occurrence.
(Now, Canadians further north and in some parts of the west would see -40 on an annual basis - or close to it.)
When my Canadian friend (from the GTA) said he'd experienced -40 once I asked, quite simply, where/when. When he said in the Toronto area, I challenged that, as that's well below their record lows. So he said it must have been windchill. Who knows what standard of measurement was even used to arrive at that figure, as the calculation for windchill has changed over time. Just another reason I think it should be changed to avoid this constant confusion in people's minds with actual air temperatures.
I hate this too. To be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of windchill readings, or a "feels like" index, or a heat index, or any of that stuff. It's pretty simple. If it's, say, 25F here, it seems to always "feel like" some lower value, so say it "feels like 18." But then if it's actually 18F, it "feels like" some lower value yet. So how do we know what 18 or 25 feel like in the first place if it doesn't usually "feel like" what it actually is?
Hopefully that makes at least some sense. Windchill factors can be useful, for sure, but maybe it shouldn't be expressed the way it is. Maybe it could be like the UV index where lower temperatures and stronger winds give higher values and there's some calculation behind this to give it some validity, but the values aren't expressed in terms of temperature. Same with the heat index.
It's just sort of a dumbed down thing. To us, the wind speed or dew point should tell you immediately what to expect.
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