As I think I've mentioned, I like to tease my friends here in the Midwest of the US by asking them what they would do if it ever actually got cold here.
Well, I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta in Her Majesty's Dominion of Canada, the True North, Strong and Free. On Saturday evening, 12 December 2009, I was at the Dockside Pub (we used to jokingly call it the 'Darkside'!) on 105 Street, in Edmonton.
When the pub closed at 02.00, I walked home. It was only a few blocks, and it was all downhill, so it was an easy walk. The next day, when I returned to the pub, everyone was talking about the temperature overnight. I didn't see what the big deal was. It was cold, yes, but it was December in Alberta! We joked that there was nothing to stop the wind between us and the North Pole.
Then someone explained. The night before, Edmonton had been the coldest place in North America. It had hit -46.1 C or 50.98 F, with a windchill of 58.4 C/73.12 F! Not only was Edmonton the coldest place in North America, according to rumour, it was the second coldest place on earth! The only place that was colder that night was a three-man weather station in Dzalinda, in the far north of Siberia.
That same December, I met a young lady who had come to Edmonton for Christmas. She was from New Orleans, LA, and it was her first visit to Canada. When she left NOLA, it was in the 50s or 60s F. When she arrived in Edmonton, it was about -40 (Celsius and Fahrenheit meet at -40!). She thought she had come north to die! Every time she stopped to see me at the book store I worked in, she looked like the Michelin Tire Man, she was so bundled up!
The first winter I was in Alberta, I called a friend of mine in Kansas City, MO and told her what the temperature was. I don't remember the exact degree, but it was cold. She was horrified, and asked, 'How do you even go outside in that'? I told her that you learn to dress for it.
For awhile, I had a walking paper route when I lived in E-town. One night the windchill was -55 C/-67 F. Halfway through the route, I stopped in the house. My roommate panicked, and asked me if I was alright. I said that I had too many clothes on and I was getting hot and sweaty. Hot and sweaty is one thing you definitely do not want to be at that temperature!
At any rate, here is an article archived from the Edmonton Journal with details, but I think I have ample justification to tease my friends, eh?!
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