1/11/11

"It's a bit parky!"


This is what we Brits would say about the temperature outside as I drove to work this morning, for those working in centigrade that is approx' -18! And we have more to come over the rest of this week, my colleague and I joked how it was warming up nicely when it got to 3F by 11am!

'Sadly' (i.e. I'd have rather stayed in my cozy bed) our school carries on as usual in these frigid temperatures, somehow I doubt they would back in the UK if it was this cold. But us 'Okies' layer up, man up and head out to work, as do many other Americans across the country when the air gets this cold.

This morning we did have ice around thanks to the snow received yesterday. But on more than a few occasions in the past, the temperature has been this low and yet there is no ice to deal with. I find this completely bizarre coming from the UK, where if it's below freezing it's a given you will deal with ice. Here the atmosphere is just so dry, there isn't enough moisture for ice!

Another oddity I have got used to since I emigrated!

15 comments:

A Brit in Tennessee said...

The schools are closed for the third day in a row here in our area, black ice is the problem on top of a layering of snow. It's just too risky, for evryone, but especially for those teenagers who now drive themselves to school.
I'm back at work tomorrow, since we've also been shut down for the past two days, people really don't want to take chances, we cancelled all of ur elective surgeries on the animals, and rescheduled.
So, had Blighty changed much in five years ?
Hugs,
Jo
x

Stella Jones said...

Do you mean that the cold is so dry that ice doesn't form? That so, it would be bizarre. We are snowed in still in Tennessee and although we had a thaw today, tonight it will freeze up and stay for three more days. Coming out of Krogers this afternoon, it felt just like England!

Unknown said...

Yes Star that is exactly what I mean, we generally don't have enough moisture in the atmosphere for ice to form!

Jo, I was stuck indoors for most of my trip due to the weather!

Almost American said...

Wow - it was colder down there today than up here in the northeast! It was 11˚F this morning as I drove to work.
Do you find the dryness does awful things to your skin? I get through gallons of moisturizer every winter!

Unknown said...

AA you know not really, which is amazing!

Gaelyn said...

That's way too Parky for me thanks. Our snow started to melt into mud but freezes at night and now too cold to melt to there's an ice rink in my drive. Be thankful for no ice. Try to stay warm.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Sarah, Isn't it fun to try to figure out the weather??? We laugh and say that if you don't like the weather, just wait and it will change.... BUT--we have had snow now for 2 straight days --and I wonder if it will EVER stop... ha ha

Have a great day tomorrow.
Hugs,
Betsy

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Back in the day when I supervised pipelines in Woodward, Mooreland, Shattuck, Vici, and Freedom I'd head up there from Oklahoma City and it would get colder by the mile. NW Oklahoma is extreme.

Expat mum said...

Wow OK, proud of you gettin' to school!
We were in the 20's today so it got warm enough to snow!!!

Rob said...

If it ever got that cold down here, there'd be panic on the streets! Seriously, it's the top news story if it reaches down into the 40's overnight.

Do you get awful static build up when it's so dry? I know I get zapped by everything in the dry season.

Daryl said...

the last storm that hit just after Christmas closed our schools here but the one that hit last nite seems to be affecting us less .. I even managed to trek up our hill and to the subway and to work .. the fun will come later when I leave here around 11:30 to trek to the hospital and spend the afternoon with ToonMan.

Pat - Arkansas said...

It's parky over here this morning(Jan 12), too, although not 3 degrees F. It's 14 degrees as I write this, and plenty cold enough for me, thank you! I dread getting outside.

George said...

We may have more snow than you got, but we're a little warmer than you are. We do, however, have ice and are pretty much shut down at the moment.

Iota said...

Gosh you're made of tougher stuff than us. Our schools have been closed for 2 days because of the low temps (very little snow - the reason they gave was the temps, and the lowest it got overnight was 3 or 4 degrees F.

Iota said...

Gosh you're made of tougher stuff than us. Our schools have been closed for 2 days because of the low temps (very little snow - the reason they gave was the temps, and the lowest it got overnight was 3 or 4 degrees F.