todays temperature ???

[chris vickery]

20:22hrs
A balmy -20c here in The North Bay area right now, going to -35c by morning plus the windchill... At least it keeps the bugs and biting things away. The only bite you'll get here is frostbite!!!
Time for another log on the fire and another pint in the tank...

[aj.lec]

well i hope youve got a very well insulated and heated workshop
That sort of temperature is almost PAST brass monkey weather

[Daniel Treasure]

Originally posted by chris vickery
20:22hrs
A balmy -20c here in The North Bay area right now, going to -35c by morning plus the windchill... At least it keeps the bugs and biting things away. The only bite you'll get here is frostbite!!!
Time for another log on the fire and another pint in the tank...

Is there an opposit of wind chill for us desert dwellers? windheat factor? Its 10:30am, +35C and rising. gona be the same all week but it cools down to +25C at night. heat must cause fly's to multiply. you blokes must drink beer with a antifreeze chaser!

[chris vickery]

Andrew,

Yes it is brass monkey weather (as my grandfather used to say..). I work outside in it everyday. You do get used to it after a while, cold is just cold. Last winter I spent in Northern Quebec where the average temp was -30c and many days it was -40c or better. The wind multiplies the tempreature factor from a few points to many; it is possible that when the ambient temp is say -30c, the actual realized temp could be -45 etc. You know it's cold when you walk on the snow and it sounds like you are walking on broken glass.

Daniel, the good thing is cheap refrigeration for one's pints. Toss them outside for 20 minutes and the proper serving temperature has been achieved! Any longer and you have beer-sicles...
While us colonials over here try to lay claim as the highest beer consumers per capita, when it comes to real cold, nothing beats a few shots of the Captain's finest rum and dreams of a sunny, sandy beach. No need for antifreeze if you keep the blood alcohol level high enough!

[Daniel Treasure]

Last time I put a can of good stuff outside for 20 min it exploded!

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally posted by Daniel Treasure
Last time I put a can of good stuff outside for 20 min it exploded!

Why did you put it outside, was it misbehaving?

BTW, it's been sunny all day, but with a stiff wind the published wind chill factor has been -30C. Very shortly, as the sun goes down, it will get a great deal colder... welcome to January in Toronto!

[aj.lec]

there has been a fair amount of rain in queensland lately
just been sent a photo of a extremely large dragline at the ensham mine
they say it will take at least 6 months to pump this pit out
also saraji mine lost a d11 dozer as they couldnt get it out quick enough

[jim sewell]

Spare a thought for the locals in Marble Bar.

Temps for the 21 days so far in January.

Mean temps Min 28.5 Max 44.5 ( average )

Lowest Temps Min 25.5 Max 39.5

Highest Temps Min 34.5 Max 48.5 and it rained 4mm that day as well ( more likely steam )

I am glad I live a bit further south .

Regards
Jim S.

Good lord ... speaking of temps of late, how the heck did this guy ever survive out in the cold for days?????????????? This story is unbelievable!

January 21, 2008

Man survives four days trapped in bush

Paramedic survives on melted snow, rotten meat and sheer determination

By BRYAN PASSIFIUME, SUN MEDIA


CROWSNEST PASS -- Used to saving the lives of others, a Crowsnest Pass paramedic had to keep himself alive for a harrowing 96 hours after his ATV rolled on him.

Ken Hildebrand was riding his quad last weekend north of the Livingstone Gap, about 130 km southwest of Calgary, collecting animal traps when his vehicle struck a rock and ended up on top of him.

Hildebrand, who has a weak leg due to polio, ended up face down on the snowy ground with his machine pinning his strong leg.

"He was stuck there for four days and three nights -- almost 96 hours straight," says Troy Linderman, director of Crowsnest Pass EMS.

Hildebrand sustained himself by melting snow to drink and by eating the rotting meat of animals he had previously collected, which made him sick.

Hildebrand faced constant harassment from coyotes and wolves. He was able to keep them away by constantly blowing a whistle he had with him.

Through the ordeal, he made several attempts to get out from under the quad, including using an axe to pry it off, but he didn't have enough leverage to move it off of his leg.

"He had told some people where he was going, so people knew he was overdue," Linderman said. "Several people looked for him, but they couldn't find him."

As Hildebrand was entering his fourth day of confinement on Jan. 16, he began to accept the fact he might not be found before the cold, malnourishment or animals claimed him. His saving grace came in the form of two hikers from Pincher Creek, who happened to come across the accident scene.

After spending a night in Crowsnest Pass hospital, he was transferred to Lethbridge, where he has undergone several operations to treat frostbite and injuries to his legs sustained in the accident and the ensuing four days.

"It's amazing that he's alive, I can't believe it," Linderman said. "Ken's as tough as nails."

Despite hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration and leg injuries, Linderman said Hildebrand's only concern after being rescued was not being able to make his next shift.

While Hildebrand's injuries aren't described as life-threatening, there is a chance the trapped leg might have to be amputated.

http://www.town.crowsnestpass.ab.ca/

The guy sounds like his accident was Jan 12 and rescued Jan 16th!!!

It's currently -33c in Crowsnest Pass .......... !

Here it's -21c right now.

[aj.lec]

karmen -that is one tough or lucky man
44c+ you definately would be looking for a air conditioned office job
-30+ you can have that too .Ive done a lot of freezer and blast freezer work doing installs repairs and maintanance and they are only -20 to -25c after about 10 minutes in that i am looking for the exit
Not weather related but
Here is a amusing photo for those of us with retreating follicles

[Daniel Treasure]

My New Blitz speedo!
Ps nudging the high 30s again today

Originally posted by aj.lec
karmen -that is one tough or lucky man
44c+ you definately would be looking for a air conditioned office job
-30+ you can have that too .Ive done a lot of freezer and blast freezer work doing installs repairs and maintanance and they are only -20 to -25c after about 10 minutes in that i am looking for the exit
Not weather related but
Here is a amusing photo for those of us with retreating follicles

Cool! The lawnmower looks like a little military green tank

[Daniel Treasure]

Originally posted by Vets Dottir 2nd
Cool! The lawnmower looks like a little military green tank

A tank that is loosing its camoflarge!

Yes ... definately a tough guy. I wonder what the update on his condition is.

My childhood sweetheart from early childhood, I'm actually his step-aunt but we're the same age

... well, had a winter story not so lucky.

Rural (back home) Manitoba about 30??? years ago ... about -20F or so, he and 3 friends, drunkish, went out Christmas Eve joyriding in the truck, truck always had reserves of gas in the can in back of truck. No one thought to double check this time. 20 miles from nearest house or community they ran out of gas. They decided to walk back to the community 20 miles away as absolutely zero traffic on that old roaD ... my childhood sweetheart the only one that got back alive. He almost died, was in hospital forever, lost the front halves of both feet. Very tragic story for everyone back home that tossed everyone for a long time ...

... and thank god my tough guy survived somehow and loves to give me a hard time and tease me on chat all the time now

The cold ... is deadly ... my kid got frostbite in her thumbs and ears a few years ago having to walk/run 5 blocks ... it was -47 with the windchill. An idiot offered her a ride home from work, she was dressed for rides, not walking, and ride dropped her off 5 blocks from home

Extremes ... hot or cold ... not good

Oh ... here's an updated story about our paramedic survivor ... might put off your appetite though ....................

January 22, 2008

Trapped man survived on rotten meat

By CP


CROWSNEST PASS -- The paramedic forced to endure the southern Alberta wilderness for four frosty days, subsisting on rotting beaver meat, says he may not have been found had fate not intervened.

Ken Hildebrand, who is recovering in a Lethbridge hospital after being trapped under his crashed ATV for nearly 96 hours, said he had begun to accept he might die when a hiker and his dog from Pincher Creek came upon him.

"He was hiking and he came there because he told me he had this funny intuition and urge to go hiking there, even though he'd never been there before," Hildebrand said from his hospital bed.

Hildebrand had been out Jan. 8 collecting animal traps, about 130 km southwest of Calgary, when his quad hit a rock and rolled, landing on his leg and pinning him.

As the cold set in, he began to use those same animals to help keep him alive.

"It was time to get ready for survival mode," Hildebrand said.

As a paramedic, he knew people start losing heat quickly from their upper body, so he took a beaver carcass and set it by his groin to help keep his body warm.

He used another beaver as a bit of a windbreak and part of its skin as a makeshift pillow.

"I knew I had some (orange) surveyor's tape -- I took it and tied one end around my wrist," he said.

"I threw it at different angles to make an X.

"If someone flew over they would see me, no problem."

With no water or food with him, no snow close by and nothing but dirt around him, he quickly became dehydrated.

He pulled some surveyor's tape through his teeth to get a little bit of the dew that dropped onto it.

"I ate a lot of dirt to get a little moisture," he said.

By the second night he was so hungry he started to pick at the beaver bones an hour after the sun went down.

"I tried to eat pieces of that, but it made me sick and I threw up," he said.

Hildebrand, who works teaching first aid and heavy equipment at Keyano College in Fort McMurray, said he still has property in the Crowsnest Pass and was there seeing if he could help ranchers with problem-wolves preying on their cattle.

Hildebrand's wife, Lil, who was at the couple's home in Fort McMurray, said she was unaware her husband was even missing until receiving a call from relatives saying he had been found.

"He let friends know he was going out and when he didn't come back, they assumed he changed his mind and decided to stay out there," she said.

Lil added doctors have told her Hildebrand faces months of rehabilitation and could lose part of his right foot due to severe frostbite.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Earth shattering....

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=mZEMRAWaVr8

[Mike Timoshyk]

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=iVB7Q2Ge0Ts

don't forget your goloshes...

Those videos are great

[aj.lec]

The weather is playing games again
Australias hottest month is usually february yet since the middle of january till now the weather has been a very pleasant 27-35
But now weve hit autumn and the temps in dubbo cracked 40.5 degrees celcius today and predicted to stay that way for at least this week
Be interesting to see what sort of winter we end up with

[james walker]

Darwin now about 28c with ongoing rain: humid wet season weather.

Dry season due in about may with 29c days and down to what we consider a cool 14c at night time. Had enough rain now, although by end of dry season (November) we've had enough dry... humans are never happy with the weather they've got apparantly!!

james

[aj.lec]

you can send a bit of rain down this way if you like .getting dry allready

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi all - December/January quite hot, February cold. But March has been the hotest March since records began in 18 whenever. The whole month has been upper 30c with many days over 40c. Looks to continue until at least next Tuesday. Hot north winds predicted over next days and extreme fire hazard days coming up. A few fires are burning at the moment.
Bob

[Phil Waterman]

Well with New Hampshire on track to breaking 150 year old record for snow fall, it is snowing again 33.8 or 1 degree F/C. Just enough to make sure that auto body shops are fully employed.

Cheers Phil

[aj.lec]

well they say nature has a balance
melt them off in oz and freeze them off in canada
Bobs on the money for the forecasting 39.8 today

[Daniel Treasure]

We have been luckey the past few weeks, The tempriture gauge is stuck between 25c to 30c, just warm enough to greatly appriciate the cooling effects of amber stuff after hours! Glad that hot air has gone east! porbably where it came from in the first place

[aj.lec]

Well it looks like Australia's colder season has just about come to an end. This year the coldest we had at my place was about -3 overnight with coldest temp during he day of 7

It nudged 30 last saturday with mid to high 20's the rest of the week
25 at the moment at 9 a.m. today

The snakes are starting to get about too, sporting their fresh shiny skins (at least until i ran them over ) really dont like those slippery little buggers
The photo is a brown snake ,very fast and aggresive (most common snake found in my area)
Adds a different prospective blitz and parts hunting in summer

[Daniel Treasure]

A 12 ball is faster!! if a little untidy!

[aj.lec]

Yes ,nothing quite as satisfying as a snake seperation

[aj.lec]

Hit 31 degrees c today
Unfortunately as mentioned previously this brings out the little slipperies
Bit close to home this time ,dogs bailed a 3.5 footer up on the front verandah
always a worry with the kids running around
It didnt get the 12 ball but it got the electrical conduit a couple of times followed by a head seperation with the shovel
satisfactory outcome with no dogs or people bitten (bearing in mind this species or its near relatives ,comes in the 10 worlds deadliest snakes)