# Snow is a hoax!



## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

I was born in the Philippines and lived there and Nigeria for most of my childhood. Then I moved to California. 

I never saw snow until I was 21 or so. Up til then, I thought it was a hoax. Something dreamed up by tv writers. When I did see snow, it was in Oregon, and it was in June, and it was warm enough to play in snow while wearing only a tank top and shorts. 

So.... is it reeeeeally that cold? 

What does it look like when it's snowing? 

What are snow tires for?


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Haha. I lived in Canada for the first 16 years of my life. 5, 6 months of cold a year. Snow, slush, rain. You name it.

Snow tires have better grip on snow and ice so you won't kill yourself when you drive. Same reasoning behind putting chains on your tires. Illegal where I used to live in Canada since it chews up the asphalt.

Snow flakes, for the first few seconds you hold in your hand, are very "airy" and aren't that cold...until they start to melt and run all over your hand, THEN it starts to get cold.

When it's snowing? It's beautiful. The ground and leaves are covered in crisp, white slow, you can see flakes falling gently from the sky. Every so often, there's a shocking breath of cool air that sends the flakes in soft, smooth circles before they land. Tree branches are covered in a thick blanket of white...white, as far as the eye can see. =)


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## nailalc (Mar 17, 2006)

Minnesota has the reputation of being a horribly cold place or flyover country. The majority of time the weather is fantastic, a change in the seasons, etc. 

The snow is not bad at all, lot's of opportunities to do outdoor activities like snowmobiling, skiing, ice fishing, etc. You get used to it, what you don't get used to are the stupid people you don't know how to drive on the snow. Sorry, that's another story.

But if you want cold, come to Minnesota, any of the northern plain states or better yet north into Canada in mid to late January. You get crystal clear days and nights without a cloud in the sky, looks fantastic, until you get outside and it's absolutely bone-chilling. You're talking air temperatures of -30, -40 or in sometimes -50 degrees below zero. Imagine the gas bill in order to heat the homes.


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## Ibn (Oct 20, 2004)

Sounds like you need to take a trip over to the Sierras. Even closer would be Yosemite. 

Snow is definitely a great change from the constant weather of the Bay Area. It really isn't that cold; it's the air that is. It's more like brisk air unless you try snowboarding in a blizzard (fun stuff).


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## ringram (Jan 10, 2005)

It's not cold really until you get wet. If you're just wearing jeans or shorts and you get wet and then that cold wind chill hits you....B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R!!!
My wife went to college for 4 yrs in Vermont and she said it would get so cold that you would go outside and your nosehairs and any mucus on your upper lip would freeze. The snow I've seen has mainly been in Tahoe, CA/NV and I know it's nothing there compared to other places.


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## Astral (Sep 24, 2004)

I live right in the center of Canada in a place called Winnipeg. It is affectionately called "Winterpeg" because it gets very cold and snowy for a good 5 to 6 months.

It's not too bad as long as you have someone warm to cuddle with.:kiss:


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## RoseHawke (Jan 4, 2005)

I'm inclined to believe it's a myth myself. I haven't seen any _real_ snow since the Blizzard of '93.

And really hope I don't ever see any like that again! Five days with no electricity and temps close to 0°F tends to pall after a while !


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## rey (Jul 4, 2005)

It can get so cold here that people die. Sometimes they turn public transit stations into overnight shelters for the homeless. If you're going to be outside for any extended time you basically have to make a spacesuit for yourself with clothes.

And yet, it's a wonderful place to live. The air is like champagne, the sky is as pure as one of Mr. Amano's aquarium backgrounds.

Regards from the city of Ed.


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## thegrittykitty937 (Aug 31, 2006)

I live in southern Ohio...and I have the fortune of being able to experience all four seasons in all their glory! We have sweltering hot summers (101* year before last) and freezing cold winters! (-14* in '04) We also experience a lot of strong spring thunderstorms, bein' at the edge of tornado alley. And, as long as there has been suffiecient rain all summer, the beauty of the trees in fall is stunning.
I count myself lucky to live where I can see all the seasons in such contrast. I enjoy the changing weather! After a long cold winter, what is more beautiful than spring?? And the best thing about the aquarium hobby is...when it gets too cold to garden outside, I still got my gardens INside!!


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## ringram (Jan 10, 2005)

Yeah, that would be stunning. My wife and I are considering moving out of state. We live in Northern CA and the weather around here is nice if you like hot, hot and more HOT! (105-110 at the peak) Lately, we've seen summers last a good 5-6 months, followed by either no Fall or a very brief one and then right into Winter, which may get down into the 20s and 30s at night, but I've only seen it snow 2 or 3 times in the past 20 yrs or so.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

We rarely get snow here in Salem, Oregon. We usually don't have the correct combination of factors. The few times we get freezing precipitation its usually freezing rain for a very slippery ice covering on everything or a bit of hail, only rarely do we get snow and that usually melts on contact with the ground. 

I can't imagine living someplace that gets so far below freezing as do Rey and thegrittykitty937. I prefer the mildness of this area and would just as soon avoid any type of frozen precipitation. Walking my dogs on ice or through slush is no fun whatsoever.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Here in northern Minnesota we're also used to bitter cold temps and lots of snow.
As someone else stated, I really like the definite changes between seasons though.

Here's an actual windchill we had last year, which is the coldest I've seen it.









And here's a look at our yard with average snow depth.









The only thing I don't care for with the snow is that you can't just walk around in the yard any time you feel like it unless you go put snowshoes on first....


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

JanS, -71?! I believe you, but how do you deal with such extreme low temperatures? Can you even go out when its that cold (not that you'd want to, but if you had to)? I can't imagine trying to get my fur deficient **** hound out to relieve himself in weather like that. I have to put a coat on him when it gets into the 40's - no way would he take to really cold weather. But then again, neither would I. Just thinking about such cold weather makes me want to curl up by a fire.


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## kjf91004 (Sep 21, 2006)

I think it is worth mentioning that it is warm when it is snowing. (Like 15 to 30 degrees) When it is colder than that out, it is actually too cold for the precipitation to fall. When we get those -70s in Wisconsin we actually hope for snow because that would mean it will have to warm up first. 

It was snowing in central Wisconsin today. Big fluffy flakes floating down from the heavens. Beautiful now... not so fun in January.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

kjf91004 said:


> I think it is worth mentioning that it is warm when it is snowing. (Like 15 to 30 degrees)


:rofl:

I'm sorry, but 15 to 30 is not warm - no way, no how. Yes, I am a cold weather wimp from the very moderate Willamette Valley in Oregon.  When we get threatened with anything freezing (snow, freezing rain, etc) all the news people act like the city is in severe danger and they go on and on about road sanding crews and being careful about going on bridges and overpasses. The only people here who know how to drive in snow and ice aren't from around here.


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