For all the stranded travelers out there, I hope you manage to find shelter and get to where you are going.
And I hope that everyone who is dealing with this bizarre weather we're having in the states manages to stay warm, dry and safe. I'm in Cincinnati for the holidays (which rarely gets below 30 degrees) and we're having -7 degree weather and 3" in snow. Minnesota is even worse and I'm hearing stories from across the nation. Stay safe!
Before 6am on the Left Coast.
49 degrees in LA.
High will be low 60’s.
A bit of snow now, but it is supposed to turn over to freezing rain shortly. We still have a lot of snow and ice from the last go around. Thankfully it is supposed ti be regular rain tomorrow, so we will just stay put today.
My niece and nephew were headed to Denver, and their overnight ended up taking much longer. They are hiring to get out today.
SEA is "closed indefinitely" . All Alaska Air flights out of here are cancelled, until noon at least.
Kansas City - Below 0℉ all day yesterday. Won't get to 7℉ today. Two inches of snow on the ground so it will be a rare white Christmas. I think it was 70℉ last year. In the past this cold sometimes occurred in January or early February.
24 degrees here in Salem, Oregon, with a third of an inch of ice from freezing rain/sleet covering everything. It's usually 40 degrees and rainy here (which it should be again by tomorrow). The nearest airport to the north (PDX) is pretty much shut down, the nearest to the south (EUG) has a few flights going later today (maybe). A good enough excuse to make a big pot of stew and hunker down by the fire. Stay safe travelers!
Huntsville is at 1 degree with a -11 wind chill--9:00 am CT. High is only expected to be 15 degrees. Three cold days are expected.
Our homes are not really built for such low temperatures.
Toronto area here! Rain has stopped so some icy roads and the snow is blowing horizontally now, running about -1c but feels like -10c. Friends flight from Toronto to Boston this morning got cancelled and they won't be going out until Sunday; looking at the evening European flights they are scheduled but I think they will be cancelled as well.
My wife and I are staying nice and warm at home, thinking about our trip to Madrid and Paris in 3 weeks.
SeaTac just re-opened, according to our NPR station.
My husband was supposed to drive friends to the airport for an Alaska Airlines flight this morning, but it has been canceled. We are waiting to hear when they will be re-booked, so we can plan around that. But I am glad he doesn’t have to leave now as the roads are all apparently sheets of ice.
3 degrees here in Northeast Oklahoma; the wind is not as bad as yesterday, but it is windy. I have no idea what the wind chill is. I managed to clear about 1/2 inch of ice off my vehicle yesterday. It's too cold for the ice to melt, but the roads in town aren't too bad. We had a little snow yesterday, but again not too bad.
The temp might get up to 32 on Sunday. Maybe. But up into the 60s by Wednesday! (smh)
Visiting central Kentucky. Temp -7 this morning with about an inch of snow on the ground covering a layer of ice. Looks nice. Feels not so nice.
For the SEATAC watchers, here’s the FAA status page for airports. https://nasstatus.faa.gov/
The ground stop at SeaTac just got delayed by another hour - to 9am Pacific Time.
Here it's in the low 50's but it is raining.
I'm in London.
I just saw on our neighborhood page that two snow plows were wrecked.
I just saw on our neighborhood page that two snow plows were wrecked.
I heard that many counties in Minnesota have pulled the snow plows off the roads due to unsafe conditions.
It’s zero in Pittsburgh right now, and the windchill is -22. It was about 40 degrees at midnight, and then the temperature plummeted. We got about an inch of snow. No ice and no more precipitation forecast for the next week, but it will be unseasonably cold for the next few days. I’d say we are pretty lucky. Our only travel will be local since our kids live near us.
We have had snowmaggden here! And today a blizzard! Power is currently out!
We got about 5-6 inches of snow earlier this week. On Wednesday, we had a UPS truck and an Amazon van stuck on our icy hill. This morning we have freezing rain, which has shut down local public transit as well as SEA airport. Stay safe out there, friends!
Oh no, Tammy! I hope power is back soon!
Carroll, my brother was flying out of Pittsburgh today - but had a bit of a drive to the airport first so that’s not happening. Funnily enough, only his nonstop flight had been cancelled as of this morning.
In Atlanta where it’s 20° and sunny. Home in TX, it’s about that for today and the weekend. Hoping I don’t come home to a pipe that froze and thawed….
Feeling guilty with balmy 50s here while texting our siblings in the PNW, Midwest and east coast 🥶🥶🥶. They are sooooo thankful they don’t have to fly anywhere or drive far this year for Christmas.
Tammy, bummer about the electricity, but at least you've got your phone!
TexasTravelmom, I hope your pipes don't freeze; I was worried about that earlier this month when we had nighttime temperatures hovering at freezing.
Today we're looking at a high around 55F, good dog walking weather. My parents - near Denver - are hoping for 20F, which is about 25 higher than they had yesterday.
Over a foot of snow at our house on Tuesday, and it was minus 9C with a windchill of minus 17C, so no melting.
For the first time ever, we hired a local fellow to shovel our driveway.
Last night it warmed up to minus 4C and now we've had a couple more inches of freezing rain/ice pellets/snow.
I've just come in from clearing a path to the street, and I could stand on top of the snow it's so thick with ice.
Chipped ice rather than shoveled it!
The airport in Vancouver is still recovering from earlier in the week with many delays and cancellations, all the bridges are closed due to falling ice, and people are being advised not to drive anywhere till the ice melts.
Yikes.
So glad we are retired.
I would have had to sleep at work in this in order to do my shifts.
My car is a block of ice....husband got his out on Wednesday so we could get groceries.
I hope you all are safe, have power, and are warm and well fed indoors where you are, and I wish you all a very
Merry Christmas!
So glad we are retired.
You can say that again! I feel bad for anyone who had to commuter today.
Just returned from picking up the DD at SeaTac. Her flight last night was cancelled but she got on Delta's first Boston-Seattle nonstop for this morning. I believe the SeaTac ground stop is only for Alaska Air departures and certain arrivals. American flights were on the deicing pad when we drove by.
The I-5 corridor north of Pierce County is a mess. Multiple multi-car wrecks and semi-truck's, some with chains on, off the road. Be careful out there.
Paul above forgot to mention that our city's grizzly fence is down. Extreme temperatures always play havoc with the plastic coating. I'm on our neighbourhood fence committee. As a result, I'll have to spend another cold night leading trainees around, as they learn how to bait bears with jars of honey.
Those of us who've in recent years lost large trees into neighbouring properties (note plural) due to inclement weather, are once again biting nails.
I am done. the icicle
Yes, from the same Fodors 'Zebec' character.
A song for those who've ever been caught out in genuinely dangerous cold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TdhZscQu_M
The sheet of ice here is so clear I did not ( could not) see it until I went outside.
Happy we have no where we must go today and have power, so we can just wait it out.
A safe and Merry Christmas to all !!
My car is a block of ice....husband got his out on Wednesday so we could get groceries.
many years ago when I lived in Montreal we used to plug the car in. That's not to charge it but it was a heater to keep the oil and engine block warm enough (not too too cold I mean) that meant the engine could turn over upon request.
Do Canadians still do that? I don't know if nearby Americans ever did that.
Stay warm, all.
Stay warm and safe, all. You too Tammy. Hope the leccy people work out how to make the sparky things work...
Temps below freezing (it is right at zero as I type) and just above zero most of the day (windchills at 20 and more below zerofor a period)...another few arctic cold nights ahead. An inch or so of snow on the ground. This morning Nashville Electric Service, for the first time ever, implemented "rolling blackouts," along with other TN providers, at TVA's request. Those blackouts were paused later in the day, with TVA calling it a successful mission. Into next week, temps will rise back into the 60s (which will be rather warm for late December/January) in Nashville. But, those locals and tourists who will crowd downtown for the big New Year's Celebration (to be aired on CBS nationally) will be relieved.
Ya'll stay warm, and safe, smooth travels heading home (be it by plane, car, train, etc.).
Our visiting daughter just heard a huge “whomp” outside her room and came to ask me if that was a tree falling or a car going off the road and hitting something. It was the latter—- a car belonging to a neighbor from further down the street. He must have lost control of his SUV on the 90 degree bend in the road as it is heads downhill. He is completely off the road and lucky his car did not roll over into the steep ravine. He could not leave his car without slipping on the icy pavement, so I crawled up through our yard (filled with bushes or various sizes) to tell him he could use our yard to get down the hill closer to his own house. I don’t think a tow truck I will come to pull his car back on the street until tomorrow at least.
There is now water on top of the smooth sheet of ice and it is so slippery one cannot walk on it, even on the level, without very cautious steps. No walk for the dog today, that’s for sure.
Just for fun, I just Googled to see what the temps are like in Antarctica right now:
"Current condition and temperature - McMurdo, Antarctica
At the moment, the sky is mainly clouded. The temperature is a freezing -6°C (21.2°F), while the real-feel temperature, due to the wind, is evaluated at an extreme-cold -12°C (10.4°F)."
So many of ya'll will now be able to say it is colder in your hometown than McMurdo Station, Antarctica. About 10 years ago, we smiled while in Antarctica, learning it was warmer there than it was back home in Nashville.
Nigel, I grew up outside of Chicago. We didn't have a garage so my dad brought the car battery in at night and put it on an electric blanket. After he got the outdoor light rewired with an outlet he would put a small heat lamp under the hood to keep the engine block warm.
In the Medford/Ashland OR area, it’s been a balmy 50 degrees today. Some fog but I’ll take it over the freezing rain and ice up north from Salem to Seattle.
In Canberra, capital city of Australia, it's currently sunny and 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit).
In Canberra, capital city of Australia, it's currently sunny and 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit).
That is a 'rubbing salt in the wound' kind of statement. You get a lump of coal in your stocking. :-)
You get a lump of coal in your stocking. :-)
Too hot for stockings - but we did have snow last week in Tasmania, in summer!
I'm going outside in a bit and will hopefully find that my car starts. Unfortunately my sister's garage is packed and has only room for one car. It's usually good in my unheated garage in Duluth and it "only" got to -7 degrees here, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Lola and Joe--The ice yesterday was just crazy for here! We are used to that from OR. My husband took a beautiful picture of a tree in our yard. It has a ton of lights on it, and it sort of looked like Relfection Lake, although was Reflection Tree, due to the ice in the driveway. He opened the garage door to take the photo so he didn't even have to step out onto it;) This morning it is a little bit better, but the back patio is slick as can be. At least in a few hours things should be melted.
Mikliz—-I have lived in “snow country” nearly all of my adult life, starting with a move up to Fairbanks Alaska in 1971. After that, North Idaho and Spokane, then here on an island near Seattle. And many ski trips driving to to Whistler, Mt. Bachelor, and Alta Utah. I have never encountered ice like we had yesterday. But I have read that ice storms like that are more common in parts of Oregon.
My husband just returned from retrieving our Honda CRV from its overnight parking place up the hill, well above that treacherous turn where our neighbor slid off the road. His SUV still precariously perched there—-it was saved from going over the edge into the ravine by a tree. He’ll need a tow truck to pull it back onto the street.
I went out and helped take off the Auto Socks my husband put on our car yesterday so our daughter and her husband could get to the gym for their exercise (since it was impossible to go for their usual run). I gave him the Auto Socks last Christmas, and this is the first time to use them. He is now a believer—they are much easier than putting on cables, and they worked just as well on the glare ice (meaning, one still had to drive with care, as stopping distance is not perfect).
Lola--Same here, living in snow country. I learned to drive in Yakima inn the. snow as a teenager. Then stationed in upstate NY, CT etc. I remember one particularly bad ice storm in OR in the 70's as my grandfather had a stroke that day and it took the ambulance 7 hours to go 1.5 miles to get him. I knew about socks for Subarus, but not for Honda's. We have a Pilot which is a tank in the snow. We have cables, but am curious now about socks for it as cables are such a pain.
I really feel for so many of you out there (not you, Aussie Nomad !!)! Gregg takes the cake though I think going around showing volunteers how to keep bears away ??!
It's Christmas Eve in Paris (a little after 6:30 pm) -- it's 52 degrees and raining.
Meanwhile I am tracking the flights that my brother and nieces are taking from LAX to Tulsa via DFW to go see parents /grandparents. So far, so good. They may even arrive into DFW a few minutes early ! Here is hoping they can make the onward flight to Tulsa for their Christmas Eve arrival.
I am thankful that I left the northeast in the last sixties, and left that misery for the warmth of Southern California. I am sorry for all who have to endure Elliot’s wrath.
We left Santa Barbara yesterday ( it’s going to be 66 there today), just before the mild earthquake hit and centered a few miles from our home. We are spending Christmas in Carmel where the temperature will be in the low 60s and upper 50s.
Stay safe and “Merry” or “Happy” to all.
Gregg takes the cake all right, for the best tall tale I've seen someone try to pass off in a long time.........
'...learning it was warmer there than it was back home in Nashville.'
Maggie, that is just remarkable.
I am done. the fur, the claws
Cloudless skies 36 deg C. (mid 90s F?) here just up the road from Old Tom's Mine at 6.30 pm Christmas day.
We lucked out in Calgary as we got out of an extended deep freeze. Friday morning it was around -30C/-22F but it's currently -3C/27F. My heart goes out for some friends and family though that had flights cancelled due to bad weather in BC and Ontario.
many years ago when I lived in Montreal we used to plug the car in. That's not to charge it but it was a heater to keep the oil and engine block warm enough (not too too cold I mean) that meant the engine could turn over upon request.
Do Canadians still do that? I don't know if nearby Americans ever did that.
Yes, both our vehicles in northern Minnesota have head bolt heaters. The dealership we use includes them on every new vehicle they order for the lot. We have a heated garage, so we only use them if it gets extremely cold when we are traveling in the winter.
Mardee, congratulations to all you Duluthians for breaking the snowiest December record ever with 44.7 inches of snow! Relatives planned to fly out of there to San Francisco on Christmas morning, but the flights were cancelled the day before.
I looked out the window in early December to see the Fed Ex truck stuck in the ditch right on the corner of our private road. The wrecker finally came and pulled him out so he could continue down our short lane to deliver a package. As he was leaving, he tried to stop at our driveway to tell my husband about getting stuck, but he hit more ice and slid into the ditch, again! My husband got out his truck and pulled him. The next week he was driving a different vehicle because he had hit a deer. I'm not sure he's in the right occupation;)
Annie, I almost bust a gut laughing at the FedEx story!!! He's not only in the wrong occupation but the wrong state!
My daughter had a young woman from Rover coming out to feed and walk the dogs while they were in Minneapolis for Christmas and she got stuck in the snow on her way to the house on Saturday night. She finally made it around 11 pm and took the dogs outside, but then lost a shoe in the deep snow and couldn't find it. She texted Katie and asked her to keep an eye out for it. 🤣
