Practical Tips for winter Weather?

[Starchaser]

Well, for me, winter is when it gets to be about 50 or 60 degrees, and we all start wearing sweatshirts. That's Los Angeles for ya.

Actually, these tips should be useful for me though - I'm going on a school trip to England/Ireland/Scotland in February, and am most likely going to freeze to death, heh.

[jellyoflight]

DON'T POUR HOT WATER ON YOUR WINDSHIELD IF THERE IS ICE ON IT. we were informed by mechanic family members it can crack the windshield. I think hose water works,unless like ours was one time...it's frozen too. I've heard credit cards work too.

We did about that in science yestreday I think...

Actually, these tips should be useful for me though - I'm going on a school trip to England/Ireland/Scotland in February, and am most likely going to freeze to death, heh.

We actually don't have proper snow here. And it is cold, just not arctic or anything It's the rain that cheeses you off more than anything...[/quote]

[Silja]

Avoid shovelling snow:
Put rock salt on your sidewalk/steps/etc. before the snow falls.

The salt is not good for nature, and besides, shoveling snow is a great way to exercise, as Xil pointed out as well

DON'T POUR HOT WATER ON YOUR WINDSHIELD IF THERE IS ICE ON IT. we were informed by mechanic family members it can crack the windshield. I think hose water works,unless like ours was one time...it's frozen too. I've heard credit cards work too.

Rather obvious isn't it Anyway, as I live in Finland I am used to this, so instead of destroying your credit cards, you can always buy that kind of... thing... (can't find the word for it ) which is meant for scraping off ice and snow off windshields.

You know, brings me to that one time when our dumb neighbors were doing the job with hot water, we just stood there and laughed at them.

Oh oh oh! I had to add a joke here

15°C - It doesn't get warmer than this in Finland, so we start here;
The people in Spain start to wear woolly hats, winter coats and gloves. The Finns are outside getting a tan.


10°C - The French are trying to get the central heating on in their houses without succeeding. The Finns plant flowers in their gardens.


5°C - Italian cars won't start. Finns cruise in cabs.


0°C - Distillated water freezes. The water in Vantaa River gets a bit thicker.


-5°C - People in California are about to freeze to death. The Finns grill the last sausage outside before winter. (Finnish tradition to grill sausages outside on open fire in summers)


-10°C - The English people turn on the heating in their houses. Finns start to wear a shirt with long sleeves.


-20°C - The Australian flee from Mallorca. The Finns stop to celebrate midsummer, the autumn has arrived.


-30°C -The people in Greece die of the cold and disappear from the earth's surface. Finns start to dry their laundry inside their houses.


-40°C - Paris falls down if the cold. Finns queue at the sausage kiosk.


-50°C - Polar bears evacuate the north pole. The Finnish army delay their winter survival course while they wait for some real winter weather.


-60°C - Korvatunturi freezes (mountain in northern Finland where Santa lives). Finns rent a video and stay inside.


-70°C The false Santa moves to a southern place. Finns get frustrated because you can't store Koskenkorva (STRONG Finnish drink with a high percentage of alcohol) outside anymore. The Finnish army goes on their winter survival course.


-183°C - The microbes in our food don't survive. The Finnish cows complain about how the milkers' hands feel cold.


-273 - ALL atom based movement stops. Finns say to each other ”-Perkele, miten kylmä tänään on ulkona!!”. (= Damn it's cold outside today!)


-300°C - Hell freezes over. The Finns win the Eurovision song contest!!! (well known fact that the highest position we have reached in that competition is fifth place)

[ahoteinrun]

I personally enjoy how Canada was not mentioned once in the Finnish joke. *Smiles*

[Rachel]

DON'T POUR HOT WATER ON YOUR WINDSHIELD IF THERE IS ICE ON IT. we were informed by mechanic family members it can crack the windshield. I think hose water works,unless like ours was one time...it's frozen too. I've heard credit cards work too.

it's true, tap water is the best, coz otherwise you can get heat shock in the glass. you can test it if you like, but putting a glasss in the freezer, and when it's frozen put it under a hot tap.... actually DONT, that'd be REALLY dangerous!! i know i've done it in mistake in chemistry before tho...

Actually, these tips should be useful for me though - I'm going on a school trip to England/Ireland/Scotland in February, and am most likely going to freeze to death, heh.

it won't snow, it'll be cold, rainy and windy, i hate the wind :(

ok, i'm well experienced at cold, as the lecture theatres aren't heated v well, so it's sooooooo cold in lectures in winter, particuarly coz you're sat still so not generating any of your own heat.

the best thing is layers, i've even started already... vest, tshirt, jumper, hoodie/jacket and it's only autumn. come winter add a coat over the top, and a few more layers in between.

knee high socks are brilliant, as they keep your feet and lower legs warm. what's even better, is if you have some knee high toe-socks, they're not all that good at keeping you warm, but if you put a regular pair of socks over the top, they're soooo warm!!!

Avoid puddles, being wet is the worst.

And wear hats, the amount of difference a hat makes is amazing.

Fleecy dressing gowns!!! Since we've just moved into a house, we're discovering how much gas/electric is, and we've become the dressing gown possie, it makes sooo much of a difference, just put it on over your clothes round the house and you'll notice a big difference

i cant think of anymore right now....

[Lass]

-Never ever ever wear jeans if you plan to get snow on your legs. Jeans get wet and in cold weather they might start to freeze. Even if they dont get icy you'll get frostbite.

-If you begin to shiver then you should get warm. It's an early warning sign of hypothermia. And don't consume any alcohol because it tricks your body sensors into thinking you're nice and warm.

-Sitting on cold surfaces such as concrete increases your chance of hypothermia

[Callie]

DON'T POUR HOT WATER ON YOUR WINDSHIELD IF THERE IS ICE ON IT. we were informed by mechanic family members it can crack the windshield. I think hose water works,unless like ours was one time...it's frozen too. I've heard credit cards work too.

Rather obvious isn't it Anyway, as I live in Finland I am used to this, so instead of destroying your credit cards, you can always buy that kind of... thing... (can't find the word for it ) which is meant for scraping off ice and snow off windshields

Well I think the guy meant those ones that the companies send you to get you to use them.

[BeDeviled]

DON'T POUR HOT WATER ON YOUR WINDSHIELD IF THERE IS ICE ON IT. we were informed by mechanic family members it can crack the windshield. I think hose water works,unless like ours was one time...it's frozen too. I've heard credit cards work too.

Rather obvious isn't it Anyway, as I live in Finland I am used to this, so instead of destroying your credit cards, you can always buy that kind of... thing... (can't find the word for it ) which is meant for scraping off ice and snow off windshields

Well I think the guy meant those ones that the companies send you to get you to use them.

probably actually meant credit cards, heck I use my bank cards for the frosted up inside of the windows and when you've lost your scraper what else can you do.

They have windshield washer here specifically to help defrost your windows in winter.

[Morningstar]

If you can only remember one word that word is: Polarfleece.

It is the best thing ever invented, I swear.

Oh, and if you can afford it--gore-tex. Otherwise, wear a polarfleece t-neck or zip-up under your jacket. I wear polarfleece sweats over my jeans in winter and stay dry and warm while building snowbuddies and shoveling snow. And polarfleece socks--just in case my boots decide to leak or I get snow inside of them.

Polarfleece keeps out the wind, is warm, is lightweight, is virtually water-repellent, doesn't absorb sweat (like cotton or wool) so you don't get clammy, lasts forever--And is relatively cheap!

Try Land's End and L.L. Bean catalogues for it.

EDIT:

Oh, and I forget one important thing for the "ladies"--tights made from cotton or cotton/wool blend. Donna Karan makes a great pair--not too heavy--so they can be worn under pants, jeans, long skirts and those upper thighs stay warm. A little pricey, but they last for years.

And, I am just full of advice today. A down comforter for the bed--and if you are allergic to down like I am, The Company Store (also a catalogue store) has a great comforter that is just as warm made from some sort of microfiber. It is like sleeping with a soft, fluffy cloud on top of you--instead of being weighed down by pounds and pounds of blankets.

Can you tell yet that I hate being cold?

[MangoChickadee]

Well, i have to say, being a skier, that the most annoying thing is getting wet.
Sometimes you get wet from the snow, but the other ways are worse. I think the worst is a runny nose, i know this sounds stupid, but because you are wearing gloves it is pretty hard to get a tissue, and then consequently your own snot freezes to your face...ick. Not very many do this, but i will admit i have before, crying, it is not as bad, because tears have salt in them, but it fogs up your goggles real bad.
I must say i agree with the earring statement, i only wear earrings in when it's warm, well that is most of the year cuz i'm in cali.
Oh ya, when it rains don't wear tight clothes, and don't come crying to me when you have sopping wet skin-tight uncomfortable clothes, because they are miserable, especially jeans.

Edit: yay!for my very first post!

[Silja]

I personally enjoy how Canada was not mentioned once in the Finnish joke. *Smiles*

Lol, yeah, I've seen the "Candian version" of it as well, but it was much shorter than this one... I think.. ah well, nevermind, off-topic

I thought I should mention that it is good to cover up some plants, bushes and other garden things that might not manage to survive in the cold weather (+ ice, snow), if you have any We usually cover up out rhubarb plant with some spruce branches.

[shapu]

If your windshield is frosted over, just get an ice scraper. If it's frozen over, use cool tap water. Alternatively, just start the engine, turn on the heater in your car, and come back in 10 minutes. Then scrape.

If you're worried about rock salt screwing up the environment, buy a 30-pound bag of sand, and put it down before heavy snowfall. Your walk might freeze, but the sand serves to break up the base of the ice, so it's easier to break up and shovel away.

Don't go around naked (should go without saying, but there are Finns here, so you never know).

Don't wear jeans - wear material that holds in heat. Khaki slacks (Dockers, Polo) are much more effective in cold weather. Plus, jeans get MUCH heavier than slacks when they get wet, because of the nature of denim's weave. It's pretty absorbent stuff. If blue jeans aren't good enough for Frank Sinatra, who never owned a pair, then they aren't good enough for me.

Train yourself to get used to cold. In the fall months, as temperatures get lower, keep wearing T-shirts. My college roommates and I would never wear pants until it got to 50 Fahrenheit or below (that was me, and I was the pansy of the bunch; the others set 45 as their limit) and wouldn't wear long-sleeved shirts until it was 40 or below. When REAL winter came, we were more than ready for it. Although we did sniffle a lot...

To treat frostbite or chilled fingers, soak your hands in lukewarm-to-cool water, not hot water. The sudden temperature change can wreak havoc upon the cells in your body. Also, don't ever rub frostbite. Frostbite is cell death caused by the formation of ice crystals in the cells, and if you rub the frostbitten area, all you're doing is moving those crystals around, puncturing more cells, causing them to die and making it worse. If you're really serious about restoring circulation, have someone rub your shoulders, or move your arms around at the elbows to increase your blood pressure. Soak, don't rub. Cool, not hot. And for pete's sake, wear gloves.

Don't tuck your pants into your boots. You ain't in the army, and all that will do is allow snow and water to dribble down your pants into your shoes, making your feet cold and miserable.

Drink plenty of water. When you're cold, your body responds by trying to heat itself up, by burning sugars in your cells. When you burn sugars, you need water to make MORE sugars from the food you eat. You're just as likely to dehydrate in the arctic as in the desert.

If you're trapped in the middle of nowhere overnight, make yourself a shelter out of pine boughs. Just rip 'em off of trees. The needles on the boughs will help to block out wind. This doesn't have to be a mansion, just a lean-to with a closed side facing the wind. Pack the sides and top with snow, because snow and ice are actually pretty good insulators. If you have no trees around, dig yourself a pit in the snow.

EDIT: By "never wear pants," I mean we'd wear shorts. Just to clear up any confusion.

[Silja]

Don't go around naked (should go without saying, but there are Finns here, so you never know).

As far as I know we only roll around in the snow/take a dip in in a lake covered with ice after being in the sauna, naked or with swimming wear, and that's only healthy... unless you plan to stay in the snow or lake for a longer while

[ahoteinrun]

As far as I know we only roll around in the snow/take a dip in in a lake covered with ice after being in the sauna, naked or with swimming wear, and that's only healthy... unless you plan to stay in the snow or lake for a longer while

Aye we do that too.
The polar bear dip at Sylvan lake in my area is quite famous. Non-cold weather people jump in to raise money for charity.
Slush skiing is popular too.
Where you ski down a slope and into water... thats normally a spring thing.

If you have pets that aren't used to cold weather, move them away from windows or from walls that are on the outside of the house. This includes fish tanks. The cold from the walls/windows can affect the temperatures of your pets and make them sick/kill them.

And if you have horses like me, or cattle even... and they get snow/ice build ups on their backs, it's actually a good sign. It means that they're insulated enough (with all their long hair NOT fur) to not be cold. If they're wet it's not a good sign.

[Stijn]

Well, since when it snows here we only get 1 or 2 inches of snow. (If we're lucky. XD) I have never had any problem with that. I also don't have a problem with the cold. I always just wear a tshirt to school, unless it's raining/snowing.

Put no effort in protecting yourself from the cold, and you won't be disappointed when your methods fail.