Perpetual Ruminations

Deep Freeze

We had a fairly mild January until recently, when the temperature dropped well below freezing, and some days didn't even climb above zero. I'm using the Fahrenheit scale; if it were Celsius, I wouldn't mind at all.

When it gets this cold, doing things outside becomes more difficult, especially as I get older. But, at least my sensitivity to the cold from chemo has passed. But, as unpleasant as the cold has been, we are now going into a deep freeze; this is the part of winter I truly dislike.

What I'm talking about is the Extreme Cold that's arriving tomorrow; we are now under an "Extreme Cold - Watch" from Thursday afternoon through Sunday. Not only will the temperature drop well below zero, but with the winds, they are warning of dangerously cold wind chills as low as 50 below zero, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Of course, I know how to dress for this extreme cold, but wearing that many layers makes it difficult to move. It also causes a person to sweat if they exert themselves even a little. And with even a little sweating, the layers lose their insulation, and frostbite becomes a danger despite all the clothing.

As well as being dangerous for people, it's also, it's also hard on equipment. Automobile batteries lose power as the temperatures drop,  oil becomes extremely thick, grease becomes solid, and things tend to break and fail more easily. Starting a vehicle in below zero temperatures is difficult unless the vehicle has an engine heater. Even if the vehicle starts, traveling in sub-zero temperatures is dangerous, and it's wise to have an emergency travel kit along.

We keep our vehicle in the garage, and even though it's unheated, it helps. We also have an engine heater on our main vehicle (my old Dodge Ram does not have an engine heater, so it's not driven if it's below zero). Even with an engine heater, there's the problem that if we go anywhere, there are no outlets to plug the heater into. This isn't serious if the vehicle isn't left for long, or if it's left running. But, leaving the vehicle running costs more in fuel, engine wear, and risks some shady person stealing it.

So, even though I'd prefer to just stay at home until we escape the deep freeze, I'm going to be driving my wife to work until the temperature rises again. Why? One reason is no place to plug it in to ensure it will start when she gets done with work at eleven o'clock at night. The other reason is that it's hard on a vehicle to run it for just a few minutes in severe cold weather. It's about a ten-minute drive to her work, and it takes that long for the vehicle to warm up, and it's not enough time for the alternator to recharge the battery after a cold-weather start, even with an engine heater.

So, I'll keep it plugged in at home to make it start easier. Then I'll drive her to work and return home. This will provide enough time for the battery to recharge completely and for the vehicle to warm up enough to prevent condensation both inside the vehicle and inside the engine.

The forecast indicates the arctic temps will end Sunday afternoon, and hopefully that will be the end of the severe cold, and we can return to our normal freezing temps for another month. By March, the worst of the cold has usually passed, but March is when we get the most snow.