Okay. I'm in Alabama. Freaking ALABAMA! And it's 23 degrees.

[charlyvi]

I don't have heat -- I normally don't need it. BECAUSE I LIVE IN ALABAMA! I bought a ceramic heating tower, and it's great if I sit in front of it, but the rest of my house is freezing. Okay, I feel better since I've vented.

[mstinamotorcity2]

1. Welcome to

the party You already know what we got here in Michigan. got a friend in Mobile and she is cold. I told her really, its a balmy -15 degrees here in Michigan, I send you a plane ticket so you can warm up.

[charlyvi]

9. I'm originally from Chicago

Bless your heart!

[HockeyMom]

2. It was 45 in South Florida last night

Naples. If I was any farther south, I would be swimming. Yes, I do have heat, but I DON'T have it on. Where I used to live in NY, and my kids still do, it was 7 degrees. It is all relative I guess.

[Auntie Bush]

5. Wow, 45 in Souty FL and you didn't put the heat on!!!!! I'd have it on in VT. Why freeze???????

[HockeyMom]

18. When you don't like heat and have 80s endlessly,

40s feels very very good. I just put on more clothes and sleep under more blankets.

[Auntie Bush]

28. Thanks, That makes sense!

Also probably wasn't 40 in the house.

[HockeyMom]

49. Nope

66 right now inside the house. That is fine for jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

[charlyvi]

11. I could be a bit more philosophical if I had heat. n/t

[RebelOne]

50. My daughter lives in Miami,

and when comes to visit me in the late fall here in North Georgia, it is usually in the 50s and 60s and she complains she is freezing. I wonder if she is freezing now in the 40s.

[Katashi_itto]

3. 14 Degrees with Wind chill here in New Orleans

[charlyvi]

12. Jeebus…..come to Alabama.

We can sit in front of my tiny heater together.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. It's warmer than that here in Anchorage, Alaska -- 26 degrees right now.

Just about right. You guys will probably appreciate this graphic.



And then there's this one:





Really, we're sorry. We didn't mean to do it.

[charlyvi]

13. Show Off! n/t

[scarletwoman]

32. OMG, I LOVE that first graphic!

See that -25 on the Minnesota part of the map? That's where I live now.

I gotta tell ya, this cold snap has definitely been bringing back memories of my 6 years in Willow, Alaska. Which actually is a good thing - I just keep telling myself that I survived this kind of shit before, and I can survive it now.

In fact, I know I dress better for the weather than most of the people I know. That was one of the key survival techniques I picked up on when I lived in AK, right quick. So, this "Polar Vortex" thing has mostly been an exercise in nostalgia for me. I just wish I still had my sheepskin mittens...

[Blue_In_AK]

35. Yes, it gets pretty cold up in Willow, for sure.

I'm thinking that next week we'll probably be pulling all that cold back up here. You guys have suffered enough.

[scarletwoman]

40. I used to cross-county ski all winter when I lived there.

But I drew the line at 10 below.

There was a big group of us who went winter camping for several days every year up on Hatcher's Pass - about 15 miles or so up from where I lived on 4-Mile Road. It was quite an event. Some people x-country skiied up, some people arrived by dog sled, and some came up by snow machine. It was a great time. My family usually skijorred up - we had some lovely huskies who loved the adventure.

Sleeping in a tent at -10F was quite, uh, stimulating...

[Blue_In_AK]

64. My ex used to do that.

He and his friends would go out for a week at a time. NOT for me. No way. I do love Hatcher Pass, though.

[CatWoman]

6. single digits here in Georgia

however, we should see some 40's action tomorrow, and the weekend looks to be very nice.

[charlyvi]

14. Same here.

We just need to be patient.

[RebelOne]

51. Yes, I am in Woodstock, and my outdoor thermometer

read 5 degrees at 9 a.m. I love the cold weather, but these single digits are a bit extreme. I will welcome the 40s.

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. Wanna swap?

[charlyvi]

15. No. not unless you live in Hawaii. n/t

[Hoyt]

8. One of the coldest places I've been is Huntsville.

[charlyvi]

19. Huntsville rocks!

They are far enough North to have heat!

[House of Roberts]

38. Funny. I never considered having heat as anything but necessary.

I'm in Huntsville, and I've been using every trick I know to keep the house warm. I pull my dryer vent hose off the wall, stuff plastic bags in the vent to the outside, and wash all the linens so I can use the dryer to help heat the house. That's what I did for the 5 degrees low this morning.

[herding cats]

10. I never stopped to consider some people hit by this cold don't even have heat!

That's horrible! Bundle up and try and stay warm. The good news is it'll be back to normal for you before you have to learn to adapt to the cold.

[charlyvi]

16. Thanks.

My saving grace is I'm from Chicago. I can deal, even if I bitch. But half my co-workers stayed home today. Wimps!

[herding cats]

56. Yah, you know what cold is then!

Imagine how someone who never had to deal with it must be feeling tho. No wonder they stayed home, it must be like moving to Siberia or something for them! LOL!

[etherealtruth]

17. 23 degrees F is bad (very bad) when ...

You are not equipped to deal with it!

It may be ridiculously cold here ... but I have an array of winter gear and HEAT! (I have ways to stay comfortable)

try to stay warm

[charlyvi]

20. OK. I'm layering as we type. n/t

[etherealtruth]

24. Hoping it will be warmer soon! Be safe. n/t

[charlyvi]

34. Yes it will.

I'll probably be laughing about this on Saturday -- it's supposed to be 66. But there's no Climate Change, huh?

[Warpy]

21. Yeah, it's no damned fun when you're not set up for bad weather

I live in the desert southwest and we got socked with 18 inches of snow a few years ago.

This town had no snowplows.

I couldn't get my car out of the driveway for a couple of weeks. I was eating all the orphan canned goods and freezer burned mystery packages by that time. Talk about a FWP, but it was annoying as hell not being able to get out of my driveway and down the street.

[frazzled]

22. Keep you eye on that heater

And make sure it isn't plugged into an extension cord (the cord can overheat and start a fire).

Otherwise, my only advice is to dress in a lot of layers to trap the warm air, make some hot cocoa, and ... pray this passes real soon!

Stay warm!

[charlyvi]

26. I don't keep the heater on unless I'm in front of it.

I turn it off at night --that's when the fun really begins. I'm layering and it will warm up tomorrow. Other folks have it much worse. Thanks for the kind thoughts!

[Glassunion]

23. 23 and no heat sucks. No matter where you are.

It'll pass.

Once in a power outage during a blizzard, we setup a blow up mattress in the bathroom and turned on the shower on low pressure on a hot setting, and just let it heat up that one room so we could sleep. Of course you need a gas water heater for that.

[Blanks]

54. When I was in the army...

We were in the field and it rained cats and dogs. So we were confined to our pup tents. I was surprised to find that a little candle (I buy up all the clearance Christmas votives) will not only keep the small space inside a pup tent toasty warm, but if you keep moving your clothing over the candle it will dry out your clothes.

[Glassunion]

59. When I wasn't in the army

and grossly unprepared for a simple day hike. I sprained my ankle several miles from the car.

I could not make the walk back to the car before dark, so I hunkered down. Lucky for me I had a tent pad and a basic survival kit. I made a basic shelter out of the tent pad. Good thing as it started to rain about half way through the night. That little candle in the survival kit not only gave me light and heat, but if you take the metal frame out of your day pack, and suspend it across your boots it makes for a little cook-top so you can heat up some water to warm you up. I was soaked, and tired, but warm enough. That damn thing burned all night.

[dipsydoodle]

25. Temperatures drop below freezing in all 50 US states

Temperatures in all 50 US states dipped below freezing on Tuesday in a rare nationwide chill that will keep a grip on much of the country for at least another day, with cutting winds and blizzards posing the most danger.

Hawaii, California and Florida, states that normally bask in their reputation as warm winter escapes, experienced record low temperatures. In the midwest, northeast and eastern Canada, it was dangerous to venture outside.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/07/polar-vortex-temperature-freezing-all-50-states

I was in Seattle the night of Christmas Day 2001 stuck in a motel room waiting to meet up with friends to go to dance camp at Port Townsend the following morning. The only thing worth watching on your tv channels was the Weather Channel and you definitely had snow and ice in Alabama then.

Stay warm.

[charlyvi]

29. I remember that!

I'll be fine. Thanks for the kind thoughts!

[muntrv]

27. At least you are above 0. Here in Michigan, we are below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

[charlyvi]

31. I'm originally from Chicago.

I feel your pain!

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. temp. on front porch did not get above 22 all day.

I have 2 cats who are playing door roulette every 10 minutes, it seems, and the door they want to use faces
NW, where the wind is bringing all that artic air from.
So I am up and down, up and down, letting one or another of the lil fur monsters in or out, getting blast after blast of frigid air in to the room I have been trying to heat all day.

I hate my cats today.

did I mention we have an indoor litter box just for times like this?

[charlyvi]

33. LOL! n/t

[Glitterati]

39. Multiple cat family here

Plus a bassett! We've had them all indoors for days because it's been so cold here in Georgia.

But I know exactly what you mean about the revolving door. They cry like babies in the morning to get out, but I wouldn't even let them out this morning when it got down to 2.5 degrees air temp. That's just unsafe for their paws!

The other day, I let the dog out for a few minutes, and she came running back in, jumped on my chair where I was sitting under a blanket and covered herself up! She was COLD!

At least I have a screened porch with the doggie/cat door out there so I was protected from the worst blasts when I let them out.

[Blue_In_AK]

36. Be very careful that your pipes don't freeze.

Leave a small stream of water running in all your sinks and bathtub. Also, open the cabinet doors wherever there are any pipes behind them. This will help.

[charlyvi]

37. Did it.

Thanks.

[The Blue Flower]

41. 1982 Tallahassee: 15 degrees

Cold temps in that part of the country are not unheard of.

[bluestate10]

42. Everybody can't live in Key West my friend. Put on a good coat and buck up. nt

[charlyvi]

44. HAHA!

I feel better. Warmer even.

[dawg]

43. Got down to 8 last night.

Brrr!

[scarletwoman]

45. I am so sorry! I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a place where there's

no provision for such cold weather.

Please keep safe. Hopefully, this will pass before too long.

[charlyvi]

46. It will be better by Saturday.

66 degrees. WTF?

[scarletwoman]

47. Your post just confirms that I'm glad to live in the north (Minnesota).

At least we're set up for cold weather.

Truth is, I actually love winter - even if I whine a bit when it gets to 27 degrees below zero. At least I have heat, and suitable clothes. And I will be happy when the high gets above zero later this week.

[spanone]

48. i'm in nashville, tn and this am it was 2 degrees...

[adirondacker]

52. That's impressive for a southern state! Bit chilly even by upstate NY standards.

It went to -12 here with wind gusts up to 40mph. It got up to 0 and stayed there, but the wind has been relentless and is still howling.

Stay warm and know it will be over soon. We're going back up to 40* come Sunday. T-shirt weather!

[spanone]

53. we're supposed to be 60 come this saturday....40 will feel like 60 to you!! take care

[adirondacker]

60. We can all feel a little Alaskan this week!

Take care as well!

[countryjake]

55. Oh my, try to stay warm down there!

This awful weather has me shivering and I'm not even cold...it's 42 degrees up here in western wa with rain, as usual.

They're saying that it's supposed to get unusually warm back east, by this weekend, but that's not much help for you tonight.

I worry about so many homeless back there this week; I hope extra shelters have been opened for the folk who normally wouldn't even go to one. Older people, too, who moved to the South because they couldn't deal with the cold...I wonder how many in your area also have no heaters?

The wildlife, the birds are dropping all over the place. My brother back there had to bring in two practically frozen birds yesterday; they recovered in his cold garage and he let them back outside this morning, but it's still gonna be frigid there tonight.

I love winter, have never minded cold weather, and actually miss it where I live now, but this freeze that's gripping the nation is frightening.

[BumRushDaShow]

57. It was 4F this morning here in Philly

with blasting winds like Ole Man Winter was trying to compete with Ole Man McCain.

Got up to a balmy 13 F (at the airport) and now back down to 8 F here at home.

Supposed to be up to the 50s this weekend. Can't come soon enough. Temp had dropped from 60F to 4F in 24 hours.

[TheOther95Percent]

58. Hot Water Bottle/Heating Pad?

I grew up in a drafty old Victorian. The wood stove and furnace managed to make the living areas on the first floor tolerable but the bedrooms on the second floor were a different story. I remember turning on a heating pad under the bed covers 10 minutes before I'd crawl into bed. Otherwise, it felt like crawling into a walk-in freezer. A hot water bottle will also do the trick.

[Egalitarian Thug]

61. HELL FREEZES OVER!!! n/t

[kwassa]

62. I used to heat my apartment in Los Angeles with the kitchen stove.

This apartment was built in the 1920s, had lots of character but not a working space heater, the usual mode of heat out there. Also, no insulation, and leaky windows.

Many LA apartments of a certain era have louvered windows, one of the dumbest creations ever. Cold in an LA winter was getting down to the upper 30s. It once snowed in the middle of the night in the San Fernando Valley, less than an inch. It was so unique that parents got their children out of bed in the middle of the night to witness and play in it.

[ThoughtCriminal]

63. I grew up in Alabama - Remember plenty of cold weather

Also lived in Colorado and Flagstaff, AZ, so it's not like I don't know what cold is.

Didn't snow very often in AL, but I sure got tired of freezing and near freezing rain/sleet.