Record-setting cold, heavy snow grip eastern Asia

[OnlinePoker]

Staggering cold swept across eastern Asia at the beginning of the week, plunging temperatures to their lowest levels ever recorded in China. AccuWeather forecasters say the frigid conditions have since moved into Japan, where heavy snow is expected to be the biggest storyline.

The first day of the Lunar New Year on Sunday, Jan. 22, began with record-setting cold in Mohe, the northernmost city in China and nicknamed "China's North Pole." The city's 7 a.m. local time temperature was an exceptionally low 63.4 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (53 degrees Celsius below zero), which broke the nation's previous cold record of 62.1 degrees F below zero (52.3 degrees C below zero). That national record had stood since Feb. 13, 1969.

Video footage from Mohe appeared otherwordly as freezing fog dimmed the sun and caused ice to form on the outer layers of residents' clothing. One reporter cracked an egg on an iron shovel amid the teeth-chattering cold, causing the white and yolk to freeze instantly upon contact with the metal surface.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/record-cold-china-snowstorm-japan/1472719

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. 63 Below?

That's deadly. I can't imagine and I've been in 40 below zero wind chill.....

[CanonRay]

2. -48 is my lowest ever

and I was out in it much of the day. Brutal.

[2naSalit]

3. -50F is my max...

I had to hike about a mile in it. It's hard to breathe, it's so cold you need to have a hood with a large, extended ruff on it to warm up the air enough to breathe. I have a neoprene face mask and that was my base layer on my face. I had all the protection needed, was not chilly at all but frost formed on my eyelashes and all the fur around the ruff on the hood. I had at least 6" from my face to the outside air. I also walked with a pole so I wouldn't fall down. It's hard to walk, hard to breathe, too cold for bare skin... I could see having heart problems in a short time in those conditions.

And once you get inside, best to peel off everything down to your inner base layer as fast as you can because, for some reason, all the cold in you clothing rushes inward and you get this horrible cold flash that I can't describe.

It used to be standard fare for a couple weeks at a time to have temps around the -20s... getting pretty rare now.