As no snow plough appeared in my immediate neighbourhood on New Year's Day, the wet snow we had then just froze; and since then the temperature has just kept falling (to around -10C / 14F), which again leaves us with very icy and dangerously slippery streets.
Today was the first day of 2024 that I ventured out a bit further than to the rubbish bins - which are just to the right of where I stood to take this photo. (My entrance is behind the bush in the background.) So you can see even walking that far is a bit of an adventure these days. Today I went as far as to the recycling bins. Normally an errand that takes me about 15 min - but today half an hour, because of having to walk extremely slowly.
Very weird weather today: Sun shining from an almost clear blue sky - but at the same time light snowfall. Or more like it was whirling around horisontally (even though the stormy winds from yesterday had subsided a lot).
It's been worse in other parts of Sweden though: Proper snowstorm chaos in the south (with road accidents, and queues standing still etc), and far up in the north temperatures down to -43°C (-45°F). Here ("in between") we had the wind blowing, but very little snow falling.
Hearing about the extreme cold up in the north on the radio this morning made me recall one New Year way back in my youth (1978/79), when I actually did experience temperatures nearly as cold as that (around -40°C = -40°F).*
I was living in Karlstad back then, and the youth gospel choir in the church I belonged to was invited to a small town or village further up north in the province of Värmland. I think we sang at some kind of youth club on New Year's Eve, and then also in a church service on New Year's Day.
We had trouble with the cars getting all icy and not wanting to start (photo evidence above); and spending the night in sleeping bags on air mattrasses on the floor of a school classroom wasn't really cosy either... I remember I caught a cold and a fever (well, it's one way to keep warm!) and I suppose I must have ended up having to stay home from work for a while afterwards. While we were up there I don't think we were actually told exactly how cold it was - I seem to recall only learning about that after we were back home again. Anyway I sincerely hope it's a record I'll never have to break again in my personal experience.
* PS. I just did a bit of googling to check, and yes, it really was that cold in northern Värmland that New Year.
Goodness me. I hope we don't have to experience such temperatures here. Our poor old house wouldn't be able to cope.
ReplyDeleteJC, at least I'm warm enough indoors so far, for which I'm grateful!
DeleteFlorida has trouble dealing with 47 F ha ha... that is EXTREME and I have never been below zero, never below 16 F and that maybe 3 times in my life. i would have frozen sleeping on the floor in that kind of weather. Hope you never see that again.. stay safe and stay home, no need to break a bone putting out the rubbish
ReplyDeleteSandra, the streets may remain icy for weeks, no way am I going to collect smelly food waste etc indoors until spring... ;-)
DeleteThe extreme cold in Sweden was on our main news on TV last night, and I was hoping that it wasn't going to be quite as cold in your area.
ReplyDeleteHere, we're in for a cold spell with temperatures below freezing (but maybe only to about -6C or so) from Sunday/Monday onwards, and all that has been coming down as rain recently will be snow. A relief for those areads in Germany who struggle with floods, but the cold will make things difficult for many who had to evacuate and don't know when they will be allowed back into their houses.
For a chance, I will leave my central heating on a little higher than usual when I leave tonight for the weekend; otherwise my flat will be like a fridge when I return on Monday.
Hope your trains will be running as usual, Meike - that's a problem here as well, I understand from the news. Still around -10°C here at noon today (as I write). Sun half breaking through some light clouds. I'll try going out for a bit in a while - how far depends on how it feels when I get out there!
DeleteOuch - 10 during the day is really low, hope you're staying warm and hibernating there.
ReplyDeleteAmy, seems we're in for a longer cold spell now, so total hibernation is not really an option. For the most part I'm able to choose when to venture out, though :)
DeleteYour first photo does show how dangerous it is underfoot.
ReplyDeleteSo far, from mid December, we have had temperatures as low as +4ºC for several nights. It's been very changeable, with heavy cloud some parts of the day then sunshine and deep blue skies, as it is now, and 16ºC. By nightfall it will have probably have dropped down to single figures again. About to take the dog for a quick walk before the sun disappears completely!
Carol, that does sound cold for where you live and I guess the houses there aren't really built for it either.
DeleteYou are so right, Monica, the houses here aren't really built for either extreme heat or intense cold. We need to rely on central heating, wood fires and air-conditioning, depending on the season.
DeleteWhen we had our house built, 23 years ago, we asked for insulation to be installed and were met with looks of complete disbelief! There was nothing available. Now all the newbuilds have a reasonable amount of insulation. I'm planning to have some installed over the summer, but thankfully I do have double-glazing throughout.