What is the coldest you have ever been ?

[TCowner]

On a boat trip from Lacrosse, Wi to Wabasha, MN. It was in the low 80s on the trip down but dropped into the 50s the next day for the return. No jacket just a T-shirt and shorts. I've ridden snowmobiles for more than 50 years and don't recall being as cold as on that boat trip.

 

[dirttoys]

Baseball game in San Francisco on July 4th. From midwest I mistakenly thought cali was warm.........

 

[bdhsfz6]

It was mid January of 2019 when the dealer called to say my new L6060 HSTC had finally arrived. His flatbed was in the shop and he wasn't sure when he could deliver it. I was in such a hurry to get my hands on the new tractor that I decided to drive the open station L3430 HST trade in tractor over to the dealership. It was only 2 miles, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad.

Well, I was wrong! it was -9F that morning and even in my Carhart's with full face mask & snowmobile gloves, I nearly got frostbite. Driving the tractor over there normally takes around 15 minutes but that morning, it was more like 90. I can't ever remember feeling that cold! I could only manage around 5 mph with frequent stops. Luckily, my wife followed me in the pickup so I was able to get in and defrost a couple of times.

Fortunately, the cab heater in the new L6060 HSTC let me make the return trip in a T-shirt!

 

[fruitcakesa]

January moose hunting in Northern Ontario in at -40*.
So cold that I literally had to run along our game trails just to avoid freezing.
Needless to say, the moose were a lot smarter and were nowhere to be seen.
BTW, the only reason I went out was that our food supply was very low and needed re-supplying .
Did not go out again till March when we did finally get a moose.

 

[Jstpssng]

January moose hunting in Northern Ontario in at -40*.
So cold that I literally had to run along our game trails just to avoid freezing.
Needless to say, the moose were a lot smarter and were nowhere to be seen.
BTW, the only reason I went out was that our food supply was very low and needed re-supplying .
Did not go out again till March when we did finally get a moose.

That's cold! At those temps any minor offset can quickly become a disaster.

 

[Jims1025R]

I picked up a Cessna once to fly it home from central Quebec, it was -41 ('same in either scale). As a volunteer firefighter, I've done an afternoon of ice water rescue training when the warm of the day was -13F (your suit freezes when you climb out of the water!), 'been out in the zodiac boat at 3F (the throttle froze, so I had to shut down the engine to dock, 'could not go to idle), and we once stretcher walked a patient 1/4 mile to the ambulance (snow too deep to drive in) at -19F. "Feeling" the cold is more than temperature dependent. Like a hot, humid day is worse, moisture in the air, and the wind will really affect how you sense the temperature. I've been happily in shirt sleeves at 5F for an hour, though the coldest I have ever felt was at 28F in Shanghai, China - it was just damp and windy and miserable!

 

[dmccarty]

Once upon a time I was solo hiking in the NC mountains. I think it was spring or early summer and it was nice weather with a good forecast. The problem was, the higher I hiked up in elevation, the colder it got, which was not the issue nor a surprise. The problem was the rain. There was not supposed to be rain but that is all it did but rain.

I had an old surplus military poncho, but to use it, you had to decide which was worse, just getting rained on, or using the poncho and sweating. Take your pick of poison.

I was wearing cotton shorts and T shirt, and at the lower elevations this was fine but at I got higher, the temperature dropped, and it was not fine. If I kept hiking I was warm but when I stopped for a break, I would start to get cold and shiver. I was stopping every hour to eat and drink water, but after one of the stops, I was shivering too much and it was time to use the poncho to retain heat since I was cold even when hiking. Course using the poncho just made me wet with sweat but I was warmer. as long as I kept moving.

I did have wool clothes with me so I was in no real danger from the cold. I did not want to put on the wool while hiking because the clothes would be wet and I would be miserable when I stopped for the night. Which was the right decision. I eventually made camp, hung a tarp in the underbrush and changed into the nice dry, wool clothes. I was as comfy as a bug in a rug. Even more so when I got some hot drink in me and a hot meal. VERY nice and comfy.

The next day I made it to the top of a mountain, which was one of my planned exit routes if I decided to bail out, which I did. Had to hitch hike a ride to town after I hiked to a paved road but all was good.

If I remember right, most hyperthermia cases are in warmer weather, not freezing weather, but in temperatures where it is warm enough during the day or part of the day, and then the temperature drops and catches people unprepared.

In Pappy Boyington's auto biography he talks about his time in a Japanese POW camp. He was able to work in the camp kitchen, which was run by Japanese civilians who were not vicious like the guards. They would let him steal food to eat, and after the Japanese were done with their hot baths, he could sit in the hot water. He said sitting in the hot water would warm up his internal body temperature so that he would be warm during at least some part of the night because the cells were cold, the POWs were poorly fed, and did not have enough warm clothes or blankets.

 

[Rockbadchild]

The coldest I have ever experience was -58 degrees Fahrenheit I deliver the newspaper that day... I got cold that day but not the coldest I ever been. The coldest I have ever been, was when I was in high school, the school was close due to cold weather it was around -40 outside (without the windshield). We had the brilliant idea to go to the gravel pit 10 miles away. By the time I got there I was already frozen, and we had to come back ... I so cold I was crying while driving my sled, my hand and feet was so cold I couldn't flex my thump to press the gas, and I got major frost bite on my face I looked pretty stupid with my frost bite at school the next day. The school was close because it wasnt safe to go to school but yet and we went on a 10 miles snowmobile ride.... so smart...

 

[Dftodd]

-30f with a stiff wind outside on a 20ft ladder installing a siren for a security system.

Normally a 5 minute job. Took me over a 1/2 hour to get it mounted. Run up the ladder mount the base. Bail off the ladder and hug the heater to get feeling back in my hands.

Back up the ladder to wire up the siren. Left hanging and bailed back inside to get feeling back in hands.

Back up ladder the third time to mount siren to the base. Then quickly put ladder back on work van. Then hugged the heater bi$$hing about wind and how flipping cold it is out there.

Temps reached a high of -20 over a 4 week period and was dipping to -50 at night. Car tires were frozen to the garage floor. Had to close the garage doors and fire up a torpedo heater to get the car free.

 

[jjeff]

Fex in the California upper elevations. 80+ degrees in the day below freezing at night, sitting still in a foxhole got so cold a 3' corn snake decided I could warm him up. Not only was I miserably cold but I hate snakes.

 

[jjeff]

Another time a friend and I were back country off trail snowmobiling with the intention to winter camp in the woods overnight. It was about -25 without wind-chill. After a few hrs of making trail we decided to hightail it back to a heated cabin. Needless to say I'm accustomed to outdoor cold weather activities unless I work up a heavy sweat dangerous misery soon follows in my experience.

 

[masscity]

I grew up in the UP so I've been around cold, but we wear clothes so it's not so bad.

In 1999 we did the Lake Superior circle tour, counter clockwise. We did the 1200 miles in 4 days and 3 nights with 4 bikes.

The last 300 mile leg we didn't put on our rain gear soon enough and we all got soaked. Temperatures were around 50 I think.

Now even with rain gear on I was still very cold. We wanted to get back as soon as possible, so we were driving 85 mph in the rain.

I was 52 years old and the others were around 30 something. I was so cold that once in a while I would go into convulsions and felt

like I was going to fall off of the bike. Coldest I've ever been. Got home and had a nice hot sauna.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

Cutting firewood on a 20 degree day, worked up a sweat despite shedding layers. Then the temp dropped--FAST! Wind came up as well. Couldn't get the truck warm enough to get ahead of it. Even a warm meal and hot coffee didn't help too quickly. All that when I was young. Now, I can't stay warm sitting still when hunting. That's the age and a few infirmities kicking in.

 

[JasperFrank]

Riding motorcycle in the middle of winter. I learned that I could stop at every rest area and then run the bath room hand drying machine through one sleeve and it would warm me right up.

 

[jjeff]

Some of you folks are truly die hard motorcycle enthusiast's.

 

[Jstpssng]

Some of you folks are truly die hard motorcycle enthusiast's.

My brother had a friend who rode his Harley all winter, back in the early '80s when sub zero weather was common and nobody had heard of electric vests. He called himself a die hard... I could think of a few other names. I've ridden on snow a few times and it is kind of fun; but I chose my spots and didn't get far from home.

 

[AWSubie]

Like others have said, u can be in cold weather and not “feel” cold, but u can be in relatively warm surroundings and feel like you’re freezing.

In my teenage years, I became ill with a fever of 106°, and was shivering and could not get warm. I did not think I would make it through the night and at that point did not care. I just wanted the illness to end. Obviously the fever finally broke. But that event is the coldest I’ve ever felt.

 

[WM75Guy]

It was in the 1980s, 9 degrees F. with a little freezing rain. We were the second engine in on a 2-alarm 2 story residential house fire, was a total loss. The guy had a wood shingle roof, liked it so much he used them for siding. If you stood too long in one spot working a hose line, someone had to break the ice on your sleeves to move it around. Had icicles hanging from our helmets. Chief got mad when he saw we kept a small fire going in the middle of the burnt-out garage, kept adding wood to it to get warm.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Last winter was very cold here. At -40*f without wind chill you worry about everything. Livestock, house, everything is at risk. We went 30 or so days below zero and close to 60 below freezing. We haven’t been above freezing here in 10 days and doesn’t look like we will for another 10 at least. But single digits is nice compared to -40. I’ll take it.

But the coldest I have ever been was in 1989. I was in the mountains and in -85*f windchill and got frostbite. It happens so quick you don’t even know. Burned the skin right off my face in about 5 minutes…

 

[daybreak1998]

Vermont in the 80's
-44 °Fahrenheit = -42.222 °Celsius on the thermometer /no chill added.
Went outside, turned around and came back in.