What's the coldest weather you've walked a meaningful distance in?

[muon2]

I lived off campus in 1977 and delivered newspapers in the adjacent neighborhood. The campus was about 40 miles south of Minneapolis, so the temperature chart gives you an idea of what I was walking through in January that year during the coldest part of the day.

[muon2]

I feel like American weather is really extreme in general. I live in a "hot city", and yet I've never experienced anything like what some of the Texans and Californians were describing in the heat thread - and yet, particularly in Texas, there's snow in winter, which has never happened where I live.

It seems bizarre for the Northern hemisphere too - I remember reading somewhere that the Twin Cities were roughly on the same latitude as Venice. I've been to Venice in winter and it was hardly some Fargoesque hellscape. I have no idea why though.

The Twin Cities are also about the same latitude as Harbin China which is nicknamed the Ice City. Average Harbin lows in Jan are -24 C, which is colder than Mpls at -14 C. However Mpls has a colder record at -41 C vs -38 C in Harbin. Both have average Jul highs of about 28 C.

[muon2]

I feel like American weather is really extreme in general. I live in a "hot city", and yet I've never experienced anything like what some of the Texans and Californians were describing in the heat thread - and yet, particularly in Texas, there's snow in winter, which has never happened where I live.

It seems bizarre for the Northern hemisphere too - I remember reading somewhere that the Twin Cities were roughly on the same latitude as Venice. I've been to Venice in winter and it was hardly some Fargoesque hellscape. I have no idea why though.

The Twin Cities are also about the same latitude as Harbin China which is nicknamed the Ice City. Average Harbin lows in Jan are -24 C, which is colder than Mpls at -14 C. However Mpls has a colder record at -41 C vs -38 C in Harbin. Both have average Jul highs of about 28 C.

I wasn't aware that Harbin was on the same latitude as Minneapolis, but I should have remembered that Asian cities at similar latitudes to Europe tend to be far colder. I suppose Europe must be unusually warm - probably due to the fact that it's relatively costal.

Europe benefits from the warm Gulf Stream current crossing the Atlantic and moderating temperatures. Seattle, Vancouver, and Juneau AK benefit from the same circulation pattern in the Pacific. The Cascade Range prevents the mild ocean air from moving as far inland as it does in Europe.