I just realised that as an Australian I have little to no experience with living in a freezing cold climate and, while I personally think it's freezing, Australian winters are probably mild in comparison to the winters on my world and in other places in this world too.
So I just wanna know about the way of life of people who have lived in cold places with actual snow and stuff. Maybe even just places where it actually snows during winter?
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I live in an area where the polar vortex hit, so I can confirm it does get very cold. Winters where I live are moderate, though there are some heavier storms and we do tend to set a new local extreme temperature each year. I actually don't mind the cold and snow, its just all the extra stuff that comes with it (and the city programs to deal with it suck). Roads are very dangerous, especially if the plows ignore your street (or like me you have neighbors who refuse to park off the street so the plow can work). Besides that its just the general danger of being outside too long, or sometimes in a car with bad heating as well. There are some days where schools and work get canceled because the risk of exposure is too dangerous, usually temps where frostbite can occur in 10 min or less. High winds can also cause very low visibility, esp if the snow is fresh or powdery.
And if you have light sensitive eyes, being outside can be very bright and painful cause the snow reflects everything. It's kinda cool at night though because it doesn't get very dark when there's snow.
I live in an area where winters are consistently freezing, and I can confirm everything Katastrophe said! Black ice is a big danger since it is virtually invisible on any surface (especially hidden under powder), and I know many people who have broken hips and legs just from falling. Unless roads are salted or sanded to give them grip, it's scary driving on them, especially in snowstorms. It might be lower in other places, but school and jobs won't close until the temp hits -50F with windchill, or if there is more than 4-5 feet of snow blocking people inside. Coats, boots and layers are a necessity, but you can still frequently find people walking around in shorts and a t-shirt around here. Even as much as I dislike the cold, there are still plenty of things to do though, and if you're lucky, you can see people on plastic sleds behind cars being pulled down icy streets as well as all the other sports and activities there is to do.
EYYYYYYYY ANOTHER AUSSIE
also this does mean that i cannot help, i live in queensland and at least where i live, we never get below like 4 degrees (at night, i don't think it's ever been less than like 15 degrees during the day?)
I lived in Alaska for the vast majority of my life, moved out last year because my dad lost his job and his new one was outta state. So I grew up in the cold.
First off, it's a lot lighter at night than you'd think it would be, because of the snow. Every trace of light bounces off of the snow and gets magnified like tenfold, so it's really nice driving at night, except for the ice. However, in the day time, sunglasses are a must; otherwise you'll be squinting and blinded the whole time.
Second, if you go outside without the proper gear on, you will be freezing cold within minutes. Where I lived, the temps in winter time hovered around the teens. You could freeze to death if you weren't properly outfitted.
Third. If there are mountains, you can watch the snow creep down the mountains over the weeks, until suddenly the snow is right in your yard. After that, it doesn't leave until spring.
Fourth. The Northern lights are absolutely gorgeous, but they don't usually look like the photos you see online. Those are long exposures, usually, and sometimes are taken with special lenses. Your average Northern Lights look like green waves in the sky. Green is the most common. I've never seen any other color except for kind of a yellowy color.
Uhm…I don't know what exact info you wanted, but that's a bunch of random stuff lol
Gonna throw in there, that in some places, (my home state of nebraska), you can judge temperature in winter by snowflake sizes. Smaller the flakes, colder the day (or night) Often, if there's no snow, it's a LOT colder than had there been.
May have already been mentioned, but windchill is a THING. Take a fairly nice 32 F day, (0 Celsius, though I think we all know that conversion), and slap a stiff wind on that baby? You cannot have bare skin showing. You will be quite literally instantly as cold as if you'd been out for an hour.
Especially if there's no wind-blocks. Where I live it's prairie. And a measly tree or two ain't gonna cut it. The walk from my car to the college building I go to in the winter is actually the worst, because there is no wind-block for maybe a mile away, and when the wind is coming down from the north, (which it always is), you'd just better run. Because it's freezing.
Also, where I live it's always windy. In town might not be so bad, but get out into the country at all, and YEEEE there's nothing but blasting north winds.
Hope some of this helps!
The road salt is also terrible. It eats at the underside of your car and on days where the salt gets packed into the road, it's often very difficult trying to see the lines on the road. In terms of snow in Massachusetts, there are some years where we get no snow until February and other years where it's Snowmageddon(TM) and we have multiple storms back-to-back. One year we had six or seven-foot-tall walls of ice, and another year my Dad and I had to go out with a chainsaw and a ladder to try and cut apart the five-inch-thick ice dams in our gutters. At least the sledding was good those years!
Some upsides to a cold winter that I'd like to add, just so y'all snowless people aren't rendered totally terrified of it:
-During the winter, the air is so much clearer, and stiller. The sky always looks like it's made out of crystal, the sunrises/sunsets are usually gorgeous, and if it's not storming, it's sometimes so quiet that you feel totally alone when you're outside.
-Sure, snow can blind you, but when the sun's at the right angle, it just plain glitters like fairy dust. If it's light, powdery snow, you can toss a handful in the air and watch it sparkle as it falls. It's like something out of a postcard.
-Looking straight up when there are tons of heavy flakes coming down has the same energy as staring into a starry sky, except the stars are moving hypnotically and you might get to catch a few.
-On cold days, you can be as physically active as you want and always stay nicely chilled.
-No bugs
-It's so much more fun to snuggle with people when it's not ninety degrees out
-I can finally wear my fave hoodies without overheating
-If you can brave a little nasty weather, you usually have most outdoor places completely to yourself
-Hot chocolate and chicken soup
-Being able to use the oven without overheating the whole house
There's more, but I forgot the rest lol
Adding these:
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If we're talking good winter vibes, my fam and I would go out and night sled at the park near our house. If there's a moon it's all sparkly and looks like a glitter wonderland. If it's over break the areas around the park (schools and such) shut down so the stars are very visible. Then after we run up and sled down the hill a few times we can just lay in the snow and stargaze. Sometimes we took a car so we would have hot chocolate too.
Also, that no bugs part makes me want it to cold snap so we lose our mosquitoes ans spiders q-q I'll take ice over evil incarnate bugs any day
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Not sure if you need any more info but I live in an area of the United States that gets really cold during winter (sometimes reaching temperatures like -20 degrees Fahrenheit if it's a really cold winter)
My parents would always make me bundle up in really heavy jackets, hats, gloves, scarves and snowboots and it took so long to get everything on. It usually took about 5-10 minutes to get everything on lol.
It rarely snows in winter where I am, and if it does, it's usually not enough snow to make a decent snowman. But I remember one time when I was little, there was a snow day and school was canceled. We didn't know what to do that evening, so we called our neighbors and made a huge snowman. We literally put it on a sled and took it to our town house complex, where it stayed for about a week.
Really, the only things I like about winter are making snowballs and drinking lots and lots of hot chocolate.
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