Why do people take winter so seriously?

[NeptunePenguins]

I have a friend that lives in a climate that averages 29.8F/18.7F as an average high/low in January and he was mad at a guy from a climate that averages 62.5F/41.8F in January wished him happy winter. Then a guy suddenly interjected from a climate that averages 26.1F/10.4F during that same month, saying that he would feel better likely if he commented happy winter if he said it instead of the guy from the 62.5F/41.8F Jan climate as they know what winter is and the guy from the warm climate has no area in which they can handle four inches of snow. One guy even said "if anywhere in the state gets 10cm of snow then it shuts down" but there is a place in that state that has a city that averages 52.2F/24.9F in January with a yearly snowfall of 17.2 inches. Though this guy also claimed he laughed at weather reports of a city that averages 31.1F/15.2F for being wimps compared to his city, even though that city that average 31.1F/15.2F in January has seen highs of -12F and lows of -23F with wind chills colder than -40 during January 2019. He also called a population of a state ******* even though they have a city that averages 16.3F/-4.6F in January with low temperatures of -43F happening in 2019 with wind chills of -63F happening there as well, and the fact of the matter is Winnipeg's coldest wind chill in the past 5 years was also -63F, so does that mean they are wimps too?  

 

Also for comparison sake Green Bay, aka local tundra wannabe averages 25.5F/11.1F during January as a comparison, almost dead even with the 26/10 location even though Green Bay is actually in the United States. 

 

 

Also why don't people from warm climates do this stuff? I don't see people from Houston talking about how Atlanta doesn't have real summers or people from Phoenix talking down to Vegas as Vegas has a true dry heat with basically no humid days and no 120F days at all. Or do people from hot climates just enjoy the outdoors swimming and are too busy to be talking about who has the worst weather over the interwebs? 

[NeptunePenguins]

They also said the guy that lived in Alaska as a kid had it hardest but where they live it averages 22.7F/11.0F in January. They said only the middle of Russia gets colder than that. 

 

 

 

[Tk3]

This thread reminds me of a podcast I saw on fivethirtyeight where they polled people on when the seasons started.

I believe most said the definitional dates of 3/21, 6/21, 9/21, 12/21.. some said the 1st of certain months.. some chose arbitrary holidays

I agree with the stance that winter starts when you take out your warm jacket and don't put it back away until the spring. Spring starts when you finally put away the jacket. Summer starts when you expose more of your skin outside. And fall starts when you start covering up again. That means some people DO NOT even experience winter, and each season has different dates for different people.

All of that said, people in the northeast and midwest (myself included) have a weird flex about making sure people know that our winters were more difficult than theirs, and people in the west coast have a weird flex about making sure people know that they live somewhere without winter

It's an identity thing

[Malfatron]

doesnt even feel like winter in wisconsin being in the mid 30s

[NeptunePenguins]

14 minutes ago, Tk3 said:

This thread reminds me of a podcast I saw on fivethirtyeight where they polled people on when the seasons started.

I believe most said the definitional dates of 3/21, 6/21, 9/21, 12/21.. some said the 1st of certain months.. some chose arbitrary holidays

I agree with the stance that winter starts when you take out your warm jacket and don't put it back away until the spring. Spring starts when you finally put away the jacket. Summer starts when you expose more of your skin outside. And fall starts when you start covering up again. That means some people DO NOT even experience winter, and each season has different dates for different people.

All of that said, people in the northeast and midwest (myself included) have a weird flex about making sure people know that our winters were more difficult than theirs, and people in the west coast have a weird flex about making sure people know that they live somewhere without winter

It's an identity thing

I've been in a Winnipeg esque climate and had to take my warm jacket off in January. Heck, there were a few days historically in Fairbanks where I wouldn't wear my warm jacket. At that point there aren't many places on this planet that even have winter :V 

[bcb1213]

1 hour ago, NeptunePenguins said:

I have a friend that lives in a climate that averages 29.8F/18.7F as an average high/low in January and he was mad at a guy from a climate that averages 62.5F/41.8F in January wished him happy winter. Then a guy suddenly interjected from a climate that averages 26.1F/10.4F during that same month, saying that he would feel better likely if he commented happy winter if he said it instead of the guy from the 62.5F/41.8F Jan climate as they know what winter is and the guy from the warm climate has no area in which they can handle four inches of snow. One guy even said "if anywhere in the state gets 10cm of snow then it shuts down" but there is a place in that state that has a city that averages 52.2F/24.9F in January with a yearly snowfall of 17.2 inches. Though this guy also claimed he laughed at weather reports of a city that averages 31.1F/15.2F for being wimps compared to his city, even though that city that average 31.1F/15.2F in January has seen highs of -12F and lows of -23F with wind chills colder than -40 during January 2019. He also called a population of a state ******* even though they have a city that averages 16.3F/-4.6F in January with low temperatures of -43F happening in 2019 with wind chills of -63F happening there as well, and the fact of the matter is Winnipeg's coldest wind chill in the past 5 years was also -63F, so does that mean they are wimps too?  

 

Also for comparison sake Green Bay, aka local tundra wannabe averages 25.5F/11.1F during January as a comparison, almost dead even with the 26/10 location even though Green Bay is actually in the United States. 

 

 

Also why don't people from warm climates do this stuff? I don't see people from Houston talking about how Atlanta doesn't have real summers or people from Phoenix talking down to Vegas as Vegas has a true dry heat with basically no humid days and no 120F days at all. Or do people from hot climates just enjoy the outdoors swimming and are too busy to be talking about who has the worst weather over the interwebs? 

Generally, theres a lot more people from the south who needle northerners for happy winter than there are people from the north who bother wishing people happy summer from the south.  Also, most of the time, shade/pools/etc are easier to find.  If I'm outside in 90 degrees i sweat but I don't get sick from it after an hour.  15 degrees, not so much

 

[Tk3]

1 hour ago, NeptunePenguins said:

I've been in a Winnipeg esque climate and had to take my warm jacket off in January. Heck, there were a few days historically in Fairbanks where I wouldn't wear my warm jacket. At that point there aren't many places on this planet that even have winter :V 

I agree, its been wild

But I'd argue you took out your coat, but even with those higher temperatures, you didn't "put it away for the season"

So by my definition its a lull in the winter, but not an actual transition out of winter

[Shanedorf]

When they go surfing in Lake Superior during a Polar Vortex, then I'll take them seriously.

 

[NeptunePenguins]

 

Jason Elam moved to Sitka, Alaska once he retired. He must be the toughest guy in NFL history as no one moves to ALASKA! It is FREEZING there. 

[Heimdallr]

1 hour ago, NeptunePenguins said:

Jason Elam moved to Sitka, Alaska once he retired. He must be the toughest guy in NFL history as no one moves to ALASKA! It is FREEZING there. 

Sitka isn't cold at all.... It is very southern Alaska and on the ocean. The upper midwest is much colder.

[NeptunePenguins]

25 minutes ago, Heimdallr said:

Sitka isn't cold at all.... It is very southern Alaska and on the ocean. The upper midwest is much colder.

Yeah I be joking about that :V

[biggie.]

 

[Tk3]

6 hours ago, NeptunePenguins said:

 

Jason Elam moved to Sitka, Alaska once he retired. He must be the toughest guy in NFL history as no one moves to ALASKA! It is FREEZING there. 

That climate chart is not bad at all. Like.. it's cold, but its regular cold. It's not cold cold.

The area I'm from is a lot higher highs, but much lower lows

Bet its wonderful there in the summer though

[Tugboat]

I mean, i went and snowplowed my dad's overly extensive driveways yesterday, so i could do it while it was manageably cold.  Rather than the impending -38C until well after Christmas.

That's what Northern Living is really about.

 

Cold is what you feel it as.  It's cold as **** sometimes.

[Tugboat]

On 12/21/2021 at 8:21 PM, Tk3 said:

That climate chart is not bad at all. Like.. it's cold, but its regular cold. It's not cold cold.

The area I'm from is a lot higher highs, but much lower lows

Bet its wonderful there in the summer though

Sitka is like Prince Rupert.  It's exceptionally moderate, but also...it will rain literally always.  So there's that.

 

 

Some people can't handle that.