Our weekend has been forecasted for some time. A chilling -41 was originally forecasted. We have moved up a few degrees, but still looks cold!
The interesting thing is that people now plan ahead – we have seen one meeting cancelled already because the drive for the major participant would be difficult.
In Saskatchewan we have hardy people. We tend to go no matter what. But I have noticed these past few years that we are a little more cautious.
I believe part of that comes from a more precise definition of what cold is. Used to be we would merely look at the temperature. Cold was cold. When you hit -40 you expect things to shut down.
Then we move to wind chill. We now knew how it felt, not just how cold it was.
And now we are defining that even further. Other factors will become a part of the feeling of the day. Perhaps humidity, sunshine and other things.
By the end of the day – as we begin to see how bad things are – we may never go outside.
Of course, I’m saying that as I prepare to leave for work with a wind chill warning in place. And here is my saying, based on getting older: “I remember when we ate icicles before we went to school, and spat in the wind and our breath froze!!!”