Alaska and other winters

[Rogers]

Someone posted about being from MN and hence not getting all the jokes. I'm from MN and a lot of that stuff in the strip related to winter I can identify with! In fact, we Minnesotans emphasize how bad our winters are so people will stay away and we can have the place to ourselves.

So how about some of you folks from other winter-containing states sharing a story or two about how bad it gets in your state?

I'll prime the pump. (If any of this gives Don and Steve an idea for a strip, feel free to steal.)

I lived in FL for a while. The folks there did not believe the ice got thick enough to drive a truck on.

But they fell for it hook line and sinker when I told them it sometimes gets below the freezing temperature of carbon dioxide (it does) and you could see little sparklies all over the ground from the precipitated gas, and that you had to remember to exhale when you went outside because there was no co2 in the air to make you exhale.

Then there's the old Sven and Ole joke about trolling when ice fishing, but I'll save that one for another post if anyone responds to this one.

[Maven]

Well, the bitter 70 to 40 degree winters of north Tx leave me little to add to the thread. We rarely get snow, we get ice.

[Tafkas]

Early winter of 1989 I was working at Prudhoe Bay when the jet stream took a dip to the south. For awhile it was colder in Dallas than it was at Prudhoe. Then it went down to 30 below with 20-40mph winds.

[Nighthawke]

Born and raised in SE Kansas, the winters there get down to around 10F on norm.. I've seen it dip to zero. The ice storms we have ain't all that fun you know..

I still recall the '81-'82 snowfall.. 3 feet! Accounted to the Mt. St. Helens eruption of course.

I miss my snow here in south Texas. Though we had 5-12 inches for Christmas '04, first snowfall in recorded history for the region! That was a treat for everyone.

[Crystalis]

I'm currently living in Arkansas and the winters here are rather mild. I've been here some 13 years now and moved here from Boston, which was quite a shock. I was used to liberal amounts of snow starting early in the year. So far the only snow I saw this year was last week and then it was mixed with sleet so the roads got covered in about an inch of ice. Being Arkansas, this meant everyone got the day off. ;-P

Seriously, I think we've got a dozen snowplows for the entire state. Any more would be a waste, we only use them once a year. As such, no one buys any ice/snow gear for their vehicles, either.

[ArcticMage]

I know what you're talking about Crystalis, I am from Arkansas originally. If it snows more than a few inches, it's called a blizzard. We got ice storms more often than snow, but of course even if it was just a dusting, everything shut down (for days).

I also spent 3 years in Anchorage, and loved it. Driving in snow doesn't bother me anymore, I was always willing to live with it for the scenery. As cold as it got, I was always assured when I remembered that I didn't live in Fairbanks, ha ha!

Now I live in Virginia, and I am once again among people who freak out at the possibility of flurries...