cold.md

How Winter Feels to Native Minnesotans

When I travel to San Francisco or similar warm climates, non-midwesterners have a hard time visualizing what a cold winter day in Minnesota feels like, or how we perceive and react to one. It turns out that there is a good metaphor for summing up how a Minnesotan feels about a given temperature: how we behave when we're inside and forget something in the car. Here's how we handle that situation in various temperatures. Units below are degrees Fahrenheit.

21 and warmer

Run out to the car and calmly grab the thing in whatever we happen to be wearing.

10 - 20

Run out to the car and grab the thing in whatever we happen to be wearing, but move quickly because it's kind of cold.

1 - 9

Put on jacket and maybe boots first, then calmly grab the thing.

-19 - 0

For sure jacket and boots, go fast to grab the thing, but give up if we can't find it in 30 seconds or less.

-20 and colder

Fuck it.

HTH, -Kevin

21 and warmer is shorts weather :)

I responded to a Reddit post about someone from the south moving up to the Twin Cities. He was asking what to prepare for.

"I've lived nowhere else but Minnesota for my entire life. I've lived in and spent time in many different parts of the state during winter.
Deep down inside, you have to get used to the idea that sometimes you're just going to be cold. Really fucking cold. And there's not much you can do about it, but continue on with life knowing you will one day be warm again."

I grew up in north woods Wisconsin and can completely agree with that sentiment.

Yet also the cliche "You'll get used to it" is very true. When fall comes on and we get our first freezing temps everyone bundles up. Over the course of the winter we acclimatize to the temps. Soon 30's feel warm and single digits is bundle up weather. Now it's hitting the 30s and I see people in shorts and t-shirts.

Love it!