The Frozen Tundra of Upstate NY...

[KSanford33]

The title is said in my best John Facenda impression.

 

Tonight it's supposed to hit -10 with wind chills of -50 (that's not a typo).

 

I can't imagine how animals survive in this.

[Jar11591]

Downright brutal right now. This wind is ridiculous. 40mph gusts with single digit temps is not cool. But then Sunday is going right back up to mid 40s and supposed to stay that way through next week. 

[A-Jay]

Seems Punxsutawney Phil is getting his way.

Sub-zero air temps and mind numbing winds chill over this way as well. 

Cold paw is running ramped with our dogs.

They are going down like they've been hit by a sniper. 

No problem getting them back in the house though . . . . .

?

A-Jay

[volzfan59]

I'm praying for all of you guys up that way. I've delt with -20 (actual temp) before, not fun.

[casts_by_fly]

42 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

I can't imagine how animals survive in this.

 

A lot don't.  Burrowers are normally okay as its warmer underground and they've nested in with insulation.  Small birds can be in trouble.  Deer will move and find calm areas.  As I type, I'm sitting at the crest of a hill where the wind sweeps up and over.  When we get a west wind this hillside gets battered.  If I walk to the bottom of our hill on the backside though there will be a negligible breeze and the deer will drop into those thickets to keep warm.  I used that to my advantage earlier this year after we had a week of 20+ mph wind.  It effectively blew the deer into the calmer hollow where I set up and shot a doe.

[A-Jay]

I know at this point it shouldn't,

but it always amazes me that stuff will Break or simply just Fail

as a result of super cold air temps.

And it seems nothing is exempt or impervious to it.

I'm certainly not. 

Never experienced it until I moved here.

?

A-Jay

[KSanford33]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

I know at this point it shouldn't,

but it always amazes me that stuff will Break or simply just Fail

as a result of super cold air temps.

And it seems nothing is exempt or impervious to it.

I'm certainly not. 

Never experienced it until I moved here.

?

A-Jay

It's amazing how dependent we are upon utility workers at times like these as well. I'm sitting here in my living room comfy, but if the power went out (which can happen very easily in these cold and windy conditions), there'd be a lot of people in trouble.

 

I lived in Chicoutimi, QC a while back and we'd hit temperatures like this occasionally. I walked outside once while I was chewing gum, went to blow a bubble, and it froze and shattered.

 

I can't wait until my wife has to remind me to bring extra water with me on the boat because it's going to be hot.

[desmobob]

The forecast for my area:

 

This Afternoon

Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 3. Wind chill values as low as -26. Blustery, with a northwest wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. 

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around -20. Wind chill values as low as -39. Northwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph.

 

-20˚ sucks.  Plain and simple.  Add wind up to 36MPH and it really sucks.

[KSanford33]

2 minutes ago, desmobob said:

The forecast for my area:

 

This Afternoon

Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 3. Wind chill values as low as -26. Blustery, with a northwest wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. 

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around -20. Wind chill values as low as -39. Northwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph.

 

-20˚ sucks.  Plain and simple.  Add wind up to 36MPH and it really sucks.

What part of upstate are you in? I live in Schenectady.

[desmobob]

1 minute ago, KSanford33 said:

What part of upstate are you in? I live in Schenectady.

I'm about 75 miles north of you in Whitehall.

[gim]

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

Small birds can be in trouble. 

I am a regular pheasant hunter and I can tell you that as long as they can find food and shelter, they will survive.  Really deep snow and/or a layer of ice is problematic for them.  They need thermal cover like pines or cattails this time of year as shelter.

 

That being said, they, other birds, and mammals of many kinds have learned to deal with extreme winter temperatures and wind for years, otherwise they wouldn't be here anymore.  Sometimes its better for the population as a whole when a few of the weaker individuals perish, because it ensures that superior genetics continue and are passed on to the next generation.  It helps the population in the long run when the weaker individuals are removed.

 

Just the other day I saw 19 wild turkeys picking up bird seed that had fallen from my neighbor's bird feeder.

[casts_by_fly]

6 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I am a regular pheasant hunter and I can tell you that as long as they can find food and shelter, they will survive.  Really deep snow and/or a layer of ice is problematic for them.  They need thermal cover like pines or cattails this time of year as shelter.

 

That being said, they, other birds, and mammals of many kinds have learned to deal with extreme winter temperatures and wind for years, otherwise they wouldn't be here anymore.  Sometimes its better for the population as a whole when a few of the weaker individuals perish, because it ensures that superior genetics continue and are passed on to the next generation.  It helps the population in the long run when the weaker individuals are removed.

 

Just the other day I saw 19 wild turkeys picking up bird seed that had fallen from my neighbor's bird feeder.

 

Yeah, i was thinking more about the songbird sized birds that can get in trouble.  They will do their best to tuck into places (they will roost on our bedroom windowsills outside for a little warmth) but this cold is really hard on animals with such little body mass.

 

I used to pheasant hunt a lot.  When we were in the UK I was part of a DIY syndicate and we had 2500 acres leased for walk one stand one driven shooting.  We had to manage the birds and the landscape ourselves.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of learning.  When we moved to NJ, the only pheasant shooting is on state land that is understocked and over hunted.  Guys will swat a bird on the ground that your dog is pointing.  I'm not putting my dogs in that mess.

[roadwarrior]

Here in the Mid South the turkey population has exploded! A big part of the factors behind 

this success is a significant decline in hunters targeting the birds. We have a bigger problem

with geese, especially snow geese. 

 

The following provisions are allowed during the Light Goose Conservation Season hunt days only: unplugged shotguns, electronic calls, shooting 30 min before official sunrise, shooting until 30 min after official sunset, and no daily bag or possession limit.

[Deleted account]

I know most of ya'll up north are used to extreme cold, but this is going to be insane cold. The only saving grace is that it won't last too long. Have a plan B, and make good decisions. Loosing power, getting stuck outside, or using potentiality dangerous alternate heating sources can lead to a tragedy. Please be safe.

[DaubsNU1]

Long time waterfowl and upland hunter, as well as big game. Nebraska isn't as far north as some posting here, but it does get pretty cold, windy, and snowy through the winter months. 

 

Pheasants are very hearty and can survive in brutal temps. So can turkeys. As long as they have food and some cover, they are good to go. Snowy winters are hard on quail...their population goes goes and down...and has been down for a while.

 

Growing up, we almost never had Canada geese in Eastern Nebraska. Now they are EVERYWHERE! For some reason the migration shifted and you can find them in town, golf courses, in fields, etc. As long as they have access to food and some open water, they will stick around. In the coldest times the geese will stay on lakes and keep a section of water open by actively swimming. Majority of the geese will rest on the ice. It's amazing how the fields can be snow covered, and Canadas will find food. 

 

The cold does tend to concentrate them. My brother has access to some small rivers in northern Nebraska that are spring fed and almost never freeze completely. We saw probably two thousand roosting on a small river a few weeks back when the temps were single digits. Pretty cool!

[N Florida Mike]

My son moved to  Michigan a couple years ago. He told me today the high had been around 10 for several days there. I asked “ Are you still working? “ ( He’s a plumber) He laughed and said they only get off if theirs a blizzard. I said “ if it was 10 here nobody would go outside until it warmed up”… 

I remember the one ice storm we had in my lifetime here. ( Which would probably be a little one for up north ).

I think we had something like 350 accidents in the 2 days of it …?

 

[clayton86]

Great night to kick off the NYS fox pro coyote hunt. Wind is supposed to die down later when I plan on heading out after this dinner thing my fiancé planned trying to hook up two of our friends is over it’s been crash and burn thing so far haha. Lots of long layers tonight when I get out. 

[Deleted account]

It is -40 degrees in Mount Washington NH right now (temperature, not wind chill!), for those of you balancing JBs up there right now, please note that -40 f is the same as -40 c, so you need to add twice as much weight...  

[12poundbass]

19 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

My son moved to  Michigan a couple years ago. He told me today the high had been around 10 for several days there. I asked “ Are you still working? “ ( He’s a plumber) He laughed and said they only get off if theirs a blizzard. I said “ if it was 10 here nobody would go outside until it warmed up”… 

I remember the one ice storm we had in my lifetime here. ( Which would probably be a little one for up north ).

I think we had something like 350 accidents in the 2 days of it …?

 

I’m in the same area as your son and yesterday was just brutal! The last two days actually. I did some training with some of our new technicians and our customer. We were In Muskegon and next to the lake shore. The training lasted half the day and was outside. Took me a good couple hours to warm up. Friday I had another training for manhole entry first thing in the morning that lasted 2 hours. The windchill was 0. 
 

Last night it was 3 at 7pm. Thankfully these bitter cold snaps don’t last more than a couple days. 

[gim]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:15 PM, DaubsNU1 said:

The cold does tend to concentrate them.

The pheasants start to bunch up in larger coveys too once December rolls around.  I've seen flocks of turkeys that are 40 or 50 strong in the middle of winter too.

 

I could definitely see how snow, ice, and cold would be harder on quail considering how small they are.

[BrianMDTX]

8 hours ago, Deleted account said:

It is -40 degrees in Mount Washington NH right now (temperature, not wind chill!), for those of you balancing JBs up there right now, please note that -40 f is the same as -40 c, so you need to add twice as much weight...  

it just set a new record for wind chill. -108°. That’s what 127 mph wind gusts will get you! ?

[Chowderhead]

6 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

it just set a new record for wind chill. -108°. That’s what 127 mph wind gusts will get you! ?

brrrrrr….

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

it just set a new record for wind chill. -108°. That’s what 127 mph wind gusts will get you! ?

Holy $&((;??’€€£|**+

[Koz]

Now I feel kind of bad for complaining that it was 29 degrees this morning.

 

 

[desmobob]

This was open water yesterday...