Who Has Got It Worse?

[youngmafbog]

Whilst we swim everywhere and bleat about it the Spetics (Yanks) are freezing their bits off - pretty much literally!

So who really has it worse?

http://news.sky.com/story/1191336/polar-vortex-187-million-hit-by-big-freeze

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2535111/UK-weather-Whole-England-Wales-flood-warning.html

[flump1]

Well, it is a toughie, my sister is in the big freeze , I am in the UK and she wanted to swap weather. I declined.

[viv38]

I personally would rather have it very cold than be flooded out and I live close to a river that flooded a few weeks ago, but luckily missed the houses, but flooded some workplaces. Thankfully, flood defences are being built at the mo.

[Frank97]

I'd rather have the cold I think, you can keep the cold out and the heat in, keeping a flood out is not so easy.

[jake-the-peg]

Thought you might like this

http://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarrasquillo/a-whole-bunch-of-people-threw-boiling-water-in-the-air-to-wa

Oh dear!

[youngmafbog]

Well they are Americans Jake !

[boxtops]

I've nicked that, jake... :-)

[Prudie]

I wouldn't worry about it, we're bound to get the US freeze over here next.

[boxtops]

I'm hoping the jet stream will go back where it should be before that happens, prudie!

[redman41]

Hopefully we will not get this dumped upon us in a week or two, once this weather front moves across the Atlantic.

[stewey]

Meanwhile, those of us north of the border dress appropriately and carry on as usual:) (minus thirty seven with the wind-chill here right now)

[mikey4444]

ymg...You have used another phrase that I have not heard before.... what are Spetics ?

[stewey]

I believe that he meant "septic" as in "septic tanks": rhyming slang for "Yanks". Not very polite, really.

[youngmafbog]

Correct Stewey. Fat finger syndrome I'm afraid.

And no, I am not a polite person.

[mikey4444]

Oh...thanks Stewey...I shall add it to my list of new slang.

You learn so many new things here on AB !

[pastafreak]

youngmafbog has an interesting sense of humour......
My septic brother in NY has confirmed that it is bloody cold there. Well into double digits below freezing...but they are expecting some relief...in the form of rain.

[Clanad]

The boiling water thing actually works... we've had -35 (F) on several morning here in the western U.S. of late... Google Crepuscular rays for another interesting phenomena resultant of our extreme cold, calm nights...

Here's the boilng water experiment actually working:

http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-boiling-water-turn-into-snow-2014-1

[sandyRoe]

What about homeless people in the USA? Are there shelters opened in this freezing weather?

[mikey4444]

The following should be on interest. Not sure I would swap our weather for what the Yanks are having right now :::

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25632586

I have friends in up-state New Hampshire. Stunningly beautiful scenery, especially in October but deadly. The cold is one thing but what really frightens them is an Ice Storm. They had one of those 24 hours after I left them to fly back to Britain in 2008. That was about the last day of November and they lost all power until a couple of days before Xmas. An Ice Storm destroys vast numbers of trees and they fall down onto power lines. Its difficult to imagine losing power for three weeks, with temperatures down to minus 30. If you don't have a log burner or a gas or oil stove, you will simply freeze to death. According to these friends, every time it happens, dozens of street people are found frozen to death.

[stewey]

After the ice-storm that hit us two weeks ago it's still almost impossible to buy de-icing salt anywhere, so the majority of sidewalks are are still glare ice and pretty much impassable.

[stewey]

I won't even mention my field:)