Chilly in Chilli country
Feb. 15th, 2021 09:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plonqFolks here can sometimes be a bit callous when we hear about other cities having to deal with very cold weather. A few years ago, when Toronto was all over the national news when they were forecasting -18c or so, we had been largely ignored as we hunkered down for days in temperatures in the -30s. That's likely why somebody from a Winnipeg account tweeted "That's adorable" in response to a message from the city of Toronto, warning its citizens of the "dangerously cold" weather coming their way.
I mean, those _are_ dangerous temperatures - especially for some of the vulnerable among the population - but it's not like Toronto isn't a northern city that's ill-equipped to handle the occasional cold snap. They were acting like a drama queen who was being asked to put on a second layer before heading out.
On the other hand, while we might take delight in taking jabs at our northern neighbours, it's a different story when one looks at the weather new and see places like Amarillo and Forth Worth waking up to temperatures in the -18c to -21c range. The cities in that part of the country are _not_ equipped for these kinds of temperatures - especially if the cold settles in for any kind of stretch.
Our buildings are insulated to the point of being like that kid in Christmas Story who couldn't bend his arms from all the layers of clothes. We have trio-pane windows. Our water and sewage systems are buried deep under ground. On the other hand, these temperatures pose a real threat to the power and water infrastructure in some of those southern cities.
Hopefully it warms up again for you guys, so that we can go back to deriding you over complaining when it dips to 15c. Do whatever it takes to weather this: put painter's tape around the doors and windows. Leave a cold water tap running. Put on layers when you go out, and watch that the tip of your nose doesn't freeze (no, seriously, you can get frostbite there before you know its setting in).
Hang in there and stay warm.
I mean, those _are_ dangerous temperatures - especially for some of the vulnerable among the population - but it's not like Toronto isn't a northern city that's ill-equipped to handle the occasional cold snap. They were acting like a drama queen who was being asked to put on a second layer before heading out.
On the other hand, while we might take delight in taking jabs at our northern neighbours, it's a different story when one looks at the weather new and see places like Amarillo and Forth Worth waking up to temperatures in the -18c to -21c range. The cities in that part of the country are _not_ equipped for these kinds of temperatures - especially if the cold settles in for any kind of stretch.
Our buildings are insulated to the point of being like that kid in Christmas Story who couldn't bend his arms from all the layers of clothes. We have trio-pane windows. Our water and sewage systems are buried deep under ground. On the other hand, these temperatures pose a real threat to the power and water infrastructure in some of those southern cities.
Hopefully it warms up again for you guys, so that we can go back to deriding you over complaining when it dips to 15c. Do whatever it takes to weather this: put painter's tape around the doors and windows. Leave a cold water tap running. Put on layers when you go out, and watch that the tip of your nose doesn't freeze (no, seriously, you can get frostbite there before you know its setting in).
Hang in there and stay warm.
