[nikoniko]

I am the biggest natural disaster I know, so there's not much that scares me.

Two tornadoes (both in one week span when I lived in Texas), a few blizzards, one flood caused by a hurricane, now earthquakes sometimes several times a month... haven't been through any volcanic eruptions yet, but who knows what the future might hold.

Originally Posted by Jeysie

That I will agree with... below zero (Fahrenheit) weather isn't unheard of, but it rarely ever gets below -10.

I remember when I first moved to western Massachusetts, a roommate saw the winter coat I brought with me and cautioned, "Don't know about where you come from, but that's not going to get you through one of our winters." Not only did it get me through, but it was rarely even cold enough to need it. Another, lighter jacket I brought with me, together with a sweater or warm shirt, was usually plenty. It barely even snowed the winters I was there. We had one big snowstorm that blew in and deposited a couple feet of snow in a day and a half or so, and that was nothing compared to several blizzards I'd been through back home.

Summers were considerably cooler, though, which was a very welcome change!

[squarejawhero]

I'm really not enjoying the Japanese winter. Alternate sun/freezing fog/mild weather/rain/snow in the same area within days screws with my internals.

[Fairygdmther]

Originally Posted by doroposo

I am the biggest natural disaster I know, so there's not much that scares me.

Two tornadoes (both in one week span when I lived in Texas), a few blizzards, one flood caused by a hurricane, now earthquakes sometimes several times a month... haven't been through any volcanic eruptions yet, but who knows what the future might hold.

I remember when I first moved to western Massachusetts, a roommate saw the winter coat I brought with me and cautioned, "Don't know about where you come from, but that's not going to get you through one of our winters." Not only did it get me through, but it was rarely even cold enough to need it. Another, lighter jacket I brought with me, together with a sweater or warm shirt, was usually plenty. It barely even snowed the winters I was there. We had one big snowstorm that blew in and deposited a couple feet of snow in a day and a half or so, and that was nothing compared to several blizzards I'd been through back home.

Summers were considerably cooler, though, which was a very welcome change!

I lived in Massachusetts, near Boston up till 5 yrs ago. I must say you were lucky in both the snow accumulation and the cold for the winters you were there. -12 F is the coldest I recall, but most years we had a stretch of a few days at least of 3-5 below zero. The worst snow was several years ago, when with two storms, close together, we got 50", with drifts up to 12 feet high. Shoveling snow over your head is no fun. That was a cold winter and I got frostbite on face and hands. Only one other winter do I recall getting frostbite though.

Summers are hot and humid in the Boston area. There was one summer when we had 14 straight days where it didn't drop below 100 F, with a high of 108 F. Since I've been in Florida, I've never seen it that hot here. Summers here are much longer, but certainly not any hotter - that was a surprise to me.

Lynsie

[nikoniko]

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

I lived in Massachusetts, near Boston up till 5 yrs ago. I must say you were lucky in both the snow accumulation and the cold for the winters you were there. -12 F is the coldest I recall, but most years we had a stretch of a few days at least of 3-5 below zero.

I am pretty certain I have some strange effect on weather wherever I go. When I went to Western Mass., I saw a most beautiful rainbow the day I arrived, and the weather became unusually warm for the winters. Later on I lived in Boston for a month and a half while trying to find a job, and it rained literally every single day I was there until the day I left. Not necessarily all day, but every day, usually in the afternoon. Went to Texas for a job project, and a two month long drought that had been devastating the region broke as my plane was landing, and it continued to rain off and on the next couple weeks. Some years earlier, before Massachusetts and Texas, I had spent one year at Virginia Tech in southwestern Virginia, and they had a freakishly bad ice storm that winter that killed more than half the trees on campus, trees which had survived numerous severe winters for years. Went to Japan, and a cold spell suddenly hit, causing the region's cherry blossoms to bloom two weeks later than they were forecast, with trees to the south of us blooming before ours.

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

The worst snow was several years ago, when with two storms, close together, we got 50", with drifts up to 12 feet high. Shoveling snow over your head is no fun.

Actually, I love situations like that. I am definitely in my element when it snows. When I was a child, we got two weird November snowstorms back to back which put down 4.5 to 5 feet of snow altogether, and after helping my parents dig the driveway out, I built an elaborate tunnel system running all around the yard underneath the snow. In Japan, I've gone through several heavy snows and enjoyed it. Though snowshoveling is backbreaking work, I enjoy being out in the snow enough to get through it. I'm sure that's going to change, though, the older my back gets. I'm already struggling to keep up in my morning aikido exercises... it's just not as easy as it used to be, and I'm only 30. I wonder if I'm developing arthritis or something similar like it.

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

That was a cold winter and I got frostbite on face and hands. Only one other winter do I recall getting frostbite though.

Ouch... frostbite is terrible, and I'm sorry to hear you got it! I hope it didn't leave any lasting damage. Ironically, the only time I've had it was when I lived in Texas. I stayed on from the summer through the winter, and the winter was unusually cold. I got caught unprepared one night when I was taking the scenic route home, and my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. No working heat, no blanket, no jacket, no cellphone, and too far from anything to walk somewhere in the cold weather. I figured someone would eventually come by... unfortunately, I was pretty much a popsicle by the time they did. Thankfully, despite frostbite that left a few spots with reduced sensation for some weeks, I was ultimately okay.

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

Summers are hot and humid in the Boston area.

Blech... being a snowman myself, I melt in the heat. That was one reason I didn't seek to stay in Texas after my job project ended. There were a few days in August when it was 110-114 degrees in the greater Houston area where I worked. Well, it wasn't just for the heat that I left, or the bizarre cold, but also the freakish insect life, bad drivers, and four year old kids armed with rifles....

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

Since I've been in Florida, I've never seen it that hot here. Summers here are much longer, but certainly not any hotter - that was a surprise to me.

And I'll bet the people back up in Boston, on those 108 degree days, are thinking, "Poor Lynsie... she's probably got it even worse than we do."

[fov]

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

The worst snow was several years ago, when with two storms, close together, we got 50", with drifts up to 12 feet high. Shoveling snow over your head is no fun. That was a cold winter and I got frostbite on face and hands.

Was that 1996? I think I remember that being a record year.

I was born in 1978... in March, so I missed the big blizzard. But there are pictures of my pregnant mother looking out at the 5+ foot snowbanks. There was no electricity or car travel for a week, so I think my parents were glad I stayed put.

[Fairygdmther]

Originally Posted by fov

Was that 1996? I think I remember that being a record year.

I was born in 1978... in March, so I missed the big blizzard. But there are pictures of my pregnant mother looking out at the 5+ foot snowbanks. There was no electricity or car travel for a week, so I think my parents were glad I stayed put.

The storms I was referring to were in Jan-Feb 1978. '96 there was a lot of snow, but never before or after '78 had I seen so much snow at one time. Other than those two storms, we had almost no other snow that winter.

BTW the summer of '95 was when that long hot spell occurred, IIRC.

Lynsie