Our houses are different here than the ones I lived in in Texas Maryann. We have basements, the water pipes are in and basements are heated. The houses I lived in in Tx, when we went, the pipes were underneath the home and the house up on cement blocks. We had frozen pipes a couple times there. We do have heat tape for wrapping waterpipes in a colder area such as a crawl space. Then you plug in the heat tape.
Block heaters are a life saver for vehicles! We plug the cars in every night up here. Or you should, because its MUCH easier on them when starting. We lived in Woodville, Tx every year from Feb to April. I will never forget stopping at a gas station and the guy working there asked what the plug hanging out of the front of the car was for? DH said its a block heater to plug the car in in the winter. The guy scratched his head and said "ya'll plug your CARS in up there?" LOL I am sure he thought we were nuts. My garage is heated so I am not even sure I have a block heater on this car I have now! But when we lived in our other house, anytime it was 5 above or colder, we'd plug the cars in. They do make a magnetic heater thingy you can put on your oil pan if you don't have a block heater, that magnet will keep your oil warm for starting on cold mornings.
Yes sadly there are outside cats and dogs. This irritates the he!! out of me. (sorry) There is absolutely any reason that someone should leave their pets outside. I don't care, bring them in the barn, in the basement some where out of the elements!!!!My dogs (Chihuahua and Doxie are FAST when they go out this time of year! I mean its a minute and they are back inside with their jobs done! I have to coax the Doxie out at night before bed and I feel so mean! There are wild cats in town I know, they seek shelter where ever its warm. I've seen them going down the drains on the street corners, they must be somewhat warm cause you will see steam occasionally coming up. The livestock is hardy, but even so I am sure they suffer stress in this weather too. I'm not a farmer so can't say much about the cows and horses. I know its hard on them. I've seen cows with so much frosted ice and snow hanging from their mouths and snow laying on their back, it looks cold. I can't believe they don't feel it. But they huddle together in a circle and must share body heat.

This is a good post because I know other northern peeps will tell you so much more than me!

Heat tape for the pipes when it gets below zero. And leave a trickle of water running.
Keep roof shoveled and eves free of icesickles. Keep walkways and sidewalks shoveled.
Car in a heated garage or, like nodakgal said, a block heater. Sand, blankets, water and emergency supplies in your vehicle in case you get stranded.
Animals inside. Dammit! It upsets me to no end when out walking Conway to see the same dogs chained up outside their house in these conditions. I've actually changed our route to miss certain houses because it bothers me so much I just can't stand it.
Layer, layer, layer clothing. Keep head covered. Wear cleats on shoes. (Saved my butt, literally, for two winters now!)

It's a challenge, to be sure. LOL

Thanks for your answers. These are things I have thought about, but never asked. I can imagine it is a real challenge!
I don't know if I could stand to see pets outside under those conditions. Don't they get frostbite on their paws?

I know mine limp after just a minute or so outside in snow...I'm sure their paw pads get very cold....but I think there is more danger to their ears being frostbit. I know I have seen cats and dogs with only a partial ear that got froze. My DSis used to by boots for her full size Doberman. Man he was a spoiled dog! LOL We have dog coats for ours, but it is such a pain to get them to hold still to wear them and takes longer to get them on them then it does for the dogs to run out and pee! LOL

I have a 1957 Oliver tractor with a snow bucket that I use to clear the driveway. (Dad bought it brand new) It was -18 this morning. I put a battery charger on it for 15 minutes and then it started right up. It takes about an hour to clean up the driveway. The key is layers. I had on 5 layers above the waist and 3 below. But, an hour outside was all I could tolerate. And I grew up in this climate. A thick stocking cap and an even thicker hood is crucial. Something like 40% of a persons body heat is lost through the head. Other extremities like hands and feet shut down to conserve heat; that doesn't work so well with the brain. (Although I know a few people who have numb, shut down brains even on warm days, but, that's another post.)

Ron

They could, Maryanntx. We have three small dogs and one of the three has problems with her feet getting really cold when she walks. We've tried those little booties that they make for dogs but they don't stay on her very well. Sometimes we pick her up and carry her partway on the walk. We also put coats on them when they walk if it's really cold. I don't feel too sorry for ours because we're right out there walking with them (three times a day... don't have a fenced in yard) and I think they stay warmer then we do!! One of them (Lexie, our Tibetan Spaniel) actually loves the cold and snow. The colder and snowier it is, the better she likes it!

All animals should be provided some sort of shelter in severe winter weather, if only a windbreak (for large livestock) or open front shed. Even large animals, such as cattle and horses, sometimes die because of severe winter weather and no shelter. Extra food, or high calorie supplements are also good when it's cold, as burning extra calories provides extra warmth.

Many dogs and cats, particularily on farms, that we think of as outdoor animals, actually have snug barns and/or other buildings to spend the cold weather in. If they don't, they should.

It's also tough on wild animals. Think of all the small wild animals that don't hibernate. Squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, foxes, and on and on. And the birds also.

The cows do group together for warmth. They also grow heavy coats. Most stockmen do have some type of windbreak for them though - natural or man made. Our horses have very thick woolly coats now (they do have a shelter to go into). For stock that is indoors (confinement feeding) - you have to make sure they don't get too warm. That can cause pneumonia.

Our dogs and cats have access to barns and garages. We also keep them fed more in the winter and make sure they have access to open water.

Feed is important during cold weather. You have to make sure your animals get the right type of feed - we call it "energy" to keep warm.

We feed twice a day. It is a ration formulated for winter weather.

We also have large snow moving equipment. A large tractor mounted snow blower and tractors with blades and loader buckets to push snow.

Sometimes, when we have lots of snow it takes 12 hours to move snow and get the stock fed twice.

We do have to take an ax to chop open rivers and creeks for water. We also have some frost free waterers that are in the ground. The ground temp keeps them from freezing. It looks like a big rubbermaid garbage can sunk completely below ground. Sometimes you have to take off a small layer of ice on the top.

We do have some issues with water tanks inside our barns freezing - but we can deal with those by letting them run over all the time. It goes into pits below where the manure goes.

My house is 80+ years old and has never had a frozen pipe. Everything is inside the basement, and the basement is heated.

I don't have a block heater on my car - but my garage is slightly heated. Just enough to keep it above 25

All our tractors and pickups have block heaters. They are parked in sheds and plugged in overnight. They would never start on cold mornings like today (-9º actual temp) - it does get colder than that sometimes - but not as much as it does further up north like were Marie lives.

I have small dogs (chihuahuas) so the patio and path to the yard have to be shoveled in the winter, as well as the YARD, so they have a place to do their business. Actually, my DH made a kind of teepee with plywood, so they have a shelter to "go" in...but the smaller one doesn't always like to use it.

I also cannot walk my little dogs until the snow is off the road, because they can't get through it. The plowing in our little subdivision is terrible. And my neighbor's dog lost a toenail when it got caught in the ice on the road. Very painful for the poor thing.

My lab, Jake, loves the snow and rolls in it. When it is as cold as it is today, I hook him to his lead and he does his business as fast as he can and comes back to the door. He has a thick coat of fur but I am sure his paws get cold.
MaryAnn, as you know, I am a CA transplant and I bundle up to stay warm when I go outside. I am really surprised how quickly I have acclimated to the cold. I have been in Iowa 3 years now.

My reverse question is how in the world do people deal with the TX heat in the summer? So hot for so long??? To me, that's cruel and unusual punishment. I just came in from shoveling and it's not bad out....about 4 degrees here in suburban Chicago and the sun is shining beautifully!

Don't forget to keep your fire hydrants shoveled out, too!
Conway gets around in it pretty good. If he keeps moving across the top of it. If he stops to investigate something, he sinks right down into the snow. He manages to burrow his way back out, but he has no nose to burrow with, so he uses his front paws like a little penguin swimming. I wish I could describe it better. It's hilarious.

Ron, I'd never make it in Minnesota. I have on layers today too. I have on a pair of knit pants and a pair of shorts over that...that I slept in because my fanny gets cold when my husband isn't here to keep me warm. I got up and put on a pair of polar fleece pants over that. On top I have a t shirt, a polar fleece shirt and another t shirt on top of that. I did have on a polar fleece jacket on top of all that, and I have on a knit cap. Socks and shoes. And it is 52* here right now...just a few miles n/w of Galveston, but it is windy and feels cold to me.

I've never lived anywhere but in Sw Pa. and would love to give "southern living" a chance, especially in the winter....We've used the heated tape, we've left the faucets drip, we've also had frozen pipes...DH makes sure the walks are clear and also keeps a heated thingie in the gutter....
We take care of 3 feral cats and have, what we call, a "cat house" right on the back patio...We've put an igloo out there but they prefer this little hut, covered with blankets, inside and out...We also have 2 Snuggle Safe discs and when those babies are heated, they keep the cat house warm for at least 8 hours....In fact, DH has 1 in the Microwave right now, getting it ready to put outside....We worry about those outside fur babies. If we don't see them 1st thing in the morning, we're looking out every couple of minutes..They've come to depend on us for food, water and shelter and we can't let them down......
Boy, If I ever move south, it would be a big caravan of cat carriers going down the highway......

My mind was going somewhat in the direction of Kec01, Here in the cold north, we learn to dress in layers, and can take off layers as needed. When its so hot in the south and can get that way here in the summer, people are limited in now much clothing they can take off.....legally or humanly, (for the benefit of eyes watching.LOL) Our homes are built to keep us and our pipes from freezing, and for those of us with out garages, we hope we are lucky enough to have an old-faithful type of car that start in any weather, like we have. Dottie

This has been so interesting and educational for me. I have traveled up north in the summer and loved it, but I think I'm a warm weather person. Guess I'll stay in Texas and wish for snow. :o)

My old van now sits outside because my "new" van gets the garage. But I'm still driving "Vanna" because I can't find anyone who'll give me anything for it and I can't see junking a rig that runs so nice. It has never failed to start in the 5 years I've had it and this morning it was sitting out, about -20° and it fired right off. But then again, a properly tuned and maintained vehicle should start to -30° anyway. I haven't had to use a tank heater for over 30 years. And often I have vehicles sitting out. When I used to go up north for New Years my vehicles sat out and always started, where my friends had to have theirs on tank heaters, battery chargers and more. MAKE NO MISTAKE, I patted Vanna this morning and said thank you and told her how much I appreciate everything she does for me. I do like that old gal...

And yes, believe it or not our houses have heat so the pipes don't freeze! ;) Abandoned houses and empty houses for sale often have problems because people turn the heat down or off. But keep in mind the pipes in the wall, in a basement or something aren't going to get the same outside temperatures. Like a car in a garage has some insulation around it, it won't lose heat as fast. There are some poorly designed and poorly constructed places that allow the pipes to freeze and actually frozen isn't a tragedy until they burst.

I like the change of seasons. I hate heat and humidity. I can put on clothes, turn up the heat, but have trouble breathing in those abominable dewpoints that even we get here in the summertime. At least for us, it's not for as long as yous down sout!

Animals do surprisingly well outside. God made them to be able to survive the weather. We humans get them so conditioned that they lose their heavy coats and that causes them trouble. Both my sister and my cousin have taken in strays that they made stay outside during the winter. They survived. The only problem is my cousin's did freeze her one ear so the tip is gone. But they're both now happy indoor cats. This is part of the reason that I get irritated with people who won't fix the animals. Turn 'em loose. But they know, well the smart ones know where to find shelter. My cousin's spent most of the winter in a hollowed out log. Some get into dog houses, buildings or just burrow into the snow, igloo style. Animals do need a lot more calories if they're exposed to those elements. Farm animals are a little different. They have even heavier coats and hides. And when they're in a barn, again, it's sheltered from the weather but it's surprising how warm a barn full of cows actually gets!

I do invite you to come up some time. Now is a great time. We'll even let you lick the flag pole! And THAT'S a VERY high honor! :)

Oh, and in this weather usually one or more of the weather guessers take a cup of boiling water outside and throw it into the air to show the effect. There's probably video on YouTube or something of it. But it is interesting to watch.

I'm generally careful about telling people how great it is here. Don't need TOO many southerners coming up here and exhaling! That's how we get all the pollution! It's bad enough as it is... believe it or not, some restaurants around here are starting to serve GRITS! (I tell you what!)

Oh and another keep warm trick is wear mittens instead of gloves. Just like the animals huddle together for heat, the fingers will do the same. I've frozen my hands so many times I've lost count. And each time makes it worse for next time. Last time it was a second degree frostbite and surprisingly quick. Then your hands (or body part) is much more sensitive to cold, even cold water, or a cool breeze at times!

Oh and actually snow on the roof is good insulation! Not so much that it will cave in, but actually the code in Minnesota is that they must be constructed so they won't cave in from snow. And if you pile the snow around your foundation, it insulates as well.

Snow doesn't bother me that much, but ice scares me these days. We've had some ice storms and bad ones will knock the power out by taking down power lines. And of course I'm so paranoid these days about falling that ice just plain scares me. And there's been the thawing of the snow, then freezing so there's ice around. Then get snow on top of it. Often I just leave the snow on the ice to give traction. There's a fine line though. Snow covered ice is how I got busted up a few years back!

I still have an outside cat....

But the wooden box I have for her is insulated with two inches of styrofoam.
I keep plastic wrapped all around it (except the door. I have a couple quilts wrapped around that.
It's filled with straw.
I keep a board in front of her door, at a slant so she can get in and out. She just tucks her head under the quilts and goes in and out.
I feed her more in the winter.

She grows a heavy thick coat in the winters too. Lots of times I'll find her outside her house sitting on top. I'm sure she gets tired of staying in there...but if she's cold she knows where to go.

I haven't gotten her any of the hand warmers yet this year.

But it's really cold right now so maybe I should.

Getting myself out in this cold is harder this year than last...shoot...I'm getting old...lol

patti

We have a basement with a pellet heater we brought from CA. Got is at a real good price and refused to leave it with CA house. Knew it would be better here. Have a great SIL who has to do most of the work as DH has too many medical problems. Big concern here are the pheasants and deer. Winter kill will tell us later.

To the southerners and Californians - The most important thing is that fashion/style is totally out the window in weather like we're having! Any old warm thing goes re wardrobe!

irishdancersgram, you could move all those cats! A friend of my daughter's had 10 - mostly rescues. When she & her husband moved from southern California to Oregon, they were going to fly the cats until they priced it. Instead, they rented a motor home & moved all ten in that - even had cat boxes set up. I think it cost about $2,500. (They LOVED their cats - no children) My daughter went with them to drive their car, then they flew her back to California.

Pipes do freeze if there is not enough snow for insulation. It happens here when there's not enough. (it's only happend once that I can remember in the past 20 years.) The local utility department will sometimes have us leave on the water (just a drip). This year it should be fine though.

Personally, I hate the cold without the snow. Just doesn't seem right somehow.

For the one who goes walking with the pet and figures that they're pretty well on an even playing field ...

... you're clad in only one light layer of clothing, right?

Northerners with dachsies ...

... must love shovelling snow!

About 3-1/2" is all that dachsies can "stomach" ...

... or they get stuck!

ole joyful

We had a Bassett Hound; she'd get high centered in the deep snow. She was a leftover from our New Mexico days. She was a low rider dog. ;-)

Ron

Here in Wisconsin, it can get very cold. We're having our coldest weather of the year right now.

Most of the houses have basements, but some do not. There wera a number of small ranch homes built right after WW2 that were built on concrete slabs. The 3rd construction is a house wihtout a basement, but with a foundation elevated 1 to 2 ft above grade - these are the ones that require special consideration for water and sewer pipes freeze-ups.

Houses with basements and city water and sewer:

Very little problem with freezing water pipes. The sewer pipe is below the basement floor and the water pipe is about 4 to 5 feet deep. The outside water shutoff valve at at the lot line is not at the surface, but 5 to 6 feet deep. What is visable is an access pipe with a cover and an operator rod. The rod operates the valve.

Inside the basement, it never freezes even if the heat vents are shut. Residual heat from the furnace, water heater, and heat ducts are enough to keep the temperature at or above 50 F. I open one the heat vents enough to keep the basement at 63 F.
- - - - -

Houses on slabs:

With city utilities, not much problem. The sewer and water are buried deep, then make a vertical rise under the slab into the house. If the house is left vacant, the water pipes, toilets, and water heater should be drained, or the house maintained at least 50 F.
- - - -

Houses without basements and on raised foundations.

Exposed pipes under the house must be insulated and should have heat tracer tapes installed.
- - - -

One severe winter about 20 yrs ago, we did have freeze-ups on houses that had never experienced it before. We were without snow cover and the temp fell to -20 f. A block west of my house where the street was swept by a west wind, the frost line went down deeper than 5 ft and did freeze up water lines running from the street to the homes. The solution: A serice truck came out with a commerical electric welding rig. One electrode was clamped to the riser pipe at the lot line and the other electrode was fastened to the water pipe in the basement and just below the water meter. The welder was cranked up to maybe 100 ampss or more until the ice let go. After water flow was re-established, the owners kept a faucet dripping while they were gone. Both members were gone in the daytime to their jobs and that is when the line had frozen before.

Trouble spots:

1) Sink with drain pipes in a west or north facing wall, or in a cabinet under the sink on a west facing wall. The second problem with this drain location is the vent pipe. Water vapor condenses and freezes inside this pipe and will stop up the vent.

2) Chimneys in outer walls or on the outside of the house. Vapors from the furnace and water heater can condense and freeze eventually closing the chimney.
- - - -

It makes very little difference if a car is left outside or in an unheated garage. The main difference is that the car left outside will cool much quicker. However, there is a small amount of protection in an attached garage depending on the garage construction. Most garages in this area to do not have ceilings, insulated walls, or auxillary heat. All cars here carry antifreeze in the coolant and are protected to -25 F or better. If they don't, they have freeze troubles and that must be corrected to operate in this climate.

My wife's car has a block heater. In very cold weather, we plug that in 2 to 3 hours before starting the car. It makes a difference! I'm told that in Winipeg, Canada, there are two parking meters at each space downtown; One is the parking meter and the other is an electric meter.

Thanks to all of you who responded. I guess I've lived a protected Southern life. Jammer is right that I'd never make it through the winter in the north. But I sure love the summers there!!!

Cynic, if I ever make it to Minnesota, please keep me away from the flagpoles! I'd probably have the urge to lick one. I remember sticking my tongue to our metal ice trays, even knowing what would happen. LOL

Most people dpn't like our hot summers, even the natives. I love the summer weather!

joyfulguy, I am wearing a t-shirt, fleece sweater jacket, and my winter coat, with a scarf wrapped around my neck and over my face, a stocking hat, and my coat hood pulled up and tied under my chin so it doesn't come off. I'm also wearing boots with 'tracks' so I don't slip on the ice and gloves. Oh, and blue jeans of course. Once in a while I might be wearing sweats but the wind REALLY goes through those. It's not bad on a still day when there's no wind. Lexie, the canine snow/cold lover, has a double coat with a warm insulating layer underneath and a long outer hair coat. Sometimes I also put doggie insulated wind breakers on the pups too, but it's almost overkill with her. She's dressed like a husky and the colder and snowier the better, as far as she's concerned. It's the warm summers that are tough on her!

When I was a kid, we lived in an old farm house (in Nebraska) that sat right on the ground. No basement, no foundation, no slab. We did have a hole dug out under the bathroom though (really hard to wiggle down in there, my smallest sister (not youngest, just smallest) had to wiggle through it if someone needed to go under there. It was more a deep crawl space then anything else. Anyway, there was a light socket down there and a switch to run it in the bathroom. We turned that light on all winter long and it kept the pipes under the bathroom from freezing. My sister pretty much only had to go down there if the light bulb burned out.

Another farm house that I lived in, still back in Nebraska, had a hole cut in the floor of the office which was next to the back bathroom. The exhaust fan in the bathroom could be removed from the wall and this hole in the office floor was made so that the fan would fit into it. In cold weather we'd take the fan from the wall and put it in the floor and turn it on. It would blow warm air down under the bathroom and help keep the pipes from freezing. Also, in the winter, we didn't use the shower in that bathroom and would pour antifreeze down in the drain.

-27 this morning. Still -21 at 12 noon.
They say around -30 tonight. Good gosh! On the bright side they are saying 25 for Sunday! But of course it is supposed to warm up and snow! That usually happens. Then back to the deep freeze.
Paper said today this is the 6th consecutive week of below normal temps.

It's sunny here now at 1pm. The artic front that you have been experiencing is not hitting us full force because it's moving more to the east than south. But it is supposed to be colder tomorrow.

Our car is outside all winter. today it is -33. The car started no problem this morning.We're so used to cold winters we don't even think about it. Mind you we have warm houses and a high heating bill but that's life for northerners...At least we don't worry about hurricanes and tsunamis lol

Makes me thankful for our temp, which is hovering right at 0 all day today!

Minot checkin in with 18 below at 2pm Sun out, but very cold as wind is blowing. Friend out in country reported 35 below (not wind chill)

Thunder Bay, Ontario, CANADA reported -41 this morning with the wind chill.

It was mighty cold!!!

It's suppose to be -24 here tonight. High tomorrow of -8.
This is in southeastern Minnesota.

Ron

Temp is back on its way down in ND. It's already -25 at 6:15pm.
Poor dogs! My little Miss went out to potty this afternoon and came in holding a hind leg up and hopping on three. I know I will have a devil of a time getting them out to pee at 10!

Another little inconvenience: I can never put my car windows down at the drive through when it is this cold.

Yeah, saw one of those plugs on a car when I was a kid and thought to myself "well there goes a yankee!" LOL

On the Atlantic east coast we get terrible snowy winters,but rarely the bitter cold temps that towns further inland get.We do have heated basements and our houses are well insulated,so we are never cold indoors.
We dress for the weather outside..wool socks,caps,scarves,and if walking,long thermal underwear...at least I do.Also warm insulated winter boots are a must.
My dog is an American Eskimo who loves cold weather and has a dense double coat.Even her paws are extra furry,and her ears have extra dense fur.They were bred for Arctic conditions.The colder it is the more she enjoys her walks.
I guess it's a matter of growing up in a cold climate,as we're use to it.
Most of us would probally die from 80 or 90 degree heat all summer.

I have a friend in Goose bay Labrador,and she told me tonight it's minus 54 with the wind chill factor...now THAT"S COLD!

Cars you have block heaters in them when you live in severe cold weather. If you have a garage you park it in that. If not, then you plug it in all night and then the fun begins where you go in and open a very stiff cold door and start the car to get it heating and go out and start scraping the windows.

Oh, but when you work, not all places have spots that you can plug your car in and so all day it would sit there and you go out and pray that it would start up for you.
Or sometimes all night long or evening, depending on shift you are working.

We had a heated garage in last place we lived in as we had two big dogs and my mom wouldn't let them stay in at night, they could come into kitchen during the day. They had 3 old mattresses to sleep on, they actually had a great place out there.

yes, there are unfortunately people that leave their pets outside or they are permanent outside pets.

Some kinds of dogs are meant for outside so they will grow really thick heavy coats and if brought inside will sweat and pant and pant and pant tons.

We would see our neighbour have one dog inside and the other dog outside. It really pained us that they did that.

Pets can survive to a certain extent. But no, they can't that cold out, cats especially.

Pipes you cover them up, wrap the outside taps up.

You do feel the cold in your house and heat is up and fireplaces are burning away.

I remember standing on our floor heaters when growing up and the heat would come up my nightie and talk about nice and warm. Oh, so nice.
Our dog used to go right on top with his belly and get warm, he was a toy manchester dog.
When we put him out to do his business, he would run fast and run fast back inside screaming in pain as his ears would freeze. My mom tried to tie a scarf on him but he still suffered. It was terrible hearing him in such pain.

I've lived it both ways -- 1st 38 yrs. of my life in NE OH (SNOW belt, with frigid Lake effect winds) and 20 yrs. in the south (no more than 30 miles from I-10.) I'm just north of Houston now. And our 24 for a low and 53 for a high is AWFUL! I HATE the cold, moreso now that I don't have to live in it anymore. And our 4 adult kids (who were 8-17 when we moved south) have all echoed the same sentiment over the years (i.e. "I could NEVER live in the cold!") Yeah, a trip to Breckenridge for a week of skiing in March is tolerable for one son, but even his wife (always lived in the deep south) agrees, it's good to vacation for a week, but I wouldn't want to live in that. I'll gladly put up with our horrendous hot & humid summers to not have to deal with that bone-numbing cold. (And we don't have to shovel sunshine.)

I loved the comment "we don't have to shovel sunshine"! Thats a good one Drewsmaga! BTW I have a GS Drew also!

DH just talked to his buddy on the farm. He has -34 this morning. He also had a baby calf born! Born outside. You really gotta be quick when they are born, they will freeze to death fast. He found him and bought him inside to his ham radio shack. Looks like his ears froze some but he thinks he's gonna be ok!