What's this I hear that it's cold down there?? It's pushing 0 on it's downward spiral right now. Supposed to be -6°F or so tonight.

High of 24 F today in DFW Metromess - all time record for this date.
1-2 inches of powdery snow this morning in Plano - black ice alert for morning commute.
G/

24 degrees and ice?? I'll bring the auger!

Scott,
I left Indy last night in the snow and returned to Texas to snow....... And the wind was so cold.

Tony,
No ice yet, but if this hangs around a few more days, i'll take you up on the offer!!!

Hey Tony - pray for a quick thaw - hundreds of natural gas wells being shut down in Texas due to power disruptions and freezing temps!
Serious shortage of butane/propane exist up north is what I am hearing.
You guys be safe.
G/

I've never caught CNBG through the ice. Come to think of it, I wonder if anyone has?

Hmmmmm......

George,

I was all set to believe the logical explanation that the farmers used a lot this fall to dry crops and this cold winter was not anticipated until I heard we're exporting an incredible amount too. Something like 5 X the amount of last year?

Scott, I'm tired of all this weather. It's not the cold and ice as much as it is the clueless drivers we have down here. On the trip to Nate's, the roads were much worse, and there was far less havoc. That and the almost daily 20-30 mph winds here make it tough.

I guess I'll be glad when I'm sweating outside at 7 am again.

YES IT IS!

Dang right it is. And the cold. When it's 22 degrees with a 15 to 20 mph wind, it's cold.

I don't know how you guys up north do it...and by north I mean Dallas... north enough for me. I saw a picture from catmando a day or two ago with two inches of ice and about 100 yards of driveway iced up and thought about myself in that situation crying in the fetal position while he was typing about snowblowing. Ill be cussing the Texas summer again by July though so its all relative I guess. We had 1/16 th of an inch of snow/ice Friday before last and the Houston area shut down..18 wheelers stuck on the highway, people panicking the whole nine.

Last couple days in low 30s mid 40s don't think we will see snow this go round. But I would take an inch or two from you fellas up north just so the kiddo can run around in it and I could take some pictures. I just turned 30 and have seen snow 3 times in my whole life. The pictures of iced over ponds look so foreign to me.

My Southern brethren - any guesses of the origin of this NASA shot?

No clue, but it makes me think of lime jello. Tasty lime jello I might add.

Think Green Monster.....

With the winter we are having, your talking whining about temps in the 20's? That's almost T-shirt weather now!!!!

My neighbor put up a new mailbox this Fall. Nice new treated 4x4 post, brand new mailbox. That all changed yesterday morning. I don't know what the snow plow driver was thinking, but at least 80% of all the mailboxes on my street were wiped out with one pass of the snow plow.

His mailbox is that black blob on the right. The 2 blue boxes are for the local newspaper and they are on a (now) twisted "T" post. That funny looking thing to the left is what's left of my plastic mailbox.


I talked to the mail lady and she said "Just pile up the snow a bit more and stick what's left of your mailbox on the snow pile."

That was a bit too redneck for me, so here's what my mailbox will look like until after the spring thaw... It IS screwed on to it so it won't blow away.

Bluegill dont move when it's cold. In december the tops of my aquaponics tanks froze over and i learned that BG lay down on the bottom of the tanks when it gets very cold. I actually threw one away thining it was dead before i learned that they get back up when the water warms up.

brian

Whatever! If this doesn't end, I'll have to buy socks. This weather is not flip flop friendly at all.

Scott, you're right about the whining/bitching about the snow.

Yesterday, I left the house about 7 to attend a meeting 15 miles away. It was snowing with about 20 mph winds. It was a light, fluffy snow and was blowing off the roads so I figured no sweat. However, the warm roads melted the snow, the cars drove over it and the new snow created some icy conditions. My LWB pickup couldn't get traction when I stopped at intersections. I turned around about half way there and headed home. It I got back home about 9:15 and dang near wet my pants due to my morning coffee addiction.

Cars were doing OK but pickups with no weight were in trouble. This happens once, maybe twice per year so I'm not going to get 500 pounds of weight to put in and take out. Our large cities all have high over passes downtown. They get impassable when winter conditions hit.

Since about 30 to 40 percent of the vehicles here are pickups, what we consider foul weather is a real show stopper.

1. I don't know how to drive on ice.
2. Nobody else here does either.
3. I don't want to have to learn.
4. I don't want to have to buy snow tires or chains.
5. Snow tires and chains would be useless unless everybody bought and installed them. They would generally have to be removed the next day.
6. I don't remember how to drive when it rains.

Right now I would consider that a heat wave. -8 in Naperville right now

This was on our local news last night. This drift has been bigger in years before. There is all kinds around here like this. I am getting tired of moving all this snow.

-22c last night with a 50km wind.

Man wish I was in Texas. Can't wait for our golf trip to Florida in March. Had enough of winter.

Cheers Don.

Tony, I'm wondering that as well. As we've talked about, I'm hand feeding right now and letting the CNBG dictate whether I throw feed or not. Last week, we had a 70 degree day, and I hand fed for almost an hour. I kept throwing and they kept eating. The next day was 40 degrees, and they haven't eaten since.

I know where they're at, I just don't know what they're doing. If my water was clearer, I'd have a underwater camera and see for myself.

Don't want to be a pessimist but Bobby Glennon a biologist with Malone and Sons in Arkansas, told me when they get ice on the ponds they lose Coppernose bluegills. Of course production ponds tend to be shallower than recreational ponds, so perhaps recreational ponds have somewhat of a buffer from rapid temps changes before the next warm up?

I have similar pics here. Interesting to note the highway department comes in with a front loader and pushed notches in the snow pile on the side of the highway. I noticed with the last snowfall, when they plowed, it just filled in the spaces vs. just making it higher.

Al, most guys that have CNBG tell me the same thing.....when the water temps fall below a certain point (?) the coppernose just shut down.

I've often wondered, (or at least the prideful side of me has wondered,) is this actually the case, or could some cold-water finesse tactics familiar to those living up north, entice those fish to bite?

This is not at all intended to suggest that the southern contingent lacks the skills usually employed to catch winter Bluegills, I'm just wondering out loud if some northern Bluegill techniques might work on southern fish?

Certainly the Coppernose's intolerance of colder water is well documented, and while I have spent my fair share of time on tough Bluegill bites, I still have a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea that they absolutely will not touch a bait under any circumstances, after the water cools below a certain point.

What is the cutoff temp when a CNBG refuses to feed? My native BG will not feed on pellets during open water periods that occur in the winter, but yet they remain catchable...does this count as refusing to feed?

So many questions.........

TJ,
That is scary enough that I have broken out my survival plan and put into action, be safe, I hope you all make it out alive!!

Scott,
That was funny last night and funnier today!! I like the screw reference, as if duck tape wouldn't do!!

Dave,
That is funny as well, but it only takes 250 pounds of sand in the back to weight my truck down enough to be able to drive like a pro!! And in 50 LBs bags, they are not going to be taken by anyone!! Of course, I did learn to drive in Ohio in the winter of '78 driving a 1970 Buick Rivera with a big block V-8 and rear-wheel drive!! Man that was fun, and no sissy anti-skid back then coming out of Detroit.

Don, I fly over your area a lot, I am glad I am at 350 in a climate controlled cockpit!! That is a lot of snow!!

Allen,
I'd bring my Go-Pro over, but I doubt I could get you out of your man cave to use it!!

I have been told that my pond is up, but until the big thaw happens, there is no way to get there!!!! I am so close to full pool that I can't stand it anymore!!!!

Brian, once that sand gets wet, how much does the 50 pound bag weigh?

Tony, I'm not sure of a specific temp they shut down, because they really respond to slight temp changes. I've caught them in big time fronts, where the water temp only rose a few degrees. In my forage pond, they'll move shallow later in the day when that water warms up slightly. I bought one of those laser temperature gauges, so I'll try to get a better feel for it. I could care less if it's totally accurate, as long as it's consistently inaccurate.

What's interesting is the perception that Florida strain LMB shut off in cold weather also. They don't. It just takes a different approach. CNBG may be exactly the same. If I owned more than one pair of socks and closed toed shoes, I'd be out there trying to figure it out.

I don't know, but I can ask my son!!

Al, just get dressed in your ice fishing gear. Let us know how the CNBG bite is!

Brian, duct tape doesn't stick too well when the roll is frozen solid! I had to bring what was left of the mailbox inside the house, put it in the shower and run hot water on it before I could start repairing it enough to put it on the step ladder.

Lassig, it was -8 here this morning too, -13 about 30 miles away. Another storm is supposed to come in tonight and stay through most of the weekend, so I think goose hunting is out. Can't get to the "X", it's a good mile off of any roads and the snow is too deep at the farm. Maybe if we had a couple of snowmobiles...... There's gotta be 1,000+ greater canada geese using it.

Talked to a buddy that goes snowmobiling up near where we deer hunt. There's 4' of snow on the ground everywhere. Here, in the CRP fields and the woods, we have about 3' of snow. The bean and corn fields have anywhere from 10" to patchy bare ground due to the snow blowing it away. It would be hard sledding here if you don't stay on the trails and didn't know the area. There are 10' deep x 20' wide ditches that are completely filled with snow. You wouldn't even know they are there.

Al, this is all very interesting to me. I have no experience with CNBG, so I'm fascinated by the idea that a subspecies of Macrochirus can exhibit a behavior so different from what I'm used to seeing in these northern fish.

I'm a firm believer in regional adaptation, and know that given enough time, specific traits might emerge that would tailor a species to its particular environment. And, my time spent over at BigBluegill has introduced me to many southern anglers, who for the most part, simply stop fishing for Bluegills in the colder months and instead begin counting down days on the calendar until spring arrives.

But I still struggle with this idea that proclaims CNBG are uncatchable during the winter period. What are they doing down there.... Do they go dormant?

By the way....12 below here this morning. No wind, thankfully.

Good question T, here's my take: Ice fishing allows us to slow down and size down and perfect our presentation which can tempt even the sulkiest BG to bite as we're keeping that bait exactly in the strike zone, sometimes lifting a fish for 5 minutes before it commits. Obviously you can't come close to doing this in open water, and don't have the benefit of cameras or vexilars to narrow the focus to a specific fish.

I suspect if CNBG could survive under the ice we'd have similar experiences ice fishing for them. If I had open water right now I doubt I'd get many, if any, BG to the dock.

Ok Tony, let me throw another variable at you. We obviously have a longer "growing/feeding season". Do 1.5# BG live longer, and take longer to get there, due to a slower metabolism during the longer winters you have? If my CNBG live an average of 5 years, I'd be curious to know if your BG live an average of 6 or 7 years, or if the colder water is a nonissue.

TJ, having now ice fished, I think there's a lot of logic in that. Finding a 1/64 or 1/100 oz jig down here that can be soaked for a while is about as easy as finding a snow blower in a box store.

Right before the first spawn seems to be when CNBG season starts around here. I myself can't wait until the water normalizes and the big boys move shallow and start actively feeding.

TJ, I think you and I are on the very same page. There is a substantial difference between ice fishing for BG, vs. cold water fishing for BG. The ice itself is not a hindrance we have to deal with in order to catch Bluegills, it is the foundation of the methodology.

But while this year is the exception, there are many winters where my area never sees safe ice. This means that either I join the ranks of those who spend their time marking days off on the calendar, waiting for spring, or I try and come up with something else.

For the past several winters I have been working towards refining a system of gear and techniques to try and help me catch cold water, open water, Bluegills. And while I'm a long way from figuring it all out, I believe I have learned a thing or two and usually manage to catch fish all winter long, ice or no ice.

This is the approach that I wonder about, regarding catching CNBG in the winter.

I think the time the fish spends with a reduced metabolic rate (during our longer winters), might translate into a longer lifespan. But I also think there may be other variables involved also...might northern BG's suffer undue stress during the colder winters? and if so, how might this affect future growth and eventual lifespan?

And what about those fish that are heavily acclimated to pellet feeding? Is it any more stressful for them to go off feed completely, for those months when water temps are too low to feed? Will this weaken them, and cause them to become susceptible to disease/fungus?

Good question Al, I wish I knew the answer. I hope one of the smart people weighs in on it.
[/quote]

I don’t know any of the (?) “most guys that have CNBG tell me the same thing”..

Our CNBG feed all winter long and may shut down feeding on days too cold for me to fish, but rarely shut down on warming days. Feeding temps are relative numbers - they slow down on dropping temps in the high forties and feed on rising temps.
I have been raising them for over 12 years and catch them easily on AQMX or Stubby Steve pellets year round.

I easily catch CNBG all winter long, but rapid changes in barometric pressure will shut fish down quicker than dropping temps – it is a non-issue for me.
A bad day for catching is only one CNBG out of three casts..
Try fishing panty hose pellets on sinking flies – they get hook shy in clear water with floating flies.

I don’t know how far “nort” of N.E. Texas that cold water kills CNBG – that’s a subject for the academicians…

Al can address this better than I because he is on site.
G/

Let me run back to the farm and get the rhino and the goose trailer. We could put a dent in the flock.

George, thanks for sharing that...do I understand you correctly in that your CNBG will still feed with water temps in the high forties, albeit they are slowing down as the temps drop? Or are those air temperatures?

I would love to be able to key in on a water temp range where catchability(?)of CNBG stops, IF such an occurrence does indeed take place.

Tony,

I can catch CNBG all winter long where my feeder is located. I have to wait a little longer and sometimes set the bait a little lower in the water column, but I can catch them. The last time I was out at the farm the water temp was in the mid 40's to low 50's depending on where in the pond I was fishing.

With all that said, my big pond is a bit bigger than most and I do have a lot of water, so that might change things a bit. As for ice, there has been some, but not much more than just around the edges.

Tony, those are near surface water temps - sometimes get lockjaw in the morning and feed in the afternoon - never heard anyone talk about CNBG being hard to catch until I read your post - I was surprised!
CNBG - a love affair!
G/

Dontcha know “real” ice is measured in feet – not wimpy inches???

My apologies to Sunil, I have to post this picture every year or so......
Hef

George and Brian, you guys are giving me much food for thought. What you are describing is indeed a far cry different than what others have relayed to me. I have always wondered if the CNBG's supposed unwillingness to bite was due to water temps, as was commonly suggested elsewhere, or was due at least in some part to error attributed to the angler's lack of familiarity with cold water techniques and presentations.

I believe some allowance should be given in regards to geographic location, particularly where water temps are concerned. I suppose I should research the different locations, and cross reference those with water temps to see what the cutoff point for being able to catch CNBG is....if there is such a point.

It's generally regarded that they won't survive below a certain temperature, but I tend to believe that they would become uncatchable before reaching that point, just like a northern BG might when approaching it's minimally tolerable temp. If this is true, then how cold does it need to get?

Ice is melting off my roof as we speak. The natural order of things has been restored.

We're gaining on it up here also, AL.....12 above now!

12"? That has to be a record for you?

That's degrees sir, not inches.

Hmmm...guess that was pretty clear if I took a moment to read the post.

Questions remain - what depth do you have by now? What's your record? I require this information posthaste, get on the stick dude.

Don, in Canada how do you dress to be able to function?

Mark, we've got until Feb 15th. Come on over! 5 per day limit. You might want to bring snowshoes or a couple of snowmobiles too. I doubt the rhino will get more than one vehicle length off the road unless it's got tracks on all 4 corners......

Looks like they didn't have the Laser on the wing plow aligned properly:




This gal has had better days:

We really shouldn't complain:

Looks sorta familar....

When I drove to the back of a clients property on Thursday I had to have the wipers on. Snow was coming over the hood of the Jetta and melting on the windshield. Peloquin torque sensing differential and Bridgstone Blizzaks work! The driveway wasn't that long, only about 1500 feet.

Would love to but I being sent back to Jersey for a couple of days next week. Glad the snows aren't back at the farm yet. Really want to get on them hard this year. My intel says they are about 150 to 200 miles south of the farm. Need a couple of warm days to melt the snow from last week (only snow we have on the ground) and open up some water and we will be thick with them in the Illinois river bottoms.

Made it down to the property today and got to check out the first snow we have ever seen around the pond.

Pond Snow - Feb 8, 2014

Cabin Snow - Feb 8, 2014

Beautiful place Mark!
G/

Very Nice Mark, very nice indeed!!

Very nice place you have there. Well done indeed!

So just thinking here. If I see -22c in the winter and +30c in the summer how hot is it really in the summer in Texas? I mean if you guys feel that you could not be able to handle the the cold I really think I would die in that heat.

When we golf in Florida in March its about +22 to +25c and I can sweat out two shirts in a day. If it gets to +40c here the world stops +45c I would die.

Cheers Don.

Really nice place, but I wish we only had your snow.

I've been to NC for an extended stay for several months with temps over 100F+ on a daily basis. Call it yucky, I did, but the A/C worked well and was a prize to be cherished

Don to be honest I really don't like either extreme.
Personally I see cold as "painful" & heat as "uncomfortable".
But hey that's just me.

This stuff is so Cool!



Brute force that cut's it like soft butter!

Donno +38°C to +43°C is possible down there. Heck, we had +36 to +38°C here during the summer 2 years ago. Start work outside as soon as you could see to work, and stop by 11:30 a.m. Then go in and enjoy the A/C.

Don, the heat can be brutal at 107+. It seems a lot worse than when I was younger but I figure that's to be expected at my age(71). I get started at daybreak and by about 2:00 I'm pretty well through working outdoors for the day. Everybody has central AC. Deaths do sometimes occur from the heat but that is pretty noteworthy.

About 25 years ago I got heat prostration which is the step before heat stroke. It messed up my internal thermostat for several years. During that time I couldn't handle even 100 degree temps. But, it was my own damn fault. I was doing some concrete work and substituted beer for water. When I realized what was happening, I laid down in a creek that lowered my body temp but I was too late to rehydrate. I've come close to it happening again when I've figured that I just have to complete a project.

You know you're in trouble when you quit sweating and don't need to pee. At that point, you had better get to the AC. However, I have to sit outdoors for about 15 minutes in the shade or the indoor temps of 75 make me shiver. My wife says that I should have taken some common sense courses in College and acknowledge my age.

OTOH, last weeks temps in the mid teens with 25 to 30 mph winds were just as brutal to me. And, with my background of hunting the Rockies, I have the clothes to handle it. I just can't see any point in being outdoors when the temps drop like that. When I pics on TV of the big storms that have been hitting the Northern areas, I have to wonder why those areas are even populated.

Dave, I've had to learn handle to handle the heat also. I try to be in the shade by lunch, then back out later in the afternoon. The thing I hate about summer here is changing shirts 3 times a day if I'm soaking wet.

We used to take golf trips to Florida every summer, and the humidity is what got me there. The coastal areas from TX to Fl get and stay really humid. It's not unusual to be dripping sweat at 7:30 in the morning.

I'm with Dave, I can handle heat much better than cold - althought I have expereinced more cold weather than anyone on this forum because i have lived longer and been exposed to more of it.
My first winter spent in cold weather was in Smokey Hill Army Air Base near Salina Kansas the winter of 1943 - talk about cold in tar paper covered board and batten barracks - snow would pile up inside barracks in cracks of doors and windows - one soldier always on duty digging coal from snow covered pile to fire pot bellied stove.
Nearly froze to death!

Colder than high Canadian Arctic but dressed for that!
Spent one winter December/January in Julesberg Colorado on O&G exoloration crew - new baby - diaper dropped on floor would freeze solid in few minutes.

Many winter trips to Calgary and few to Anchorage.

I can handle 100 degree temps much better than cold - I do outside work early and late but spoiled with AC - I grew up without - we had sleeping porches.

My DNA is pioneer stock - my ancestors moved from north to south, we left the weak and timid behind!
George

Dave,

We don't like that up here either. The wind makes a big difference when it's below freezing let alone in tbe teens or less.

One thing that I learned a long time ago is to never buy a shirt that isn't 100% cotton. Without air movement, the (my) body odor can get pretty rank.

I once developed a rash all over my body after snow blowing the church walkways and working up a sweat.

It's -32 in Fairbanks this morning, finally back to normal.

Yeah I hear the jet stream is changing and actually bringing rain and snow farther south to the Sierra's in drought parched California too.

We could actually get some rain here on Thursday. As long as it's not the freezing kind I'm O.K. with it.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around lassig's post about a frozen septic discharge pipe. As Mr. Spock said, "That just doesn't compute.".

My wife would burn the house down and head further South.

Bearbait and Dono, what type of thermals do you guys use?

Dave:

I just spent all day yesterday standing in a 4' deep hole dug in snow, standing on 18" or so of snow and ice. Temps were around +8°F in the morning, and got to a high of the mid teens in the afternoon. Wind was going about 12 mph in the afternoon. I was outside from 6:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Here's what I had on.

1)Thick wool socks
2)Under Armour long underwear bottoms and tops. It's a few years old, now it probably would be called their base layer 2.5. Socks on first, top goes on next, bottoms go on over socks, and top is tucked in.
3) Turtle necked long sleeve fleece shirt
4) Fleece pants
5) Wolverine 8" tall hunting boots. Airbob soles, 400g Thinsulate, GoreTex lined.
6) Thick winter GoreTex/Thinsulate bibs. Side zipper on the legs from ankle to thigh - makes putting them on easy.
7) Thick winter coat. GoreTex/Thinsulate. I removed the hood.
8) Thinsulate insulated knit cap
9) Hanes XXXXL white sweat pants (needed for snow camo)
10) Hanes XXXXL white zip up hoodie (needed for snow camo)
11) VERY thin gloves so I could feel the gun.
12) Muff type handwarmer with 18 hr chemical heater pack
13) Heavy GoreTex/Thinsulate winter gloves to put out and pick up the decoys so my thin gloves didn't get wet. Plus they wouldn't keep my hands warm in those temps.

Hood on the Hanes top plus the knit cap was enought to keep my head warm as long as I had my back to the wind.

Bibs and jacket were purchased from Dicks Sporting Goods probably in Fall of 1998 or 1999. Back then I think the pair was $250 or so. But, cheap when considering how many days of use I have gotten out of them over the years. I'll wear them when ice fishing too.

Taking a wiz in the field takes some work, but the less liquid you hold in, the warmer you are.

We had to snowmobile to where were were hunting, probably 24" of snow on the ground, and one of the younger guys parked the sled about 1/4 mile away and walked back. We were about 1/2 mile from the nearest road. So, if you had to go, there really wasn't an option of "Hey, I gotta run to the bathroom, I'll be back in a minute or two."

Scott,
Yesterday I was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt.

The temps in the pond were 42.3 to 43.7 throughout the pond. The O2 readings were 7.5 - 8.7 PPM.

Also, there are several cormorants that now understand I am not kidding.

Woke up this morning to -9°F. Supposed to be just as cold out tomorrow. I'm taking the big gun and going to the 1,000 yd range to collect cold weather shooting data.

Enjoy, I would!!!

Awoke this morning to 73 and calm. Rain and cold just set in and will be 38 by nightfall, cold enough for me. Can you feel any extremity when it is -9 ? I couldnt make it. Then again 99 - 106 with 99% humidity during the summer is my normal. I don't even own a heavy coat.

Scott, knowing you, that stuff has been carefully selected and works well. I've been in that stuff hunting but have no desire to do it again. I have some Mickey Mouse Boots for my feet and nothing is better. How do you move around in all of that?

I don't like the Under Armor as much as I do DaMart. But, I'm always on the lookout for something better.

Believe it or not, I find myself doing fine even in negative temps - it's the wind on exposed skin that can do some damage in a hurry and that I loathe.

Another bonus of temps 20 and below....most a-holes stay home/indoors - so one has a place on the planet largely to oneself. No loud motorcyles, no screaming kids in the neighborhood, no incessantly barking dogs, no subwoofers booming in a teenager car. It's an overlooked benefit in my book...the silence.

I fear the end is nigh, however - we have 50s scheduled all next week. Buh bye ice fishing and solace.

I very much agree with this. The other day it was zero degrees, but no wind. Loved it. Brisk, but not stinging. I think it's one of my favorite weather patterns.

For me, I use a combination of Under Armor 4.0 Baselayer and Ice Armor when I'm ice fishing. Been in 27 below and have yet to consider myself "cold".

Dave moving around isn't all that hard. You don't have the full 100% range of motion you do in shorts and flip flops, but plenty enough to do what you have to do.

I ve been trying to post a couple of pics from Friday when I got out to the farm but having some IPHONE problems. Time to go Android I think. This was all ice on all of the ponds. I've seen a little in past years but not like this.

FIH, I hope you got your boots handy! It was on the weather tonight that Dallas and points East are going to get a minimum of 2" of snow. NE suburbs of Atlanta, GA could see a FOOT of snow in the higher elevations!!! 4" is what they said Atlanta will see. 12" for Washington DC. CJ, I hope you have chains for your cruiser!

4 inches of snow in Atlanta Scott? It will be bumper cars again! Or this time everyone will stay home. 4 inches doesn't even call school off up here.

Did you see Chicago has had 21 days below zero this winter and set to be 22 days tonight? The record is 25 days.

Just saw on the local news that one of my "kids" got hit by a car while he was working a wreck on an icy overpass last night and died. He left a wife and 3 children. I never, ever miss my past life.

Please be careful on the roads.

Very sorry to hear that Al. Did you know the young man personally? Such tragic news.

No snow or ice in the forecast here for today, but it's 10 below right now.

Al, my condolences to you and prayers for his family.

Thermometer just hit -16.1°F here. It was -14.7°F when I got up. I'll be headed out the door in a short bit to collect some long range cold weather shooting data. No time like the present to find out what it does!

Yep! And they said the NE suburbs of Atlanta that are higher up in elevation could see 12". Was that record in Chicago set in the mid '80's? I remember a winter like that. Or was it around the time of the '78 blizzard?

Tony, the last 10 years I worked I drove a Battalion Chief and he was in our district. I saw him every shift, and helped him pick out his bass boat.

As CJB and other public safety guys can attest to, drivers get hypnotized at wreck scenes, and often drive straight into the flashing lights. What pisses me off about this is that a lot of people drive to fast on the ice, follow to close to other cars on the ice, and hit the brakes to much on the ice.

It's hard for civilians to understand, but if a building collapses on a fireman, or a flash over occurs, then that's just a risk we took. This was needless.

Nope 143 years ago in 1871.

And I was wrong;today made 24 days below zero.

http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/

I saw that last night on the news Al. So sorry. People around here just don't know what to do when it gets icy.

Al, the "hit a worker get X dollar fine and X time in jail" in Illinois came about because a good friend was flagging at a construction site and was punted by a drunk driver. He survived, but is missing his spleen, half his liver, part of a kidney (I think) and has multiple pins in his one lower leg/ankle. They are much more careful now when working, and have a guy watching oncoming traffic while the other guys work.

I saw a video from down there where a guy passed someone on glaze ice and then went out of control. You can't fix stupid!

I've had people pass me in on ice up here (didn't have a choice -- had to show up to work or get fired) thinking their four wheel drive would save them. Duuuuuh!

I called off a lunch with a friend today. Right now the roads aren't at all bad. However, freezing rain and sleet are due about 10 AM. With thousands of drivers in the metroplex, you know there are going to be wrecks. I don't want to be out in a traffic jam like that.

Here, we get a taste of what you guys further south experience as far as inexperienced drivers whenever we get that first snow/ice. People tend to forget how to drive on it over the summer/spring. I can't imagine how horrible it is when you have thousands of people driving on it for the first time ever.

Smart move Dave!

Sorry AL - that's stupid, senseless, and tragic. Sending you positive vibes.

My brother was driving from San Antonio to north of Dallas on Monday evening and hit ice and slammed into a guard rail. His exact quote was "crossing the last bridge and was 180 degrees before I knew it."

Uh, it was 82 and flip flop weather yesterday. The birds were singing and the CNBG were actively feeding. It's thunder-snowing here right now and 22 degrees. Supposed to hit 12 degrees tonight.

I'm officially ready for spring.

Welcome to much better temps and conditions than our pain!

Where is that Nuclear Meltdown when ya need one?

Al are they gonna laugh at me when I try
to place an order for a pizza delivery?

Heck no, they love a challenge.

Mark we went to First Monday yesterday, and it was packed. All the venders were leaving last night. They knew this was hitting, and they were afraid they couldn't get their wares out.

You were right Al...piping hot pizza ordered/delivered within 35 mins!

Love me some First Monday....gosh you picked a perfect day

fresh squeezed cherry limeades, corny dogs, funnel cakes, roasted corn!

oh and I almost forgot...lots of purdi country girls!

Yesterday, we were at the farm fishing and feeding the CNBG when we saw a really big bass munch down on one of the CNBG, today, I am out teaching my son to drive in the ice snow, and sleet. What a weekend!!

We only got a couple of inches of snow from the storm. Glad to share the wealth! We're only supposed to get to the middle teens for a high most of the week. Down around zero or below for lows....

They said we have had a snowstorm on 12 of the last 14 weekends. Thinking about it, the first snow came around 11-25 and we haven't seen bare ground since then. Our season total is over 100" so far, and normal is in the mid 60's.

It may currently be zero degrees with a -17 below wind-chill and calling for 20-30 below wind-chills tonight, but it still can't take away from a beautiful sub-zero, polar vortex sunset .


And I hope for those of you to the North and East, getting it much worse than us, that your 10-day forecast looks as good as ours!

*edit* Sorry Esshup, my post got in late! I guess your 10-day forecast isn't looking so good . We've gotten the cold but missed on the snow. There's cracks in the ground all over the place out here!

Nope, no spring in the 10day for us. Only one day of "normal" highs forecast:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=zmw:14469.1.99999

There's that bare ground again in Lovinlivin's photo. I forgot what that's like!

I had bare ground nearly all week, until this morning. Now about 1.5".

At the risk of being besmirched, here is the latest picture from the big pond as of yesterday. We are just one foot from full pool.



It was windy until just before sunset. Then the fish really feed!! I guess I should not talk about the sunburn issues either.....

^^^^ Not only is there no white on the ground, there's what looks to be a greenish color on the ground too! I haven't seen that in at least 5 months, and it'll probably be 6 months!

We're getting a dusting of sleet and snow...just enough so that the roads get a little messy and everyone loses their minds.

It is nowhere near what we need, precip-wise.

The worst part here is the wind, and it was pretty fierce today. Supposed to get down to around 12 degrees tonight. All of my students this go-around are all from the Northeast, and all of them say they'd rather have the weather back home.

Brian, I'd love to see that kind of water out here!

Esshup, if you're referring to my pic, there's no green to be found, it's just a dark photo.

The green can't get here soon enough!

Sorry you guys up north are about to get more snow, and Flooding is predicted. The weather here in Texas is fabulous. It is a great day to do some solar experiments!! And the results are better than I expected!!