A polar vortex...

@shavixmir said
Or a cold spell?

Seriously? -17 degrees is nothing but a bit of cold.

Polar vortex my arse.

It was 38- below Fahrenheit last night where I live with 60 below Fahrenheit wind chill. They use to call it an "Alberta Clipper;" now it seems the new name is polar vortex. It really is nothing new where I live; however, it is F cold.

@sh76 said
Oh, and by the way, Polar Vortex just the slick name some suit at weather.com or something thought up to describe a low pressure system that comes southward into the middle region of North America from the Arctic during the winter. It's a normal phenomenon that happens at least once in most years, though some are obviously worse than others.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/what-is-a-polar-vortex/21793077

@kingdavid403 said
It was 38- below Fahrenheit last night where I live with 60 below Fahrenheit wind chill. They use to call it an "Alberta Clipper;" now it seems the new name is polar vortex. It really is nothing new where I live; however, it is F cold.

An Alberta Clipper is a fast moving system that usually brings small to moderate amounts of snow to the north-central and north-east US. It is not associated with overly freezing weather and almost exclusively used to denote a precipitation system.

A polar vortex, by contrast, brings much colder air and has no association with precipitation. On the contrary, polar vortex systems are usually dry. The coldest days of this system brought no snow. The snowstorm that clobbered the Plains and Northeast was done before the coldest temps moved in. At temps like -30 degrees, snow is very rare.

(yes, I read weather.com for fun)

@sh76 said
(yes, I read weather.com for fun)

Um..............................yea.

You need to get a hobby Sh.

@shavixmir said
Don’t be an arse.

Trying to joke around you people is like peeing yourself in a dark suit. Sure, it gives you a warm feeling but no one seems to notice.

@sh76 said
An Alberta Clipper is a fast moving system that usually brings small to moderate amounts of snow to the north-central and north-east US. It is not associated with overly freezing weather and almost exclusively used to denote a precipitation system.

A polar vortex, by contrast, brings much colder air and has no association with precipitation. On the contrary, polar vortex syst ...[text shortened]... t temps moved in. At temps like -30 degrees, snow is very rare.

(yes, I read weather.com for fun)

Al·ber·ta Clip·perDictionary result for Alberta clipper
nounMETEOROLOGY
"a fast-moving winter weather system originating in the lee of the Canadian Rockies that typically brings snow, high winds, and cold temperatures across the northern US." That's exactly what we got where I currently live.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

There is another conversion algorithm hidden in a clue provided by Suzanne: “The scales agree at -40.”

@kingdavid403 said
Al·ber·ta Clip·perDictionary result for Alberta clipper
nounMETEOROLOGY
"a fast-moving winter weather system originating in the lee of the Canadian Rockies that typically brings snow, high winds, and cold temperatures across the northern US." That's exactly what we got where I currently live.

A standard Clipper wouldn't explain the extreme low temperatures you got earlier in the week. Clippers are routine. You got once-in-a-generation cold; the likes of which could only happen due to an influx of polar air.