Hello friends, long time lurker but now that my account got approved, I can post what's been most on my mind since placing my reservation. I searched for existing cold weather/northern climate data and there isn't much, so I figured I would start a thread to compile it for folks in a similar situation to me. In case you haven't already guessed, I am Canadian so I will be using the Celsius scale but I'll convert to Fahrenheit for ease of reading.
In the first post, let's define what cold is. As an Edmontonian, I get a chuckle out of truck review channels talking about cold weather testing and see them driving around 0 °C (32 °F) like it's a big deal. That's grilling weather in January for us here in Alberta. Here's some ranges for context without wind chill factors.
a) 0 °C (32 °F) to -10 °C (14 °F): I consider this to be a non-issue but for many others, this could constitute extreme lows in your area. Many areas across North America should frequently hit these temperatures so I'm confident the vehicles will be engineered to operate well enough here.
b) -10 °C (14 °F) to -20 °C (-4 °F): This is nuisance winter weather, and the bulk of our winter averages through the core winter months. It's where things can sometimes stop working correctly. ICE batteries should probably be put on a trickle charger if not started for extended periods of time. Engines should be warmed up prior to driving. Typically don't have issues starting without a block heater plugged in unless the battery is already weak. If you live in an area where you don't know what a block heater is, consider yourself blessed.
c) -20 °C (-4 °F) to -30 °C (-22 °F): Moderate cold snap daytime highs, common nighttime lows. Not uncommon to get days to weeks of this range. In 2019, we went through 26 days where the daytime high never cracked -20 °C (-4 °F), but that type of weather pattern is rare. Things continue to stop working. Winter rated washer fluid will crystalize on windshields if not pre-heated sufficiently. In my Subaru WRX, I notice my transmission fluid is stiff and my clutch is noticeably harder to depress until warmed up. Many ICE vehicles will not start if stored outside for multiple days without a plugged in block heater.
d) -30 °C (-22 °F) to -40 °C (-40 °F): Severe cold snap. We typically get one or two stretches of this in a year. Depending on how close your commute is, your car might not be warm when you get to work (people tape cardboard over their grills to help this). If your ICE isn't plugged in or have a huge cold crank amp battery, probably not starting. There's ice (not ICE, but water ice) on the INSIDE of windows and doorknobs in our homes. Vehicles break, period. You know not to roll down your window fully because it might freeze that way and not roll up. Depending on how used you are to it, it may hurt to breathe.
e) Colder than -40 °C (-40 °F): Extreme cold snap. Rare, can sometimes get a couple days a year for nighttime lows. I don't expect Scouts to operate well here, because, well, no vehicle operates well here. When it's this cold, we just expect people to not show up for work because stuff stops working. When outside, the condensation from your breath can freeze your eyelashes together. You develop moustache icicles. You wonder why you don't live somewhere nicer. It's probably what it's like to be in a severe heat wave in the southern states, where one simply can't function outside.
I will now create some dummy posts to edit later, each categorised based on some key concepts.
In the first post, let's define what cold is. As an Edmontonian, I get a chuckle out of truck review channels talking about cold weather testing and see them driving around 0 °C (32 °F) like it's a big deal. That's grilling weather in January for us here in Alberta. Here's some ranges for context without wind chill factors.
a) 0 °C (32 °F) to -10 °C (14 °F): I consider this to be a non-issue but for many others, this could constitute extreme lows in your area. Many areas across North America should frequently hit these temperatures so I'm confident the vehicles will be engineered to operate well enough here.
b) -10 °C (14 °F) to -20 °C (-4 °F): This is nuisance winter weather, and the bulk of our winter averages through the core winter months. It's where things can sometimes stop working correctly. ICE batteries should probably be put on a trickle charger if not started for extended periods of time. Engines should be warmed up prior to driving. Typically don't have issues starting without a block heater plugged in unless the battery is already weak. If you live in an area where you don't know what a block heater is, consider yourself blessed.
c) -20 °C (-4 °F) to -30 °C (-22 °F): Moderate cold snap daytime highs, common nighttime lows. Not uncommon to get days to weeks of this range. In 2019, we went through 26 days where the daytime high never cracked -20 °C (-4 °F), but that type of weather pattern is rare. Things continue to stop working. Winter rated washer fluid will crystalize on windshields if not pre-heated sufficiently. In my Subaru WRX, I notice my transmission fluid is stiff and my clutch is noticeably harder to depress until warmed up. Many ICE vehicles will not start if stored outside for multiple days without a plugged in block heater.
d) -30 °C (-22 °F) to -40 °C (-40 °F): Severe cold snap. We typically get one or two stretches of this in a year. Depending on how close your commute is, your car might not be warm when you get to work (people tape cardboard over their grills to help this). If your ICE isn't plugged in or have a huge cold crank amp battery, probably not starting. There's ice (not ICE, but water ice) on the INSIDE of windows and doorknobs in our homes. Vehicles break, period. You know not to roll down your window fully because it might freeze that way and not roll up. Depending on how used you are to it, it may hurt to breathe.
e) Colder than -40 °C (-40 °F): Extreme cold snap. Rare, can sometimes get a couple days a year for nighttime lows. I don't expect Scouts to operate well here, because, well, no vehicle operates well here. When it's this cold, we just expect people to not show up for work because stuff stops working. When outside, the condensation from your breath can freeze your eyelashes together. You develop moustache icicles. You wonder why you don't live somewhere nicer. It's probably what it's like to be in a severe heat wave in the southern states, where one simply can't function outside.
I will now create some dummy posts to edit later, each categorised based on some key concepts.
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