How cold was it in Alaska last week? Well, when 10-year-old Ben Dallin threw boiling water into the air, it never came back down. "It just froze into fog and made a really cool sound: ssshhh," says Ben.
It was 62°F below zero in his town of McGrath. Alaskans are used to frigid weather, but this year's record-breaking cold has them shivering. Temperatures dropped as low as -77°F. The wind-chill factor (how cold it feels when the wind blows, because our bodies lose heat) fell as low as 107° below zero!
This cold spell began January 26, when an icy air mass blew in from the Arctic Ocean. Meteorologists say the unusual weather could last until Valentine's Day.
Things Freeze And Fall To Pieces
What is it like to walk around in that kind of cold? "It's hard to talk because your lips kind of go numb," says 14-year-old Abbe Skinner, who also lives in McGrath.
Machines can "go numb" too. Planes can't always fly, because airline fuel thickens up in extreme cold. Propane and fuel oil get gunky too, so stoves and heaters don't work well.
People have heaters installed on their car engines and often bring car batteries inside for the night. In really cold places, people might leave their engines running day and night--but the cars sometimes catch fire! Tires freeze flat on the bottom. It takes a couple of miles of driving for them to get round again. The cold makes cars' fan belts snap and fall to the ground. Alaskans jokingly call them "snow snakes."
How Do Kids C-c-c-cope?
Kids stay warm with down coats, snow pants and "bunny boots"--big white boots with superwarm liners. Some wear fur hats and mittens.
Schools hardly ever close just because it's cold. And until the temperature hits 20° below zero, students are expected to go outside for recess!
Very cold weather turns the snow dry and powdery. Walking on it makes a weird squeaking noise, says Arianna Solie, 10, of McGrath: "It sounds like Styrofoam." That kind of snow won't stick together for snowballs or snowmen, so kids climb on frosty playground equipment, play king-of-the-hill and slide on sleds.
If it's really cold, though, the sled may not last very long. Matthew Petruska, 11, from the village of Beaver, says a plastic sled "broke right in two" as he slid down a slope in -40°F weather.
Other things break too. Plumbing pipes burst as water freezes inside them. Trees crack and fall over. Even metal can snap. Jeffrey Shelton, 10, of Denali Park tried to start a snowmobile, and the key broke off in his hand. But Jeffrey isn't afraid of the cold. "I just sort of respect it," he says.
Twins Alex and Vincent Taylor, 13, still had to do their chores when the temperature hit 60° below in Beaver. They haul water from a hole that they cut in the frozen Yukon River. They chop wood to heat their family's log cabin.
"We go outside no matter what," says Vincent. Sometimes the brothers build a fire and roast marshmallows and hot dogs while they cut wood.
Becky Campbell of Fairbanks thinks it's a good idea to go outside during even the coldest weather. "It's kind of nice to be outside," she says. "You get cabin fever being indoors."
It was 50° below zero in Fairbanks last week. But the severe weather doesn't bother the 12-year-old. "It's part of Alaska," Becky says. "I don't let it get in my way."
Dear Tfk,
What's up? Are you enjoying the weather? Well, here in Igiugig, Alaska, it's 42 below! Even if the temperature rose 70°, we'd still be freezing!
Only crazy people go outside. My zipper froze to my neck when I was out for seven minutes. Your hair freezes even though it's dry. You need warm clothes, or you can get frostbite in 30 seconds.
It's hard to go ice fishing because your hole freezes as soon as you chop it. The caribou wander around teasing us humans because it is too cold for us to go and hunt them!
The mail, which comes on a small plane, can't make it here. There's too much fog from the river, which is warmer than the air and constantly steaming. The lake makes cracking noises, like firecrackers.
People are grumpy because we are inside too much. The weather doesn't affect everybody, though. My teacher just got back from Hawaii. He wears shorts to school!
AlexAnna Salmon, 13
AlexAnna is the only 7th-grader in Igiugig (I-gee-uh-gig), which means "water down the throat."