Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I know that I haven't written about the weather yet this winter, as last winter was pretty bad and there were seemingly endless updates on snow. What can I say, that was a record setting winter here in Iowa. However, that was then and this is now.

So far this winter, we are ahead of the snow depths that we had in 2007-2008. With almost 20 inches more snow than this time last year, the real record breaker is the cold. Thursday's low of -26 broke the old record from 1888 of -25 and on Friday, we tied the record of -30 set the same year.

It is really hard for me to imagine how Dubuquers were able to handle those temps in 1888. I know that most did, but I can only imagine how hard it was. They didn't have Thinsulate(invented in 1978), fiberglass insulation (first used in 1930's), electric heaters and blankets (1920's). I know that people dressed in wool, fur and down clothing, but it still was a lot harder. Heck, I am willing to bet that most people stayed indoors as much as possible rather than taking a chance of catching pneumonia or getting frostbitten. However, even with all of the advancements of the modern era, it was still pretty hard to deal with.

Now that it is in the 20-30 degree range above zero, it feels like a heatwave