When is it too cold to be outside?

Frosty the Snow Plow

For the past few months, I've taken up nightly long walks outside (1.5-2 hours in length). I won't get too much into it, but I feel excellent during and after this walk. It's weirdly a big highlight of my day.

But it's starting to get fucking cold.

I'm good about bundling up real well. Bought myself a great winter hat a while back and I have an awesome puffy winter jacket thing that does a wonderful job of keeping me toasty even in the single digits. But when you get down to it, when should I just frankly not be outside? I've been getting "are you fucking crazy" looks and comments for being out in the weather I've been out in and just want to make sure I'm not compromising myself or anything.

Al_wat

Where do you live?

Anyways, as long as you wear enough clothing I don`t see why you couldn`t go as low as -30 C (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) .

I mean don`t go out in a hardcore blizzard or anything.

Frosty the Snow Plow

Just the midwest, Indiana. The weather runs hot and cold, but not remarkably so. I don't go out in precipitation or anything.

Al_wat

is the climate really dry there?

If its a dry cold its even easier to deal with.

Frosty the Snow Plow

Too dry.

Yay!

Improvolone

Your body has some pretty great built in ways for telling you that its too cold.

Frosty the Snow Plow

That's how I felt. People questioning my sanity for not feeling it's too cold is what's got me doubting.

Al_wat

I knew instantly when I read your first post that this wasn't happening in Canada.

BlazeFire

There are things to note like not leaving your skin exposed for too longer when it gets really cold. Really though, if you are uncomfortable do not go out.

I ride a bicycle to university right now. Today was -20 C and there is snow everywhere. You get used to the crazy looks.

Edit: Check out this page for some frostbite time charts if you are worried about it. http://www.traveldoctoronline.net/cold/frost.htm

Ellthiteren

If we're talking about the actual risk of being outside in cold temperatures, it really depends on how well you're dressed and how long you could potentially get stuck outside if something went wrong. If you're on a well traveled road or sidewalk, are well dressed, have a light, have told someone where you're going, and are confident in your ability to not get yourself knocked out, there's about zero risk. Frostbite is easily avoided if you check for it, cover up well, and get inside before it gets bad. Hypothermia shouldn't be an issue if you're dressed well and keep moving - it's when you get sweaty and/or stop moving that you'll have issues.

At a certain point, and it varies a lot person to person, there will be concerns about frostbite and especially hypothermia regardless of how prepared you are. Somewhere around -20 or -30 degrees F (without windchill) is when I start being really really careful - I'll still consider go skiing or hiking, but I'll make very sure I don't get stuck. After that, heck no, I'll find something else to do. If you're less used to the cold, maybe -10 or so? It's the approximate temp that they cancel nordic skiing races.

Things to avoid for sure are low visibility and/or high winds combined with really low temperatures - frostbite can happen FAST, and getting lost is never good.

EskimoDave

Once it's starts getting to less than -40ºC you gotta cover your mouth to try to heat the air up a little or you'll freeze your lungs. Once you get to the mid-50s just stay inside.

- Retired Eskimo.

Cycophant

Yeah all the advice in here is pretty solid. Until it gets down to -40 or -50, it isn't so bad. Your biggest concern should be the likelihood of getting stuck outside (no midnight fog walks).

Back in my military days, we'd regularly go for morning runs in -30 or so. Most of the time we did it with nothing more than sweats and a toque; you warm up from physical exertion pretty quickly. Which brings up another point however; unless you're attempting solid exercise and you can be guaranteed you won't get stuck outside, avoid sweating. Sweating can drop your internal temperatures stupidly fast if you're not careful.

Bartholamue

When in doubt, wear more layers. When it gets colder than -20C here, I wear two pairs of pants, two jackets, and three pairs of gloves.

Daemonion

OP, I'm the same way.

Winter is my favorite time of year - I find the cool, crisp air to be invigorating at any time of day or night.

As long as I have a warm pair of boots (I wear moose-hide mukluks when it gets cold), a good gap and a good pair of gloves, I do just fine.

THEPAIN73

Frosty the Snow Plow wrote: »

Just the midwest, Indiana. The weather runs hot and cold, but not remarkably so. I don't go out in precipitation or anything.

It is REALLY cold here in Indy.

Run if you must though.

OnTheLastCastle

Since you live in America, it's probably not a Jack London "To Build a Fire" type of journey so... you're fine. Just wear hat, gloves, and scarf. Use the scarf to cover your face if it gets very cold. If the weather person says there's a cold advisory (it happens), shorten your walk. I walked 3/4 miles to work every day through some cold advisories. It's very cold but not like you're just going to drop dead, especially while you're moving.

Moisturize your dry skin back at home base.

People have lived and worked in cold temperatures for a long time.

To see what not to do, read To Build a Fire. It's very short.

Forar

I think the coldest we've had it here in the past decade is around -30C with the windchill, and let me tell you something, that is fucking cold. I want to say -35C, but that might just be a clouded memory/slight exaggeration.

In terms of human survival, it may just be a myth but from what I've read/heard, it's the wind chill you need to watch out for. Our bodies are designed to be able to survive some remarkably cold temperatures (at least in the short term), but part of that is based on our body heat and the hairs on our body retaining a sort of cloak of warm air around us. The slightest wind fucks this all up, and I believe can even (in some circumstances) lead to hypothermia even above freezing.

OnTheLastCastle

Windchill is dangerous for uncovered skin. Bundle up. Problem solved.

bowen

My general rule of thumb is if my snot turns to ice it's too cold.

Modern Man

Frosty the Snow Plow wrote: »

That's how I felt. People questioning my sanity for not feeling it's too cold is what's got me doubting.

It's been my experience that people who go for long walks tend to be looked at weirdly in the more car-centric parts of the country. I remember that in the suburbs of Michigan, no one really walked anywhere.

I really doubt you're in any real danger if you go out for a long walk in chilly weather. Just use common sense.

Phisti

The coldest recorded temperature in a permanently inhabited place is -71 Celcius (Oymyakon USSR) and the coldest ever is like -89 Celcius (Vostok Antarctica).

As mentioned, unless you are dipping below -30 air temperature and -35 to -40 windchill you're pretty good outside as long as you are well clad. Exposed skin freezes really quickly at these temperatures so you need to cover your face / ears even if you are out for just a walk.

Every year I see people with blackened noses and ears from frostbite around town when the temperature drops into this range. Be careful and you'll be fine.

The Jack London test for coldness is: when your spit rolls because it's frozen as it hits the ground, it's cold (that's about -45C air temperature).

Sarcastro

At the -20/-40C range, I find good boots more warming than just about anything. Next up, fuzzy hats. Especially if your going to be out for more than an hour.

Single digits is still shorts weather here. I don't think you'll run into any problems.

Kistra

One other thing you might consider is altering your routes so that you can easily cut your walks short if you are getting really cold. As other people have mentioned, humidity and wind make a huge difference so even if one day you are fine and the temperature is the same the next day you might not be comfortable walking for the same length of time.

Diorinix

As an oilpatch worker for the past decade I've had a lot of experience working in extreme weather. Company safety policies over the past 5 years have made a lot of improvements towards safe work practices in that sub -30 C weather, work continues only at the discretion of the supervisor. At sub -35 many companies have policies that put a "stop work" effect in place.

I personally think that's a pretty good guideline for personal life too. At -20 to -30 if you're bundled up properly and doing something active (rigorous walking, chopping firewood, toboganning, etc), you'll find your own body heat being generated will counteract the heat loss to the ambient temperature. Going outdoors much lower than that you'll either have to be working extremely hard or bundled up for arctic conditions.

I would advise against anyone being exposed to -40 or lower for any length of time longer than what it would take to scramble out to your vehicle and start it up. Any windchill at -40 can begin to cause frostbite on exposed skin in mere minutes.

JRosey

http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/ski/tools/windchill/

Awesome graph.

Ruckus

Al_wat wrote: »

I knew instantly when I read your first post that this wasn't happening in Canada.

I do this in Canada.

The short answer is: Any temperature is managable as long as you can dress for it.

I typically wear a long sleeve tee, hoodie, my winter jacket w/hood, long john underwear, sweatpants, insulated pants, thinsulate balaclava, and a wool toque.

Your main concerns are gonna be visibility, both other people's and your own. Your own visibility will be somewhat impeded by the balaclava and hoods, so you really have to swivel your upper body to maintain situational awareness.

On the other aspect, if you're walking at night, a reflective vest may be something you want to consider to increase your visibility others.

Al_wat

I was more commenting on people being all "OMFG YOU ARE CRAZY!" in response to him taking walks in the cold.

Pel

I've been skiing in temperatures down to about -15, -30 with windchill, and I was comfortable enough that I was more than a bit disappointed when they decided to shut down the lifts. It's cold, but as long as you stay active and have a way to cover every inch of your body if necessary, you should be good. Granted, when skiing, I had the full get up and go, including goggles and a facemask. The tiny triangle of skin between my goggles and mask was pretty red but not frostbitten. I wouldn't leave the house without the option to cover every square inch of your body, though, and definitely take special care with your extremities. The odds of freezing to death in a populated area in the age of cell phones are slim to none, but it wouldn't take long to lose some fingers or toes if you got into a fix of some sort. Take some sensible precautions: a light, your cell, and if you live with anyone ell them you're leaving and how long you'll be.

I wouldn't listen to anyone who thinks you're crazy, unless they have some knowledge about cold weather or survival that you don't. Odds are good you know much more about being out in the cold than they do.

FyreWulff

As long as you are bundled up it's fine. Just make sure to only go out when visibility is high and do not attempt to go over snow drifts.

Gafoto

If you wear this:

and you feel cold outside it is too cold. Tell the passersby to just deal with it.

FyreWulff

Also if you enjoy walking, you might want to get some hunting coveralls. They're made for long periods of mobility, and the camo pattern doesn't make you stick out like a sore thumb like that suit there :P

99% of the time you can also wear your normal clothes under them with no problems, so you don't have to spend a half hour getting ready to go outside.

edit: something like this with neck protection is good.

http://www.cabelas.com/mens-cold-weather-camo-bib-coveralls-walls-legend-insulated-coveralls-regular.shtml?type=product&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=726089&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=DF2E8CCA-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA

streever

If you are in a car-centric place, your biggest danger may be cars if there are not sidewalks. If you have no sidewalks remember:
walk against traffic
wear something reflective

Rhan9

I don't know what the weather is like at the OP's home area, but I can tell you that reasonable lengths of time(I dunno, two hours or less?) are very manageable in temperatures down to -30 Celsius. At least I've spent an hour and a half waiting for a bus in such weather with normal winter gear(warm boots, woolen socks, long johns, t-shirt, sweater, wool coat, hat and gloves). I see no reason to expect walking in such conditions to be any less possible, since on the move you're warmer than standing still anyhow.

Really, you can find the best gear to wear by experimenting with shorter walks if it gets too cold, adjust and try again. Just pay attention that your extremities like fingers and toes are kept fairly warm, and if they start feeling too cold you should head back even if you're otherwise fine, since frostbite can be very nasty.

It's only too cold when you personally no longer enjoy being outside, and/or it's actually dangerous due to inadequate clothing.