Actual temperature at -30 this morning at 8:30 AM, the coldest ever recorded for Rockford, IL since they began keeping weather records in the 1800's. Fortunately I have not lost power, my furnace is keeping the house comfortable, and my garaged car starts up without a problem (haven't tried the other car that sits outside in the cold). I have a faucet running at a slow stream in the lower level of the house to help make sure the water lines do not freeze. I have found that a balaclava under the hood of my winter parka makes all the difference in the world, and with decent boots and gloves being outside for a short time is not a problem. Its a bit rougher on my little dog but she quickly does her business on the snow covered ground and runs back into the garage and I let her right back into the warm house. This is really some winter season here in the Midwest.
A few days ago, on the way to my daughter's home in the Quad Cities, my big SUV (a Dodge Durango) encountered a sudden covering of wind blown snow on the interstate and I slid right off the road into a deep snowbank in the highway median. Snow was up to the door handles and I could not move. Luckily a State Trooper came by within a few minutes and called a tow truck for me, so I was back on the road within an hour. Interesting that I had tried to call AAA, of which I have been a paying member for decades, and was told that the wait just to talk to someone to request roadside assistance would be 20 to 30 minutes and that all roadside assistance was delayed due to the "high volume of calls". I had to pay the local tow truck driver $150 to pull me out, and it was worth every penny to get out of that jam. And now AAA has said it will reimburse me for the cost of the local tow. Not a bit of damage to my vehicle, other than having the axles covered in snow and ice as well as the wheels full of snow which seemed to make the ride a big rougher. But all is well now.
Stay safe out there.
