 ... BABY! IT'S COLD... OUTSIDE? ... |
... BABY! IT'S COLD... OUTSIDE? ... |
January 3, 2009Arcticulates ®Focusing on Alaska's BeautyAuthor: K. Fields~ ~ Baby! It's Cold... Outside? ~ ~Baby it's cold outside! It has been over a week now of extremely low temperatures in the interior of Alaska. They have hovered between -45'F and -60'F degrees. But... on this post I have some pictures and information to show you, on what happens inside a nice warm house when it reaches the extreme temps outside. Like for instance: houses shift from the cold ground, preventing doors and cabinets from closing properly. You must keep all houseplants away from the doors that open to the outside, because the freezing cold air that blows in when the door is opened will kill the plant. Frozen Trees
Frost will form and climb up the insides of any wall that is an outside wallon a house. Having something pushed against that wall inside the house can prevent warm air from circulating and will cause it to freeze to the wall, like curtains, furniture, linens from beds, etc... etc... The door pictured below has a small air leak around it, as most doors do. So when the temps drop to -40'F and lower then the cold air coming in from outside starts forming frost that will climb up the door, it will just keep getting thicker and thicker till the door is frozen shut. Frost Gathering Around Door Inside
Any pieces of metal on the wall that is an outside wall or door will get frosted up. If left alone, thick frost will continue to grow until it is completely covered. The doors will also seem to shrink and will be harder to latch when closed.Some doors just refuse to latch at all until the temps climb back up to above freezing which is 32'F degrees... We usually have blankets or heavy towels laying on the floor in front of the doors to keep the icy drafts from coming in. Frost Covering Bolt Lock and Around Door Knob Inside the House
The walls and attics are super insulated to help prevent air leaks and to help keep the heat in the house and the cold out. There are places that no one thinks about until the frost buildup is noticed like where the electrical sockets, dryer vents, stove vents, wood stove pipes, etc... etc... The frost gets so thick around the doors on the outside from air leaks that when you open them lots of frosty flakes fall on you. Also when you open the doors huge clouds of steam blow in when the cold air hits the warm air. Frost Gathering on an Electrical Socket Inside the House
Extreme temps like these are very drying to everything including people's skin and hair. It is easy to get nosebleeds this time of the year because of the extreme dryness in the air. Fires start very easy, houses burn down quickly because everything is so dry they become like tinderboxes. Wiring becomes brittle and can break and cause electrical shorts that will cause fires. If the temps get too low inside the house, water pipes will freeze and burst causing flooding a lot of damage. We also have to make triple double sure that there is a working 100 watt light bulb burning in the well house, or the pump will freeze up, and take it from me... who has lived through that many times... it is no fun trying to unfreeze the water pump in -30 or colder weather. Frost Gathering on Circuit Box Inside the House
Temps this low will cause a steady build up of frost and ice on the windows especially around the edges. If the temps stay this low, the ice will keep on building if not removed and can pop a window right out of the frame from the thick build-up of ice. There have been winters like this one, with temps hovering in the -40's and -50's, where I have sat for hours with a hair dryer melting ice from windows in order to avoid this from happening. This is the first winter in a long time we have had a cold snap like this one. I think I have gotten spoiled by the mild winters we have had the past couple of years. Thick Ice Build-up on The Window Inside the House
This winter seems to be more like the winters I am use to here in Alaska. Makes me wonder how many newbies or cheechakos will be leaving now that they have been experiencing a real Alaskan Winter! Most of us long time Alaskans are doing just fine. We have experienced this before, so we know what to do, and we are now passing that information on to the people who don't. Jack Frost Decorated Window
All of my family and friends are fine and warm, enjoying wood stoves, fireplaces, and warm houses... We are waiting this freezing cold spell out, because we all know that it will end eventually and life will be back to it's usual hectic pace again.. Later... K Fields See Also: Snowy Days
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