Traveling + Traveling Cold + Traveling "Consumer Smart"

ROAD TRIP

On MON 1/15, I will be leaving for Rochester, MN. Beginning at 7:00a, on TUE 1/16, I will be participating in the Executive Wellness Program:  tests, consultations, & procedures. This program is best described as a general health screening & examinations "on steroids. That would mean 21 of the preceding types of encounters thru THU 1/18 afternoon. [Been there, done this once before.] I get to spend the weekend at Nathan (son), Laura (daughter-in-law), & Calvin's (#2 grandson) in Eagan, MN, before returning for my last consultation on MON 1/22. Then it's off to Jackson, MN, where I will spend MON night before, hopefully, visiting my Uncle Royce & Cousin Dan in Lakefield on TUE before returning home.

That was a relatively long preface to the following item of great interest. As I was researching some topics on-line while working at Orphan Grain Train on FRI 1/12, I saw a link to the "50 Coldest Cities," courtesy of msn.com "weather." Naturally, I had to check it out. 

Here are some results that once again are of great interest. CAVEAT:  There of great interest to me, & it's my blog.

• #49. Chicago. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 16.5. The lowest temp on record is -27. Avg annual snowfall is 39.1". COMMENT:  Lois & I lived in Chicago from 1975-1980. After standing at the bus stop on Central Ave. at the top of the viaduct across Grand Ave., suffering bone-chilling, city-record low temperatures during the winter months, I am shocked!! that Chicago couldn't do better than this. Very disappointing. :(
• #41. Lincoln, NE. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 14.5. The lowest temp on record is -33. Avg annual snowfall is 26.9". COMMENT:  Lois & I lived in Lincoln from 1980-1993. Our daughter Sarah & her family live there now.
• #39. Grand Island, NE. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 14.4. The lowest temp on record is -28. Avg annual snowfall is 29.2".  2nd of 6 Nebraska cities that landed among the Top 50.
• #35. Omaha, NE. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 13.6. The lowest temp on record is -23. Avg annual snowfall is 29.1". COMMENT:  Last week one night when it was 51 degrees, public & private schools cancelled school for the next day, based on an ominous snowfall. The city go less than an inch of snow. I do NOT miss being the one to make the call for Lutheran High Northeast.
• #30. Scottsbluff, NE. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 17.5. The lowest temp on record is -46. Avg annual snowfall is 38.4". COMMENT:  Have you ever detoured off I-80 to see this natural & historical landmark? It's worth the detour. Just do go in the winter. 
• #29. Norfolk, NE. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 12.1. The lowest temp on record is -30. Avg annual snowfall is 29.8". COMMENT:  After living in Hawaii from 1993-97, we moved back to Norfolk in 1997. I came back in Jan. 1997, 6 months ahead of the rest of my family. Hawaii to Nebraska on Jan. 5? Duh Duh Duh.
• #23. North Platte, NE. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 11.1. The lowest temp on record is -34. Avg annual snowfall is 29.7". COMMENT:  The coldest Nebraska City listed in the Top 50. I'm guessing that most people wouldn't think that we have this many cities in the Top 50 Coldest States.
• #19. Sioux City, IA. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 10.2. The lowest temp on record is -26. Avg annual snowfall is 33.4". COMMENT:  We live about 1.5 hours southwest of Sioux City. When I was teaching English 9 at Luther North in Chicago one year, students were taking turns reading aloud from a short story in their lit book. One young man read up to the word "Sioux," hesitated only briefly before pronouncing it "Sucks," then continuing on. No one laughed. No one snickered. He wasn't trying to be vulgar or funny. City kids. Sheesh.
• #17. Waterloo, IA. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 9.5. The lowest temp on record is -34. Avg annual snowfall is 33.3". COMMENT:  This is the closest city to my brother Mark & sister-in-law Christy's domecile in Garrison, IA. If I was doing a Leckband Temp Challenge based on this list, they would probably win hands-down.
• #14. Rochester, MN. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 7.7. The lowest temp on record is -40. Avg annual snowfall is 44.8". COMMENT:  The forecast high temp avg for the 4 days I will be there this next week is forecast to be 9.75. The avg low temp for the 4 days is forecast to be 2.75. Fortunately, my hotel is just across the street from the Mayo Clinic, & it's connected by a pedestrian tunnel.
• #12. Minneapolis-St. Paul. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is 7.5. The lowest temp on record is -34. Avg annual snowfall is 49.4". COMMENT:  Nathan & Laura live in Eagan, which is a Twin Cities Suburb. Nathan & Laura are both long distance runners. [marathons, 10k's, 5k's; & Nathan, maybe Laura, too, run outside in the winter, & I think both were high g.p.a. achievers in school.
• Fairbanks, AK. The normal avg low temp in the coldest month is -16.9. The lowest temp on record is -66. Avg annual snowfall is 64.5". COMMENT:  I threw Fairbanks in just to show what it would take for your city to finish #1.
• CAVEAT:  For the sake of my relatives who live in FL, I decided NOT to go with a list of 50 Cities likely to be under water by 2050 because of global climate change.

Information You Won't Find Anywhere Else! *

From Omaha World Herald (12/30):  "Shopping: What to buy when during the year.

• January:  Bedding & Linens. [That reminds me . . . I'm missing a pillow case. I'll see if I have time to make a side trip to Mall of America next weekend & look for the 7 "Aces + Pillowcases" kiosks. Aces? They share space with Mystic Lake Casino.
• Fitness Equipment: "Retailers know you want to get in shape." [So I should get a stationary bicycle to set up next to the treadmill that is covered with an inch of dust in our basement.] *  * That's not entirely fair. Lois uses the treadmill when she comes home from school & is still short of her 10,000-step Fitbit goal.
• TV & Electronics:  "Just before the Super Bowl retailers normally discount their selections of HDTVs & other home-theater essentials." [We dropped cable & switched to Apple TV, Netflix, & CBS.com, so far. The Super Bowl usually holds little interest for me anyway, & my favorite son-in-law who lives just a half mile west of us has a big screen t.v.]

* Unless you subscribe to the Omaha World Herald or most likely other major metropolitan newspapers or Google this same topic.