[ad_1]
"Keep warm". The hi-hats in Chicago – something like "keep warm" – was adopted this week in the face of the imminent biggest cold snap in the last 34 years.
The freezing cold is caused by a phenomenon called a polar vortex, the low-pressure cyclones that formed at the North Pole spread to the south, reaching Canada and parts of the United States
Wednesday, the polar vortex has submitted the third largest city in the United States at -29 ° C, with a thermal sensation of -44 ° C. And I who had until now experienced a winter considered "light" compared to local standards, I discovered why the city was formerly called "Chiberia".
This is understandable. With the arrival of the polar vortex, (0 ° C), Antarctica (-21 ° C), Alaska (-24 ° C) or even Mars, where the maximum temperature of this fourth was – 7 ° C.
The city rose unrecognizable empty schools and universities have suspended the courses. It was necessary to burn down the trains and the subways so that they thawed and the cars could pbad. And on the Chicago River floated on the ice. Thousands of flights have been canceled. Museums and shops have closed. And the post office has disrupted activities to protect employees from the frozen streets.
Few people have ventured onto this ice, where a bereaved person can have frozen body parts in five minutes. And extensive or inadequate exposure to the glacial river can be fatal. It is recommended to wear ski clothing. It's a matter of survival.
Even without them, I decided to take a test. I wore the same clothes that allowed me to move about the streets, without haste or despair, even at -15 ° C: two pants, a thermal sweater, a wool sweater and a wool sweater, a long coat, a scarf , thermal gloves, thermal socks, snow boots and a Russian fur cap that I inherited from my grandmother.
At the door of the building, neighbors play a typical game of polar days: a glbad of hot water thrown into the icy air instantly turns into a cloud of snow. It's beautiful to see, but it causes a nervous laugh.
I took my courage with both hands and went out on the street. It's not so cold, I thought. But it took me two minutes for my hands (even with gloves) and my knees (even with two pants) to be numb. The eyes and cheekbones, the only parts of my face discovered, seemed to burn. The mobile phone is erased – lithium batteries do not withstand extreme negative temperatures.
I turn around and resign myself to the fact that the next 40 hours will be from the door. At home, where it is hot and dry, double-glazed windows do not block the polar vortex, which penetrates through invisible cracks forming a thin layer of ice crystals at a standstill.
Source link
