It seems to have stopped now. It is around 11F here this morning.

I have yet to go outside to take a look. Nowadays, it takes twice as long to get ready to go out than the trip outside does. Plus, thanks to age or whatever is going on, I now tend to get heated while trying to put the crap on, so I am already wet by the time I get to go out.

in the U.P. (Michigan's upper peninsula) with a pair of cross country ski's and a snowmobile. I'd be enjoying myself in the winter wonderland. Everyone else can keep the sun belt. Give me a good snowstorm.

BTW. I love the pic in your post! That's the statue of Mary Tyler Moore in the background in her famous hat tossing pose.

in the immediate area. Last time we had a heavy snowfall with high winds my power went out for a day and it got damn cold, so that was a worry. There were a lot of accidents yesterday; the roads are still a mess so I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere today. Might bundle up later and go for a walk now that the wind has dropped. I have cross-country skis, used to do a lot of that, but I'm afraid my old knees would complain too much these days.

Wish we still had our blue eyed husky friend (she came alive once the temperature dipped to minus 20).

When I went to bed last night, it was 77 inside, which is where our thermostat is set to run the AC at night. We've had several days of weather in the 70's -- pretty unusual for the Solstice, especially surprising following a cold front where it got down to 15 at night. I got up in the middle of the night (after 2:30) and switched the AC to heat -- it had finally dropped to 75 -- then woke up in the morning to cold indoors, near-freezing outdoors.

Sometime late yesterday evening, I sat down to check the weather online, expecting more warm weather. A Wind Advisory was in effect -- first I'd known about it. At just that minute, I heard a tremendous wind outside. Weather radar showed a very sharp, tight front passing through our area a right that minute. Really a weird coincidence. Then I saw sub-freezing temps predicted for last night, not just Mon. night, as had been predicted earlier. Shows you can't ignore the weather for long. Imagine not knowing the forecast, and leaving the thermostat on AC all night ! When our heat broke down a couple of weeks ago (during a really unusually cold front) it dropped below 60 indoors at night. Last night, we had no idea we'd need blankets at all, except for that forecast.

(All temps in degrees Fahrenheit. )

We've gone from 70 degrees yesterday, to 22 today in southern KY.

First of all, I stipulate and agree here that I'm a weeny compared to all of those who have posted prior to my post here. You guys are dealing with some bad stuff, and I probably shouldn't even be complaining. But I need to get this off my chest.

We are seeing winds gusting up to 60 mph and it's tearing things up. The actual temperature is around 47, but the real feel is in the 20's because of the wind.

I dare anyone to tell me that we are not witnessing climate change. I'm so sick of the bastards who keep trying to deny science. I'm in my 60's and I have NEVER seen winds like what I've seen the last several months. It was 80 here yesterday afternoon. The weather people around here are an absolute joke. It's probably not their fault. They don't have the tools any more to accurately predict things. But you cannot even remotely rely on what they put out. The wind is supposed to die down at around noon, but then again, it was predicted to start yesterday at 5:00 p.m., and we didn't see anything until about 9:00 p.m. So, does that mean that it will be four hours later than predicted for the wind to lessen? It makes a big difference when you are dealing with cold and dark.

I have a cat sanctuary and keeping things in line with these vast temperature changes has been a challenge. I lost it this morning and just sat down and bawled my eyes out. Absolute fear and disgust. I have tarps up on some areas and I'm just sitting here watching it all be destroyed - knowing that I'll have to redo it, and it'll probably be ruined again.

Still, I know that I'm luckier than a lot of others.

than steady weather even when it's bad. Around here we can get stretches of below-zero weather that can go for a week or more and it's a PITA but you adjust, dress for it and carry on. It's when it changes abruptly that it can get scary, even dangerous. High winds are probably the worst, it causes power outages, poor visibility, all kinds of damage. Hope your cats are OK; cats are tough and they'll know how to shelter. I'm afraid climate change will cause more and more of these extreme and sudden weather events everywhere.

I carry a great deal of anger because if we'd just have elected Al Gore in 2000, we might have had a chance dealing with climate change. Instead, our society had to be ignorant and we are reaping the consequences. I live in red MAGA country and the comments I hear would make you believe the speakers have no brain cells whatsoever. I harbor resentment because I really don't want to suffer and die just because of stupid people.

The cats are okay. They have three basic areas to which they can all move about freely. One is a heated/cooled building. One is a large covered "Catio", and the third is a large area that is enclosed but is basically a massive chain link kennel area with a top on it. Some of them are stubborn and simply won't go inside the building. So I have the other areas winterized as best I can. Houses with straw and electric blankets where there is cover and electricity. But, they are my babies and I worry about them. As you said - the sudden weather changes are hard on everything - including them. I'm grateful we haven't had rain with this. Rain creates another challenge all in and of itself.

I hope you are staying warm and cozy, and again, I appreciate the perspective.