Travel POLL: Extreme temperatures

[GilliC]

IHO the cold weather in the US last week...

- Coldest place that you've traveled?
- How cold was it?

- Hottest place that you've traveled?
- How hot was it?

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip?

[neonpink]

Feb 23, 2015 13:21:42 GMT -5 GilliC said:

IHO the cold weather in the US last week...

- Coldest place that you've traveled?
- How cold was it?

- Hottest place that you've traveled?
- How hot was it?

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip?

Berlin it was in the 5-14 degrees with snow. I'm not used to that.

Las Vegas over 110 degrees

I think where I live has the most change we can jump 30-40 degrees in a day. It get's annoying.

[Deleted]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? Chicago in January 
- How cold was it? -4F

- Hottest place that you've traveled? Vegas in July 
- How hot was it? 110F 

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip? Probably China to South Korea, from 50/low 60s to freezing and snow

[iammalcolmx]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? DC during Inauguration must always be the coldest day in DC
- How cold was it? As balls

- Hottest place that you've traveled? Phoenix in July( yeah I know it was stupid)
- How hot was it? 115

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip? My Rio trips in February.

[v]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? Chicago in March
- How cold was it? Maybe 20 degrees and super windy? I'm good at avoiding cold places in the winter -- this was for work

- Hottest place that you've traveled?  Las Vegas in July
- How hot was it?  105 or so

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip?  Coming home from Ecuador (87 degrees) to New York (20 degrees).

[mdgirl]

I've lived in Michigan, Chicago, and Cleveland. I don't travel to cold places if I can help it!

The hottest place I've been is Phoenix in July for a band trip in HS. They were experiencing a heat wave so I had to stand around outside playing a clarinet in 110 weather.

Our honeymoon was mid-May and we did Queenstown, NZ, which was in the 50s, Sydney, which was 60s and pouring rain, and Port Douglas, which was tropical.

[Wanderista]

The weather around here lately rivals the coldest weather I've experienced when traveling. Certainly in terms of prolonged cold weather this winter has been competitive.

The coldest I've experienced was -18 C in Zagreb, Croatia during December. I did go outside to experience it. It wasn't too bad though because the building was well-heated. The second closest I've experienced was -16 C in Minnesota in December. I was only there for an overnight layover. It wasn't too bad during the time that I was there. I was only outside to board an airport shuttle.

I think the hottest place I've been was the Sonoran desert in Arizona in July which was over 105 F. Egypt was probably similar. I don't actually know what the temperature was in the Sahara when I went off-roading. Both of these were technically hot but dry heat and so they were not difficult for me to handle. I am used to humidity. I feel like dry heat and humid heat are two different things. I have been to many humid places.

The most seasonal changes during a trip occurred in Bulgaria in March. Every day was like a different season. I did like it though.

[Alyssa]

Coldest - The mountain pass between North Lake Tahoe and Reno about 25 years ago.  I have no idea how cold it was but it was snowy and VERY windy.  We got out to go sledding, it was beautiful outside but the wind almost instantly burned my face.


Hottest - Walking around Angkor Wat.  It was already really hot out but the humity was the killer.  It's the kind of heat that gives you a headache and sucks the energy out of you.  I have no idea how hot it was but it was uncomfortable.

I also used to live in California's central valley up in Chico and their summers tend to be fairly warm.  Anywhere from 108-112.  Nights would be in the 70's  They have a lot of swimming holes in the foothills where people go to beat the heat.

[mrsukyankee]

Coldest: visiting home in PA, -15F
Hottest: Agra, India, 108F

[alleinesein]

- Coldest place that you've traveled?
 Des Moines, IA
- How cold was it?
Outside temp was around -20F with the wind chill pushing it down to a frigid -68F.  It was so cold that they boarded the plane at DSM 1 person at a time so no one had to stand on the jet ramp.  That was the last time my mother willingly flew back to Iowa for Christmas.


- Hottest place that you've traveled?
Phoenix, AZ July 21, 2006. 118F.  They set a record high that day.  I spent a lot of summer growing up in Iowa and it was typically 100F+ and humid
- How hot was it?
Hell on earth!  I hate being hot.  


- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip?
 Orlando 1996.  Cold rainy and in the 40s one day and 2 days later sunny and in the 90s.  My last FT semester at Iowa State (Winter/Spring 1996) we had a month where the temps did not get above 0F and then when the cold spell snapped it was in the low 40Fs.  It felt like a heatwave since the subzero temps combined with the wind chill factor were pushing temps down into the -40Fs.  There was a good 60-80 degree temp difference and there were quite a few people running around campus in shorts.

I live in inland SoCal and its very typical to have a 40 degree temp fluctuation during the day.  

[dorothyinAus]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? -- Lincoln, NE in early January
- How cold was it? -- I don't remember exactly, but I know the temperatures were in the single digits for 4 days straight, though the streets were plowed so there was no problem getting around.

- Hottest place that you've traveled? -- Holland America's Private Island, Half Moon Cay
- How hot was it? -- probably only in the mid-90's, but it was right after a Hurricane had passed over and salt water intrusion had killed most of the trees/plant life.  There was no shade and no relief from the sun.  And the A/C on the ship was having serious trouble keeping up with the demand on the lower decks.  (I HATE people in balconies who leave their doors open!!!  It was just a truly uncomfortable visit.

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip? -- a cruise from Quebec, where it was below freezing and snowing at sail-away, to Fort Lauderdale where it was in the mid-80's.  Similarly, I left Little Rock near freezing with snow on the ground and arrived in Melbourne to a 40+C, three days later when I moved.

[FrozenSunshine]

Coldest: I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska one winter. It did not get ABOVE -65 for 2 weeks.

Hottest: Las Vegas in August. It was 104 at noon on my wedding day.

Most extreme changes would be Tampa, FL to Fairbanks in November. Close second would have been this year when we left Chicago and it was hovering around zero and it was 70 in Vegas.

[digitaldiva16]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? I'm from MI, so I usually avoid travel to colder places. Most of my travel is done in the summer or to warm destinations. However, I travel to Chicago at least once a year and the temps are comparable to home.
- How cold was it? I was there earlier this month and temps were around 20*F with wind chills in the teens.

- Hottest place that you've traveled? Philadelphia/Baltimore one July. We were doing a camping trip to attend 2 sports tournaments, so we spent the entire trip outdoors. The heat alone was one thing but the humidity was completely suffocating.
- How hot was it? 105*F

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip? Coming home from Florida where temps were in the 80s, to a blizzard in Michigan with temps well below freezing.

[pittpurple]

Coldest?
I'm not sure how cold it was, but I spent a day in Helsinki in March and it was one of the few times I found it difficult to do anything, it was shockingly cold. We also spent an incredibly cold long weekend in Stockholm in November one year. Am not sure either was actually any colder than where I grew up (New York), but we were just outside a lot more than I usually am in that weather.

Hottest?
We were in Beijing and Hong Kong in June last year and were really lucky with the weather - hot, but not horrific. Until our last day - it was something like 104 and 99% humidity in Hong Kong. We took two steps outside and then went straight back in to our hotel, it was just impossible!

We flew straight home to Edinburgh from Hong Kong so that was a pretty amazing temperature difference! We had an awful month in June so it was like 50 degrees and raining when we got home. Within a trip though it was definitely a cross country trip in July when we were 22. I hadn't realised how cold the dessert gets at night and it was my first camping experience so I was just unbelievably cold after sweating through the days! We were in Arizona I think when it was the worst.

[GilliC]

Coldest: Harbin, China in January for the snow & ice festival. It's in the northeastern part of China, up near the Siberian border.
The temperature was -35°C (-31°F) before any windchill. The tiniest bit of exposed skin started hurting immediately, and our digital camera could only take 2-3 photos at a time before they needed to go back inside our coats for the battery to warm back up!


Hottest: Technically it would be Texas, but since I used to live there, I don't notice it so much. The trip that really stands out was Rajasthan, India in May. Definitely not the smartest time to visit! Most of the days were around 105-110°F with virtually no A/C outside of our hotel. Spending all day outside visiting old forts and temples got pretty brutal!


Biggest change: We did an East Asia cruise in December one year. It was below freezing in the northernmost ports and around 85°F in Singapore where we disembarked. That was a fun packing challenge! Nothing teaches you about layering like a north-south cruise covering 38° of latitude!

[magdala]

Coldest:  Bangor,  Maine in winter -5 degrees on the thermometer but -35 with wind chill

Hottest:  Phoenix, Arizona in late spring 105 degrees.  I felt bad for the ball players at the stadium

Biggest change:  Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado in September.  It was shorts weather at the entrance to the park.  Once we got close to the top, it was parka weather.  Fortunately, the friends we were visiting warned us to dress appropriately.  IIRC, it was a 60 degree swing in temperatures.

[moreace01]

Coldest - I went up to the ice caves in Bayfield, WI (Lake Superior). Temp was -7F, with windchill -20F and I was standing on a lake with the wind blasting. I could take my hand out of my glove for about 20 seconds before I couldn't feel it anymore. My phone shut down and wouldn't work in the cold. And my camera kept shutting itself off. 

Hottest - I don't know. I remember being so hot I wanted to die in Cancun once. It was super humid and like 90. It felt way hotter than Phoenix in the 90's or Costa Rica at the same temp. It has hit 103F here in Chicago


Biggest temp drop: Probably biking down Haleakala in Maui. Maybe 30 degree difference? Or Sedona (snowing) to Phoenix (80).  

Oh - we can count flying home? Ok - Puerto Vallarta was 81 when I left, Chicago was 9 when I landed. That sucked. 

[MNH2013]

Coldest- Yellowstone. We did a 10 hour snowmobile tour and mid-day when we reached Old Faithful it was 4F. I was afraid to take off my gloves to take pictures.

Hottest- hmm home gets pretty hot down here. We typically get a few days over 100 plus all the humidity. It's terrible and one reason I would love to move. Travel, probably Vegas, but I can handle that better than home.

Biggest change- Definitely our Jackson Hole trip like above. We got back to Houston and put on shorts for 60-70 degrees.

[katfco]

Coldest: Everest base camp in July. I'm not sure what the temperature was when we were there, but I know we wore at least 3 layers at all times.

Hottest: I'm not sure. Vietnam in summer was hot and sticky because of monsoon season.

Biggest change:we went from Chengdu to the base camp within 2 weeks, which was at least a 50 degree change.

[Deleted]

Feb 23, 2015 13:21:42 GMT -5 GilliC said:

- Coldest place that you've traveled?
- How cold was it?

Minnesota.  I spent one winter there.  There were days when the day time HIGH temperature was about -30 to -35 degrees (I guess C or F doesn't matter at that point).  I don't even now how low it got during the night.


- Hottest place that you've traveled?
- How hot was it?

I have lived and travelled in SE Asia.  There were many many hot days there.  But the hottest place I've been to was probably Las Vegas or Death Valley (maybe 120F / 49C)

[mrs.jacinthe]

Coldest: We went to interior Alaska in February 2008. I don't know what exactly we were thinking, LOL. It was something around -50 when we arrived. Conveniently, though, it warmed up to like ... 30 while we were there, so that was nice - I didn't have warm enough boots for an extended period of -50.

Warmest: We lived in deeeeeeep South Texas for a while. When I went to visit R before I moved there, it was easily 118 degrees.

Biggest fluctuation: When we flew to Alaska from Deep South Texas. Left San Antonio: 80 degrees. Arrived in Anchorage: -10 degrees. Arrived in actual destination: -50 degrees. For reals. 130 degrees in one day.

[G22]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? The coldest place I've been is where I currently live, Montana.
- How cold was it? We have have seen close to -30 since living here.

- Hottest place that you've traveled? Utah in the summer, down near Zion NP.
- How hot was it? 115ish

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip? Not 100% sure, but this was the most recent. We flew from MT to Miama, FL. It was in the teens in MT and 70s in FL.

[spankswife]

Iowa is the coldest place I have ever been. 0 degrees before the wind chill.

Hottest - It's a toss up between Vegas in the summer, and Chicago in the summer. I think it was about 102 in Chicago with the heat index, no breeze, really hot. Vegas is hot, but you expect it, and it's dry.

Biggest change - I don't recall exactly, but coming home to South FL from that Iowa trip. Probably a good 80 degrees difference.

[udscoobychick]

Coldest: Probably visiting New Brunswick this January, although I've lived places colder than it was when we were there.

Warmest: I remember dying in 115* heat in Dubrovnik, Croatia in August. It was horrible, and I'm pretty good with the heat.

Biggest change: Maybe leaving for our honeymoon? It was sleeting, so around the freezing point, where we live, and we landed in Tahiti, where it was in the low 80s.

[mpc]

- Coldest place that you've traveled?
I don't know if it was technically the coldest, but my first thought was when we went camping in Alaska. It was in the 30s overnight, raining, and our tent was not completely waterproof. We spent the night wet and freezing. 

- Hottest place that you've traveled?
Las Vegas/Hoover Dam probably. The temperature got up to around 120F.

[mich1]

Coldest had to be the ski trip I took to Sugarloaf, in Maine. It was -15°F without wind chill. That was miserable skiing, we didn't stay out long.

Hottest had to be a visit with a friend in Austin. Temp hit 105°F at 10 am.

[Brit]

I lived in Upstate NY for a while and it was really cold in the winter, like -double digits. It was -17 in the past few days in that town. Brrr.

Dubai has been pretty hot. I have visited similarly hot places in the US as well. It gets well into the 110's in Dubai with killer humidity hovering around 90%.

I'm into extremes, what can I say?

As for temperature swings, I think hiking Kilimanjaro takes the cake. It was about 90* at the bottom and 20* at the top.

[CloudBee]

This is difficult!

It was -7 in CT last week. (Where we live.) I grew up in Maine where it can get much colder.

We've been to Iceland, Scandinavia, and Russia, but never experienced negative temps during those visits. Snow, yes, brutal cold? No different than at home.

And we've been to areas near the equator, have even crossed it, but those specific destinations had island breezes, so no intensity.

I'm sure we've been in Vegas when it's been over 100, but it also gets that high in CT, ME, etc. So my personal extremes have probably been at home!

[Susie]

- Coldest place that you've traveled?  Whiteface Mountain summit on MLK weekend a few years ago
- How cold was it?  about -20*F, not including wind chill.

- Hottest place that you've traveled?  Grand Canyon in June
- How hot was it?  Depends where in the canyon you were.  We didn't go all the way to the bottom, where I think it was around 140*F.  We saw readings of 120*F in the car.

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip?  Like within the trip itself?  Probably day to night temps at the Grand Canyon.

In terms of difference between home and the destination?  Hmm.  About a month ago we flew nonstop from HNL to EWR in the midst of one of these snow storms.   That was a pretty awful homecoming!

[earlybird]

- Coldest place that you've traveled? Washington D.C. for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.
- How cold was it? Twenties, probably, low teens with windchill. I've been in colder weather, but not for hours at a time.

- Hottest place that you've traveled? UAE
- How hot was it? 120, maybe, at midnight. Planes couldn't take off because it was too hot.

- What was the biggest change in temperature/climate you've experienced in a single trip? We went from northwest Japan (it snowed) to Thailand (hot and humid) in early March.