why yes, it is January, why aren't you properly dressed?

Everybody around here seems utterly put upon by the cold weather. Single-digit temperatures? Where I come from, that's called "January".

When you get into below-zero, territory, well now! That's different! Very different indeed.

We call that "February".

Last night one customer, someone I have not seen before and who didn't sound like a local, asked me if I had ever experienced weather colder that this (it was about +4℉ at the time). I chuckled and said "yes, plenty of times," at which point he wanted evidence. "When? How long ago was it?" he demanded.

His attitude took me by surprise; I had to admit to my Yankee origin, but it occurs to me now - twelve hours too late - that it really was a few degrees colder only two and a half weeks ago, on the night of January 6/7. It got down to -4.0℉ at my house that night; the mop bucket at work froze up and, after I went home that morning, a pipe burst in the ceiling right over the griddle and fryers. Last night it only got down to -1.3℉ and neither the mop bucket nor any of the water pipes froze this time, except that the cold-water line into my washing machine seems to not be working. The hot side works and all of the other cold and hot lines work, even the one on the outside of the house. Oh well. Rocko and I will go down to the cellar and see what's going on. Right after I eat my Manwich™.

When I think of January and February, they are much the same in my mind; bitterly cold, single-digit (+ or -) temperatures, windy, with plenty of bright sunny days and crystal-clear nights. January tends to have more snow (in my memory, at least) and February tends to be a little bit colder.

"Cold"
www.xkcd.com

By the way, I did get the cold water line to the washing machine flowing again. I turned on the oven, which is right next to the washer. Waste heat from the oven thawed the line within half an hour.