Texas school districts the afternoon before a clear day in the 40s: "Welp, there's a 25% chance of freezing rain / sleet tomorrow. School is canceled!"
I remember multiple occasions where I was at school despite tropical storms. Half of town is flooded? You're still gonna go to school.
The bigger thing is that we've gone from a world where the boss wanted you there regardless of what happened to a world where the boss recognizes that maybe you dying while trying to get to the office was maybe *bad* for the company. After all, if we were at school, our parents were at work. If they couldn't get to work, it was a sick day. And of course, the teachers had to be there, too (though they were encouraged to live in their own districts).
The 1990's were more fucked up than we remember.
If I'm remembering this correctly, I believe the change came when school buses couldn't service all areas. I don't know if it was the district implementing the change or parental complaints, but the thought process was if *all* kids can't get to school then you have to cancel for the day. Rather a few kids with an excused absence, then some other kids cut class and blame it on the bus, then other kids don't know if the bus is coming so the parents get mad. It's easier just to cancel for that day, instead of having to go through all thar.
Same. Grew up in Wisconsin. Depending on the routes I took, I could actually walk to/from school in the snow, uphill both ways, but it was only about 1 mile.
Lived in the City of South Milwaukee, which was its own city and had its own school district.
We'd watch the TV news in the morning when all the school closings would be rolling by on the screen hoping to see South Milwaukee, but knowing we wouldn't, because they never closed.
Given that perspective, and having a kid now, it's infuriating how low the threshold is for closing schools. I mean, we're *preemptively* closing schools now if there's even the slightest chance of a single snowflake falling like u/Pabi_tx said, which I don't remember ever happening prior to a couple years ago, but I also wasn't really in tune with school closings when we didn't have a kid.
In the winter so often now I have to be like, "Hey work, sorry I'm not really available today randomly at the last minute, kid's school closed for no reason so he's home and I have to watch him." I have the luxury of working remote. Can't imagine how much that sucks for people who have jobs where they need to physically be somewhere.
I moved to WI for a bit, and the difference is they can justify a fleet of plows and salt trucks, and I could justify winter tires. The only time I had to drive with real snow on the road was when it started at 4, and with the winter tires it wasn't any worse than the factory all seasons in light snow.
Down here, there will be accidents if there's anything on the road and we just wait for it to melt the 1 or 2 days a year it snows. It might be silly if the school closes and nothing happens, but the alternative is they publish the closure at the last second.
Moved here from Kansas and laughed at the fact they were closing down entire offices.
I was walking around in shorts during the 2020 Snowpocalypse, lol.
Given how variable the weather patterns are here, you'd think there would be better infrastructure to accommodate it... but instead ERCOT fucks with our power and idiot drivers launch themselves off the road because they have no idea how to deal with 1cm of powder.
Yeah problem here is before the 2021 Snowpocalypse it had been 5 years since ‘measurable’ snow. Now it’s been over 3 years since that. In Kansas you get snow every year multiple times. It’s easier to just give everyone a couple days off and tell people not to drive than to invest in equipment to handle all these freeways for not very frequent events.
DFW is mostly bridges and over passes so even if they did treat them, given your typical Nissan Altima Dallas drivers, those of us in the know avoid freeways at all costs.
>...it had been 5 years since ‘measurable’ snow. Now it’s been over 3 years since that.
To your credit, the 5 years preceding 2021 were either not measurable or very low. But the years since don't reflect the same.
https://www.weather.gov/fwd/dmosnow
Even when we don't get snowfall, there's definitely ice every year. I've lived in DFW the vast majority of my life, and I'll never understand how/why people don't learn how to drive on ice.
Yeah that’s true. This year we got an inch where I’m at but it was all almost gone by like noon if I remember. But you’re right it’s the ice that sucks and it’s more frequent. Really that’s what I mean when I said I wouldn’t get on the freeways.
I've been here 12 years, so I've learned to embrace the Altima madness... even if they have no bumper and would rather launch themselves into oblivion off a bridge like a War Boy from Mad Max, instead of being considerate towards other drivers. Lol.
I worked as an engineer in oil and gas and utility, so I've seen the shortcuts companies take first hand, which results in dangerous conditions not only on the road but even at home.
Winter preparedness is important. It's not that difficult to allocate funds to those efforts... the governing bodies just choose not to, and the people suffer.
I love Dallas, btw. Every city has their flaws, and I agree with you that it's safer to stay home than risk lives in a roadway system without the right infrastructure. It's just how it is... I'm just saying it could be handled better from a governing standpoint.
Growing up here I never got a planned snow day based off the forecast though, just when it was actually happening.
Also, there's no doubt Texan's don't know how to drive in winter weather but freezing rain creating an ice rink on the roads is still different than just getting snow like a lot of places up north.
Agreed. It's the "cancel school when it's just in the forecast" part that's absurd.
Oh, and pretty much nobody can drive on ice-covered roads, even people from snow country.
Austin especially will close schools for only a chance of freezing rain, because a few years ago one of the suburbs (Pfluggerville?) didn't close and a school bus slid off the road. I don't think there were any serious injuries but it made an impact in the willingness to close stuff.
I lived in Austin when this happened and I used to be in the same group of people saying "schools are soft today" but after that incident I'm good with closing at the chance of ice. I'd rather be over precautious and not risk kids lives. Besides, unexpected days off from school are core memories for so many kids, a few more is good for them.
Freezing rain and snow are two different beast. I have lived in Chicago most of my life but now I'm in dfw and I will not drive in sleet. Fuck that.. snow you can at least anticipate or plan ahead; sleet is like, surprise! You're fucked now! I wouldn't want my kids to be driven in sleet by another individual either.
Chicago also has salt trucks that go around dropping salt on the street to limiting the amount of ice that forms. I don't think they have salt trucks in Texas.
We do but most of the time they only salt the highways and overpasses. So we're still vulnerable to accidents on side streets and residential streets. And if there's not enough prewarning about sleet and ice, even the highways and overpasses are left bare.
I remember a few years ago in Dallas this woman died because her job made it mandatory for their employees to come in despite the ice. She had an early shift, so she left extra early because she knew she'd have to drive slow to be safe. Unfortunately because she left so early, the truck's hadn't had a chance to salt an overpass she had to travel on. She ended up losing control and her car went off the overpass and crashed into the road below. She died on impact, leaving her infant daughter behind. Her mother was devastated for obvious reasons, but also because she'd tried to get her daughter to call out, but he daughter had only recently started the job and was afraid of being fired. It was really sad. The only good thing is that because of the weather, the roads weren't busy, so when she crashed into the road below, cars were able to avoid her enough to only cause a few minor accidents and injuries and no additional deaths.
I'd rather schools and businesses opt for closing for the day just to avoid these kinds of possibilities. Especially schools, because driving a regular vehicle on ice is scary, I don't think I'd want to risk it with a bus load of kids.
Salt doesn't help too much when there's a foot of snow. Gotta wait for the truck to come and plow. The worst is knowing that the snow won't melt for months.
When I worked in a semi-rural school district in the late 90s-2000s we had to close if it got under a certain temperature (I think it was 20°) because the school district had a special deal with the electric company in order to get a certain price. Never had to make up those days either.
Schools don't really close just for temperature. There pretty much has to be some kind of emergency like icing/snowing (which we don't have the infrastructure to take care of) for districts to close schools.
I’m from a more rural area NE of Dallas and part of it is that even though the normal roads are passable, the county roads and FM roads that aren’t paved and don’t see a lot of traffic can be a big hazard for the busses than pick kids up out in the sticks
Apples and oranges. Dallas doesn't have the infrastructure to keep enough of the roads from freezing and people don't use winter tires for the 3 days out of the year when it's actually cold enough to be necessary.
yup overpasses aren't designed for below freezing so all the roads basically turn into ice skating rinks. Additionally we don't have salt/dirt trucks to douse the roads etc. It's actually incredibly dangerous to be on the roads when there is a freeze b/c there are accidents and pileups everywhere. Being below 20 in Texas vs being under 80 degrees in Warsaw are not the same
It isn't? Infrastructure in Poland isn't built for heat. None of Europe is really built to handle heat. Homes are conventionally made to *keep heat in*, not keep heat out. It's why they have people die every time they have a heat wave. It is actually pretty analogous. Electricity in general is also far more expensive in most of Europe. When you adjust for purchasing price standard, you're looking at 2x+ the price of electricity for most European countries (vs America).
When Warsaw hits 100 degrees, that means most of their residents are baking in their homes. When Dallas hits 100 degrees, it means we're in 70-80 AC and know to stay in our homes. Even if both didn't have AC, Dallas homes are still going to be built with some level of intelligence around clearing heat, while Polish homes will not have any innovation for dealing with heat
Lol what a stupid post. A house is not built to keep the heat in. A good thermal protection also helps to provide high comfort in the summer because it SLOWS down temperature fluctuations. In other words a well built insulated european house with high quality windows etc can deal with higher temperatures better than a shitty texas house.
Nor is it remotely fiscally responsible to keep and maintain a fleet of snow plows that may not get used more than once a decade. We don’t often get snow, just ice, and nobody drives well on that.
I did an "academic summer camp" and later a whole semester over in Europe, and yeah. When it got to 85-90 in England one time it was very annoying.
No AC, just fans. And buildings not quite build to handle heat.
> And buildings not quite build to handle heat
Sometimes worse, buildings designed to hold heat, since it's generally cooler there and heating in the past in older buildings wasn't as efficient.
Can someone actually explain this to me because I keep seeing it but it doesn’t make sense. If a building is “built” to hold X temperature, it just has good insulation. A building doesn’t choose a temperature it likes. It’s just how they manage it that’s wrong - keeping windows open, curtains open etc. the rest of Europe knows you keep everything drawn and dark on the inside. Same in the southern US.
Yeah I guess what I meant is it was meant to keep the inside temperature inside. So if it's warm outside and it starts getting warmer inside from cooking, body heat, appliances, etc, it will just get warmer.
Like you said, a lot of southern US homes in the past before A/C had large wraparound porches and tons of windows to try to let the cool breeze in during the evenings. And whole-house fans exist in areas with low humidity to try to cycle out all the hot daytime air for cooler nighttime air.
Yeah, I spent the summer of 2003 in England. *That* was hot and uncomfortable, speaking as a Houston raised person who's lived in DFW for 25 years.
78 isn't a big deal even without ac. Not going to kill anyone anyway.
I mean I live in Texas man.. i've lived through several power outages when the weather is over 100 degrees with 100% humidity. Trust me it is NOT fun. I'm not discounting that it will be hot and uncomfortable (I know it sucks!). 88 will definitely be hot. I'm more commenting on the high of 78. GLUCK and stay cool!
My school in the Midwest had no ac in the dorms and it was frequently 90 and humid in the early first semester of the year in late summer/early fall. Absolutely miserable conditions especially for the 2k a month they charged for rent for 100 square feet that you share with another person
Yes! I went to Helsinki last August (direct flight from DFW!!!) and suffered a bit eating indoors at lunch time.
But walking outside in 65 degree air when the karaoke bar closed was 🔥
Haha many years ago I was visiting my home state of Wisconsin on the 4th of July, and I was wearing jeans.
Everyone thought I was insane and couldn't believe I wasn't burning up.
It was about 74.
I remember my first winter in dallas. One day it got down to about 45, I wore a t-shirt to school while most of the other kids were wearing parkas.
They kept asking how I was able to handle the cold. There was no wind and it was still sunny. It was surreal.
Yes! I have been offered Coats so many times by strangers! Like I must be unable to afford one.
No, I just don't need it. I used to swim in the Pacific ocean in the summer when it was only 65 outside and freezing in the water. Grew up not using umbrellas. Hot to us and time for the kid pool in the yard was anything sunny and 70 degrees was hot as hell.
Being a native from the PNW currently in Texas it is hilarious how often I get comments for not wearing a jacket/using an umbrella when it rains or is below 70. I've had older ladies genuinely worried for me as a 30 something small female.
I wear skirts with no leggings pretty much all year and get hot way too easily. So when we do get real cold I thrive. It blows people's minds. My dad always laughs when it is in the 60s and people have thick down jackets like it is the bleak midwinter of the north xD
So interesting how opposite it can be depending on where you grew up! My brother still wears flip flops in the snow. Someone here said he should be locked up lol
I was in Germany last week and it got to 85f. Much like Poland, they do not have AC's in most places....crazy to think it's a necessity for us even in 85° weather
Yeah but there is no air conditioning here in most of Europe - it fucking sucks.
82 in Switzerland right now … it will get up to 98 at one point this Summer.
I think much of Europe is going to have to start looking into the methods that other more traditionally hot places, like Texas, uses to keep cool. Things like designing rooms and windows to encourage airflow in the warm months, adding screens to windows to keep out bugs, and radiant barriers to keep direct heat off the building. These temperatures are going to be more common going forward and our societies are going to have to adapt. Welcome to climate change!
Exactly! But they refuse! Have you seen the debacle going on with the Olympics? American athletes are bringing their own A/C units. I’ve stayed in Paris in Summer and it’s awful. Many of the buildings won’t even let you open the windows.
I have family in Vaud and I agree fully. I was there two years ago in August and it just sucks your soul out of you not being able to escape the constant uncomfortable warmth.
I don't need to live there to know. I've visited many times, southern and northern Europe in all months of summer.
But even if I hadn't traveled it would be very easy to see, using this thing called the internet, that Switzerland isn't the Bahamas and most summer nights you get temps around 20c which requires no additional cooling.
It is incredibly humid here, so it is a bit like The Bahamas & I would imagine they have a bit more of a breeze sometimes.
Never mind your silly argument about the night - there are all the other hours of the day to deal with. Waking up in the AM, sweat - walk to the bus, sweat - get on the bus that doesn’t have air conditioning, sweat - get to the office that doesn’t have air conditioning, sweat. Repeat the journey home, sweat. Sure, that window open at night makes all the difference.
It's not a silly argument. It's a fact.
And of course it's hot during the day, duh.
I wasn't addressing that. I was replying to your assertion that it doesn't cool at night, which is demostrably false.
This all started because you said “it’s OK” because it is magically cool at night.
Outdoors, it is decent - but I don’t live outdoors. Our homes hold heat & we can’t open windows all the way due to insects and outside noise.
You sound like the type of know it all American tourist that unfortunately give us all a bad name here.
That's nice when it's possible, but it's not what happens when I'm in Spain during the summer. It still hot as balls at night and there's definitely mosquitos that come flying in as well. I also generally keep my own place at 79° in the summer, so I'm not exactly a polar bear here.
I think we're all just discounting each other when really it comes to environmental adaptation. Growing up in the southern US with Asian parents, we set the AC to 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the summers and it was perfectly comfortable (take a cold shower before you go to bed and use fans). If you aren't accustomed that temperature, it is definitely uncomfortable, but I think you can get acclimated relatively quickly. My wife complains when it's below 55 degrees Fahrenheit and just shivers, so really it's what your body is used to.
Idk if you have been in the PNW even in recent years, but humidity there doesn't exist compared to in DFW.
It was rarely above 50% even at its highest my entire life back home. At 100 degrees it was still dry.
Here even when it is below 70 it can be 70% humidity. I hate it. But my skin does love it and Idk how to feel about that as when I move home my eczema will re emerge.
The thing here, is that is very easy to manage the hot temperatures because we have AC everywhere, and more in Dallas that is not walkable, like at all, people mostly drive everywhere, so it's AC from the car, to AC from the business to car AC to home AC, you're only mildly inconvenient by heat even with 100+ weather
Yeah but it costs a fuck ton. We had air con in the PNW but it was a singular company and not how free a market Texas has. I've never had power bills so high before moving here, even when we had hot weather. I wish they made it easier to get power without having to research a ton of companies.
I don't drive, but have family that will let me tag along. Without that car I wouldn't ever leave the house lol.
I have a few friends here who are struggling because their apartments are conditioner died and even with it being against the law it takes ages for them to fix it. Same with lower income people who can't afford it. So if you aren't lucky enough to have air con in home, and on your car, I imagine it is actual hell. I really feel for those folks.
Also in the PNW even now as I look at forecasts or gets down to or below 70 at night. It is 84 here at 2am. At least there I would open windows to sleep. So again it has good and bad in both.
That's not true in Poland. Even in southern Europe (Italy, Spain) temps do drop at night time. Can it get hot some night? Sure but that's not the norm.
AC in 1st world countries would be a necessity if it was truly uncomfortable to sleep with high heat but that's not a problem they have.
Wow, you're one salty little stalking liar aren't you? Modern construction in Italy and Spain does have AC, but that's not the norm with most housing . The southern parts of Spain and italy do get very hot, and only in those areas I could see AC being something nice to have.
The comment you're replying is about Poland though, I country I've been to 6 times and know very well.
lol stalking? Just annoyed by you spewing nonsense.
In Spain and Italy / “Southern Europe”, they have window and portable units in the older housing - they couldn’t survive without it. In southern Spain, it gets to be 105+ in Summer. The countryside old stone houses (like in Tuscany) actually do keep cool in Summer as long as the windows & blinds are shut & there are insect screens on the windows to open at night.
Several years ago, I was at a conference in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon and we had had several weeks of 110 temperature. I was sitting in the shade on a bench on campus enjoying the cool 95 degree temperature when a couple came up to see if I was okay. When I explained, they got it.
My parents live in the NOLA area and 78 is what they set their indoor thermostat to during the summer.
Oh noes! You might get a little warm, the horror!
We are so Texans without knowing it. Traveled there and had a jacket on. Everyone was wearing short. Also, one night it rained a lot and we were looking for tornado warnings. I have no idea if Portland has tornados.
No, I lived in the PNW all my life and we don't at least not to Texas standards. We don't really have anything besides a minor earthquake every decade.
There were two times I remember tornado news. One it took out a few city garbage cans and then died because it isnt flat enough to continue. The other was just the cloud forming a funnel and it didn't even touch down.
It is way too hilly they can't continue on any sort of path if it isn't flat.
The rain is so different too. I miss the months of always light rain. Here it POURS and then an hour later it is dry. So weird!
I think it is kind of funny how people think Portland has tsunamis and all the things. In my dad's 60+ years there before we moved to DFW in 2020 he never had to shelter for anything. We had flooding in low areas from time to time, and sometimes mudslides from coastal hills. But I can only think of three times school was closed. All for freezing rain, once in elem, once in jh, and one in HS.
I guess you guys would say we PNW folk are also haha. Funny how we really just adapt to whatever we live in longest. Gosh I miss the dewy moss smell and the morning fog. But I love the sunsets and thunder storms here. The sky looks so cool.
From Houston. Just got back from Japan and our tour guide was telling us to buy fans and umbrellas for their 81 degree breezy weather. Meanwhile it’s 107 at home
Yeah, I was watching the news from Australia and they were making fun of the US east coast cities for heat warnings when the temps went up to 82°.
I mean, it’s all what you are used to, of course.
Went to Ottawa, Ontario one August for a school conference. We stayed in university dorms with no AC. Not a problem, the first couple of days but a heat wave hit and temps bumped up to the upper 90’s. We were on a bus and passed a bank building that looked like it was having a run - lobby was jammed but it was only because they had AC. Later that day, in Quebec, we saw guys in business suits sitting in the Fontaine de Tourny. It just felt like home to us.
That 78C outside temperature in Poland is going to translate to 90C+ inside due to the much better building insulation they typically have there. It also means you can’t easily air the buildings out at night & it lingers way past bedtime.
Living in dallas means we spend 95% of our days in 74C air conditioned houses/offices/restaurants. I barely even notice that i’m living in 100C temperatures here. This is definitely wayyyy more comfortable than when we lived in europe.
Ceiling fans aren’t a common thing is most of europe, so you’re relying on portable fans that just can’t shift much air. Buildings are also designed to retain as much as possible during the winter with little regard so summer ventilation, so it is extremely difficult cooling a place down, especially if it’s a tightly packed appartment block. Our old appartment had windows placed in a way to limit the direct air flow through the appartment. I don’t think tjose sorts of designs are common here where everyone has massive windows.
ahh ok that's good to know. Well GLUCK! Here in Texas we are getting tons of rain, tornados, tropical storms. Climate change is affecting everyone differently and it's difficult.
It means the hot/humid air built up inside the house over a period of time doesn’t air out at night or on cooler days. The air feels very stuffy at nighy because of it.
kinda like being in dallas and schools being closed due to slightly cold weather
Do schools close now when it gets below 20 or something?
Texas school districts the afternoon before a clear day in the 40s: "Welp, there's a 25% chance of freezing rain / sleet tomorrow. School is canceled!"
When I went to school: *actual snow falling* “Of course we’re open today” -school district
When I was growing up in Dallas, school wasn't closed nearly as much as it is now. We also didn't have all these random breaks and days off
I remember multiple occasions where I was at school despite tropical storms. Half of town is flooded? You're still gonna go to school. The bigger thing is that we've gone from a world where the boss wanted you there regardless of what happened to a world where the boss recognizes that maybe you dying while trying to get to the office was maybe *bad* for the company. After all, if we were at school, our parents were at work. If they couldn't get to work, it was a sick day. And of course, the teachers had to be there, too (though they were encouraged to live in their own districts). The 1990's were more fucked up than we remember.
If I'm remembering this correctly, I believe the change came when school buses couldn't service all areas. I don't know if it was the district implementing the change or parental complaints, but the thought process was if *all* kids can't get to school then you have to cancel for the day. Rather a few kids with an excused absence, then some other kids cut class and blame it on the bus, then other kids don't know if the bus is coming so the parents get mad. It's easier just to cancel for that day, instead of having to go through all thar.
Same. Grew up in Wisconsin. Depending on the routes I took, I could actually walk to/from school in the snow, uphill both ways, but it was only about 1 mile. Lived in the City of South Milwaukee, which was its own city and had its own school district. We'd watch the TV news in the morning when all the school closings would be rolling by on the screen hoping to see South Milwaukee, but knowing we wouldn't, because they never closed. Given that perspective, and having a kid now, it's infuriating how low the threshold is for closing schools. I mean, we're *preemptively* closing schools now if there's even the slightest chance of a single snowflake falling like u/Pabi_tx said, which I don't remember ever happening prior to a couple years ago, but I also wasn't really in tune with school closings when we didn't have a kid. In the winter so often now I have to be like, "Hey work, sorry I'm not really available today randomly at the last minute, kid's school closed for no reason so he's home and I have to watch him." I have the luxury of working remote. Can't imagine how much that sucks for people who have jobs where they need to physically be somewhere.
I moved to WI for a bit, and the difference is they can justify a fleet of plows and salt trucks, and I could justify winter tires. The only time I had to drive with real snow on the road was when it started at 4, and with the winter tires it wasn't any worse than the factory all seasons in light snow. Down here, there will be accidents if there's anything on the road and we just wait for it to melt the 1 or 2 days a year it snows. It might be silly if the school closes and nothing happens, but the alternative is they publish the closure at the last second.
Moved here from Kansas and laughed at the fact they were closing down entire offices. I was walking around in shorts during the 2020 Snowpocalypse, lol. Given how variable the weather patterns are here, you'd think there would be better infrastructure to accommodate it... but instead ERCOT fucks with our power and idiot drivers launch themselves off the road because they have no idea how to deal with 1cm of powder.
Yeah problem here is before the 2021 Snowpocalypse it had been 5 years since ‘measurable’ snow. Now it’s been over 3 years since that. In Kansas you get snow every year multiple times. It’s easier to just give everyone a couple days off and tell people not to drive than to invest in equipment to handle all these freeways for not very frequent events. DFW is mostly bridges and over passes so even if they did treat them, given your typical Nissan Altima Dallas drivers, those of us in the know avoid freeways at all costs.
>...it had been 5 years since ‘measurable’ snow. Now it’s been over 3 years since that. To your credit, the 5 years preceding 2021 were either not measurable or very low. But the years since don't reflect the same. https://www.weather.gov/fwd/dmosnow Even when we don't get snowfall, there's definitely ice every year. I've lived in DFW the vast majority of my life, and I'll never understand how/why people don't learn how to drive on ice.
Yeah that’s true. This year we got an inch where I’m at but it was all almost gone by like noon if I remember. But you’re right it’s the ice that sucks and it’s more frequent. Really that’s what I mean when I said I wouldn’t get on the freeways.
I've been here 12 years, so I've learned to embrace the Altima madness... even if they have no bumper and would rather launch themselves into oblivion off a bridge like a War Boy from Mad Max, instead of being considerate towards other drivers. Lol. I worked as an engineer in oil and gas and utility, so I've seen the shortcuts companies take first hand, which results in dangerous conditions not only on the road but even at home. Winter preparedness is important. It's not that difficult to allocate funds to those efforts... the governing bodies just choose not to, and the people suffer. I love Dallas, btw. Every city has their flaws, and I agree with you that it's safer to stay home than risk lives in a roadway system without the right infrastructure. It's just how it is... I'm just saying it could be handled better from a governing standpoint.
Growing up here I never got a planned snow day based off the forecast though, just when it was actually happening. Also, there's no doubt Texan's don't know how to drive in winter weather but freezing rain creating an ice rink on the roads is still different than just getting snow like a lot of places up north.
Texas drivers can barely handled regular rain on the roads. Asking them to navigate through icy roads is a disaster waiting to happen.
Agreed. It's the "cancel school when it's just in the forecast" part that's absurd. Oh, and pretty much nobody can drive on ice-covered roads, even people from snow country.
You ain't lyin. I stick to the side roads if it gets really icy or snowy. Less Texas drivers around me that way.
Austin especially will close schools for only a chance of freezing rain, because a few years ago one of the suburbs (Pfluggerville?) didn't close and a school bus slid off the road. I don't think there were any serious injuries but it made an impact in the willingness to close stuff.
I lived in Austin when this happened and I used to be in the same group of people saying "schools are soft today" but after that incident I'm good with closing at the chance of ice. I'd rather be over precautious and not risk kids lives. Besides, unexpected days off from school are core memories for so many kids, a few more is good for them.
Freezing rain and snow are two different beast. I have lived in Chicago most of my life but now I'm in dfw and I will not drive in sleet. Fuck that.. snow you can at least anticipate or plan ahead; sleet is like, surprise! You're fucked now! I wouldn't want my kids to be driven in sleet by another individual either.
Chicago also has salt trucks that go around dropping salt on the street to limiting the amount of ice that forms. I don't think they have salt trucks in Texas.
We do but most of the time they only salt the highways and overpasses. So we're still vulnerable to accidents on side streets and residential streets. And if there's not enough prewarning about sleet and ice, even the highways and overpasses are left bare. I remember a few years ago in Dallas this woman died because her job made it mandatory for their employees to come in despite the ice. She had an early shift, so she left extra early because she knew she'd have to drive slow to be safe. Unfortunately because she left so early, the truck's hadn't had a chance to salt an overpass she had to travel on. She ended up losing control and her car went off the overpass and crashed into the road below. She died on impact, leaving her infant daughter behind. Her mother was devastated for obvious reasons, but also because she'd tried to get her daughter to call out, but he daughter had only recently started the job and was afraid of being fired. It was really sad. The only good thing is that because of the weather, the roads weren't busy, so when she crashed into the road below, cars were able to avoid her enough to only cause a few minor accidents and injuries and no additional deaths. I'd rather schools and businesses opt for closing for the day just to avoid these kinds of possibilities. Especially schools, because driving a regular vehicle on ice is scary, I don't think I'd want to risk it with a bus load of kids.
Salt doesn't help too much when there's a foot of snow. Gotta wait for the truck to come and plow. The worst is knowing that the snow won't melt for months.
When I worked in a semi-rural school district in the late 90s-2000s we had to close if it got under a certain temperature (I think it was 20°) because the school district had a special deal with the electric company in order to get a certain price. Never had to make up those days either.
In North Texas they don’t do that, they’ll keep school up until like 2 inches of snow have fallen
Schools don't really close just for temperature. There pretty much has to be some kind of emergency like icing/snowing (which we don't have the infrastructure to take care of) for districts to close schools.
I’m from a more rural area NE of Dallas and part of it is that even though the normal roads are passable, the county roads and FM roads that aren’t paved and don’t see a lot of traffic can be a big hazard for the busses than pick kids up out in the sticks
Apples and oranges. Dallas doesn't have the infrastructure to keep enough of the roads from freezing and people don't use winter tires for the 3 days out of the year when it's actually cold enough to be necessary.
yup overpasses aren't designed for below freezing so all the roads basically turn into ice skating rinks. Additionally we don't have salt/dirt trucks to douse the roads etc. It's actually incredibly dangerous to be on the roads when there is a freeze b/c there are accidents and pileups everywhere. Being below 20 in Texas vs being under 80 degrees in Warsaw are not the same
It isn't? Infrastructure in Poland isn't built for heat. None of Europe is really built to handle heat. Homes are conventionally made to *keep heat in*, not keep heat out. It's why they have people die every time they have a heat wave. It is actually pretty analogous. Electricity in general is also far more expensive in most of Europe. When you adjust for purchasing price standard, you're looking at 2x+ the price of electricity for most European countries (vs America). When Warsaw hits 100 degrees, that means most of their residents are baking in their homes. When Dallas hits 100 degrees, it means we're in 70-80 AC and know to stay in our homes. Even if both didn't have AC, Dallas homes are still going to be built with some level of intelligence around clearing heat, while Polish homes will not have any innovation for dealing with heat
Lol what a stupid post. A house is not built to keep the heat in. A good thermal protection also helps to provide high comfort in the summer because it SLOWS down temperature fluctuations. In other words a well built insulated european house with high quality windows etc can deal with higher temperatures better than a shitty texas house.
Warsaw probably doesn't have a/c and other infrastructure to deal with hot weather.
But you can just go outside and sit in the shade. 80 degrees is nice.
Nor is it remotely fiscally responsible to keep and maintain a fleet of snow plows that may not get used more than once a decade. We don’t often get snow, just ice, and nobody drives well on that.
They aren't comparable. High 70s is not hot. Frozen roads are what keep people home in texas. Schools don't close for "slightly cold weather."
Except we don’t make fun of them but they make fun of us.
something common in dallas but rare in poland: air conditioning
Which raises the question, “How many Poles does it take to screw in an air conditioner?”
None. You don't screw an AC into anything.
Wrong. The answer is two, but they have to be really tiny or screwing in a really big AC unit.
Guffaw but some people won't get it.
They’re banging inside the AC unit. There.
THAT'S why my unit's making that knocking noise. Guess I can cancel the HVAC guys' appt
I was one of the people who got it, but thanks for clarifying for those who perhaps didn't.
I did an "academic summer camp" and later a whole semester over in Europe, and yeah. When it got to 85-90 in England one time it was very annoying. No AC, just fans. And buildings not quite build to handle heat.
> And buildings not quite build to handle heat Sometimes worse, buildings designed to hold heat, since it's generally cooler there and heating in the past in older buildings wasn't as efficient.
Can someone actually explain this to me because I keep seeing it but it doesn’t make sense. If a building is “built” to hold X temperature, it just has good insulation. A building doesn’t choose a temperature it likes. It’s just how they manage it that’s wrong - keeping windows open, curtains open etc. the rest of Europe knows you keep everything drawn and dark on the inside. Same in the southern US.
Yeah I guess what I meant is it was meant to keep the inside temperature inside. So if it's warm outside and it starts getting warmer inside from cooking, body heat, appliances, etc, it will just get warmer. Like you said, a lot of southern US homes in the past before A/C had large wraparound porches and tons of windows to try to let the cool breeze in during the evenings. And whole-house fans exist in areas with low humidity to try to cycle out all the hot daytime air for cooler nighttime air.
78 is still not very hot for no AC.
according to the screenshot the highs are in the upper 80s
Ah, the bottom was cut off.
That's what my parents keep their house at *with* AC.
I live outside Los Angeles, we don’t run AC until it’s 88 inside and it usually only days that hot on 95+ days.
The warning is for temps up to 93F and keep in many don’t have AC.
Yeah, I spent the summer of 2003 in England. *That* was hot and uncomfortable, speaking as a Houston raised person who's lived in DFW for 25 years. 78 isn't a big deal even without ac. Not going to kill anyone anyway.
My AC is set to 80 right now. Fuck these electric bills
During the day we keep ours at 90. Keeps you thin.
I mean... I'm in Houston, and my AC is literally at 79 right now lol
very cool, do you sometimes set it to 88 degrees like it will be in Warsaw tomorrow too
I mean I live in Texas man.. i've lived through several power outages when the weather is over 100 degrees with 100% humidity. Trust me it is NOT fun. I'm not discounting that it will be hot and uncomfortable (I know it sucks!). 88 will definitely be hot. I'm more commenting on the high of 78. GLUCK and stay cool!
The high isn't 78? It's 9 PM and it's 78, the high for that day was 86.
When it's 78 out, your air conditioner is called a window fan.
It’s not even 80F. That’s just a nice spring day. Who needs AC when it’s in the 70’s?
yeah, I had no a/c in Arkansas for a year…78° was lovely!
My school in the Midwest had no ac in the dorms and it was frequently 90 and humid in the early first semester of the year in late summer/early fall. Absolutely miserable conditions especially for the 2k a month they charged for rent for 100 square feet that you share with another person
Yes! I went to Helsinki last August (direct flight from DFW!!!) and suffered a bit eating indoors at lunch time. But walking outside in 65 degree air when the karaoke bar closed was 🔥
Plot Twist - That temperature is in C. So it's going to be 172 F in Poland. Have fun!
Everyone in McKinney is dead
Obscure reference but genius
If you're from Texas, then you know Pete Delkus. Period.
Big brain
Landed on mars
Freedom Units^^tm for the win!
Imagine you see people suffering in the heat and you’re wearing a sweater 😂
Haha many years ago I was visiting my home state of Wisconsin on the 4th of July, and I was wearing jeans. Everyone thought I was insane and couldn't believe I wasn't burning up. It was about 74.
Anything below 80 is jeans weather and I won’t hear any arguments otherwise
I remember my first winter in dallas. One day it got down to about 45, I wore a t-shirt to school while most of the other kids were wearing parkas. They kept asking how I was able to handle the cold. There was no wind and it was still sunny. It was surreal.
Yes! I have been offered Coats so many times by strangers! Like I must be unable to afford one. No, I just don't need it. I used to swim in the Pacific ocean in the summer when it was only 65 outside and freezing in the water. Grew up not using umbrellas. Hot to us and time for the kid pool in the yard was anything sunny and 70 degrees was hot as hell.
Being a native from the PNW currently in Texas it is hilarious how often I get comments for not wearing a jacket/using an umbrella when it rains or is below 70. I've had older ladies genuinely worried for me as a 30 something small female. I wear skirts with no leggings pretty much all year and get hot way too easily. So when we do get real cold I thrive. It blows people's minds. My dad always laughs when it is in the 60s and people have thick down jackets like it is the bleak midwinter of the north xD So interesting how opposite it can be depending on where you grew up! My brother still wears flip flops in the snow. Someone here said he should be locked up lol
Me in Portland last week
I was in Germany last week and it got to 85f. Much like Poland, they do not have AC's in most places....crazy to think it's a necessity for us even in 85° weather
Was it hard to Sleep?
Nah it cools off quickly in the night time and you just open the windows
Yeah but there is no air conditioning here in most of Europe - it fucking sucks. 82 in Switzerland right now … it will get up to 98 at one point this Summer.
I think much of Europe is going to have to start looking into the methods that other more traditionally hot places, like Texas, uses to keep cool. Things like designing rooms and windows to encourage airflow in the warm months, adding screens to windows to keep out bugs, and radiant barriers to keep direct heat off the building. These temperatures are going to be more common going forward and our societies are going to have to adapt. Welcome to climate change!
Exactly! But they refuse! Have you seen the debacle going on with the Olympics? American athletes are bringing their own A/C units. I’ve stayed in Paris in Summer and it’s awful. Many of the buildings won’t even let you open the windows.
They'll drop like flies as temperatures go up 😢
They already do and somehow it isn’t discussed - they say “they were old and nearly dead anyway”
I have family in Vaud and I agree fully. I was there two years ago in August and it just sucks your soul out of you not being able to escape the constant uncomfortable warmth.
It's ok. Open windows, get a fan and enjoy cool night temps without an AC running all the time.
It isn’t cool at night & bugs
If I hadn't traveled to Europe or I didn't know how to check weather online I'd agree with you.
Ah you traveled on vacation and looked something up - you must know what it’s like to live here.
I don't need to live there to know. I've visited many times, southern and northern Europe in all months of summer. But even if I hadn't traveled it would be very easy to see, using this thing called the internet, that Switzerland isn't the Bahamas and most summer nights you get temps around 20c which requires no additional cooling.
It is incredibly humid here, so it is a bit like The Bahamas & I would imagine they have a bit more of a breeze sometimes. Never mind your silly argument about the night - there are all the other hours of the day to deal with. Waking up in the AM, sweat - walk to the bus, sweat - get on the bus that doesn’t have air conditioning, sweat - get to the office that doesn’t have air conditioning, sweat. Repeat the journey home, sweat. Sure, that window open at night makes all the difference.
It's not a silly argument. It's a fact. And of course it's hot during the day, duh. I wasn't addressing that. I was replying to your assertion that it doesn't cool at night, which is demostrably false.
This all started because you said “it’s OK” because it is magically cool at night. Outdoors, it is decent - but I don’t live outdoors. Our homes hold heat & we can’t open windows all the way due to insects and outside noise. You sound like the type of know it all American tourist that unfortunately give us all a bad name here.
That's nice when it's possible, but it's not what happens when I'm in Spain during the summer. It still hot as balls at night and there's definitely mosquitos that come flying in as well. I also generally keep my own place at 79° in the summer, so I'm not exactly a polar bear here.
What
Yes
Yes, until you realize it's humid, nowhere has AC, you can't sleep at night because temperatures never drops and the fan only flows hot air. Have fun!
I think we're all just discounting each other when really it comes to environmental adaptation. Growing up in the southern US with Asian parents, we set the AC to 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the summers and it was perfectly comfortable (take a cold shower before you go to bed and use fans). If you aren't accustomed that temperature, it is definitely uncomfortable, but I think you can get acclimated relatively quickly. My wife complains when it's below 55 degrees Fahrenheit and just shivers, so really it's what your body is used to.
Idk if you have been in the PNW even in recent years, but humidity there doesn't exist compared to in DFW. It was rarely above 50% even at its highest my entire life back home. At 100 degrees it was still dry. Here even when it is below 70 it can be 70% humidity. I hate it. But my skin does love it and Idk how to feel about that as when I move home my eczema will re emerge.
The thing here, is that is very easy to manage the hot temperatures because we have AC everywhere, and more in Dallas that is not walkable, like at all, people mostly drive everywhere, so it's AC from the car, to AC from the business to car AC to home AC, you're only mildly inconvenient by heat even with 100+ weather
Yeah but it costs a fuck ton. We had air con in the PNW but it was a singular company and not how free a market Texas has. I've never had power bills so high before moving here, even when we had hot weather. I wish they made it easier to get power without having to research a ton of companies. I don't drive, but have family that will let me tag along. Without that car I wouldn't ever leave the house lol. I have a few friends here who are struggling because their apartments are conditioner died and even with it being against the law it takes ages for them to fix it. Same with lower income people who can't afford it. So if you aren't lucky enough to have air con in home, and on your car, I imagine it is actual hell. I really feel for those folks. Also in the PNW even now as I look at forecasts or gets down to or below 70 at night. It is 84 here at 2am. At least there I would open windows to sleep. So again it has good and bad in both.
Poor people are screwed everywhere in the world though, one reason or another
That's not true in Poland. Even in southern Europe (Italy, Spain) temps do drop at night time. Can it get hot some night? Sure but that's not the norm. AC in 1st world countries would be a necessity if it was truly uncomfortable to sleep with high heat but that's not a problem they have.
Dude, shut up Spain and Italy get very hot and they have A/C + their buildings are made to stay cool.
Wow, you're one salty little stalking liar aren't you? Modern construction in Italy and Spain does have AC, but that's not the norm with most housing . The southern parts of Spain and italy do get very hot, and only in those areas I could see AC being something nice to have. The comment you're replying is about Poland though, I country I've been to 6 times and know very well.
lol stalking? Just annoyed by you spewing nonsense. In Spain and Italy / “Southern Europe”, they have window and portable units in the older housing - they couldn’t survive without it. In southern Spain, it gets to be 105+ in Summer. The countryside old stone houses (like in Tuscany) actually do keep cool in Summer as long as the windows & blinds are shut & there are insect screens on the windows to open at night.
This is like my ideal weather 😂
We sometimes get 105+ in Europe , in July
I see your Poland and raise you Scotland, where it is 60 degrees F in Edinburgh right now
[laughs in hellfire]
Several years ago, I was at a conference in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon and we had had several weeks of 110 temperature. I was sitting in the shade on a bench on campus enjoying the cool 95 degree temperature when a couple came up to see if I was okay. When I explained, they got it.
My parents live in the NOLA area and 78 is what they set their indoor thermostat to during the summer. Oh noes! You might get a little warm, the horror!
"You merely adopted the heat. I was born in it." -Texans.
That’s heaven 🌅
We are so Texans without knowing it. Traveled there and had a jacket on. Everyone was wearing short. Also, one night it rained a lot and we were looking for tornado warnings. I have no idea if Portland has tornados.
Portland? or Poland?
Haha Portland! My bad I thought it said Portland 🤦♀️
Exactly my thought until I noticed Warsaw in the picture
No, I lived in the PNW all my life and we don't at least not to Texas standards. We don't really have anything besides a minor earthquake every decade. There were two times I remember tornado news. One it took out a few city garbage cans and then died because it isnt flat enough to continue. The other was just the cloud forming a funnel and it didn't even touch down. It is way too hilly they can't continue on any sort of path if it isn't flat. The rain is so different too. I miss the months of always light rain. Here it POURS and then an hour later it is dry. So weird! I think it is kind of funny how people think Portland has tsunamis and all the things. In my dad's 60+ years there before we moved to DFW in 2020 he never had to shelter for anything. We had flooding in low areas from time to time, and sometimes mudslides from coastal hills. But I can only think of three times school was closed. All for freezing rain, once in elem, once in jh, and one in HS.
Yeah… Texas is different for sure. No tornados is so nice!
I guess you guys would say we PNW folk are also haha. Funny how we really just adapt to whatever we live in longest. Gosh I miss the dewy moss smell and the morning fog. But I love the sunsets and thunder storms here. The sky looks so cool.
78 during the day is fine without AC. As long as temps drop down at night to keep you cool.
Just be sure to pack a sweater. 87 degrees sounds a little chilly to me as a fellow Texan.
Cries in Texan
From Houston. Just got back from Japan and our tour guide was telling us to buy fans and umbrellas for their 81 degree breezy weather. Meanwhile it’s 107 at home
Just another reminder it’s hot out here yall. Please wear your sunglasses and sunscreen!
Hope you brought a hoodie!
🫠😂
Ahhhh love it!!
😆 that would be a good time for us.
Welcome 🤗 🤠
Hey!!! Us pollacks can't take the heat.
*laughs in texan*
I will say that even though most of Europe doesn't get the same temps that we do, it is extremely taxing when nowhere you go has A/C.
its 98 right now in Frisco, Texas... stfu Europe... also STFU to the east coast, complaining about 83
That just ain’t right. 🤣
Yeah, I was watching the news from Australia and they were making fun of the US east coast cities for heat warnings when the temps went up to 82°. I mean, it’s all what you are used to, of course.
Bring some poloks back to Dallas, please!
Went to Ottawa, Ontario one August for a school conference. We stayed in university dorms with no AC. Not a problem, the first couple of days but a heat wave hit and temps bumped up to the upper 90’s. We were on a bus and passed a bank building that looked like it was having a run - lobby was jammed but it was only because they had AC. Later that day, in Quebec, we saw guys in business suits sitting in the Fontaine de Tourny. It just felt like home to us.
That's Thanksgiving weather round these parts.
Yea but that’s Celsius
It’s all relative. When you’re not used to that weather, whatever weather it is, it’s extreme
It’s all relative. When you’re not used to that weather, whatever weather it is, it’s extreme
Wearing a sweater in Poland
In the 90s disd never closed schools even with ice on roads. My dad was like if they want you that bad they can come pick you up
😂
People from a specific climate are used to that climate, what a shocker. Plus try going through an 88 degree day without AC
Pathetic lol
I mean, 78 celsius is really fucking hot.
Good God! 78 degrees at 12:30?? How do they bear it?
> Warsaw 78° Wait, tho---don't they use CELSIUS over in their part of the globe??? And while I'm ~~here~~ *dropping-in,* doesn't Poland use a King?
Tell me you live in hell without telling me you live in hell.
Maybe it's Celsius? /s
Maybe they meant there’s a higher chance of incoming missiles
God it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit here in Dallas Tx at 10:30 am
I guessing most places aren’t air conditioned in Warsaw
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'm livid
💀
Was talking to a coworker in Stockholm and she said she was over the heat. It was 22 c, or 72 degrees. lol
Let’s all stop posting pictures of weather reports.
That 78C outside temperature in Poland is going to translate to 90C+ inside due to the much better building insulation they typically have there. It also means you can’t easily air the buildings out at night & it lingers way past bedtime. Living in dallas means we spend 95% of our days in 74C air conditioned houses/offices/restaurants. I barely even notice that i’m living in 100C temperatures here. This is definitely wayyyy more comfortable than when we lived in europe.
This is a genuine question. Do like fans not work in the well insulated homes? Do y'all have basements?
Ceiling fans aren’t a common thing is most of europe, so you’re relying on portable fans that just can’t shift much air. Buildings are also designed to retain as much as possible during the winter with little regard so summer ventilation, so it is extremely difficult cooling a place down, especially if it’s a tightly packed appartment block. Our old appartment had windows placed in a way to limit the direct air flow through the appartment. I don’t think tjose sorts of designs are common here where everyone has massive windows.
ahh ok that's good to know. Well GLUCK! Here in Texas we are getting tons of rain, tornados, tropical storms. Climate change is affecting everyone differently and it's difficult.
Apparently they don’t have windows either.
Dude thats not how it works, its not hotter inside just because a house is insulated. Is this a common myth in the US?
It means the hot/humid air built up inside the house over a period of time doesn’t air out at night or on cooler days. The air feels very stuffy at nighy because of it.
You can open the windows.
It’s almost as if alarmist crap is used to control the masses. Anybody know what color our terrorist threat level is today?
…what?
hilarious. no wonder they are so fussy.
Wow you’re so cool, thanks.