How do you survive when temperatures drop to -15 Celsius? You dress like my son did when we experienced a Minnesota winter a few years back. How do you survive -30? Stay indoors
By Terry Fredrickson
My home state of Minnesota in the United States is getting a lot of attention today and for good reason. It is cold – just as cold as the planet Mars in some places, they say.
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Cold – Minnesota style
My home state of Minnesota in the United States is getting a lot of attention today and for good reason. It is cold – just as cold as the planet Mars in some places, they say.
Here is the latest from our local newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune. (I've changed the temperatures from Farenheit to Celsius):
"Temperatures will remain at 20 to 30 degrees below zero Celsius statewide Sunday and are expected to hit between -32 and -37 in the metro area Sunday night. Monday’s high temperature could be -30.
"Thermometers in northern Minnesota will dip even further. Wind chills will turn the record-threatening readings life-threatening, assaulting exposed skin with the equivalent of minus 54 degrees.
"On Sunday morning, the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St Paul) tweeted: "This is the first time we have used the 'particularly dangerous situation' (PDS) wording with a Wind Chill Warning."
"At wind chills of 37 degrees below zero, flesh will freeze within 10 minutes. At 45 below, it takes only five minutes.
"The resounding advice from officials: stay indoors "
My 95-year-old mother will be taking that advice like most other sensible people. Our homes are heated, so extreme cold is manageable – unless, of course, you are forced to go outside.
To prevent that, schools are closed until the temperatures "warm" and many businesses, including grocery stores are closing as well.
By Wednesday, things should be back to normal however, when the high for the day could reach a "balmy" -15. And when it reaches zero, it will feel like spring.
Vocabulary
advice: an opinion or a suggestion about what somebody should do in a particular situation - คำแนะนำ
assault: to attack someone violently - ทำร้ายร่างกาย
attention: interest, especially interest that the public has in a person, event, situation etc - ความสนใจ
balmy: warm and pleasant - ปลอดโปร่ง
dip: to go downwards or to a lower level - ตกลง, ลดลง
equivalent: the same as - เท่าเทียมกันกับ
exposed: not protected and in direct contact with something harmful - ได้รับสารผิด
extreme: much more severe or serious than usual - ที่รุนแรงที่สุด
flesh: the skin of the human body - ผิวเนื้อของคน
grocery store: a shop/store that sells food and other things used in the home - ร้านขายของชำ
indoors: inside the house or building - ในบ้าน
local: in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about - ท้องถิ่น
manageable: possible to deal with or control - จัดการได้,ควบคุมได้
Mars: the planet in the solar system that is fourth in order of distance from the sun, between the Earth and Jupiter - ดาวอังคาร
metropolitan: relating to a large city - เกี่ยวกับเมืองใหญ่
normal: typical, usual or ordinary; what you would expect - ปกติ, ภาวะปกติ
particularly: especially, or more than usual - โดยเฉพาะ
planet: a large round object in space that moves around a star (such as the sun) and receives light from it - ดาวเคราะห์
record: the best or most ever achieved - สถิติ
resounding: very loud and continuing for a long time; very great - ซึ่งดังกึกก้อง, อย่างเด่นชัด
sensible: reasonable and practical - มีเหตุผล
situation: all the circumstances and things that are happening at a particular time and in a particular place - สถานการณ์
state: an organized political community forming part of a country - รัฐ
temperature: a measurement of how hot or how cold a place or object is - อุณหภูมิ
threaten: to put at risk; to put in danger - ทำให้ตกอยู่ในความเสี่ยง
wind chill: the effect of low temperature combined with wind on somebody/something, especially on exposed skin - ความหนาวเหน็บบนเนื้อหนังมนุษย์ (เนื่องจากความหนาวและแรงปะทะของลม)
