Not a deep freeze!

I just want to point out that the minimum temperature for a deep freeze is around -20; most deep freezes are set to around -15. So, we're not in a deep freeze, because as I write this morning, it's -45. That's over twice as cold. How cold is it, you ask? Well, for the first time in history here in Yellowknife, the public schools are closed. Government offices are still open and the community college I teach at is still open, however. School buses aren't running. The ice fog is so thick that I cannot see the house across the street. It has been below -40 for at least part of the day, all week this week. The warmest it's been all week is Sunday it was -33.8. The forecast for today was -48, (which is why the school buses and schools were cancelled) however it's not expected to get that cold now.

I have three winter coats. I have my -20 coat (given to me by Arctic Winter Games for being a co-chair of the volunteer committee), my -30 coat (the fur coat in the family photo a few entries ago - purchased at Value Village for a ridiculously low price), and my -40 coat (a duffle parka with an outer shell, sewn by your's truly about 18 years ago). Arctic Winter Games will give me another coat next week (it's my volunteer uniform, good to -30). At -45, I wear my -40 coat (which I've been wearing all week), but I layer it with a sweater or suit jacket underneath. I need the sweater anyway when I get to the classroom, because it's cold; however, I need the layers because in the afternoon I teach in the computer lab, where it's very warm. Once my mom was up visiting and she exclaimed about how many coats we had hanging up in the back entry. I simply explained that when you live someplace where you can expect temperatures below freezing any month of the year, and it's genuinely winter from October through April, you need a variety of coats.

So, how cold is it where you live?