Absolutely it is IMHO!!! For example............back in the late '80's, I was living in Amarillo, TX. Had to come back to northern Illinois in early January to stand up for a wedding of one of my best friends. It was about 0*F in Amarillo, when I left there. It was still 0*F when I landed at O'hare airport in Chitcago but was wickedly colder due to the open water on Lake Michigan. Damp cold will suck the life out of you. I hunt in the Dakotas a lot. The same temps up there with wind do not feel as cold as the same temps down here by me. I'm 15 miles West of Lake Michigan, and have over a dozen other lakes within 10 miles of me. It's always damp here it seems......................
Phew! For a minute I thought some here were pulling my leg on that my -30* wasn't as cold as -30* up by you! I've been to Chicago and No Cal in the winter, froze my tootie compared to the same temps here and Colo.
Yet I remember talking to an older gent one time up near Copper Harbor, MI where it is cold all winter, spring, part of summer and fall. Snowfall is in the 200-300" category. He told me the coldest winter he ever spent was in Detroit and I believe him. The difference? Detroit has lots of temperatures in the 30's which, with some snow and humidity really makes it super cold, especially with wind. Another difference is that in our area we bury water lines 3' or 3 1/2' deep except when going under a driveway. Then we usually go down 6'. In the cities they typically have frozen ground well below 10' and once I recall 18' deep. In Copper Harbor most water lines are about 6" to a foot deep. Why the difference if it is colder there? The snow insulates so the frost does not go as deep.
