How cold is TOO COLD to go to work outside?

-Oy- said:
When we were doing the Land Survey for Manchester Airport (Then known as Ringway) in the early 80s, in winter, it was well bellow freezing for the whole month we were there. We were working at night! They gave us the one piece fleecy suits that fishermen wear plus one piece under garments and fur lined boots. VERY toasty for about an hour but by the end of a 10 hour shift we could hardly walk. We had to sit indoors for a couple of hours before we were fit to drive home. I don't ever want to be that cold again!
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ps I flew back into UK after 20yr absence - the flight was from Frankfurt and slowly skimming the English countryside as we commenced our descent was magical for many reasons - family awaited my arrival for one! thanks for the airport Oy!
 
Aunt Bea said:
It’s awful when you have to work with your bare hands.

I remember my father and older brothers working on our old John Deere tractor and the other vehicles in subzero temperatures.

They used to carry these old fashioned hand warmers to provide a bit of relief.

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Those bring back memories. When I was a kid across the street received on as a prize for the number of subscribers on his paper route. 2 hours later the fire dept was there, he'd tried it and set his room on fire.
 
The coldest I worked while outdoors was during blizzard conditions on the PA Turnpike just outside of Pittsburgh when a multiple vehicle accident occurred. The temp was -8F degrees and the wind was 12 mph gusting to 22 mph. We started investigating the accident at 1:30 am and finished at 5 am., but the Turnpike remained closed because we had to have the roadway washed and that turned to ice, so the Pike wasn’t opened until around 9 am. The state trucks salted the roadway, but it took awhile for it to dry.

I thought I was going to freeze that night. Thankfully, we had a canteen truck that supplied us with hot drinks. When my feet and hands get cold, the rest of my body suffers with them. After that night, my wife bought me some Alpaca socks, which were supposed to be warmer than the wool socks that I wore in the winter. I did notice a difference.
 
I saw a show on TV of people working in the Antarctic weather stations. It was like -100 degrees F. I think some of the people were college kids. I never heard what the wind chill was.
 

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