Coldest I've had to work in, outside, with bare hands, was -52. What would normally take 1 person about 10 minutes to do, actually ended up taking 3 of us about 45 minutes to do. We each had two sets of hand tools inside our pockets.
The parts we were dealing with were so small and finicky that you couldn't use gloves. We would work a few minutes (at best) then use tools for a minute or two, then tag to the next guy and he'd work a few while you had your hands in your pockets warming them.
Continue working in circles till it came your turn again, then you'd use your OTHER set of tools because they were warmer and you cold handle them longer than the previous ones, which were still thawing out/warming up.
The logging trucks were forbidden to work when it got colder than -50, because the long-loads of logs were so much weight that the axles were prone to breaking. (72' loads on the back-roads) That weight, added to the cold, then throw-in potholes.... makes for very unsafe conditions. And then the catastrophic mess that was left on the road made things even worser for the crews that would have to come out, rescue the driver, then right the vehicle/trailer, then clean up the pick-up-sticks that those long-loads would create.
There was one particular blizzard that came up so big, and so fast, that one of the local helicopter company's whirly-birds set down right at the edge of our log-yard. It was the FIRST thing the pilot could see, and recognize, that he knew was truly 'clear' to land in and get his customers on the ground.
Interesting times..... and almost all ya'll are STILL far South of where I am now. Ya'll are living in the balmy tropics,,,, don't kid yourselves.
