Dangerously low temps/Florida warnings for pets??

[rockhillmanor]

I know it's all relevant BUT:

I am from up North and it still cracks me up when the temps here in Florida get to what THEY call 'dangerously cold'.

Here is the warning on the home page of the electrical company here in Florida for this weekend.

Chilly Presidents' Day Weekend Ahead
..is well prepared for the cold weather that is forecasted for the next few nights – temps may drop below 30 this weekend. ....... Members can refer to these tips:

1. Dress in layered clothing and wear some kind of head cover.
30 degrees in the Chicagoland area is balmy for a winters day, no hats and we had our jackets open. Layered clothing was for 'BELOW ZERO' temps!

2. Keep pets inside; when necessary to walk them, do so on the grass, not the cold sidewalk.
OMG. don't let them walk on a 'cold sidewalk'! Please my dogs had to walk on ice and packed snow for months on end during the winter! and keep them inside? Not, they wanted out to play in the snow banks!

3. Protect livestock and other animals with adequate shelter and extra feed.
30 degrees? My horses where outside standing in the sun of their own choosing and usually sweating under their winter coats at that temp!

No matter how long I have been in Florida these alerts for so-called dangerously low temps i.e. in the 30's, still makes me laugh. And yet so VERY thank full I AM here in Florida for the Winter!:B

[xteacher]

It got into the low 30's in S. FL last night. Many people in that area don't have heat in their houses, b/c it's not usually necessary. Most also don't own heavy coats. My husband grew up in Sarasota, FL a house w/out a heater (along with jalousy windows, which are very inefficient), and he remembers it being miserably cold when the occasional cold snap would hit.

It's also dangerous for the citrus crops (and other winter crops), which can't tolerate temps below freezing. Plan on seeing elevated prices in the stores...

[mabynack]

I'm up in the Florida Panhandle and we're expecting temps in the mid twenties for the next two nights. That's pretty cold for around here. I'm going to turn on my electric water heater and keep a heater going in the RV for the next two nights. Better safe than sorry.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I follow both the Nat'l Weather Service postings for Grand Rapids, MI and Melbourne, FL.... and giggle at the FL warnings about cold. Of course, it's 55 today (but the sun is VERY warm) - so I'm wandering around in shorts and a T-shirt. The native Floridians are in parkas and mukluks, muttering about the crazy Michiganders.....

I have to admit my dogs love it down here - the first thing I do when we arrive in FL is clip them practically naked; but we've explored the local dog parks and dog beach, and they seem delighted. I think it's because the air in Michigan, at 20-below-zero, carries so little scent? 😉

[xteacher]

Please realize that southern states don't have the snow/ice removal equipment or budget that our northern neighbors have. It wouldn't be cost effective to buy equipment/supplies for something that rarely happens.

Also, our houses are not insulated to withstand really cold temperatures likes houses up north are. Again, it's because extremely low temperatures are such a rarity. Along the same line, our heating systems aren't designed to be able to keep up when it gets really cold. Many houses in the south have heat pumps, which become inefective below 40 degrees. We've been getting temperatures much colder than that this past week (in the teens in my area, south of ATL), with no end in sight for the near future. For this reason, we had gas heat installed when we had our current house built, even though it's more expensive. We've lived in a house with a heat pump before - awful!!

Yes, my dogs have short hair, they're thinned skinned breeds, and they aren't used to the extreme cold. I put light sweaters on them at night when I lower the heater. They like going outside, but they don't want to stay out too long.

I HATE the cold. Come on Spring!!

[rockhillmanor]

Dog Folks wrote:

mabynack wrote:
A bed tax seems to be the common answer to any problem down here. Just soak the tourists. After a few years the locals start wondering why the tourists quit coming and the economy is in the tank.

Not going to happen in my lifetime;


"Florida broke another record with tourism in 2013, with nearly 95 million people visiting the Sunshine State. That was an increase of 3.5 percent from what had also been a record-breaking 2012," Visit Florida, the state's tourism promotions arm, announced Friday.

X2
Those figures were really an eye opener!
And I read that last year the population growth actually went down in New York and went up in Florida!

Hmmm, Think those New Yorkers were getting just plum tired of being hit with all that snow and cold and realized Florida just might be a better bet?

I know where I am at that at least 8 out of every 10 people I meet that have moved here are from either New York or Mass.

[Naio]

I used to have a cat who would loll on his back on the patio in freezing weather like it was summer. He had 4" long and THICK fur. In the actual summer, he hid in the deep shade of the trees all day and only came out at dusk.

When I was in LA I saw humans turn on the heat when it was 65 and the AC at 80. Whilst wearing long pants and long sleeves.

[Crowe]

I'm still seeing people wearing shorts despite well-below zero wind-chills.

[dieharder]

As humans, we adapt to temperatures rather easily.

Transitioning from summer to fall up here, once it drops to 15 Celsius, it's time put a jacket on. Transitioning from winter to spring, once it rises 15 Celsuis, it's time for t-shirts and shorts.

[Dog_Folks]

mabynack wrote:
A bed tax seems to be the common answer to any problem down here. Just soak the tourists. After a few years the locals start wondering why the tourists quit coming and the economy is in the tank.

Not going to happen in my lifetime;


"Florida broke another record with tourism in 2013, with nearly 95 million people visiting the Sunshine State. That was an increase of 3.5 percent from what had also been a record-breaking 2012," Visit Florida, the state's tourism promotions arm, announced Friday.

[mabynack]

A bed tax seems to be the common answer to any problem down here. Just soak the tourists. After a few years the locals start wondering why the tourists quit coming and the economy is in the tank.

[rockhillmanor]

dturm wrote:

WonderingWoman wrote:
Cancel your reservations to our state parks Now! Maybe we can get in. We do pay for them in taxes. You just pay the fee.

Okay,just shorten your visit

Sarcasm off.

You don't pay income tax or inheritance tax like most other states. We visitors pay substantial hotel tax (also added to campground fees, at least in some areas) added to the sales tax, gas tax and spend money so your businesses pay taxes so I guess we pay a significant part for your state parks. So I guess we can use the state parks :B

X10!

I was shocked after I crossed the Georgia/Florida state line the CG fees were the same but by the time they added all the taxes, wow!
I asked what the "additional" 7% tax was and the CG manager said the 'bed tax'. :?

That would the hotel tax. Yup I bought a MH so I wouldn't have to sleep with the bed bugs only to find out I would be PAYING for the hotels accommodation of the little buggers for others to enjoy!

[dturm]

WonderingWoman wrote:
Cancel your reservations to our state parks Now! Maybe we can get in. We do pay for them in taxes. You just pay the fee.

Okay,just shorten your visit

Sarcasm off.

You don't pay income tax or inheritance tax like most other states. We visitors pay substantial hotel tax (also added to campground fees, at least in some areas) added to the sales tax, gas tax and spend money so your businesses pay taxes so I guess we pay a significant part for your state parks. So I guess we can use the state parks :B

[rockhillmanor]

WonderingWoman wrote:
Cancel your reservations to our state parks Now! Maybe we can get in. We do pay for them in taxes. You just pay the fee.

Okay,just shorten your visit Sarcasm off.

:B

I now pay for them myself as I just bought a house here. Originally just for the winter......I liked it so much I now am a permanent resident.

I bought 2 dogs in Florida several years back and brought them back up North 2 live. These 2 dogs NEVER forgave me for doing so either.

Now, every time they go outside they get down and kiss the ground thankful to be back!:C

[colliehauler]

WonderingWoman wrote:
Cancel your reservations to our state parks Now! Maybe we can get in. We do pay for them in taxes. You just pay the fee.

Okay,just shorten your visit

Sarcasm off.

State parks are to difficult to get in so I stay at private parks. No competition from me.:B