Crying in the Arctic

Niiicola

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Let's say you're outside in -20 or -30 Celsius weather and it's windy and you happen to get quite upset and start to cry. I've heard about snot freezing in your nose, etc, but what would happen to the tears? Would they freeze in your eyes? I've tried googling this, but shockingly there isn't much info to be found. Anybody experienced this?
 
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thedark

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Yes - even in the States when it gets down below freezing, the water in your eyes can freeze. I've never cried outside in such weather, but if you just stand there without blinking for a moment or two longer than normal, the moisture on your eyes will start to freeze, then when you blink, it's just... really awkward. Hard, but not ice, because it's only been a second.

Very disconcerting, and you learn not to do that again. And to get better scarves.

But I imagine if you cried.. well, I'm curious what others will share. What does happen? It either freezes as it leaves your eye, or the heat of your skin keeps it warm enough til the main droplet passes, then the trail left behind turns to ice on your skin.

It's not good, either way.
 

williemeikle

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Let's say you're outside in -20 or -30 Celsius weather and it's windy and you happen to get quite upset and start to cry. I've heard about snot freezing in your nose, etc, but what would happen to the tears? Would they freeze in your eyes? I've tried googling this, but shockingly there isn't much info to be found. Anybody experienced this?

Yes - the wind up here in Newfoundland can make my eyes water, and in winter my eyelids get close to freezing together if I'm not careful. ( temps often -20C and below... sometimes a lot below with the wind chill.) Most of the time just blinking sorts it out.

I also get snot freezing my mustache, which is fun.
 

Marlys

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They might eventually freeze on your cheeks if you don't wipe them away, but not instantly. And certainly not in your eyes. The human body is quite warm, after all--and tears are salty, which also inhibits freezing.

What will happen if you're outside for extended periods in very cold weather is that your breath will condense and freeze as frost in your hair, on your hat, and on your cheeks. That's actually kind of cool.
 

Witch_turtle

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I'm in northern Alberta where -20 to -30 is the average daily winter temp, but we get down to -40 and -50 during the January/February deep freeze.

You wouldn't get tears freezing at -30. The tears would feel very hot against the cheeks, because the skin is so cold. If they drip onto your scarf or you wipe them away with your mitten they might freeze there on the fabric.

My nose actually runs at those temps too. It's at -40 your nostrils and everything inside starts to freeze and it physically hurts to take a breath. I've never cried outdoors at that temp but it can sure make you want to :tongue
 

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I agree with the Turtle. Tears wouldn't readily freeze at a mere -30C (-22F). The tears in your eyes wouldn't freeze either, but the air is very dry at that temperature, and that would cause the moisture in one's eyes to evaporate, causing dry eyes. I have never been outside at temperatures colder than that, so I don't know.
 

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They'd probably dry/evaporate rather than freeze. As others have already pointed out, tears are salty and the human body is quite warm.

Though I've found when I've been outdoors in those kinds of temperatures (and -20 isn't that cold, really, especially for the arctic, compared to -40 something), I rarely think or feel much of anything no matter my mood beyond how f***ing cold it is :D

As for one's nose (and throat) cold enough temps and it feels like everything is burning.
 

Maryn

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I found a Q&A with scientists at McMurdo Station. http://passporttoknowledge.com/lfa/QA/environment/Survival,Medical which includes: "QUESTION: Does mucus or a person's tears freeze in the harsh Antarctica Climate?"

Look for it near the bottom of the page.

Saline, of course, resists freezing far longer than water, and tears have more salt than mucus. Plus in the cold, your eyes will continuously tear, putting new--and warm--saline on the surface of the eye.

So while mucus and the water in our exhalations do freeze, it's unlikely that someone properly attired and equipped for -30C will have her tears freeze. Unless she's an idiot, she'll have goggles on, and they'll retain enough warmth that the tears will not freeze on her eyes, although if they run down her cheeks, they may.

Maryn, who also lives where there's real winter
 

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I've had my eyes water from the wind in -30/-40 Celsius, and the moisture went down my cheeks and evaporated fairly quickly, but left the skin feeling really raw and chapped (even more than it usually would feel just from being exposed at that temperature).
 

Niiicola

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Thanks, all! Just what I needed, and I'm sorry you were all subjected to such hideous weather.

Side note: I think I need to change my book title to Crying in the Arctic.
 

Marlys

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A few years ago a several-time Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion suffered frostbite of his corneas. Nearly blinded him.

caw

Ouch. Conditions were considerably colder than what the OP is asking about, though. According to this, air temp was -30F/-34C with wind chill at -70F/-56C.
 

Niiicola

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It's good to know anyway because the temperature's about to drop on my poor characters *cackles and rubs hands gleefully*
 

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Everyone answered your question, but it reminded me so I thought I'd share in case you wanted some other evil thing to do to your characters. :)

I've been in -35 temps (btw, past a certain point, C and F equal out), and yes your nose hairs get freezy and stuff, but the weirdest, most notable thing I remember was learning that you can't so much breathe through your mouth.

I was in the airport, with some people, and the airport was quite warm and stuffy, so a few of us said we wanted to go get some air while we waited for our bags to be offloaded. The person who had spent time in that kind of weather gleefully gestured us toward the door and watched.

We went out, took a deep 'ahh,' breath with open mouths, and promptly started choking. Your lungs aren't, it turns out, stupid.

Your body won't let air that cold into your lungs without warming it first. Your throat will simply close and cut off the cold air, so you can't damage stuff. That's nice, except if you have no idea it's going to happen, or what is happening, all you know is you suddenly can't inhale and have no air, which is sort of, let's say, distressing.

The person who was accustomed to the weather I can still picture, sitting inside, with an amused grin, watching the little cluster of us, who hadn't made it more than two feet outside the doors, doubled over, clutching our throats, panicking and scrabbling for the doors to try to get back in. We managed to stagger forward to trigger the doors, basically fall inside and a few seconds later could breathe again, because the air was warmer.
 

Niiicola

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Everyone answered your question, but it reminded me so I thought I'd share in case you wanted some other evil thing to do to your characters. :)

I've been in -35 temps (btw, past a certain point, C and F equal out), and yes your nose hairs get freezy and stuff, but the weirdest, most notable thing I remember was learning that you can't so much breathe through your mouth.

I was in the airport, with some people, and the airport was quite warm and stuffy, so a few of us said we wanted to go get some air while we waited for our bags to be offloaded. The person who had spent time in that kind of weather gleefully gestured us toward the door and watched.

We went out, took a deep 'ahh,' breath with open mouths, and promptly started choking. Your lungs aren't, it turns out, stupid.

Your body won't let air that cold into your lungs without warming it first. Your throat will simply close and cut off the cold air, so you can't damage stuff. That's nice, except if you have no idea it's going to happen, or what is happening, all you know is you suddenly can't inhale and have no air, which is sort of, let's say, distressing.

The person who was accustomed to the weather I can still picture, sitting inside, with an amused grin, watching the little cluster of us, who hadn't made it more than two feet outside the doors, doubled over, clutching our throats, panicking and scrabbling for the doors to try to get back in. We managed to stagger forward to trigger the doors, basically fall inside and a few seconds later could breathe again, because the air was warmer.
Do you mind my asking where you were? If it was the Arctic, I'd love to hear any other first impressions you had of landing there.
 

cornflake

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Do you mind my asking where you were? If it was the Arctic, I'd love to hear any other first impressions you had of landing there.

It wasn't the Arctic, though I'd love to go. It was a trip bopping about parts of what used to be the Soviet Union - in January. If you really want to see Russia, go in winter. ;) The temp when we first landed was -35 (C? I believe), in the daytime.

A number of times, this just reminded me, btw, I had the only working camera. I'm old school, and brought a manual, film camera. Everyone else's shit just froze and was like 'too... col....' Mine kept chugging along fine. This was a bunch of years ago, so I dunno, they might have non-freezy versions of stuff now, but every digital camera and most of the phones (not a lot of people were using them constantly there though) just ground to a halt. We were using the stuff while walking along and such, for periods, so it wasn't like it was warm in a car, hop out and it froze. I think it was an accumulation thing? Maybe one of the posters in Alberta or Alaska can better address gadgetry, heh.

Not exactly. AT a specific numerical degree, C and F scales are equal. That point is -40. Below -40, C degrees numerically are less than F degrees. Absolute zero in Celsius is -273, in Fahrenheit is -458, I believe.

caw

Huh, well go figure. I thought they equaled for some big period; learn something every day! Thanks! :)
 
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Marlys

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Things still freeze. When we were in Finland the winter of 2012-13, my husband took his iPhone out on a run one sub-zero (F) day to take pictures, and it froze.
 

jennontheisland

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So while mucus and the water in our exhalations do freeze, it's unlikely that someone properly attired and equipped for -30C will have her tears freeze. Unless she's an idiot, she'll have goggles on, and they'll retain enough warmth that the tears will not freeze on her eyes, although if they run down her cheeks, they may.

Maryn, who also lives where there's real winter

I am apparently an idiot since I go outside in -30C and below without goggles, for days on end, every year.

Your eyeballs and cheeks are not the only part of you that get wet when you cry. Your eyelashes, and the ends of your nose hairs are actully far enough away from your body that radiant body heat will not be sufficient to prevent water from freezing.

Snot does and will freeze if your nose is running enough. If I inhale fast and hard enough to make my nostrils deflate, even when my nose isnt' running the hairs will be subject to sufficient volumes of cold air that the tiny amounts of moisture on them will freeze. It's pretty easy to unfreeze; pinch your nostrils together and body heat will thaw the tiny ice crystals.

Cold wind makes eyes water, as Willie mentioned. That water gets on lashes and freezes. It's happened to me on the walk from my parking spot to my classroom. Because you know, idiot without goggles. Apparently the city where I live is full of them. Since I've never actually seen anyone out and about in goggles.

Except for the real idiots: people who go snowmobiling. -40, plus a wind chill, and they're out riding an open vehicle at 50 km/h. That's idiot. Or maybe not, since they're wearing goggles.
 
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My ex-boss lived in Chicago for a while and she told us about a winter where her eyelashes froze. As Brits, we were all horrified. She just shrugged and said you get used to it.
 

jennontheisland

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Also, you don't actually need a full -35. All you need is -20 and a bit of a breeze.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=5FBF816A-1#table1

Z
 
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