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| Cold Advice: Layer Up, Get Below Ground ... or Embrace It | Cold Advice: Layer Up, Get Below Ground ... or Embrace It |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| CHICAGO — As temperatures in this city suddenly, mercilessly, plunged into single digits this week, a whole separate world was flourishing underground. | CHICAGO — As temperatures in this city suddenly, mercilessly, plunged into single digits this week, a whole separate world was flourishing underground. |
| Chicago’s Pedway, a maze of almost balmy tunnels beneath this city’s downtown, was jammed on Friday morning. People marched purposefully down long, winding halls, through revolving doors, and on and on — ascending into the world once more at City Hall or Macy’s or to the courtrooms at the Richard J. Daley Center. | Chicago’s Pedway, a maze of almost balmy tunnels beneath this city’s downtown, was jammed on Friday morning. People marched purposefully down long, winding halls, through revolving doors, and on and on — ascending into the world once more at City Hall or Macy’s or to the courtrooms at the Richard J. Daley Center. |
| “Winter makes you want to stay in and do nothing — and I guess this is one way to do that,” said Marcy Garcia, 20, who works inside the Pedway at a dry cleaning store, not far from a grilled cheese sandwich shop, a store crammed with Cubs jerseys and a fitness center, where clients could be seen through glass swimming laps in a pool or dozing on lounge chairs. “The colder it gets above, the more busy we get down here,” she said. | “Winter makes you want to stay in and do nothing — and I guess this is one way to do that,” said Marcy Garcia, 20, who works inside the Pedway at a dry cleaning store, not far from a grilled cheese sandwich shop, a store crammed with Cubs jerseys and a fitness center, where clients could be seen through glass swimming laps in a pool or dozing on lounge chairs. “The colder it gets above, the more busy we get down here,” she said. |
| Down here, you can walk between more than 50 buildings over more than 40 blocks, arrive at L Train stops, or see a display of stained glass. Smells shift as you twist through new corridors: incense, fresh popcorn, waste. Signs are small and it is easy to feel lost, but everyone seems to know where they are going, experts in their hidden city. | Down here, you can walk between more than 50 buildings over more than 40 blocks, arrive at L Train stops, or see a display of stained glass. Smells shift as you twist through new corridors: incense, fresh popcorn, waste. Signs are small and it is easy to feel lost, but everyone seems to know where they are going, experts in their hidden city. |
| Along with layers, down and stoicism, plenty of Midwestern cities rely on these sorts of passages as answers to winter. There are the skyways of St. Paul, Minneapolis and Fargo, N.D. and the skywalks of Des Moines and Duluth, Minn. Shops emerge along these routes, and downtown workers wander them in shirt sleeves at lunch. | |
| “What is there to freak out about?” Christian Sullivan, a lawyer, said of the weather, as he typed away on his laptop inside a coffee shop along Chicago’s Pedway on Friday morning. Mr. Sullivan comes through here a lot — even in nice weather. His train arrives here, and the walk to court could not be simpler. | |
| “A lot more people come down here in this kind of weather, for sure,” he said, glancing around at the crowds, marching on toward offices. By his calculations, though, things may quiet down a little soon in this underground world. His phone showed the temperatures predicted to rise, he said, maybe even into the 20s. MONICA DAVEY | “A lot more people come down here in this kind of weather, for sure,” he said, glancing around at the crowds, marching on toward offices. By his calculations, though, things may quiet down a little soon in this underground world. His phone showed the temperatures predicted to rise, he said, maybe even into the 20s. MONICA DAVEY |
| RUTLAND, Vt. — It was six degrees below zero when Richard Thomas left for his job at the dairy plant here, inside a deep red building at the base of snow-covered hills. | RUTLAND, Vt. — It was six degrees below zero when Richard Thomas left for his job at the dairy plant here, inside a deep red building at the base of snow-covered hills. |
| Mr. Thomas, 71, is no stranger to this weather, and the plant seemed ready: The cracks in the walls were meant to be sealed, the heat was working. The wash line, which carries water outside, was drained so it would not freeze. | Mr. Thomas, 71, is no stranger to this weather, and the plant seemed ready: The cracks in the walls were meant to be sealed, the heat was working. The wash line, which carries water outside, was drained so it would not freeze. |
| But cold this deep creates new problems and magnifies existing ones, and that was exactly what happened on Friday morning. A frigid draft prevented some labels from sticking to the milk bottles. The bitter cold that descended on New England, closing schools and delivering wind chills well below zero, brought unique complications to this state’s farms. | But cold this deep creates new problems and magnifies existing ones, and that was exactly what happened on Friday morning. A frigid draft prevented some labels from sticking to the milk bottles. The bitter cold that descended on New England, closing schools and delivering wind chills well below zero, brought unique complications to this state’s farms. |
| “You think you got everything covered, then you find out you haven’t,” said Mr. Thomas, who was standing next to a 500-gallon tank of eggnog, as a metal machine popped lids onto bottles of cream and milk frothed inside a pasteurizing machine. | “You think you got everything covered, then you find out you haven’t,” said Mr. Thomas, who was standing next to a 500-gallon tank of eggnog, as a metal machine popped lids onto bottles of cream and milk frothed inside a pasteurizing machine. |
| Ryan Yoder’s worry? That his brussels sprouts and carrots might freeze inside the unheated barn where they were kept. “There’s basically a lot that can go wrong with the cold,” said Mr. Yoder, who raises chickens and grows produce in Danby, Vt. | Ryan Yoder’s worry? That his brussels sprouts and carrots might freeze inside the unheated barn where they were kept. “There’s basically a lot that can go wrong with the cold,” said Mr. Yoder, who raises chickens and grows produce in Danby, Vt. |
| On Friday, Mr. Yoder’s farm was running heat lamps near the brussels sprouts. | On Friday, Mr. Yoder’s farm was running heat lamps near the brussels sprouts. |
| “How expensive do they have to be to justify it?” he said of the sprouts. | “How expensive do they have to be to justify it?” he said of the sprouts. |
| On the other side of the Green Mountains, in Chester, Vt., Lisa Kaiman said she feeds her milking cows extra food in this kind of cold — which allows them, she said, to generate their own heat through rumination. Ms. Kaiman said she was spending her day adding hot water to the cows’ water supply to keep it from freezing. | On the other side of the Green Mountains, in Chester, Vt., Lisa Kaiman said she feeds her milking cows extra food in this kind of cold — which allows them, she said, to generate their own heat through rumination. Ms. Kaiman said she was spending her day adding hot water to the cows’ water supply to keep it from freezing. |
| Normally, Ms. Kaiman begins her work day at 5 or 5:30 a.m., but she let the cows sleep in until about 6 o’clock on Friday morning in the cozy beds they made for themselves in the sawdust. | Normally, Ms. Kaiman begins her work day at 5 or 5:30 a.m., but she let the cows sleep in until about 6 o’clock on Friday morning in the cozy beds they made for themselves in the sawdust. |
| “I knew they wouldn’t want to get up,” said Ms. Kaiman. “You pick your battles.” JESS BIDGOOD | “I knew they wouldn’t want to get up,” said Ms. Kaiman. “You pick your battles.” JESS BIDGOOD |
| MILWAUKEE — This is Wisconsin, a place where the pro football stadium is known as the Frozen Tundra, where people build 66-foot ice sculptures just because they can and where cheese brine has been used to de-ice the roads. | MILWAUKEE — This is Wisconsin, a place where the pro football stadium is known as the Frozen Tundra, where people build 66-foot ice sculptures just because they can and where cheese brine has been used to de-ice the roads. |
| Before facing the cold here, you bundle yourself with three layers and still feel the wind’s sting. Unshoveled snow becomes like permafrost, barely crunching when you walk across it. | Before facing the cold here, you bundle yourself with three layers and still feel the wind’s sting. Unshoveled snow becomes like permafrost, barely crunching when you walk across it. |
| When wind chills plunged below zero this week, a few hardy souls were still ice-skating at the outdoor rink near City Hall. And when an out-of-towner whined about the freeze, a resident professed his love for winter, noting cheerily that it will be snowmobile season soon. | When wind chills plunged below zero this week, a few hardy souls were still ice-skating at the outdoor rink near City Hall. And when an out-of-towner whined about the freeze, a resident professed his love for winter, noting cheerily that it will be snowmobile season soon. |
| In Milwaukee, this first blast of extreme cold is simply a fact of life, an inevitability. People put on a scarf, scrape the ice off their windshields and mostly just move on. | In Milwaukee, this first blast of extreme cold is simply a fact of life, an inevitability. People put on a scarf, scrape the ice off their windshields and mostly just move on. |
| “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Or: Here we go again,” said Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee, who noted that his city had endured two snowstorms already this season. | “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Or: Here we go again,” said Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee, who noted that his city had endured two snowstorms already this season. |
| There are precautions, of course: Salt for the sidewalks; warming centers for the elderly; travel warnings when the highways get clogged with snow. But the drama, the hand-wringing and the panicked shovel purchases that accompany winter in southern climes are mostly absent here. | There are precautions, of course: Salt for the sidewalks; warming centers for the elderly; travel warnings when the highways get clogged with snow. But the drama, the hand-wringing and the panicked shovel purchases that accompany winter in southern climes are mostly absent here. |
| In West Allis, Wis., a Milwaukee suburb, Gregg Malkowski was salting the roads on Friday afternoon and checking for slick spots. Mr. Malkowski, a city worker, grew up in this town and said he has no plans to leave. He said warm clothing and patience on the roadways were among his tips for surviving the Wisconsin winter. | In West Allis, Wis., a Milwaukee suburb, Gregg Malkowski was salting the roads on Friday afternoon and checking for slick spots. Mr. Malkowski, a city worker, grew up in this town and said he has no plans to leave. He said warm clothing and patience on the roadways were among his tips for surviving the Wisconsin winter. |
| “You’ve got to love snow, and you’ve got to like cold,” Mr. Malkowski said, as residents walked their dogs through snowy sidewalks and the drivers of even the tiniest cars navigated slippery roads with confidence. “If you don’t, you better go to Florida.” MITCH SMITH | “You’ve got to love snow, and you’ve got to like cold,” Mr. Malkowski said, as residents walked their dogs through snowy sidewalks and the drivers of even the tiniest cars navigated slippery roads with confidence. “If you don’t, you better go to Florida.” MITCH SMITH |
| NEW YORK — When a big freeze descends here, some among the homeless seek warmth inside shelters, but others find relief in the waiting areas of Penn Station. | NEW YORK — When a big freeze descends here, some among the homeless seek warmth inside shelters, but others find relief in the waiting areas of Penn Station. |
| But demand is high and space is tight. And so on Friday, an elaborate and gloomy competition began for a slice of marble floor, an edge of a staircase or, for a lucky few, an actual seat. Timing is key. Plans are made. | But demand is high and space is tight. And so on Friday, an elaborate and gloomy competition began for a slice of marble floor, an edge of a staircase or, for a lucky few, an actual seat. Timing is key. Plans are made. |
| Penn Station is either the departure or arrival point for hundreds of thousands of daily passengers aboard Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, or Long Island Rail Road trains. It also serves as a makeshift shelter for the homeless. | Penn Station is either the departure or arrival point for hundreds of thousands of daily passengers aboard Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, or Long Island Rail Road trains. It also serves as a makeshift shelter for the homeless. |
| “You got to arrive early, it’s cold out there,” said Lorenzo Bell, 56, a homeless man who hugged his shoulders for warmth as he held a seat in a waiting area for train riders bound for New Jersey. The best time to arrive to get a good spot? Mr. Bell advised 3 p.m. | “You got to arrive early, it’s cold out there,” said Lorenzo Bell, 56, a homeless man who hugged his shoulders for warmth as he held a seat in a waiting area for train riders bound for New Jersey. The best time to arrive to get a good spot? Mr. Bell advised 3 p.m. |
| Arturo Aponte and his girlfriend, Juanita Porterfield, employed a different strategy. They arrived at 11 a.m. and planned to casually stroll around Penn Station until they felt they had to claim a spot to bed down for the night. | Arturo Aponte and his girlfriend, Juanita Porterfield, employed a different strategy. They arrived at 11 a.m. and planned to casually stroll around Penn Station until they felt they had to claim a spot to bed down for the night. |
| “We’re scouting it out,” said Ms. Porterfield, 55, who rifled through garbage bins for recyclable cans and bottles, which she can turn in for at least a five-cent deposit on each. | “We’re scouting it out,” said Ms. Porterfield, 55, who rifled through garbage bins for recyclable cans and bottles, which she can turn in for at least a five-cent deposit on each. |
| Some of the homeless said the hassles of sleeping in Penn Station remained far preferable to checking into an overcrowded city shelter, as a few social workers buzzing through the station tried to encourage them to do. Early Friday afternoon a few people were already sleeping on Penn Station’s floors, as businessmen with satchels and visitors with gift bags stepped around them. One homeless man who declined to give his name washed his clothes in a mop bucket marked “men’s bathroom.” | |
| As the afternoon wore on, Penn Station flooded with both travelers seeking clear paths to trains and homeless people seeking quiet corners. The supply of both dwindled. | As the afternoon wore on, Penn Station flooded with both travelers seeking clear paths to trains and homeless people seeking quiet corners. The supply of both dwindled. |
| It made Julius Winn nostalgic for summer days. | It made Julius Winn nostalgic for summer days. |
| “If it was nice outside I’d probably be in a park,” he said. “But anything below 30 degrees is too cold. It’s warm in here.” NATE SCHWEBER | “If it was nice outside I’d probably be in a park,” he said. “But anything below 30 degrees is too cold. It’s warm in here.” NATE SCHWEBER |
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