Currently watering the indoor orchids outdoors.
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My folks used to live in Juneau County, WI near New Lisbon. Iād watch their temps back then and compare it to the cities. It was usually colder at their place than in the cities. Iād guess LaCrosse would be a bit warmer than their old place due to the river and bluffs, but thatās only a guess.
Just curious as to what is your main home heat source, if you donāt mind my nosiness? Do folks in your area like to use wood heat? We have an all electric home with electric heat. My wife would like to put in wood heat, as thatās what she grew up with, but we really donāt have the room for a wood stove.
Our niece and nephew, who just moved into our old house down the hill, have propane as their main heat source, and some infrared space heaters. Yesterday I was down there and saw that their propane tank is sitting at about 1% full! I told my niece about it and she said they are supposed to have it filled. Sure hope its before the weekend, as itās going to be just above 0 Sunday night!
Natural gas here, as is just about universal. My daughter has a wood stove in the basement as a supplement.
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There are nat gas pipelines running all through this area, but itās not available in our part of the boonies. Out here there are a lot of folks who use wood heat, most of them in the form of boilers. Just about everyone else has propane as their primary or backup.
I have a dual fuel setup. Electric and propane. Thanks to the electric co-op in this area and the fact I paid for the dual setup, we get reduced electric rates. I have in floor heat powered by an electric boiler as well as forced air heat from both a heat pump and an l.p. furnace. The heat pump is good down to around 20 degrees or so, then it loses efficiency. We then switch over to the l.p. furnace (the in floor heat remains the same though). Our total l.p. and electric bills max out around $250 a month when itās brutally cold. Normal monthly totals are closer to $150.
Yes, many people in this area use wood for heat. Quite a few have gone with outdoor wood boilers. When I was a kid we heated with wood. I came to strongly dislike cutting, splitting, stacking, moving the stacked wood, re-stacking, disposing of the ashes, and washing the walls in the house because theyāre dirty from wood smoke/ash. This is hopefully the last house I build, and I didnāt want to be an old, broken down dude trying to cut, split, stack, etc. 5-8 cords of hardwood every year.
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We have an oil fired boiler with hot water baseboards. That system produces our hot water as well. However, we heat the house with a medium size Jotul woodstove when the temp gets below 25F or so (approx. 2000 sq ft, 2.5 story home). Above that temp, the woodstove drives you out of the house. As it is, weāre in shorts and TShirts when itās 20 below. With about 90% of 144 acres being wooded we have an abundance of firewood.
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Weāve had a lot of freezing fog during the nights this week which has made for some interesting scenes when the sun comes out.
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$250 a month sounds like a lot but considering how cold it can get, and for how long, thatās probably very reasonable. We belong to a co-op as well, and our rates are only about 8c/kwH.
Weāve had the heat turned up maybe 2-4 degrees higher since my Mom is visiting, but the thermostat has never been above 67 even then. Our last bill (late Nov-late Dec) was about $160, but that also includes a pole light which is about $10.
I understand about not wanting to do all that work for wood heat as you get older. That would be a pain, literally.
Before we moved here 5 years ago, I considered a boiler, but just couldnāt pull the trigger on it, mostly because of the cost. But, I still havenāt ruled it out. We live on 50 acres, and have some timber so thatās covered, but man, itās a chore cutting, hauling and stacking that stuff up.
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Over here, on the other side of the world, it is super hot.
We are in a cooler part of the country and have had three consecutive days above 40 C (~104 F) which has never been recorded here, plus they are predicting another week above.
I was talking to a friend who lives further west and the temperature was slightly above 50 C (~122 F) today, which is pretty extreme even for out west. It is times like this that remind me I donāt miss living out there.
It is not just hot here, it is also very dry. The past few years we have had well below average rainfall, and they are not predicting any decent rain between now and winter.
We are breaking many temperature records, and we are getting record animal heat related deaths.
Up north 1/3 of spectacled flying foxes (a rare fruit bat) died in just one day from heat, we have no record of them ever suffering heat deaths before. In other places there have been massive fish kills due to heat and poor water management. Some of these fish are well over 100 years old. It is dreadful watching this and being unable to help.
This summer has been difficult, and we havenāt even hit the hottest month yet!
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The $250 months are pretty infrequent most winters. That amount also includes hot water, cooking, washing, drying, 2 refrigerators, a chest freezer, electricity to my shed/workshop, and a large dusk to dawn light. I much prefer the $125 months 
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with elect. hot water and oil heat, we spend nearly double that. going to upgrade next winter to cut that hopefully to what you pay.
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Iāll take $250 any day. Ours is never under $350 in the winter. We have gas boiler and also furnace for the addition of the house. But pretty much only use boiler heating/base board.
In the summer itās much betterā¦
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During our coldest month, February 2015, we had a few nights below zero, worst was -14 one night. We kept the thermostat at about 65, and our electric bill was still about $230. Iāve added some things to help, like putting a clear plastic sheet over the inside of our living room windows. It has cut down on the cold air from seeping in, how much it saves, I donāt know, but it makes it a bit more comfortable in the winter.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-84-in-W-x-110-in-L-Clear-Heat-Control-Window-Film/3465632
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Yeahā¦just east of here is a cold pocket ā¦itās cranberry countryā¦low bog areas ā¦say from Black River Falls down towards Madison (i94 runs thru all of it).
Milwaukee has an interesting climate because of L Michigan acting as a ginormous heat sink during summer and radiating that back all winterā¦although spring winds off L Michigan are brutal. By July there temps actually go above mine and stay that way all fall/winterā¦
My sister lived in Green Bay for years and didnāt care for the cold/snow/rain so they headed back to Omaha.
The only positive of this area is we stay just cold enough late into winter/spring so usually we donāt bud out until spring freezes have passed.
snow to the south right nowā¦probably creeping in here for a few inches. I think my subzero Jan is in doubtā¦next weds/thurs morning look very good at going below the 0F.
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Do you have a basement? I finished off and insulated mine a year agoā¦that has helped stop heat loss through the concrete wallsā¦the floor is still cold and we donāt warm it much down there but its still fine to work down there. The floor slab in winter drops to the low 50Fsā¦in summer i think it rises to around 70Fā¦ We have well water and that seems to stay pretty consistent year round in the lowish 50Fsā¦ its #$##$ing cold in the summer getting sprayed by the hose! I chase the kids around when they are naughty and spray them 
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After a very rainy week here, things are not looking good, as a very strong ridge looks to be building mid-week setting us up for an extended drying pattern.
yupā¦gfs doesnāt show any precip for Los Angeles until early Feb. Temps warm up nicely back into the mid/upper 70Fsā¦ nice.
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Iāve never seen the area but that description gives me an instant visual picture 
No, no basement, we live in a newer model single wide. There is insulation under the floor, plus insulated foam boards that line the underpinning skirting panels. I think the insulation in the walls is the highest R-value available. Still doesnāt keep it from getting cold in here, but could be a lot worse.
Most folks around our immediate area donāt have basements, but you see a lot of homes with them in this part of the country.
We and most folks around here have partially in-ground cellars, including us. Ours keeps things (our canned foods and other food) above freezing when the outside temps are no lower than 20 or so. If itās forecast to be below that, like this weekend (around 7 Sun night), I install a 250W heat bulb into the light socket. Itās a porcelain socket so it can handle the heat. I donāt know at what outside temps at which the heat lamp will no longer be sufficient, but itās never got that cold to worry about it. Hopefully weāll only need it for a couple days.