First, let me start that saying, yes the temperature can get to -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-45.6 C). The coldest temperature I have ever personally experienced was -65 (or so because most thermometers stop working at these temperatures).I didn't realize how shocking this was to people until I talked to my mother today. Matter of fact, I didn't realize our temperature was quite so low. My parents were apparently out shopping today and my dad kept showing people how cold it was in Galena on his weather app. Seeing as how my parents live in North Carolina this sparked a lot of interest even from people who just overheard what he was saying. My mom texted me in the middle of class saying, "-51 brrrrrrrrr." Last time I had looked it was only -47.
At these temperatures there are a number of challenges. First, the boiling point of propane is -43.6 F (-42C). This means that at these temperatures propane is no longer a gas, but rather a liquid. Matter of fact propane pretty much stops flowing at -40 (by the way -40 F = -40C). Many of the stoves here in Galena are propane (including our school ovens) so you have to have a back-up plan. For example, school lunch was baked in the former home ec classroom ovens (we don't have home ec classes, but call the room the community kitchen and use it for a variety of purposes) which are electric.
Another issue at these temperatures is many vehicles won't start. We have engine block heaters, battery heaters, and oil pan heaters (one time in the summer I heard a couple of tourists say, "wow, so many of the cars in Alaska are electric" while pointing at the car I was traveling in. I replied, "that's not an electric car." "Why does it have a plug then?" I explained that the plug was for the engine clock heater. Here in Galena, because it gets so cold the school has plugs so that people can plug in while they're at work so that their cars will start after work. Nonetheless, at 50 below or so some cars simply won't start. Yesterday, I got a text from one of my bosses which read, "-47 but we will run a van for teacher pickup for those who need it. Otherwise school as usual. Please text if you need a ride." I didn't go to work yesterday because I was sick, but I rode the school bus to school today.
Besides propane being a liquid and vehicles not starting we have a few other interesting challenges at these temperatures. As a fly-in only community we are reliant on planes for everything. Of course these planes are affected by the usual weather conditions like visibility and winds, but they are affected by the cold. We have three types of planes that fly into Galena: Navajos, Caravans and 1900s. All three are prop planes, but they have different temperature tolerances. Navajos can only fly to -40, while Caravans and 1900s can only go to -50 (Navajos and Caravans are a lot "leakier" than 1900s so you definitely want your cold weather gear on those flights).
In Galena we also have a lot of houses (including one I'm moving into soon) that are not on piped water and sewer. The water is delivered and the sewer is a holding tank that the city will pump out. The city (we're classified as a first-class-city although with a population under 500 we think of ourselves as a village) this week posted reminders that the don't deliver water or do sewer pick-ups at temperatures lower than -40. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow (-30 or so) and they've announced that if it in fact is warmer they will run tomorrow (Saturday) which is not a usual day for delivery without a $100 weekend surcharge.
Finally, its also too cold for garbage pickup. Here in Galena we have dumpsters around town and everyone puts their garbage in these. The city empties the dumpsters and takes the refuse to the dump, but alas it is also too cold for this equipment. Therefore, they have sent a message asking people to please hold onto their refuse until it warms up and they can empty the dumpsters. Right now the birds and animals are picking open the garbage and making a big mess of it (the dumpsters close, but as they get too full people usually stack the garbage next to the dumpsters).
