The weather has grabbed our attention this week, and rightfully so, with the
windchill factor dipping below zero for the first time this winter.
Schiller, 53, says that he earns his living as a mechanic but that his real calling is"working with the homeless as much as possible." He was a founding member of a nonprofit group called Matthew 25:40, named for the New Testament passage that says in part,"whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." What he did on a half-dozen occasions, by his count was to let homeless people sleep on cots in his basement when the
windchill factor dipped below 15 degrees.
The Met Office urged those under amber alert to "be prepared", with the strong-wind warning in place all day and a -16C
windchill factor.
"The temperature is around freezing at 500 metres and -6c on summit which feels like -19c with the
windchill factor," it said.
Martin Hewitt from Widnes and his team were forced to abandon the attempt just 400 metres short of the 6,961-metre summit in Argentina as the winds hit 40mph and the temperatures plunged to a
windchill factor of minus 43.
"In Iceland, it was -10C, with a
windchill factor. It's the first time in my life I've put on thermal underwear."