What's your weather currently?

[Roadgeekteen]

40s and sunny

[thspfc]

Snow squalls, I drove from blue sky into a wall of snow. I would really like for the snow to melt, but if it would just stop snowing, that would be a start.

[skluth]

70°F and sunny. Yes, this is why I retired here. The Midwest can suck it until June (when it gets hot again).

[Hunty2022]

43 degrees and sunny/clear. The sun already set and it's not even 5 pm yet...

[US 89]

My wife insists that the defroster should be set on "cold" - even in the winter.  Does that make any sense to any of you?

I don't see how that would help matters in the winter. If you're getting interior condensation in winter, it's because the outside temperature is making the windshield too cold to support the amount of moisture in the inside air, so you want to warm up the windshield. Since most situations where this occurs involve an outside temperature below what your car's climate control can produce, in theory any air from your defroster should be sufficient to eliminate the condensation. But warmer certainly doesn't hurt.

On the other hand, setting your defroster on cold is definitely going to make the problem worse for exterior condensation in the summer. In that scenario, the whole problem is that the inside is too cold for the amount of moisture in the air outside. Cooling your windshield with the defroster is the exact opposite of what you want to be doing.

[elsmere241]

That's what I thought.  I'm just remembering driving to her parents' place on a cold, foggy night in December and her not letting me put the defroster in our rental car on warm.  (It was the same trip where we flew from Seattle to Pasco and didn't get water.)

[CoreySamson]

Had to deal with ice on my windshield for the first time in my life this morning; it got down to 18 degrees per my car's thermometer. Otherwise sunny and beautiful.

[Bruce]

I've started using a windshield cover because my house blocks sunlight that would otherwise be able to melt some of the frost buildup on my car. Makes life a bit easier, though I still have to scrape the sides and back.

[kphoger]

My wife insists that the defroster should be set on "cold" - even in the winter.  Does that make any sense to any of you?

Sometimes I get better results if I set it to a less-than-totally-hot temperature, but generally not full-on-cold.

[Roadgeekteen]

40s and sunny

[jgb191]

While parts of the north and Canada would call this summer weather; we here in South Texas call this November weather:

Brownsville:       80 high (+1);  65 low (+4)
Corpus Christi:   77 high (+1);  66 low (+6)
Laredo:             75 high (-3);   61 low (+4)
McAllen:            78 high (-1);   63 low (+4)

Heat Index on Thanksgiving Day could range from 80 to 85 degrees in several places.  Average for this time of the year is upper 70s to near 80 degrees daytime, and upper 50s to low 60s nighttime.

Fun fact:  the all-time warmest Thanksgiving on record in my hometown of Corpus Christi is 96 degrees.

[Ted$8roadFan]

20s and sunny.

[Billy F 1988]

Sitting at 21 under fair skies in Missoula. It has stayed above zero overnight the last couple of days, but, I look on Weather Underground, and what do 'ya know? Another cold snap is about to hit Missoula beginning Sunday night with a low of 13. Heading into early December, between Thursday the 1st and Saturday the 3rd, lows will dip between one below to five below zero. That could change over time, but that's still cold

[Ted$8roadFan]

Cloudy and in the 40s. Expecting some precipitation later today.

[ET21]

Pretty nice Thanksgiving weather wise, all above normal. Around 50 degrees since Thursday, mid 50s today!

[Hunty2022]

Rain. Pouring down rain...

[Ted$8roadFan]

Cloudy and relatively warm, in the 50s. Awaiting rain later this afternoon.

[kkt]

My wife insists that the defroster should be set on "cold" - even in the winter.  Does that make any sense to any of you?

Yes, some.  When the engine is not yet warm, the air coming out will be cold no matter what.  Cold, damp air from outside won't pick up much if any of the condensation off the windshield.  The air coming out of the air conditioner will at least be dry and so can pick up some of the condensation on the windshield.  But once the engine is warmed up you should be getting warm enough air that the heat can pick up the condensation also and reduce the further condensation.

Clear as mud?

[J N Winkler]

My wife insists that the defroster should be set on "cold" - even in the winter.  Does that make any sense to any of you?

Yes, some.  When the engine is not yet warm, the air coming out will be cold no matter what.  Cold, damp air from outside won't pick up much if any of the condensation off the windshield.  The air coming out of the air conditioner will at least be dry and so can pick up some of the condensation on the windshield.  But once the engine is warmed up you should be getting warm enough air that the heat can pick up the condensation also and reduce the further condensation.

Clear as mud?

I wonder if Elsmere241's wife's reasoning has to do with restrictions specific to a particular model.  There is actually a fair amount of variation in how vehicles accommodate defogging when the engine is cold and ambient temperatures are frigid.

Many vehicles allow the defogger to be run with heat cranked to maximum and the A/C running for dehumidification.  But by design, others prohibit operation of the A/C for any reason--even dehumidification when the defogger is active--below a certain temperature.  It may be that Elsmere241's wife's car is designed not to allow the A/C to run for dehumidification unless the temperature slider is set to maximum cold.

Thus, while I personally would resist setting a slider all the way to cold when running the defogger, I wouldn't say a person was crazy for doing so unless I delved into the details of how that person's car is designed to operate.  There's nothing more irritating than being told how to run your defogger when you've studied not just the owner's manual, but also the factory service manual, and know that the generic instructions you are being given just don't work for your vehicle.

[Roadgeekteen]

49 and cloudy

[Billy F 1988]

Already the beginning of the second cold snap for November which also starts the first cold snap for December in Missoula. Fairly cloudy and 26 for now, but it's gonna get cold the next few nights. Should get down to 5 tonight and Tuesday night.

[Roadgeekteen]

41 and cloudy

[Bruce]

31 and there's a bit of snow on the ground that is sticking around. Unexpectedly early for the season.

[kkt]

Snow here too.  Sticking on car roofs and roofs of unheated buildings, and a little bit on bushes and grass.  Not on pavement yet.

it's earlier than was forecast for today - last night's forecast was snow starting after 1:00 PM today.  But late November is in the normal range for first snow of the season.

[jgb191]

Near-tropical conditions return to South Texas:

Brownsville:      88 high (+10);  72 low (+13)
Corpus Christi:  88 high (+13);  68 low (+10)
Laredo:             88 high (+12);  66 low (+11)
McAllen:            90 high (+13);  70 low (+13)

Easterly winds from the Gulf of Mexico will keep our dew points in the 70s, especially along the coastal areas, so that means heat index will range anywhere from 90 to 100 degrees, but all that juice in the air will fire up some scattered thunderstorms for parts of the area, but because we're too far south to be considered "The South" (whatever the heck that means), we will be spared from the possible severe weather blasts occurring in other states along the gulf coast, particularly in Louisiana and Mississippi.  Not a bad way to end the month of November.