Nice and chilly down in College Station today.
Not fun cooped up in house with kids waiting out the ice storm but supposed to be back in 50s this weekend 
Hoping to get out on the water then.
Jiminy Crickets I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thermometer that goes that low. I was tempted to go yesterday when it was about 20F in SW MI because my favorite put-in was wide open and it felt warm for 20.
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‘indoor’ paddling
just kidding, spend the money on another cord of wood
(better yet, save the money and cut the wood yourself)
Here in southern New England we just had the warmest January on record - not a single day with the high temperature below freezing. Most days got into the 40’s. It is going to reach the 40’s for the next two days, then be bitterly cold for the weekend, then back up into the 40’s next week.
Around here, even during a normal winter I can find moving water that is open year round. Usually the dead-water behind dams and lakes/ponds are frozen by now, but not this year. I also have the ocean, so paddling year-round is not a problem. Toughest part can be finding people to go with me.
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Similar to @eckilson here in southern Michigan; I’ve been able to get out on the river seven times this year. Even the lakes were open. January returned to its regularly scheduled programming a few days ago: morning temps are in the single digits, the river steams and skim ice floats on by. The biggest challenge when it does warm up is getting in and out due to shore ice, particularly when water levels have fallen and the shore ice slants down to the water. That and keeping my feet warm - not much loft room for thick socks in my paddling boots.
Still, paddling in winter is well worth the effort. https://forums.paddling.com/t/pretty-pictures-just-pretty-pictures/74924/1662
I do understand this side too - the heat and humidity here in the summer can be pretty tough. I just tolerate the heat fine, but not the cold. Some are the opposite. I had my drysuit on a couple of weeks ago and one of my paddling friends asked if I was OK since his usual paddling partner tends to overheat easily. It was in the high 70s and sunny and I hadn’t even thought about it.
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Conversely, whenever I get out of the water and start putting my boat back onto the car racks, I almost invariably get asked by beach walkers/observers (as I did by three folks just this weekend), “Looks like fun, but aren’t you cold out there!?!” To which I cheekly replied, “Naw!!! It’s like Florida out there!” Of course, I usually immediately followed up with, “Seriously, my wetsuit keeps me warm. And, this is specifically thicker for winter.” Also, I’ll emphasize that one should have some kayaking skills, like rolling and self rescue. This placates those who expressed concern because they had seen me capsizing on the waves (and to dissuade those few who say, “Oh, I should try that”). Their usual response is generally, “Glad you are enjoying yourself out there.”
sing
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I’m with you, Sing, I’ll take a New England winter over a Florida summer any day. I mean, you can always put more clothing on, but there’s only so much you can take off. Though I do wish I could paddle in winter. A dry suit may be in my future.
I don’t mind the heat or the cold, just the extremes. I hate short days though.
If the weather doesn’t rain and wind isn’t gusting over 20. I hope to do another multiple day paddle trip to the coast soon. Had to cancel two trips because of bad weather in January. Hope to have better luck this month. I did get out canoeing a couple of times for the day in January during breaks in the weather. Love the spring and the fall!
Early January St. Hellena Sound, SC Not a snowflake to be seen!
Late January one of the day long canoe trips on the Saluda river, SC.
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Without even getting into winter paddling, a drysuit would be a good investment to extend the “shoulder seasons.” If you go later and later in the fall season, you may realize one late December or early January day, on the water, that you have become a winter paddler. 
sing
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Love the sense of solitude conveyed in the last two piccs! That is also an essential part afforded to me by winter paddling.
sing
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Yes, the solitude experience is more common in winter even here. No one at either ramp we used and saw none on the water both times we paddled the river in January. I like the feeling of being the only ones there. We would have paddled the Enoree River which is even a wilder place although the is very little in the way of human development on the Saluda River and no houses. However, there are no dams on the Enoree and with all the rain we have been having it has been near to or flooding on the sunny days and is full of sweepers
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I hope to get out sailing on Lake Murray soon, but February is a short month with Paddling plans already in the works. I hope to See Brodie at the check-in for the EC300. We plan to camp on Shell Island while there. Probably stay on a small sailboat but will rent canoes to do a bit of paddling in the days before that if all goes to plan.
Florida in the winter is a wonderland of good paddling.
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Our lake still has enough ice on it to make launching tricky. Further, the lake is drawn down by 10 feet in winter. But there is a lovely time of solitude in late March through early May - a few fishermen at most, but plenty of migrating waterfowl. For now I’ll continue to ski, Nordic and alpine.
That’s how the rest of the kayaking journey has seemed to go, so I imagine you are right (says the person who now has 5 kayaks in the basement). 
It’s a slippery slope… Careful, or you’ll find yourself living in a boat livery, unable to determine quickly which boat to go out in next. Choices… Too many choices…
sing
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Winter paddling is great no bugs, no boats!
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Paddling upstream today I had to dodge chunks of shore ice that had broken off due to the sunshine and temps in the low 40s.
My typical style of daydreaming didn’t work out as well as usual and I bumped quite a few ice chunks on my way upstream and coming back downstream I was looking at something on the shore and rammed directly into a big ice sheet which fortunately tilted into a shallow ramp due to my bow rocker so I went right over it making a bad sound for a long time.
Gorgeous day for a paddle but the sunshine gradually dwindled and then disappeared entirely and the wind picked up and it was from the north and it was 32 and windy at the take-out at 3:30 pm. Kinda like having mother nature wink at you.
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I just saw a notice about the national weather.
If it’s correct you folks in the North East are about to get some of what we have been getting. Get out your warm clothing and tire chains and make sure everything works and that the chains are in good shape and fit the tires. Have a back up system to heat your home if you can. Get your fuel and/or fire wood now.
Most of us who are remote in the Rocky Mountain regions do these things as a life style. It’s just part of every year’s plan. But I have friends in Texas Arizona and Oklahoma who had come to rely 100% on their usual systems always working, and the time those systems stopped they were in REAL trouble.
Don’t rely 100% of them, Have a back-up system and get ready BEFORE you need them.
If the weather that we just had comes to you, you will be very glad you did a dry run before you need them.
Hope this is a helpful post, even if it’s not related to paddling.
In the Marines I taught my troops the survival pattern, and it’s good even for home living.
Weapons.
First Aid
Fire
Shelter
Signal
Food and water.
Weapons : means a system for security. Friends and neighbors are key, as much or more then the actual hard tools.
First Aid : means any medical concerns you know you have, and some preparedness for unforeseen problems too.
Fire : Meaning heat. It can take many forms but have a few ready to go, AND some back-up for your primary system
Shelter : Meaning anything that is an effective barrier from the conditions that are life threatening. Clothing is part of this group.
Signal : VERY important and all the above can and at times will depend on your abilities to communicate with others.
Food and Water : Self Explanatory, but think in terms of months, not days.
My sincere hope is that it’s a winter vacation, not a survival situation for all of you. Preparing is the real and only difference between those two.
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Here in southern New England it is going to be below zero tonight with wind chills around 20 below. Even colder up north. Sunday is in the 30’s, and it is back up into the 40’s next week. Just a short cold snap. What crazy weather.