It's cold this morning in Utica. Really cold. One of those mornings where you have to open the refrigerator to let some warm air in.

I couldn't help but wonder: what's it doing in Antarctica right now?

Well, straight from the "why-do-we-live-here" files, I discovered that it's colder in Utica today than Antarctica. What's more unsettling is that this is actually a fairly common occurrence.

Just so it's understood, Antarctica is 18 hours ahead of New York. But that really doesn't make the numbers any less sickening.

UTICA, NEW YORK • FEBRUARY 3, 2023 • 8:29 A.M.

At the exact same moment, it was 2:28 a.m. on February 4th (again -- they're 18 hours ahead) and it was 22 degrees warmer!

ANTARCTICA, SOUTH POLE (McMURDO STATION) • FEBRUARY 4, 2023 • 2:28 A.M.

Big deal, right? An isolated occurrence, you might say. But no.

If you want to break it down further, I looked at the average temperatures in both locations for the month of January. You'll see that the highs are more or less the same, but the lows in Utica are FAR lower!

AVERAGE HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURE IN UTICA (JANUARY)

AVERAGE HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURE IN ANTARCTICA (McMURDO STATION):

Again: sickening.

I keep staring at these numbers, and one thought keeps crossing my mind: If it's this cold in Utica, and we all insist on living here... why can't we have penguins? Like, seriously. Ship us some damn penguins! I'd love to have one of those little guys running around my apartment.

Bundle up out there, folks. It's going to be a long winter.