real cold

Here's the iPhone weather forecast for Fairbanks.
Current temp: -42
MON: Hi: -30 Lo: -45
TUES: Hi: -33 Lo: -44
WED: Hi: -29 Lo: -44
THUR: Hi: -33 Lo: -42
FRI: Hi: -32 Lo: -44
SAT: Hi: -15 Lo: -44
Which is to say, it's cold here!
There are some novelty aspects to the cold -- the snow squeaks, it's harder to breathe, and for some reason you can hear car tires on pavement a half-mile away.
But the biggest impact probably has to do with air quality. When it's cold, people burn more fuel to heat their homes, and cars pollute more. The cold also tends to create temperature inversions, in which cold air is trapped close to the ground and air circulation is minimal. You can tell where the inversion tops out by watching where the smoke from power plants stops rising and simply spreads out flat. (The pic is from the university's coal-fired power plant on Saturday.)
Today the borough's Air Quality Index is unhealthy, meaning "everyone may begin to experience health effects." The main cause is PM 2.5, or fine particulate, which has been linked to everything from aggravated asthma to reduced lung function and premature death. The federal 24-hour standard is 35 micrograms per cubic meter. Yesterday's level here was 36.9 micrograms. Today's is 61.5.