But To Be Fair, We Have a Better Atmosphere

Time to move to Mars! Temperatures on the red planet were warmer on Thursday than fourteen states from Washington to Maine

An ornamental fountain at the
 Old State Bank in Decatur, Ala.
on, Jan. 8, 2015, after the temperature
 reached a low of 7 degrees F.

Time to stop remarking about how unearthly cold it is outside because on Thursday, Mars was actually warmer than many parts of the U.S.

The daytime high in the red planet's Gale Crater, as recorded by NASA's curiosity Rover, was 17.6 degrees F - a whopping 11 degrees warmer than the 6-degree high in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Temperatures in fourteen states from Washington to Maine reported temperatures colder than Mars, as a brutal blast of Arctic air sweeps the country.
Mars just recently passed its closest orbit to the sun, which partially explains why the temperature was relatively balmy. The Gale Crater is also located in one of the warmest parts of the planet, near the equator.

Wintry weather around US brings fatalities, school closings

Authorities say the severe weather and blowing snow are factors in the deaths of two northern Michigan men — an 85-year-old who was struck by a car while crossing a road to get his mail and a 64-year-old who was hit by a car while clearing snow.

A car struck 85-year-old Carl Dewey on Wednesday in Helena Township, about 30 miles northeast of Traverse City, the Antrim County sheriff's department said. There were whiteout conditions at the time, the department told The Grand Rapids Press.

The Kalkaska County sheriff's department said 64-year-old Zane Chwastek of Bear Lake Township was using a snow blower in his driveway Wednesday when a car slid off the road and struck him.

An 18-vehicle pileup that happened in whiteout conditions on a western Pennsylvania interstate left two people dead and nearly two dozen injured. Nine trucks, several of them tractor-trailers, and nine cars were involved in the crash Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 80 in Clarion Township, state police said. At least one of the trucks was carrying hazardous material, but no leaks were found.

None of the injuries was thought to be life-threatening, but three of the approximately 20 people taken to the hospital appeared to have serious injuries. The others were treated for everything from bumps to broken bones.