Courtesy Spoiler Warning




At the risk of killing a catgirl, I wanted to ask a couple of questions about when it gets cold in the Milwaukee area. I'm going to referee a surprise horror game and I wanted some help. (Boo hates zombies)

What I was thinking right after I saw the movie was that if they had held out a few more weeks the zombies would freeze solid for the winter. You could either then:

A: Make your way to the marina without a ravening horde of undead pursueing you.

Which leads to my first question, when it gets could enough in Milwaukee to freeze a person, would the waterway still be open to small boat traffic?

Would unplowed snow make a dash for the marina difficult by then? Or would it not be deep enough yet?

If nobody is operating the locks, is it still possible to reach the ocean from Milwaukee by boat without leaving the boat? (To try to operate said locks) Always good for creepyness to make them get out of the boat. Are the locks even operational without extenal power? How intuitive are they to operate?


B: Stay home, walk around with a big honking nail gun. Anybody not moving gets a big ka-chunk to the noggin. Saves on now excruciately valuable ammo. And less disturbing to use than a rock hammer. I'd tie red plastic ribbons to the nails so I know which ones I've done already.

Secure and cordon off neighborhoods. Use a wrecker to pile cars and block off streets. Plus it seems to me that even the "spry and lively" zombies would be a sucker for concertina wire. Pile it up where ever you don't want them to go. That, and I just thought of putting canvas or blankets on the inside of the pile of wire so you won't attract or excite them.

And since zombies don't read, a nice well marked mine field with something noisy and flashy (probably wind-driven) in the middle of a park across town would be nice to set up for the spring thaw. Something fire based as opposed to blast or fragmentation.

I would still try to wear something like chain mail or a shark suit though.

My second set of questions would be:

If nobody has the heat on, how insulated would the interiors of large buildings be? Would they get below freezing? I assume at least for the first few weeks of freezing weather most large buildings would still be too dangerous to enter without extreme caution. But I don't see ice forming in them even by February, but I'm from California, what do I know about Wisconsin?

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Assuming no heat? as drafty as most are, say two days in sub freezing temperatures.

If you dig into the ground, it doesn't take long to get to a point where it doesn't freeze, though.

Would zombies freeze? Doubtful. At least not core body solid. They'd probably lose fingers in short order, which could de-complicate matters dramatically as they can no longer grab you. I still wouldn't want to mudwrestle one on a patch of black ice. Lotta variables, but lake effects would make life hell enough from freezing rain or re-freezing meltwater.

I'd say screw the ocean and head for Canada. Lower population density, less likelihood of undead troubles.


Recharging batteries becomes an issue as power plants start failing.

Makes for wonderful fiction, but the logistics are hell when you've got no notice, no warning, and that stuff isn't immediately available. If I were going to stick around in the neighborhood, I'd head for the nearest minimum to medium security prison and offer my services.

That takes time, and time is likely NOT to be something you have in large quantities.

Give me twelve rolls of duct tape and I'll have a suit of armor the like of which would make Red Green shed tears of pride.

Concrete tilt buildings and pre-cast concrete buildings would probably retain heat rather well. They're designed for it. Brick and block buildings will leak heat like a seive. Butler buildings and these stud and EIFS jobs? Forget'em. The only thing separating you from the elements is six inches of extruded polystyrene and 3/4" of fiberglass board.

My personal recommends here would be to head for a data center. Banks and banks and banks of computers, massive on-site generators with tanks for fuel for a month or more for each, and a maximum population of about six. Tend to have fairly good site security (you'll have to fix the gate after you bust through) and phenomenal building security (again, be gentle on the door, you will want to close it again).

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The frost line in the midwest is around 48 inches, but I'm not sure how much good that does anyone. Milwaukee is on the west side of the Lake, but it will still get a fair amount of lake-effect snow. Snow starts falling and sticking in mid-November, but it will likely melt and snow off and on until early to mid December. It will be fairly cloudy, so the sun won't warm building a whole lot; best to build a fire. It might be a good idea to use flaming arrows to set buildings along the path on fire a few hours before trying to make a run for it.

I don't know if zombies are cold-blooded or warm or luke-warm-blooded. They would probably suffer more from the cold and lack of food. They would probably become sluggish by mid-to-late November if in only taking moderate shelter. If unprotected in a parking lot, they may be in serious trouble by late night freezing in late-October, depending on weather systems. Zombies would probably freeze in unheated shelters (homes with broken doors and windows) by mid-to-late December, if not sooner.

That's my guess.

BTW, the lake holds a lot of heat and the marina wouldn't start to freeze until mid-to-late December. The lake itself may not freeze much or at all until mid-to-late Janurary or February. I was just watching the news and they showed waves breaking along the shore in Milwaukee due to the winter storm.

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Most likely not. The locks are huge, meant for ocean vessels. There is a set of three locks together in a place called Thorold that do have their own hydro electric station. From Milwaukee, IMHO you can get as far as Buffalo NY. Now you could continue and go down the Niagara River, but there is something on that river which is a far worse threat to a boat than zombies!

Cold might be better zombie-fighting weather than heat. I wouldn't want to deal with the smell of zombies left out in the sun all day in the tropics...

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