So Winter has come to Florida. Actually, it’s been here about a week now. I don’t mean Winter only in name and general time of year for the northern hemisphere. I mean Winter in the sense that it’s COLD!!
For you Northerners or others from cold climes, I understand that for you what I am about to describe and whimper about is a heat wave by your standards. Please refer to the title and note that I’m writing this from Florida, mid-way down at that. It’s COLD!You probably think I’m complaining about a paltry 50 or 60 degrees. Which I do consider cold. Mind you most of us feel the 50’s are starting to reach arctic temperatures. However, we have had a few days that we never got up to that lovely temperature. Yes, we have had a true cold spell. It was 31 where I live this morning. Yesterday it was 29.
I confess, I don’t like the cold much. I have, however, been trying to be less cranky about it and accept it and just deal with it. I was doing fine up until yesterday morning. That 29 degrees came with wind-chills and when it managed to work its way through 2 shirts, a denim jacket and a leather coat, well, I ceased to be well humored about it. And on top of that when I got to work it was cold in my office. I could not get warm. I had to leave on 2 coats just to function. It was well after noon before my nose thawed.
At this point I was done with Winter. We’ve had a week of it. And it’s been a week of wicked cold weather for us. So to really put the nail in the coffin on my sense of humor regarding the cold?? I go to the gym and work out which was fine. I go to take a shower and there is no hot water. Wait for it… So I think I will get in the nice hot sauna to warm up really quick. It’s off, and has been for some time because the sauna isn’t hot.
Now yes, it is supposed to get warmer tomorrow. I think we will have highs in the 50’s. We are also going to get rain, then it’s going to get colder and sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning there are parts of Northern Central Florida that will be seeing…SNOW FLURRIES and SLEET. I’m not joking. And Saturday is going to be cold and wet.
You can call me a wimp all you want. I know we are not facing the same cold and snow that other places are. We are not supposed to, this is a sub-tropical climate. We are not supposed to need gloves and scarves and parkas. It’s just wrong.
Aside from my complaints about these temps, there are real reasons other than comfort to not be very happy with them. It has to do with the crops that grow this time of year here. Think about it the next time you’re sipping Orange Juice with your breakfast. The Citrus crops are really in danger from so many nights of such cold temps and the fact that it hasn’t been getting warm enough in the day just makes it that much worse. They do need a bit of a freeze to help them along, just not like this. Then there is all the foliage. Things like the ferns that go in those Valentines flowers. And house plants and strawberries.
And while I complain and whine about the cold and how I don’t like it and what happens to the crops and all, there is one benefit for sure…a hard freeze is supposed to help keep the mosquito population down in the summer. This is a huge bonus. It’s also possible that it has reached far enough south and east that this cold will help cool the waters of the reef off the east coast and maybe, just maybe help the coral rebound a little. That’s something to hope for.
And that’s the Winter Weatherland that is Florida this year.
And oh yeah, Happy New Year. Welcome to 2010.
Cheers.
Originally published at: suguayproductions.com/joomla which has been discontinued.
