By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 3, 2019 — The temperature in Metro Atlanta hit 87 degrees F. this week, the hottest day of the year so far.
Hurrah, hurrah! Perhaps we are on the way to good, solid, wonderful hot weather.
Some people like hot weather, while others like cold weather. I’m a hot weather person myself for one simple reason: I stay cold most of the time from about the first of October or even sometimes in September until at least May. My feet are cold, as are my hands.
During the winter, I always wear a cap, purely to keep the bald spot warm. (You can lose a lot of heat through the top of your head.)
So all through the cooler times, you can usually spot me wearing a sweater or fleece when indoors. Then if going out, I put on a coat, for after all, to me it’s cooler outside.
It’s just natural with me. I’m a warm weather person. Thankfully, I have not lived much in northern climes, though I did put in one year in Iowa, where I was surprised to learn that a person can shovel snow and sweat at the same time. But to think that some people work in, or have retirement plans, in Minnesota or Maine sends shivers up my back.
Many a time my wife sees me huddled around the heat, and asks, “Are you cold?” Yep. Sure am. She comes back: “I’m hot myself.” We are just two opposites when it comes to what we feel about the weather.
Even though enjoying summer’s warmth, I’ll admit to one drawback to hot weather: the humidity. Even though Metro Atlanta has the third highest altitude of any big city in the USA (save Denver and Albuquerque) at 1,100 feet above sea level, that altitude should diminish Atlanta’s heat a little. But add in the Dog Days and the arrival of heavy humidity, and the area can certainly be harsh. Yep, then I feel uncomfortable with hot weather.
About the best thing one can do during the Dog Days in July and August is simply…..to leave the area. One of our best holidays came during this time one year when we left Atlanta when that day’s high temperature was 95 degrees F. with probably 99 percent humidity. Our destination was St. John’s in Newfoundland in Canada. On the day we arrived there, the temperature was 50 degrees F. You can forget humidity then.
On Wednesday of this week, when the Atlanta temperature was to top out at 86 degrees F, St. John’s was expecting to have as its high temperature 45 degrees. Now, understand, I don’t want to live in Canada at all. But if you want a cooler summertime, that’s surely the place to visit.
To me, one of our better improvements in automobiles are the dual inside temperature controls. With this two-way weather inside your car, I can have heat blowing on my side of the vehicle, while my wife has the chilled air blowing her way. It sure makes for much better trips than in an automobile without dual air controls.
Now you understand why I am so pleased to see May arrive. Maybe my toes won’t be as cold tonight!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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