Texas Weather

We have a saying in Texas that if you don't like the weather, just stick around a few minutes and it will change. I suspect that every state has this same saying. It is difficult, though, to imagine someone saying, for example, "If you don't like the weather in Delaware..." It just loses some of its bite, don't you think?

Anyway, as far as Texas weather goes, I've never really understood this saying. Could it mean, "If you don't like the 105 degree heat on this August afternoon, stick around until dark when it drops to 98 degrees? Yes, Texas summers are that brutal. At least three times each day during July and August, I make this observation, "This must be what hell feels like." You really can break a sweat going out to the front porch to get the mail!

Or maybe the change they refer to is the change from spring to summer when it goes from 92 degrees to 100 degrees. See, there really isn't much of a spring here. It basically goes straight from winter to hell. One day it's 60 degrees. The next day it's 95, and we don't see anything under 90 degrees again until about October.

And fall? Forget it. What most people think of as fall is winter in the part of Texas where I live. Our average winter high temperature is 55 degrees. Isn't this fall for everyone else? There are areas of Texas that do actually experience winter -- mostly West Texas. But the area in which I live basically experiences two seasons: summer and "kind of" winter.

Once in a great while, it gets cold enough to snow a little or ice over. These times are particularly amusing to people from the North. When we get 1 inch of snowfall in the Dallas area, life as we know it comes to a screeching halt. As soon as snow or ice is forecasted, there is a huge rush at the grocery stores. God forbid we get "snowed in" without an adequate supply of the essentials -- Dr. Pepper, Snickers, M&M's, popcorn, etc.

If the snow or ice actually does come, public and private schools close, along with many businesses, stores, and other establishments. I don't drive at all on these days. I sit at home and long for the days when it felt like hell.

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