Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Degrees of latitude and degrees of heat

Being an expatriate Hoosier who soldiered through 62 Indiana winters before moving to the Mid-South, I still have a very different sense of hot and cold weather than do my Arkansas neighbors.

I may suffer a little more than the Arkies when the summer heat index soars into the triple digits and stays there for weeks at a time, but the payoff is earlier springs, later autumns, and milder, mostly snow-free winters. This will be our fourth winter here at 35N latitude and, while we’re slowly acclimating, it’s amusing to see the North Face cold weather gear and woolly boots come out when the mercury dips into the 50s. North Face stuff is a big deal fashion statement around here.

I’m sitting in the Seattle Grind Cafe and just noticed a young woman in an enormous pink down-filled expedition jacket. And it’s only 43 with a light drizzle.

That said, I don’t care to spend another winter in Indiana. That difference in latitude of about 5 degrees translates into an average temperature difference of 10 degrees.

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