Fulltime Rving... A Life on the Road plus a potpourri of amusements, interests & perceptions.: Winter Fun?

Monday, January 6, 2014

Winter Fun?

We have come to the Florida Panhandle for several winters since 2003. In the earlier years from 2003-2008 it was pretty nice weather wise. You could easily wear jeans and a t-shirt lots of days, and occasionally a sweat shirt for the rest. Rarely did it get into the 30’s at night. And when it did, it was a soft freeze (2-3 hours), something that only occurred perhaps 5-6 times a winter season. The average temperature was typically sunny and about 55° during the day (sometimes reaching 60-65°), and the average low was 45°. The weather sure has changed over the past several winters (2009-2014). The average temps now seem to be 50°/35°. The cold snaps come more often and last longer. The cloudy days seem to be more frequent so we don’t feel the warmth of the sun. The climate is changing just as science indicated has happened time and time again in the past. We use to have four definite seasons… now only primarily summer and winter, with a few scatter days of spring and autumn. The winters are getting longer and colder. The summers are also getting longer and hotter. We have less milder days, and more extreme days. The last three winters here in Florida have been the worse for longer periods of cold, more intense cold, and more and longer freezes. A good day now is jeans and sweatshirts. A typical day is layered clothes… t-shirts, sweatshirt, and hooded thermal sweatshirt, gloves, hats, and scarf's. Yes… it’s getting more colder, and staying that way longer. So on the good days, it’s fun in the sun… toes in the sand! Sunny and warm. On most of the days it’s hooded sweatshirts and gloves, gloomy gray skies, no sun, cold with a bitter wind that bites you right to the bone. Arggg! Remember the old saying from the 1800’s… “Go west young man”? The new saying should be… “Go south” as in the very southern most part of Florida, Texas, or California. Baby, it sure is cold outside! Burrr… 19° right now in Navarre Florida… and gonna be below freezing for a total of nearly 48 hours! Double Burrr! and triple Arggg! Stray warm folks, it’s cold and ugly everywhere!

The good days, and the not so good days.

Fun! Sunny & Warm.