Even a day at the beach is taking on new meaning in this winter of unseasonably cold temperatures.
In the Florida panhandle with family while children were on winter break, I heard sleet falling from the sky blend with the sound of ocean waves. Another day, sunny skies and a temperature of 45 degrees were enticing enough to get sunbathers onto the sand.
That’s what happens when nature delivers a long, persistent reminder, as happened this year, that weather is unpredictable. The sun, as the saying goes, always rises and sets, but even in the Deep South history is not always a guide for the weather we experience.
For instance, while I was away last week for just three days, snow fell in the Tennessee Valley not once but twice. Then, the morning after a return trip home, we were greeted with a white coating on the mountaintop deep enough to transform the scenery.
In the last decade, snowfall of any kind in the area was a rarity, as warmer winter temperatures seemed to be in place for good. Typically blessed with four full seasons in moderation, the Tennessee Valley had become consistently skimpy on the winter side of life.
People who really don’t even like snow actually started to crave it, needing a reminder of possibility beyond the winter’s new normal.
This year, though, the jet stream cooperated to usher in snow and cold — and then some. The departure from the old norm actually started before this year, beginning with an early December snowfall before winter officially arrived. Steady cold and periodic snowfalls in the valleys and beyond to higher elevations have continued since, with only brief reprieves.
Now, with almost two months of temperatures steadily below normal and enough snowfall to satisfy those who had been missing winter’s snowy bite, most of us have forgotten what too-warm felt like. We’re more accustomed to the new normal of Deep South winter — cold with a chance of snow in the forecast.
Proof that both a change of climate and heart has taken place can be found in predictions for the week ahead, with temperatures expected to climb in the valley to 45 degrees or more. If so, that’s still below normal, but given the recent past, it should feel like a day worthy of a beach visit.