Is it time to get out of Dodge?
After a very warm December with local temperatures being some eight degrees above normal, winter has now made an appearance across Southwestern Pennsylvania with some snow and cold temperatures but once again the cold quickly moderates and is followed by a day or two of mild weather.
The La Nina weather pattern responsible for the warm fall and December has relaxed a bit and this has allowed for some of the cold air from Canada to flow southward and bring a bit of winter to our region.
Areas to our north along the lakes have finally gotten some lake effect snow, piling up several feet across New York and Pennsylvania. Listening to some of the TV weather prophets you might think the end of the world was coming with all the hype about wind chill. We all know that a windy day in the winter feels a lot colder and one needs to bundle up with an extra layer or two of clothing to ward off the effects of cold and wind chill. It is also important if you have to be out to take extra precaution. This is especially true for children waiting for the bus and for older people.
I am one of those older folks who has grown to dislike winter and its cold weather. For most of my life I truly loved winter and the ability to both downhill and cross country ski. I would sometimes stop at the Summit and cross country ski before or after work, even if it was for just an hour. Weekends would find me skinning for hours barely noticing the cold.
Recent heart problems have put an end to exercising outdoors when the thermometer is below 40 degrees. I spent much of November and December in a cardiac rehab program at WVU Hospital in Uniontown getting back on my feet and I cannot say enough about Mary Jo and Nancy who guided my recovery and kept a close watch on my activities and heart.
With winter finally making an appearance we decided on a trip to a warmer climate so as to be able to exercise outdoors in a much warmer environment. I always thought Florida in the winter was for old fogeys but now that I am one I have come to truly enjoy a little vacation in the warm sunshine.
We love Marco Island and have been going there for over 12 years. It is far enough south that cold weather is a temperature in the upper 60s and most winter days are in the 70s and 80s. The added benefit is the bugs and humidity are gone, rainy days are rare and almost every day is sunny. Since lots of us old folk visit, the pool temperature is kept at 88 degrees and the Gulf is still in the mid 70s.
The cardiac people encouraged me to swim each day, take a morning walk on the beach and get back on the bike all in the warm air and sunshine. My strength is returning and I have gained back a few of the 30 pounds I had lost after my surgery.
The downside of Florida is that it has gotten expensive and crowded, especially around the holidays and the month of March when Spring Break is in progress. Three months ago I was unable to walk; today I did 10,000 steps and look forward to spring when the cold and snow are gone and I can get outside and continue my journey through recovery. Dodge looks pretty nice in the spring, summer and fall.
Looking ahead, the next two weeks should be a little below normal for temperatures and precipitation a little above average. Let’s keep the polar vortex in the arctic where it belongs. It was 58 degrees below zero this past week in Yukon, way up in Northern Canada.
Our cold air the past week was from Canada but it was greatly modified by the time it reached Uniontown. Don’t forget to bundle up and if it gets too cold perhaps a few days out of Dodge will help.