The Weather

The great thing about Iowa is the weather (I know, right?!) The thing about the weather in Iowa is that it is sooooooo predictable. If it's crummy outside you can predict that it will stay that way through the following weekend and ruin whatever plans you had made. You can also predict that if it's really nice out (you can define "nice" for yourself if you'd like) that it will not stay that way for long! Refer back to previous point.

For example, today is September 2, 2009. Typically, the weather in Iowa for this time of year is cool mornings (60s), hot afternoons (80s or 90s sometimes), and cool evenings (70s down to 60s). These are the days when you're turning the heat on in the car in the morning and the air in the afternoon and if you have to go out in the evening you probably have the heat on again. Today? It was around 55 when I woke up this morning. I think I saw a high of around 75, and right now it's 72. Not at all typical - but lovely nonetheless! I heard a rumor that we might be expecting some rain overnight but who knows, really? I clearly missed my calling (based on my August QA stats at work!) of being a weather-person. That is the only job that I know of where you can be wrong almost 100% of the time - and still be employed!

I was at Southridge Mall a few years ago and I stopped in the hottub store to admire the pretty hottubs (I would love to have a hottub, just for the record.) There was an informational video playing on the TV about proper care and maintenance of a hottub and the spokesman was talking about temperature differentials and how hard they are on the shells of the hottubs. I have lived in some other areas of the country - particularly the southeastern US. I know that it gets cold there in the winter but I'm going to pull out a cliche here: It's a different kind of cold! In Greenville, SC, for example, the town will shut down if snow flurries start to fall. In Iowa, we almost forget how to drive on dry roads - that's how commonplace it is to have snow here. Our yearly temperature differential is about 125 degrees. It is not uncommon for us to see temperatures at 20 below in Iowa in February. And it's not just cold - it's cold, wet, and windy! It is equally common for us to see temperatures in excess of 100 degrees in Iowa in July and August - usually the 10 days of the Iowa State Fair are the worst. Heat indices (actual temperature combined with humidity = what it really feels like outside) can be as high as 110 or more.

In Iowa, we are the picture of the life of a butterfly. About this time of year we start wrapping ourselves in our coccoons of winter clothing and the farther through fall we get into winter you can just barely see our hands, feet and faces. By the time February rolls around you might be able to make out our beady little eyes through a scarf, hood, and ear muffs, but other than that we look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow People. As the snow begins to melt and the ground begins to thaw around March or April we gradually start to pull our way out of our coccoons one layer at a time. By May we are on the cusp of life and by July we're completely free of our coccoons - it's too hot in there! A lot of people, or so it seems, seem to think that it's just too hot for clothes - period! I really can't believe the lack of clothing on people these days! Then just a few short weeks later we start the cycle all over again.

So, who's going to come visit me in Iowa in February? How about August? Come on now, don't be shy...