For the past month, I kept hearing that February 2015 was well on the way to being the coldest month in the history of Pittsburgh weather recordkeeping. After more days of sub-zero temperatures and colder fingers and toes than I had ever experienced or wanted, I was looking forward it. Imagine that? After growing up in sunny Southern California, where “cold” meant 50 degrees, I wanted the distinction and bragging rights of telling my family and friends that I just survived the coldest February in Pittsburgh history.
And then, after weeks of hearing weather and news reporters assure their listening and reading audience that we were closing in on the record, March 1st brought the shocking news that the coldest February in history… wasn’t.
In the waning days of the month, Old Man Winter failed to deliver the knockout blow. By less than one lousy degree. According to this morning’s edition of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, our average monthly temperature of 18.5 degrees fell just short of the record of 18.0 degrees set in February 1979.
I don’t mean to complain, and I certainly don’t wish snow, ice, school delays, slippery roads and shoveling on anyone. I just thought that for the past month, since 1 in every 4 mornings had a temperature that started with a stinkin’ minus sign, it might be gratifying to say that this was the worst February that had ever been, at least since eighteen something-or-other, when they started keeping track.
Maybe I could have gotten over it and moved on, except that here it is, the first day of March, and when I woke up and looked outside this morning, I discovered that my yard, driveway, and street had all disappeared again under a blanket of snow.
I hope this doesn’t mean that Old Man Winter is going to stick around as long as he can. I’m not interested in seeing if he can break any more records. Yes, I was disappointed that February was only the second worst, but I’m not eager to live through more cold, snow and ice to get through March. In fact, if April 1st rolls around and the weathercasters proclaim that 2015 had the coldest March on record, I’m going to be disappointed again.
So I just want to tell my friends and family who shiver in 50 degree weather the truth:
When it comes to cold, there’s very little difference between the worst and the second worst month in history.
And don’t kid yourself. There’s no such thing as winter when it’s 50 degrees outside.
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Ann K. Howley is the award-winning author of Confessions of a Do-Gooder Gone Bad.
Please visit her website at http://annkhowley.com/#about-ann