Difference between Winters in the North and South

@kayamedic said:
Today 51
Tomorrow -2
Wheee

WOW! Two seasons in two days…
In S. Florida we like to think of our four seasons being…
Football, baseball, hockey and round ball…

@kayamedic said:
Today 51
Tomorrow -2
Wheee

Yup. Went through that yesterday afternoon when it was 50F & pouring buckets of rain, then dropped 40-some degrees in a few hours and back to snow. The big flash freeze. Oddly, the roads were great today. Mine had been sanded and the highway was completely clear.

Summer here is sometimes defined as three months of bad sledding. But then, what can you expect from a state shaped like a mitten? :wink:

Where I used to live in upstate NY, we always said “Three months of spring, three months of fall, six months of winter, no summer at all.” I do miss the vibrant seasonal changes.

@kayamedic said:
Today 51
Tomorrow -2
Wheee

Actually, that’s what I find more of the problem.
‘Up there’ when it hangs around 0 degrees for a few weeks, when it get’s up to 30, it feels like spring.
‘Down here’ when it’s been in the 60s for a while, then goes down to the 30s, feels like the arctic.
(not to mention having to change whole sets of paddling gear each ‘transition’)

The difference is down south,

  1. Our water is soft.
  2. We just can’t talk that much about snow tires.

@Overstreet said:
The difference is down south,

  1. Our water is soft.
  2. We just can’t talk that much about snow tires.

But you can have terrific alligator in the yard and snake ID conversations

Soft water shortens your life

@kayamedic said:

@Overstreet said:
The difference is down south,

  1. Our water is soft.
  2. We just can’t talk that much about snow tires.

But you can have terrific alligator in the yard and snake ID conversations

And that is cool.

@PaddleDog52 said:
Soft water shortens your life

It can if you breath it.

Hard water just makes it seem like you live longer!

Definitely do not have the traditional four seasons here in North Texas. 61 degrees yesterday afternoon and 16 this morning. I think the seasons are Dang Hot, Fall, Confused, and Tornado.

@TreeA10 said:
Definitely do not have the traditional four seasons here in North Texas. 61 degrees yesterday afternoon and 16 this morning. I think the seasons are Dang Hot, Fall, Confused, and Tornado.

Is that the part of Texas that gets “Blue Northerns”?

@TreeA10 said:
Definitely do not have the traditional four seasons here in North Texas. 61 degrees yesterday afternoon and 16 this morning. I think the seasons are Dang Hot, Fall, Confused, and Tornado.

That description is hilarious. Thanks for the laughter!

Out here in the PNW, we just had a spring preview this past weekend. It was all sunshine and in the 60’s. Yesterday was nice too and right now I’m watching the sun come up after an early morning shower. Hhmm, I might load up one of the kayaks and do some paddling today.

It’s been winter cold in SC, and may get a bit of snow tomorrow here in the Piedmont.

@Overstreet said:

@TreeA10 said:
Definitely do not have the traditional four seasons here in North Texas. 61 degrees yesterday afternoon and 16 this morning. I think the seasons are Dang Hot, Fall, Confused, and Tornado.

Is that the part of Texas that gets “Blue Northerns”?

All of Texas is subject to Blue Northers. We had several in Houston.

Couple more differences:

  1. light!!! About 75 more minutes of light in south Florida versus Chicago on the shortest day of the year. Doesn’t sound like much but it is!

  2. based on the pics folks down south continue to paddle. Up here after about 6 weeks without liquid water, I find myself taking out a nice wood paddle and just holding it…maybe even talking to it a little. And going into the garage just to visit the boats.

When the water is hard, we northeners take advantage of it. Skiing, skating, snow shoeing and shoveling.

@Andy_Szymczak said:
When the water is hard, we northeners take advantage of it. Skiing, skating, snow shoeing and shoveling.

Those activities sound good except the shoveling.

TomL, we have an overnight trip coming up the end of February on the Ausable.