Here in America: Spring Sprung?

Mar 17, 2012

Spring Sprung?

Windows-rolled down weather. On the way home from church today, March 17, 2012. Central Ohio is greening up nicely this St. Patricks Day, far ahead of schedule.

I'm actually a bit of weather junkie. I have not one but two weather apps on my phone that I study religiously throughout each day. The AccuWeather app has a nice, glossy display and cycles between my favorite locations (pity poor Portland, Oregon. Every time the weather for that area comes up it's a litany of clouds, rain, and chilly temperatures). But I find AccuWeather tends to overestimate the forecast--predicting temperatures five degrees or more warmer than what actually bears out. My favorite weather source--because of the wealth of information it provides, and because it is typically very accurate-is Weather Underground. The website is even better than the app, as it provides extra details like high and low temps around the state, normal temperatures for a given day, record highs and lows, and sunrise and sunset information.

I guess I like following the weather forecast because I love to plan. There's something soothing and rewarding for me in making a plan--whether it be for the next day, the coming week, or the upcoming summer.I know tomorrow is not promised, that we should not say next year I will do such and such, but if the Lord wills it, I will do such and such. I know the one-liner about how to make God laugh. But none of that has taken away the deep pleasure I take in planning, even if more often than not life does not unfold according to that plan. And of course the weather is so important to planning: Will it be warm enough to take Elijah to the park? Can I send the kids outside for recess or will I have to take them to gym? During our years in Saipan, such a meteorological focus was pretty much pointless given that Saipan holds the world record for the least amount of variation in it's temperature. But here in America following the forecast has become a minor hobby of mine.

Well, right now the weather is not following the plan, and you know what? I'm okay with that. For almost a week we have had unseasonably warm weather--in truth, it's not merely unseasonably warm--it's just plain warm! We are 20 to 25 degrees warmer than the normal temp for this time of the year; in fact, today we broke the record high of 74 degrees set in 1889! And it appears that there is no change in sight--temps will remain in the 70s, sometimes even creeping into the 80s throughout next week. I'm not sure how long this wonderful weather will last--ideally it will just continue through the spring without so much as glance backward and take us right into summer! It makes planning difficult: Is it still too early to bring out the Adirondack chairs from storage, or if I wait will I find I wasted a good chunk of the spring when I could have been reclining on the patio? Do I take the fleece liner out of my coat, dig out the warm-weather clothes? Should we start planning 8th grade car wash fundraisers? I'm really not sure what is going to happen with this weird and wondrous weather. Part of me feels certain that winter will not let go without a parting shot, perhaps a freak snowstorm in April or something.

But another part whispers, "Don't worry about it. It's a beautiful day. Enjoy it."

Morning walk. I'm not photographer but on days like we've had of late, even an amateur like me can take beautiful pictures. The photo above and the following I took this morning while walking Kimo.