The seasons in northern Maine are winter, mud season, bug season and fall. Fall and winter are our favorites.
The high temperature today in the north-western mountains of Maine will be 16 degrees; but tonight the temps drop to a -6 Fahrenheit (-21 Celsius). Tomorrow's high will be 3 degrees and tomorrow night -8. These temperatures are concerning as people's water pipes often freeze, cars don't start and black ice can be on the roads.
All temperatures, however, are relative. When we lived in a Native Alaskan village north of Fairbanks we had an Alaskan thermometer that went down to -55. There were a number of times that the mercury dropped into the bowl so we knew we were colder than -55. At those temperatures we wore insulated clothing and only our face was uncovered in our hoods. We didn't feel the bite of the cold as much as the sinuses in our foreheads and faces ached when outside. The natives (Athabascans) in the village wore much lighter clothing and the cold didn't seem to bother them as much; though I would meet the elementary children at the door of the school and check them for frost bite as they entered. When the temps came up to -20 we dressed down and it felt comparatively warm.
This is not a complaint. My wife and I are winter people. We live north because we prefer the cold to the heat. We love the snow and the crisp temperatures; but by March I am ready for them to go - by July I am looking forward to them again.
the Ol'Buzzard
Stay cozy warm and enjoy being inside! We've just come through a brutal polar vortex cold spell. Will finally warm up starting today, yay!
ReplyDeleteI am your opposite. I would rather be 88F than 48F. But the humidity is difficult for me on the Texas coast and eastern USA.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought temps in the 20's were unacceptably cold! Negative temps sound really bad!
ReplyDeleteI used to love Texas summers because I lived in El Paso where there was no such thing as humidity. It was a dry heat so it wasn't so bad. Here I beg for winter to stay with us just a few months longer. Mother Nature has issues.
ReplyDeleteMinus 3 this morning, one of the few subzero days we've had so far. February is usually our coldest month. I can recall winters where -40 was not uncommon, but that hasn't happened for awhile. The S.O. tells me the coldest he can recall is -52 (Fahrenheit, of course) back in 1966.
ReplyDeletecentral texas is crazy this year..goes from 50's to 60's and 70's this week..lows are low 20's..weird... I love colder weather than we are getting..not that it matters, I'm on lockdown and not going any where.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder how I would do if I lived further north. I'm a winter person, but New Jersey winter and Maine (or Alaska) winter are different animals. I don't like the long, hot, humid summers, but we don't get the biting flies away from the coast. And btw, I am going to retract my post about 1/6 after reading the New York Times magazine this past Sunday. Best coverage.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Desert Rat and so I too am a Winter/Fall person but for completely opposite reasons... those are the most temperate Desert seasons... Summers are spontaneously combustible but I don't have to shovel Sunshine. Lived in Maine and Upper Michigan, so have seen True Winter tho'. There is a season and a place for every person.
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