Cold weather this time of year really only seems cold. Cold, after all, is relative, is it not?
A windy day with a high temperature in the 30s seems a little brutal when we had the 80s just a couple of weekends ago. But the same windy day with a high in the 30s come January will seem like a treat.
Why is it that hardy northern people accustomed to 20 and 30 below winter after winter get so chilled each fall with a few little blasts of chilly air? And why is it that weather that feels cold in October can feel mild a few weeks later?
The answer is not in the weather. Thirty-two degrees is freezing, and that is absolute. Human physiology is also absolute. Frostbite is frostbite. The difference is mental. We can adjust to heat or cold in our minds, and we become better able to deal with certain degrees of weather as we experience it.
Have a weather question you'd like answered? E-mail weather@wday.com , or write to WDAY Stormtracker, WDAY-TV, Box 2466, Fargo, ND 58108
