We have wondered if the extra rain, cooler weather, and frequent rain and thunderstorms mean anything bad is happening climate-wise. To be honest, I don’t think so. I’ll explain.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have air conditioning at all at home. We were able to play outside or garden or do any number of things with very little heat stress. We got almost daily rains for most of the spring and well into summer. It wasn’t until August that we really suffered any from the heat, and even then the nights were pleasant.
I can even remember when I was in high school and was in the high school rodeos and other local rodeos and horse shows that the nights in July were cool enough that I could see my breath. Does anyone else remember those days? This would have been in the late 60s and early 70s. I was born in ‘52, so I guess it even includes the 1950s.
Yes, there were tornadoes, hail, and all the things you associate with spring weather across the South. We didn’t attribute it to climate change, global warming, or any of the other catch phrases people use these days. It was simply the cyclical pattern of weather that’s been around for millennia.
We were more concerned about Cuba and Russia (then, the USSR) than we were the regular weather events which occurred year after year. Those were tense times for our nation, and for our family.
Now it seems the weather has cycled back again to what I remember those many years ago. Cooler nights, warm, humid days, and plenty of rain and dew fall to keep plants from expiring.
There’s been a lot of flooding this spring, but there was flooding in the past, as well. In the 1980s, the river near us flooded all the way out into the bean fields and washed away the Corps of Engineers park near the lock and dam. In the 1990s, more floods filled valleys where small towns had sprung up far back in the past. Rivers and streams again overflowed their banks.
I really think these weather patterns do occur in cycles. This year just happens to be a wet cycle. I’m not complaining, though. It’s good for the gardens. It’s good for the pastures. And, it’s good for the aquifer that feeds my well.
I’m not complaining at all. Nope. I welcome this weather. It came on the heels of a particularly mild winter, which is one reason why I love where I live. Our average annual temperature is in the 50s. Right now we’re experiencing daytime highs in the 80s and overnight lows in the 60s. That’s not bad at all. We will get some days of blistering heat in August. Maybe even a few of them in July. Conversely, we may even get a few days of snow or ice storms that knock out power in the winter. But we’ve survived them in the past and I’m sure we’ll survive them again.
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