Wild winter weather swings

 One day I'm doing my late winter afternoon run on a spring-like day and the next, there's threat of black ice. Welcome to a typical early March. Early March has always been non-committal when it comes to the weather as far as I am able to remember. When growing up, there were certain years on Ohio's North Coast when we would be teased with a beautiful thaw in late February and/or early March. We enjoyed the mild temperatures for a few days and then, "Bam," a snow storm and a few more weeks of snow covering the earth.

I confess that those late winter/early spring snowy days were depressing to me. Perhaps others were and have always been OK with those northern Ohio snowy days, but I think there have always been more people like me. Gray days filled with dirty snow never helped my psyche growing up in one of Cleveland's east side suburbs.  I think that Clevelanders never asked for much.  I recall folks who were living around me being so grateful that the roads were clear just so that they could get to the grocery store. I have a feeling that humbles people which quite honestly, makes folks in places like the Midwest and Northeast quite genuine.

I'm still not sure how folks in the northern states deal with these drastic weather patterns. Winter 2015 more than put those folks to the test with record-breaking cold and snow. I'll say it again: I hope they will all enjoy a beautiful and quiet summer, spring and fall. We deal with the roller coaster weather here in the southern states, but on a different scale. I suppose the key to dealing with these changes is to plan ahead, but no matter how much one plans, it's still not easy. I doubt that there is any way one's mind is able to completely prepare for these winter weather changes.

I would rather get the temperature forecast only by checking out my Yahoo! Weather app so I can plan for the next few days. "Will I or won't I wear a sweater on that week's Tuesday or will I put on a short sleeve Polo on that day?" Those are the questions I ask myself in early March.

Still, I get drawn into watching the local television stations' winter weather coverage. Maybe there's a part of me that loves the drama that the locals love to bring to viewers. Obviously drama equals higher viewership which translates into larger profits. Let's remember that television news is a business. With that said, the stations lay on the drama by finding where the worst weather is happening. With the Peach State's geography, the weather can be quite different from Peachtree Corners or say, south of Atlanta around McDonough to the north like Brasstown Valley. Reporters standing on a deck with the mountains serving as a backdrop, like to wear those station logo-emblazoned jackets with flakes hitting them.  Of course the television talent will be reporting from North Georgia where the snow will be falling while little will happen in the metro area. I'm still not sure why I wish to view the spectacle. I feel that if I don't watch the spectacle, then bad weather will hit the metro area and I'll feel uninformed.

With or without drama, it's tough to deal with these wild weather swings. Some years we experienced severe spring-like weather such as the mid-March 2008 twisters which skipped through downtown Atlanta of all places. On the other end of the spectrum, there was the mid-March 1993 snowstorm which blanketed the metro area for an entire weekend.

Our living quarters also deal with these weather changes. One day we're running the furnace and the next, the air conditioning. It's funny how I give my climate control system a personality, but if it has one, it must get confused at this time of the year.

C'mon "Weather Gods," decide what you want to do these days.