Losing My Sense Of Direction
It’s December. Two things are true about December. First, Utah, especially northern Utah is cold in December. Second, if you want to be warm, you head South.
Those were my thoughts this week. I live in Utah. Not the “Southern Dixie” of Saint George or Cedar City. I live right up against the base of Mt Timpanogos. It has snow from November through July. It’s not as cold in the valley, of course, but still it’s Utah in the winter. You expect it to be cold, snowy, sometimes rainy.
I got it.
I had to make a trip this month. I didn’t want to. I wanted to take PTO and stay home and make Christmas presents for my kids and grandkids. But, that wasn’t going to happen. I had to interrupt my end of year vacation for a short trip. The positive out of it? I was going to Louisiana.
I’ve been to Louisiana many times. It’s a beautiful luscious green state. High humidity, especially compared to dry Utah and it’s warm. Snow in Louisiana is a “take pictures and write home about” event. The local Home Depot doesn’t sell snow shovels.
If you have to take an unexpected trip from Utah in the winter, there are worse places to spend a few days than sunny warm Louisiana.
It was 35 degrees when I left Salt Lake City.
It was 40 degrees when I arrived in Louisiana.
It was 70 degrees in Louisiana the day before I arrived.
It’s expected to stay in the 30’s and 40’s through the end of the week.
I’m leaving before the end of the week.
Yes, my friends here blame me for bringing the cold.
Here’s an interesting thing about Utah 35 degrees vs Louisiana 40 degrees: it’s the humidity.
Utah is a desert. Even our snow is dry. Skiers call it powder. When you have low humidity and cold, you get very fine snow that acts like powder. Not good for making snowballs, but great for skiing and more importantly, it doesn’t soak your clothes when they get snowy.
In fact, when it’s cold so long as it’s not windy, the cold doesn’t really penetrate. My boys will typically walk to church in just shirtsleeves on a sunny 30 degree Sunday.
But, Louisiana si a humid climate. Humidity is another word for water. As in, the air makes you feel like you’re slightly damp. And that damp sucks the warmth right out of your body and replaces it with cold.
I wondered whether I should bring my hooded sweatshirt in addition to a leather coat, or if it would be too much. I’m now wondering if maybe it’s not enough.
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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