When I moved to Wisconsin, I was cautious about the winter. The first few winters we spent here were colder than any since. We experienced -40°F and windchills even colder. Naturally, with today being the first day of summer and hearing about very high temperatures in the West and bad drought, I feel out of place to be experiencing actual cold. But truthfully I didn't arrange the weather. Right now, our thermometer says it is 60° and a weather app reports the feel is also 60°.
This morning at 8:20, I biked to my friend's house in a windbreaker jacket and shorts. At the time, the temperature was about 56. But then and now, there has been a strong cold wind. It seems that my wife is chilled if her legs are cold but if I am warm from my waist up, I am usually fairly comfortable.
Just about everything I read about climate change is about increased heat and problems from that, not about deeper cold. When we moved here, we knew we were moving to a place that experienced more cold but for me, the seasons here seem more pronounced and just fine. We did find that winter driving seems less difficult if it gets ten or so degrees below freezing and stays that way. The road crews do a good job of keeping the roads drivable. The worst driving we have experienced was in a southern state that seemed to have zero road clearing equipment and to use the strategy of just waiting for the road surface to warm and improve.
My aunt used to say that a person can put on enough clothing to be warm but can't take off enough clothing to be cool if the heat is bad enough. So, despite high temperatures in other places, it is nearly uncomfortably cold in Wisconsin just now.
