Snow in Florida?

Photo: floridawriters.wordpress.com/

All of the snow birds in who have flown south for the Winter are probably not loving life these days. It has actually been colder in many of the southern states than in Maine! There is even snow in Florida! Running the Disney marathon was a different experience for veterans of the event as they had to layer their clothing. Night time temperatures got down into the low 30s. Layering is not a problem for the pros, as they just peel them off and throw them by the side of the course. For others, tossing those layers may not be an affordable option. What do you do then? You can suck it up and freeze for a while, or maybe bundle up until just before the start and then pile your clothes strategically and hope you can get back to them later, or if you're lucky, have a friend pick them up for you soon after the start. With the race starting at 5:30 in the morning, and racers expected to be at the event by 4:30 am, even standing for a short while without much clothes on ! has to be miserable. With some 24,000 people expected, maybe everyone will pack together really tightly and keep from freezing that way. That could be very interesting.

The orange crop in Florida is severely threatened. It will not be known for a while after the cold weather passes what the extent of the damage will be and how it will affect orange juice prices. Many people hate to go without orange juice in the morning, but it just might come to that. What incredibly difficult lives some of us are forced to live.

Many schools in the south have been closed due to the weather, primarily due to snow or icy roads.

Snow birds in Arizona are looking pretty good. The weather is still a little chillier than normal, but about 10 degrees warmer than in the south east. There is no fear of snow there. There are no beaches in Arizona, and the fashion scene is distinctly different, but what do snow birds really want? Next year, there may be a lot more people abandoning their homes for Arizona and New Mexico and leaving Florida behind. Such a shift in trends probably would not last long, though.

Sand and cactus appeal to a very different element than do sand and palm trees. The two cultures might even clash a little. Somehow, there just are not many bikinis found in the desert as there are on the beaches, even when the weather might warrant it. Arizona snow birds are a much more self-reliant lot and do not expect to be catered to. Many of the Arizona snow birds simply park their homes on wheels in the middle of nowhere, the more remote the better. Transplants from Florida would probably be appalled by such an endeavor.

Both parties will probably have a common oft-repeated topic for discussion - is this global warming?