The weather in one word: 'cold'

Patrick Fisher, Staff Writer

At the risk of being pelted with snowballs - has it been cold enough for you?

Last week we had some of the coldest temperatures we've had in a few years. Wednesday night was one of the colder, as it bottomed out at 20 below zero or colder. That is why I needed to have my car jump started on Thursday. I count myself lucky in that it was the first day this winter I've had my car started that way.

Thursday night was also cold as I saw a few businesses' temperature gauges reading 15 below. It dropped a little more later that night, although Friday morning my car started just fine.

The days last week weren't much better as temperatures around the area barely crept above zero. Last week was one of those times when we just hunkered down and lived with the cold.

I gained a new appreciation for the people who have to work out in the cold, the mail carriers, sanitation workers and others. There's been a few times when I've had to cover something outside during a bitterly cold day, but the people who have to deal with it day in and day out are to be commended.

The cold led to a few people being creative, doing experiments with objects left out over night in the sub-zero weather. One meteorologist was hammering nails into a piece of wood using frozen fruits and vegetables.

While most people talked about the weather, one headline I saw made me wonder if the reporter heard one complaint too many about the cold as it read, What do you expect? It's Minnesota.

That is something we have to remember. We've had some mild winters and people have sometimes forgotten what a Minnesota winter can be like. Some winters have ranged from snow on the ground by late November that doesn't go away until late March. It often features several feet of snow piling up over that time and nearly two weeks of temperatures hovering around zero or colder.

Growing up I learned not only to live with winter, but also enjoy it. I still carry that feeling with me. An example is the snow that fell for most of Monday, Jan. 12. While I knew better then to try driving anywhere, I also couldn't help but smile as the snow fell, the big fluffy flakes swirling around made for a beautiful sight.

Winter is a season where we have to be prepared for whatever it throws at us, but we also should enjoy and appreciate the beauty among the cold and snow.