The Weather
In St Louis, there is a saying that "If you don't like the weather, just wait and it will change". This is also true in some other places, but St Louis weather is probably more changeable than most.
In the summer, it's pretty consistently hot and humid, but during Fall, Winter, and Spring there are more variations.
In the fall or spring, a cold front can come through and temperatures may drop from 70 F to 35 F in a few hours. I can remember a battle with my mother because she said I had to wear my sweater back to school after lunch on a lovely October day. She won, but I thought it was dumb to wear a sweater when I was so warm,. She was worried about me being cold later in the afternoon.
In January or February we would also get occasional beautiful days. With no leaves on the trees and a few piles of snow around, even I was more skeptical about what might happen later in the day. One time I remember snow at the end of March, falling on the blooming daffodils. This picture of a snowcovered daffodil is from Zenxx on Flickr.
I also remember the first year I knew that Spring arrives on March 21. I didn't realize that that is just the date of the equinox, when day and night are equal lengths. I thought it meant that we would have leaves on the trees and lots of flowers. That year had not been a really warm one. I was very disappointed when I looked out that morning and the branches were still bare.
Once during a lovely warm spell in late March, my friends and I planned a picnic for Spring Break in April. Unfortunately, by then winter temperatures had returned and we ate the picnic indoors, and then went out in to the picnic park for a very cold hike.
Another picnic I remember was a summer picnic. We were all set to go, when it started to rain and wouldn't stop. We were all disappointed. But my mom put the paper tablecloth on the floor and we had an indoor picnic. She even drew ants on the tablecloth, so we would feel like we were outside!
When a very warm day would come out of season, especially if it was a humid day, we would worry about "tornado weather". St. Louis has had bad tornadoes in September, in January, February, and May. They usually happen when a cold front comes through and hits moist, warm air.
There was a tornado when I was 12 years old, in September, that reminded my parents of one 30 years earlier, that hit the high school my mother had attended. We drove around the area where the storm had hit. You could see buildings that had lost an entire wall. We knew to go down in the basement if the sky got black or the siren sounded or the radio said a storm was coming.
In the summer, it's pretty consistently hot and humid, but during Fall, Winter, and Spring there are more variations.
In the fall or spring, a cold front can come through and temperatures may drop from 70 F to 35 F in a few hours. I can remember a battle with my mother because she said I had to wear my sweater back to school after lunch on a lovely October day. She won, but I thought it was dumb to wear a sweater when I was so warm,. She was worried about me being cold later in the afternoon.
In January or February we would also get occasional beautiful days. With no leaves on the trees and a few piles of snow around, even I was more skeptical about what might happen later in the day. One time I remember snow at the end of March, falling on the blooming daffodils. This picture of a snowcovered daffodil is from Zenxx on Flickr.I also remember the first year I knew that Spring arrives on March 21. I didn't realize that that is just the date of the equinox, when day and night are equal lengths. I thought it meant that we would have leaves on the trees and lots of flowers. That year had not been a really warm one. I was very disappointed when I looked out that morning and the branches were still bare.
Once during a lovely warm spell in late March, my friends and I planned a picnic for Spring Break in April. Unfortunately, by then winter temperatures had returned and we ate the picnic indoors, and then went out in to the picnic park for a very cold hike.
Another picnic I remember was a summer picnic. We were all set to go, when it started to rain and wouldn't stop. We were all disappointed. But my mom put the paper tablecloth on the floor and we had an indoor picnic. She even drew ants on the tablecloth, so we would feel like we were outside!
When a very warm day would come out of season, especially if it was a humid day, we would worry about "tornado weather". St. Louis has had bad tornadoes in September, in January, February, and May. They usually happen when a cold front comes through and hits moist, warm air.
There was a tornado when I was 12 years old, in September, that reminded my parents of one 30 years earlier, that hit the high school my mother had attended. We drove around the area where the storm had hit. You could see buildings that had lost an entire wall. We knew to go down in the basement if the sky got black or the siren sounded or the radio said a storm was coming.
posted by Story Time at 12:04 PM
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