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Writer's pictureEric Vechan, PhD

Cold (Weather)


What is cold to you? Is it all relative? Sort of. In Phoenix, AZ, where I am based, cold can be anything below 60 degrees. If we get into the 40's for a low, we are experiencing a major arctic blast as far as we are concerned. We'd all but panic and die if we had to live and work in winter temperatures that didn't even break freezing for highs. Can you get a snow day just for it being too cold? That being said, when it is less than 110 in August, we count that as a win and a relatively nice day. On our hottest days, it can still be 100 at midnight. So no, us desert dwellers might not even own a pair of winter gloves but we have all thought about wearing gloves when touching something metal at midnight during the summer.


So temperature is sort of relative up to or down to a certain point. When it's hot it obviously burns but it can also get so cold that it burns. I surprisingly learned this when scraping ice off my windshield during a tour of duty in a colder location (Kansas City). In addition to the obvious heat related burns, I've singed a hand on a sun soaked lock. You know it's cold when you can't feel your fingers and burn them while warming them up on an especially frigid (maybe normal day for cold weather natives). On a more serious note for you cold climate dwellers, stay warm and stay safe as the temperature drops. In the desert southwest, I will make sure my flip flops are in safe working order prior to leaving the house.


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