An Orthodox Christian cathedral in winter landscape in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday. Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said 18 people died of hypothermia and nearly 500 people sought medical help for frostbites and hypothermia in just three days last week. Heavy snow and a severe cold snap have killed at least 36 people across eastern Europe and many areas were under emergency measures Monday as schools closed down, roads became impassible and power supplies were cut off. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Red Cross workers, left, gives hot tea to homeless people in Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday. Eighteen people have recently died of cold and nearly 500 people sought medical help for frostbites and hypothermia in just three days last week in Ukraine which has been struck by severe winter weather. Temperatures are expected to range from a high of minus 15C to lows around minus 20C over the next week. (AP Photo/Photomig)
I was looking for any reminders of winter for this blog entry, since it’s going to be near 70 degrees today (and tomorrow, and in the 60s most of this week). Yes, it’s still January, despite what you may think when you walk outside.
I saw someone wearing shorts in public yesterday. Come on.
This time last year, we were all hunkering down and preparing for BLIZZARD 2011!!!!!! Now, people are wearing shorts at the gas station.
When looking for reminders of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, you have to go to the opposite side of the planet.
To Serbia! Where a violent cold snap has lead to 36 deaths so far in central and eastern Europe.
They were having weather like ours recently: Mild, nice, all-around pleasant—by eastern European standards, at least. And that was part of the shock. Just ask Napoleon or Hitler; eastern European winters can be pretty rough. But what made this cold snap different was the mild weather the region experienced before the sudden change.
Temperatures dropped to minus 4 degrees Monday. With the cold came snow and power outages, leading to a lot of those deaths, most of whom were homeless.
In Ukraine, temperatures fell to 3 degree during the day and minus 10 at night. That’s like what we had this time last year. That’s cold. Schools were closed, 1,500 shelters were opened for more than 17,000 people.
From the Associated Press:
"Just as we thought we could get away with a spring-like winter ..." Jelena Savic, 43, from the Serbian capital of Belgrade, her head wrapped in a shawl with only eyes uncovered. "I'm freezing. It's hard to get used to it so suddenly."
And, well, it will probably stay that way for a while over there, forecasters think.
See? It really is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Just, you know, not here. And looking at
the forecast, it's barely going to get to freezing over the next week. (We could actually set a daily record minimum temperature overnight...)
The only thing I ask is that you keep the shorts in the drawer AT LEAST until mid to late March. Please? At least pretend it’s winter, just for a little bit.
--Jerry Wofford
