Minnesotans love to point out what a pain in the posterior (PIP) it is to endure the climate from November through March. Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State Climatology Office (SCO) quantifies the suffering with this Winter Misery Index (WMI). As you can see by their chart, last year’s WMI ranked highly for PIP.
I actually like the cold (good for ice skating!) and snow (great for cross-country skiing). Therefore I agree with the DNR suggesting the WMI be renamed WFI, that is, Winter Fun Index. However, even I must admit to favoring spring, summer and fall over the winter.
It’s been especially nice here for the past few months—only a few really hot days. This is confirmed by the MN DNR climatology wonks who concocted this Summer Glory Index (SGI). They figure the sweet spot (“full credit”) is high and low temperatures of 73-79 F and 57-64, respectively, with less than 60 F dew point and at most 0.01 inches of rain. By these measures we Twin Citians are enjoying a mostly glorious summer.
Looking back some years on the chart a few summers fall into the “wretched” category, primarily due to extreme heat. I recall many a summer night lying awake in my upper bunk on the second floor of our home in St. Paul with the window pulled down and begging for the least bit of breeze. That really was wretched. Thank goodness for air conditioning now being so ubiquitous in buildings and vehicles!
Check out my granddaughter Laine enjoying our great outdoors. Glory be! : )