The Weather Outside

Weather is one of my favorite pastimes.  Thinking about it, talking about it, incorporating it into every aspect of my life.  It's everywhere.  It's everything. 

One of my favorite weather hobbies is to scroll through the forecasts on my phone.  I have a handful of favorite places that I like to compare my own weather to.  I recently took some screen shots of my phone to illustrate.  Let us go on a journey together, to experience the different weather of various parts of the world. 

First, my home. I left out the name of my town even though I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it in my blog already but just in case you were considering stalking me-- DON'T.  But let's just say I live in the northern half of Utah.  

                              Northern Town, UT's weather looks like this right now:                                                      

It's been cold, like in the 20's and then teens at night. Right now it's 29 and getting warmer. I believe the high today is listed as 41 which is balmy for this time of year and I'll take it. Plus, our 4,500 feet of elevation makes us almost an actual mile closer to the sun and you can feel it and it's awesome. In the winter in sea-level New York, I was always like, "what is.. 'suhn'?"   Not only did it always lie low, always obstructed, but it felt like merely an image projected onto the sky, not a real, living breathing ball of gas emanating anything whatsoever. Speaking of, naturally I have NY's weather on my app. Let's scroll:

Midday right now with some freezing rain. Gross.  Even though deserts miss the rain, I do not.  I am really happy for "moisture" as they say around here-- let's just call it precipitation, everyone-- because last year felt like living in a dried up pit full of ash and broken dreams. But rain in the winter is such a bummer.  I'm surprised New York hasn't gotten more snow, actually. My friends keep me updated saying they've received a little here and there, but nothing like the usual unleashing.  It's still early though. Stay tuned. (You know I will)

If I get to feeling a little bummed out about the winter, I might scroll to Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, Canada, a location I picked on the map that looked like a place the universe forgot but where people still live. (pop: 20,000) Check it:

                                                           

Oh happy day, Thursday soars to zero! This is actually quite mild compared to what it's been the past few weeks. Highs in the -20's + (this is getting confusing). But again-- HIGHS.   I mean what is that even like?? So I feel better after I visit Yellowknife. I'll take my hot sun and above zero temps. 

In an attempt to lean in to winter, I like to visit Hammerfest, a municipality in Finnmark County (now that's a little confusing) on the tippy top of Norway.  I like this one because it's just snowing all the time and I imagine it being just a winter wonderland in all the best ways. I think to myself, if I'm going to go do winter, I might choose Hammerfest. 

                                                        

Sometimes I think about where some family members are living and lovingly feel a little jealous hate for them in Oceanside, CA, where the temperature fluctuates (-- I actually first spelled that with an 'x'! How embarrassing, ha ha) by 10 degrees max. Ok, more like 30 but still. The highs for the year in the 80's and lows in the 50's?  What a dream.

                                                   
 
And of course, I can get a little more embittered and i may spitefully journey to another warm winter spot, like Phoenix, AZ, classically miserable in the summer and suddenly everyone's dream vacay in the winter:

While living in NY I once visited Phoenix friends in March and it was sooo weird.  I felt like I'd jumped through a time portal, missing a very important part of seasonal progression.  Where did spring go?? Did i actually sleep through winter and miss it??  Still, it's weird but also wonderful.  I need more winter trips in my life. I mean, 71? What? Just, what.

Next we do a complete flip of seasons, travel through a real life portal to another dimension and land in Sydney, Australia, which is smack dab in the middle of summer. Which is crazy. "Aaah, February.. it's so hot...mate."  is what I imagine locals saying.    

It's nighttime there right now, of course, and the days are actually quite temperate.  Perhaps it's not reached its peak heat point? Or maybe it's that Sydney's on the coast?  So recently I scoured the country looking for a more outback-y kind of locale for something more extreme to add to my collection. That brought me to Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia, but more or less in the center:

Now that's more like it.  Hot beating sun, bone dry and full of scorpions and scary outback animals.  I ask myself, well, Jen? Which would you rather have? your weather now? Or death hot Alice Springs where you'd be fighting off killer spiders and begging for a cloud.

Speaking of death, I also have included in my weather repertoire Death Valley which I believe is officially the hottest place in the planet.  Well it might be, but not right now.  Looking real good right now, Death Valley.  Again: road trip, anyone?

Oh, I just did some research (googling) and discovered the title of hottest place actually goes to Al Aziziyah, Libya with a recorded high temp of 136.4 degrees in 1922.  Maybe I should add that spot to my weather collection? I think I might. I've got nothing from Africa.

And then, finally, at the end of my journey, when I feel like I'll probably not actually visit anywhere temperaturally significant, I console myself by saying, what Jen, you want to go to Tahiti? You don't want to go to Tahiti. Look, it just rains all the time. It's in its rainy season. Gross. Better stay where you are.
                                                   



The End.