It happens every year but yet I am still impressed when it does.
Every year there seems to be one week, or even a day, when somehow we flip a switch and the warm weather is here. And I usually don’t notice it until a few days after it happens.
I’ve told you before how I live on the coast, three houses up from the beach and Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. Sometimes it can take FOREVER for the weather to change and then suddenly— we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
It hit me this week in a number of ways.
First, I was driving to the radio station in Fall River when I noticed all the trees had bloomed and they were suddenly that beautiful spring green. It seemed like we waited forever for them to bloom and then —- BAM!
Next, it started turning warmer — especially at the coast. It’s not unusual for there to be an 80 degree day in Boston in May but if you look REAL close at the forecast you see the fine print that says, “Cooler coast.” I can’t tell you the number of friends on social media who post, “They said it would be 85 today and it’s not even close!” If you look at the actual forecast you will almost always see “cooler coast.” Then suddenly— you don’t.
Now I knew it was because the ocean is still pretty cold and if the wind is off the water it’s just not going to warm up. This year I learned what may be the turning point when Eric Fisher on WBZ4 said a Boston Harbor buoy had hit 60 so we could look forward to things changing. As I write this (on Saturday June 1) the current ocean temperature for Buzzards Bay is 61.5 degrees. Yay! Still too cold for me to take a dip but I like where this is going.
That’s also when the “afternoon sea breeze” seems to change. When we take a walk around the neighborhood, the wind can be chilly. I always have a jacket or hoodie available but this week I was able to put those away. The breeze goes from painful to comforting around this time of year.
Oh and the other thing you start to notice is after one or two warm days the complaints seem to start. “It’s too hot!” Question: We wait and wait for the weather to warm up and after ONE DAY it’s too hot? There was also one day this week where my wife, the paramedic, had three or four calls for dehydration! Hello? Have you not experienced this before? Drink water!
So enjoy this special time we get before the heat and humidity really get here. It always amazes me that once the weather turns we seem to forget all about the winter and the wet, cool spring. Until it returns. But let’s not even think about that until then. Agreed?
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