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Cut through the confusion brought by warm weather
Lynn Taylor Schwaab
Updated: April 9, 2012 2:29PM
What is going on with the weather here? No snow? Seven straight days of record-breaking high temperatures in March? Who would have thought that on St. Patrick’s Day it would hit 83 degrees? Instead of pulling out my green sweater, I wore my green shorts. And there were so many block parties in my neighborhood that day. Why not! It felt like summer.
A meteorologist for AccuWeather predicted that this winter would be one of Chicago’s worst winters. We were supposed to have above average snowfall. Wow! He couldn’t have been more wrong, but at least he admitted it. The theory on the Midwest heat wave, according to the same meteorologist, is due to the drifting debris field from last year’s Japanese tsunami. He states that it is sending warm air above the Pacific Ocean. Once again, that’s his theory.
All I know is that this weather is making everyone so confused. I mean, what does a person wear this time of year when the weather is so warm? I have had so many women ask me if it was acceptable to wear white this time of year. My answer is yes. If it’s 80 degrees, it is definitely OK to wear white. They are certainly doing that in Florida right now. Just forget about those old rules of wearing white only between Memorial Day and Labor Day. When it feels like summer and it’s hot, wear white. When it’s 40 degrees, don’t wear white.
When the temperatures are jumping up and down and are going from 50 to 80 degrees and back down again, I suggest wearing layers. Be prepared for anything. Wear a lightweight jacket or cardigan sweater. You could always take it off if you get too warm or keep in on if it gets too cool.
Not only people are confused by this weather, but so are the plants. Everything is blooming. Flowers are out, and the grass is green and getting long. People are working in their yards, mowing their lawns, and doing their spring yard cleanup. And with everything in bloom, allergies are really bad. Normally this takes place in late April and May. The sneezing, the watery and itchy eyes, they are all signs that allergy season is here, too early for many people. I have already taken my son to the allergist twice, and that was during the month of March.
And how many of you have already done your spring cleaning in your house? Did you clean out your closets? I know that I had to do it early this year because my children wanted to wear summer clothes to school. All they wanted to wear were shorts. So, we went through their closets and I made them try on everything to see if they fit. It wasn’t very much fun for them at all. But it had to be done, right, moms? My kids grew out of everything.
Now, back to the weather. That same meteorologist has predicted that the summer will be warmer than normal. Will he be right? Or will he be wrong again? And will the opposite happen as did this past winter? We shall see and only time will tell.
Lynn Taylor Schwaab is a resident of LaGrange Park.
