November’s Frigid Revenge

When I moved from Pennsylvania to New Jersey years ago, I arrived at the beginning of summer. The hot, sunny weather was rarely interrupted, and the thick, engulfing humidity was unlike anything that I had ever experienced. I remember marveling at how intensely hot the interior of my car would become after baking for hours in the open parking lot of my office building.

Summer was followed by a pleasantly mild autumn. I continued to go out in shirtsleeves most evenings and felt perfectly comfortable without a sweater or jacket. I didn’t think twice when some colleagues proposed a trip to Atlantic City in the second week of November. Certainly, it wouldn’t be very cold by then.

Here’s a word of advice. You can have fun gambling at a casino, but don’t bet against Mother Nature.

The Arctic blast that’s engulfing North America this week reminds me of that fateful trip to the shore. Temperatures plummeted into the twenties Fahrenheit, while strong, near constant wind made it feel much colder. High rise buildings channeled that wind and accelerated it through open spaces, as though it weren’t harsh enough at its native speed. There were moments on the boardwalk where I found it difficult to breathe.

It was a rude awakening. Steamy, sultry New Jersey, the new home that had seemed blissfully tropical during the warmer months, had a harsh, bitter season to offset the warmth of summer, a season that made an impressive introduction during one particularly frigid excursion to the seashore. Mother Nature was holding all of the chips that weekend.