W is for Weather

It’s Monday afternoon and the first day of a long, rainy week. Whatever happened to “April showers bring May flowers?” I mean, we had a pretty wet month of April and so now aren’t we supposed to be enjoying some May weather, beautiful and sunshiny, with lots of flowers? Well, the flowers are out, but the sun really hasn’t been around too much since last Friday and from the looks of things we won’t be seeing it again until maybe Saturday or Sunday. I guess I’ll be doing a lot of writing this week…



W is for Weather

Weather permeates our lives at all times without us ever really realizing it. From severe weather to frigid winters, rainy days and heat waves, the weather that’s going on around us affects what we do, how we feel, and how we act. Here in New York, the four seasons of the yearly cycle of weather give us the best and worst of what weather has to offer:

Lazy, hazy days of summer

A cooling breeze blowing off of the ocean over a white sandy beach



Ominous skies warning the arrival of an afternoon thunderstorm

Crisp, refreshing autumn air

Freezing cold temperatures and dreary skies

Inches upon inches of snow, oftentimes keeping in plain sight for weeks upon cheerless weeks

Crocuses and daffodils emerging from a long winter’s sleep



Rainy days and Mondays

Reawakening of the spirit upon the return of spring



I’m sure that many of you can relate to these scenarios of the four seasons and the weather events they produce. With each of them come associations with which we can all identify, feelings and sensations related to each of these circumstances. Weather can make us happy and it can make us sad. It can awaken within us all that is the glory of Mother Nature and it can hunker us in towards a long, melancholy state. But of course, this isn’t all there is to be said about weather.

Weather can be fascinating …and deadly!

Part of the wonder of weather is the sheer force with which it can sometimes strike. I’m lucky enough not to live in an area that’s affect too often by tornados, which to me is one of the most fascinating weather occurrences on Earth. These dark funnels that reach down to the ground from the sky instill a sense of beauty, fascination and terror to those lucky, or unlucky, enough to experience one. I sometimes wish for the opportunity to witness the majestic power of this force, but I think I’m better off just seeing them from afar.



Another fascinating and deadly weather phenomenon is lightning. Like tornados, lightning can be an absolutely magnificent thing to behold, but with the frightening potential for danger. I remember my ex Joe always being fascinated with lightning. Whenever a thunderstorm would approach, he’d make his way out to the front stoop or the back deck to catch a better glimpse, while I stayed as close to the inner part of the house as possible. Lightning terrifies me, yet I can’t deny its allure. I’ve spent many a summer’s day in Florida, where enormous streaks of lightning permeate the sky almost every day, and the experiences are ones I’ll always remember for both the beauty and the fright it would often bring.



Of course, another deadly, yet fascinating weather event is the notorious hurricane. Here on Long Island we are affected by them every once in a blue moon and there are two I remember distinctly. Hurricane Belle was the first hurricane I ever experienced back in 1976. It struck in the late night hours and it was absolutely petrifying. Within minutes of the first howling winds, electricity was lost and we were left in complete darkness with only the horrifyingly scary noises that the wind brought.



Nine years later, Long Island was hit with another hurricane called Gloria. Gloria was expected to be much worse than it was and it turned out to be somewhat of a dud, though it did cause considerable damage and of course, power outages. The eye of the storm came right over the island and it was eerie, getting sunny and beautiful for about twenty minutes as it passed over us, paving the way for the second half of the storm. This one struck during the daytime hours, so to me it wasn’t as terrifying as Belle.

Of course, what would a blog post be from me without music? This one’s an oldie, but goodie from late Long Islander Laura Branigan. It had already been a hit, but gained somewhat of a resurgence in the days approaching the onslaught of this storm. It was and still is a great song!





I’m sure we all have weather stories to tell. Weather is all around us and I think we often take for granted the power it has over our lives as well as our psyches. I’ve been mentioning lately that my mindset has been in a good place lately and I think it has a lot to do with the spring weather. Though I do enjoy the warmer months, I don’t think I could ever live in a place that’s beautiful all the time. To me, trudging through the cold, bleary days of winter only works to make you feel that much better when spring comes.

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