Heat Wave Approaching!

This is not breaking news. It has been the lead news story for about 4 days. The United States has been ambushed by record cold temperatures and is in the midst of a deep freeze we haven't seen the likes of in twenty years. Just about every place in the country is experiencing temperatures at or below freezing. Obviously points north are in the deepest freeze. Some wind chills in places like Minnesota and Wisconsin registered at 40°, 50° and 60° below zero. Interestingly enough, the temperatures the last few days in Minnesota were colder than the South Pole. There were also temperatures in those places that were colder than the planet Mars. You know it's cold when your hometown is colder than Mars for Pete's sake!

As cold as it has been the last two days, a warm up is imminent and temperatures will approach 50° this weekend. These temperatures have been brutal, but it all pales in comparison to the winters of 1977 and 1978. During those two winters snow was measured in feet and not inches. Temperatures stayed below freezing for an extended period of time and the Ohio River actually froze solid. I'm talking people walking on the river and cars driving on it. Now THAT'S cold!

Make no mistake. It's cold and it has been a tough winter so far. At least during those crushing winters of '77 and '78 I was a kid and had not yet learned to despise winter. As I grow older, I hope I never, ever have to deal with a winter like those.

Stay warm, everybody! More normal temperatures are coming soon! It's going to be a veritable heat wave by Saturday!