Winter 2013-14 was Cold but not that cold. But still it was Cold.

Did the winter of 2013-14 break you?  Was it the bad trip you were convinced you couldn't escape?

Or, did it make you think, “Finally!  Where have these winters been?”

Whichever it was for you, I'd love to know.

The winter got a lot of attention, and the media pounced, with the usual sensationalistic flair that keeps people tuned in and/or reading.  Atmospheric scientists, almost as a kneejerk, went on the defensive, trying to convey the difficult-to-convey: yes it’s cold, yes it hasn’t been this cold in a long time, but no this is not the worst ever—not even close, and by the way, we’re wussies for thinking it is.

But if you remove the sensationalism, remove the curmudgeonism that often holds hands with myth-busting, there really was something to this winter.  So how do we talk about it?

Look, whether you loved it or hated it, if you lived in the central, southern, eastern, northeastern, or northern US (I just named a big

Commemorating an Ugly Evening in the Twin Cities

I know it's hard to imagine, but May 6, 1965 actually happened.  It happened in the Twin Cities.  Six tornadoes, 13 deaths, nearly 700 injuries.  This is not a hazy memory for those who were alive and around at the time.  They all have stories.  (If you have a one, send me a note or leave a comment; I'd love to hear it!)

Image source: NWS Chanhassen: "...taken by Minnetonka resident H. B. Milligan of a tornado crossing to the west of the junction of Hwy 7 and 101 on May 6, 1965."

Four of the tornadoes that evening did EF-4 -equivalent damage, and three of them were on the ground simultaneously.  Inspect the timelines

I'm Not a Roller Coaster Person. Yes I Am.

Gwazi at Busch Gardens, Tampa, courtesy of Theme Park Review

I don't know about you, but half of my anxiety dreams involve heights, ridiculously steep inclines, sudden falls, and sharp turns (which of course are woven through the heights, the steep inclines, and the sudden falls).  This goes back to childhood for me.  As you might imagine, gazing at a beastly roller coaster like the one on the right, therefore conjures up that exact kind of anxiety.  So I am not a roller coaster person.  Ahem.

When I was a kid, I liked *watching* thrill rides.  I liked that immensely.  But I did not like going on them.  Actually, I never even gave myself the chance to find out if I liked going on them; I avoided them altogether, especially if they involved the four horsemen of my personal apocalypse named above.  Now Scramblers and Gravitrons were no problem; they hardly leave the ground.  But Enterprises and Roller coasters?  Eff that 11 different ways and upside-down.  Nope.

For my 12th birthday, I went went to Valleyfair (why did I choose that?) and rode on three roller coasters just to shut my friends up, and about a decade later I went on some more rides to impress a young lady I knew. But that was it.  I wouldn't have to go on any more if I didn't want to, and from 1995 through 2010 I went on exactly zero.