The weirdest weather ever

It was almost spring-like this weekend; temperatures were in the mid 50’s on Sunday afternoon. When I went running in the park, there were so many other people there that I was constantly dodging baby strollers, dog walkers, roller-bladers and toddlers on trikes. It was positively balmy; more like April than January. It was still warm today; around 50˚ by mid-morning. Then in the afternoon, the sky turned a very weird combination of green and gray and yellow. It was dark inside even with all the lights on, and I thought it must be getting nighttime. Not so. I looked at the clock and it was just around 3pm. Then the floodgates opened. Rain pummeled down from every direction and the wind was gusting almost 40mph. The temperature started dropping. 40˚… 34˚… 30˚… Once it dropped below freezing, the wet sidewalks and streets turned to ice. According to the UIUC weather page, the temperature is now 9˚ F and the windchill is 13 below. Yikes. That’s about a 40˚ temperature change over the course of 8 hours. Not to mention the 59mph wind gusts. This is truly the weirdest weather ever. A while back I know I said that with the snow tires on my bike, I felt prepared for anything. Now I’m not so sure. I’m wondering if I can cancel class for tomorrow… but I’d probably need to clear that through the head of our department first.

Speaking of my class, its going surprisingly well. These students are out of this world. How did I get so lucky? Last semester was a total drain—with students asking questions like, “Do I have to come to lecture?” and beginning emails with the salutation, “Yo Dawg.” In contrast, the 20-some students in my class this semester are fantastic. They’re asking questions all the time—but really smart questions ¹, that shows they are thinking about what they are learning. I hope it stays this great. If so, I might have just chosen the right career path afterall.

Okay, I’ve got to go watch Jon Stewart distill last night’s State of the Union address and get ready for class tomorrow and also hopefully get some sleep. Thanks for reading.

¹ Note, there is such a thing as a dumb question.