Tuesday, February 10, 1998

A time to every purpose

Springlike days have pulled us from our ordinary winter confinement, and excursions outdoors have left us yearning for the real thing. But veteran Big Country weather observers feel an undertow of foreboding amid the joyous celebration. They know we're bound to pay for it later in the year.

Without a hard freeze to kill the bugs and weeds, spring could inflict more misery on us than winter can imagine. We should be wishing for a colder season than we've seen the past few years.

And down the road? We've heard the "old wives tale" about thunder in February producing a freeze in April, and we've seen 9-inch snowfalls on Good Friday as proof. Anyone care to venture what catastrophes thunder in January might portend?