The Louisiana Weather

There is something about Louisiana and its weather that just feels so supremely different-- and at times magical-- compared to the Northeast where I grew up.  When we moved here (the beginning of August) through the end of September, miserable is a pretty accurate way to describe the weather here.  It's hot, and the heat wouldn't be so bad but the humidity makes it almost unbearable.  Now to be clear, we were OK going about our daily lives in the Louisiana weather.  We didn't avoid doing things we needed to do, or some degree wanted to do, because of the oppressiveness of the weather.  But certainly the idea of going for a stroll or walking around New Orleans seemed like just awful ideas.

Believe it or not, the weather in the summer didn't bother us too much, and for that we were extremely grateful.  Maybe we had convinced ourselves that it would just be so awful that we couldn't bear it, and when we could, we were surprised. Or, most likely, it's that the state experienced a pretty "mild" summer, so we lucked out.  The chart below is from the October Southern Living magazine-- a gift from Mike's Aunt Janice and Uncle Bill and family (what a great gift-- thanks again!).  When I saw it, I could not believe I am living in the "tropical south" climate. Holy moly, we're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

No copyright infringement intended; I needed to take a photo of this map thanks to the government shut down and not being able to access a similar reliable map.

What bothered me more (and still frightens me) are the rain storms.  We were welcomed into Mississippi by a huge, unrelenting rainstorm unlike anything I had ever been in.  Sheets of rain so opaque and so hard that you could neither see anything outside of your car (including the flashers of those in front of you) or hear anything.  White knuckle to the extreme-- for me anyway.  I am already so afraid of driving that these kinds of rainstorms annihilate my little remaining confidence.  Aside: it is not that I am a bad driver: if I am anything it's overly cautious and grandma-like.  I attribute my fear to a few early and bad accidents and growing into my mom's fear of driving.  But those storms also occur around here, and for a while occurred pretty regularly.  They're much better to navigate if you're not on the highway and are just driving around town, but thankfully, I have yet to be caught in a storm of that nature while I was driving.  Mike does pretty well driving through them.  For me, they are totally new, and totally scary to me if I'm not tucked away somewhere inside.

Although the storms are scary and intense-- LA thunderstorms are unique in and of themselves: you can see them coming for miles, and the thunder always sounds like it's right above you.  Poor Dora always runs and hides-- the sunsets here are impeccable.  Magical.  Awe-inspiring.  Seriously. I don't know what it is: if it's being so far south, or close enough to the gulf, or no mountains, but they are awesome.

Sunset in Baton Rouge, from the parking lot of a Pier 1 store.  No need to be anywhere fancy to see a sky like this.

Fast forward to September, when my poor little heart began crying for fall.  Changing leaves, cider donuts, that magical crispness to the air.. they were nowhere to be found here.  We were still hanging out in 90 degree weather, going to the pool and soaking up rays while wearing shorts and tank tops.  Not exactly the Septembers I'm used to, but a hot September in CT or NY certainly could be along those lines.  Seeing friends' and family's celebration and welcome of fall, as you might now, led to some downright self-pitying whining sessions.

But now, in the second week of October, we are finally welcoming fall here in Baton Rouge-- at least temporarily.  And I have to say, it is strange.  Today and yesterday, the temperature has been about mid-70's during the day--about 20 degrees cooler than the norm up to this point.  It feels cool, and crisp in a way that I have never experienced.  Both times, going to get the mail around noon, I wanted to pull on a sweatshirt.  But the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, little to no wind and the most gorgeous blue hue you have ever seen.  Gorgeous.  Paradise.  We opened as many windows as we could, and I have worked both days with the slider in the office swung open to the outside. As we speak, I am wearing slippers (the heavy duty LL Bean shearling ones), yoga capris and a t-shirt.  Several times, I have been tempted to go get a sweater.  Never in my life has 70-something felt cool.  I'm sure the zero-trace of humidity helps (or at least what feels like zero to me now: I haven't checked the actual dew-points).  It's so hard to believe that after only about 2 months, my body has really adjusted to this new climate.  My mom keeps saying that I'll freeze when we come back up north in December, and I think she's right.

I say it feels strange, though, because it, to me, almost feels spring-like.  Like those first few abnormal days in March and April when you can finally open the windows and breathe in the fresh, outside air.  It just feels better.  Maybe the A/C was getting to me!  Other than that, I don't know how to explain it other than to say it is such a welcome, wonderful and fresh change.

I wish I could bottle up this day and send it to you all.  A photo will not do it justice, and to describe how amazing it feels is impossible.  But just know I'm wishing I could share it with you, and will really enjoy our errand night and being outside later. :)