Often you will hear travelers to The Great State mention
how they couldn’t live here because they’d miss having the “seasons.” They wax poetic about seeing the leaves
change on trees and remember fondly building snowmen.
Although they could do that here in Texas, the number of
days a person could experience those memories is pretty short. Pining for the
four seasons up North seems odd to us, because here in Texas, we have eight
seasons.
According to your calendar, Summer has just begun. In Texas, summer is a factor in just
about all the seasons. Ergo, we
have many more seasons then the rest of the country.
Here are the seasons in Texas:
- Summer
- Real Summer
- Summer Post Facto
- Fading Summer
- Faux Fall
- Waning Winter
- Spring-ish
- Pre-summer
Now, with climate change the actual dates will fluctuate,
but here’s a rough guide to when the seasons occur:
Summer---------------June 22-July 3
Real Summer---------July 4-September 1
Summer Post Facto---September 2-October 5
Fading Summer-------October 6-November 25
Faux Fall--------------November 26-December 23, 26-30
Waning Winter----December 24, 25, 31-January 10
Spring-ish-------------January 11-February 28
Presummer------------March 1-June 21
Most Texans are used to these seasons, and shudder when
the temperature drops below 70°.
When that rare occasion happens (usually in Waning Winter), they grab
their parkas, huddle in their houses and wonder if it’s the end of the world.
Yes, summer has begun according to your calendar, but here
in Texas we all know that it is just a number on a piece of paper—and that
piece of paper will probably catch fire when Real Summer gets here.
So grab yourself a glass of sweetened ice tea, your little
floaty device, a good straw cowboy hat and head to the nearest body of water
because you’re going to want to keep cool for the next 11 or so months.
We at The Thurber Brigade wanted to enlighten visitors to Texas about the weather, and so hope you won't mind this little sidestep (we didn't have time to explain how in Waning Winter temps may be 100 one day and 32 the next). We're furiously working on another blog that's sure to anger someone as we discuss aspects of the ongoing War Between Men and Women (um, relationships). Keep cool until then.