I fast-walked the 20 yards to my car, frigid air cutting through my long-sleeved shirt. Freezing rain scraped my brow.

I tumbled into the driver’s seat and paused, shivering deeply. With cold-numbed hands, I fumbled the key into the ignition slot and fired the engine.

Then, at last, I punched a button to activate the seat heater.

Ahhhh!

You probably missed yesterday’s weather report for the patch of the Deep South that is home to 30-Second Read World Headquarters.

The temperature outside was … grim. “Chilly” is too gentle, “nippy” a raging hearth by comparison.

The trouble is summer. See, we’d had 90-plus temperatures since May. There followed fall, our full and glorious complement of fall – six days with highs in the 80s.

Then yesterday, wham! Winter slammed us hard, like arctic air cutting south across Canada and into the Upper Midwest.

Except our winter rolled east out of Texas. Just another reason to scorn that swaggering nation-in-wanting.

So, we gird stoically for winter.

You’ll want to know the outside temp, of course. Brace yourself.

An appallingly uncomfortable 61 degrees.

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30-Second Read does winter

Dial up the blanket

A cockamamie scheme for winter

Winter weather weenies

Brutal week finally pauses

The Battle of Fahrenheit Gap

Postcard from ‘paradise’

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‘Winter is here’