The weather patterns are changing, and it appears the good folk in the Northeast who have been, at least up to now, spared the usual mix of snow and cold that comes with winter are about to find out their luck has run out. Which, I think, is a good thing. January is a winter month after all, and how can someone miss the four seasons living here in Arizona if all your family and friends are out golfing on the Cape, or going out in shirtsleeves to watch the NFL playoffs at the local pub or your friend’s house?

It’s just as well. Yesterday we didn’t get out of the 40s here in the metro Phoenix area, and the locals were absolutely freaking out the freeze warnings out for last night and tonight. Me, I kind of liked it – a number of different kinds of trees in these parts have gone bare, the wind had a genuine nip to it, and the sky was gray with clouds all day. It really felt like a fall day to me – football weather to be sure. A nice change – unless, that is, you’re the once beautiful flora and fauna in our front and back yards that really got zonked by last night’s freeze.

Of course, when it’s cold and stormy back East, that means out here in the West, moderating temperatures and a return to some sun and warmth – both of which have been in short supply the past month and a half. I’m sure the folks in the Northwest and California will appreciate the change in both the weather pattern and the storm track that follows it. In the Northeast, it’ll be time to put those golf clubs away and get your snow shovels at the ready.