How One Warm Day Can Fool the Entire Midwest

In Sioux Falls, some of us complain about the heat all summer. Then September brings cooler 60-degree days, and the moment it hits 75 again, we're cheering like summer just made a comeback.

The neighbor brings the patio furniture back out. Somebody else says we should grill. Before you know it, there's a conversation about going to the lake, even though half the people involved haven't been near a lake since July 4th weekend.

In the middle of August, 75 degrees would have been considered a little disappointing. Now it feels like perfect weather. That's how quickly our standards change.

A warm day also makes people leave the house for no real reason. You might run to the store for one thing, but now the sun is shining, so maybe you should grab an iced coffee. And since you're already out, you might as well sit on a patio for a while.

Of course, this is how a quick errand turns into a three-hour afternoon.

The funny part is how quickly we start making plans for the rest of summer. We say things like, “We need to get out to the lake again,” or “Let's grill more while we can.”

Then the next day is 58 degrees, the South Dakota wind is blowing and we're back inside looking for a sweatshirt. But that one warm day still did its job.

It reminded us that summer isn't completely gone yet. We got a little extra time outside, enjoyed the sunshine and probably spent money on a drink we could have made at home.

That's pretty much the Midwest weather cycle: complain about the heat, complain about the cold, and then get weirdly excited whenever the temperature lands somewhere in the middle. And we'll gladly take it while we can.