I may have mentioned this before; I do not like cold weather.

A few chilly, frosty days around Christmas are acceptable; a snowfall or two of 6-inch accumulation or less and of short duration, from mid-December through early January, are tolerable.

But weeks of freezing temperatures and multiple frozen precipitation events do vex the spirit.

It’s been a cold winter up here in northeast Tennessee.

The temperature was just north of 42 degrees when I got up this morning but has fallen steadily for the last four hours. It’s snowing now, large, heavy, wet flakes that began coating the grassy areas before the temperature fell below 32 degrees. Forecasters say we’ve experienced the high for today and can expect much colder readings for the next few days — single digits, they report.

I am fortunate not to have to commute to get to work or have cattle to see after in the bitter cold. I don’t have to chop ice out of watering holes, risk frostbite to mend fences in sub-freezing temperatures, or work long hours ahead of the winter storm to get the last few acres of the 2018 crop harvested — as many across the South are doing in late January.

My discomfort adds up to mere annoyance compared to what my farm and ranch friends face during winter cold spells. That being said, I’m ready for spring. I’m scheduled to fly out of our local airport early tomorrow morning and am hoping that the predicted cold will not be so low as to cause flight delays or cancellations.

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I’ve been cooped up for too many weeks. A sinus infection kept me grounded for the Beltwide Cotton Conferences. Other factors conspired to prevent another work trip or two. Cabin fever, and a desire to be among the folks who make my job rewarding, make tomorrow’s trip a welcome opportunity.

I am a bit concerned that the deep cold tonight will create hazardous conditions early tomorrow morning. I don’t look forward to scraping windshields with a thermometer showing about 12; driving on icy roads also could be a possibility. I don’t intend to risk it if the roads are not clear.

A glance at the calendar indicates we’ve only reached the last few days of January, which promise to be the coldest few days we’ve had in several years.

We still face February, typically as prone to nasty weather as January, and early March offers scant prospects for warming trends.

However, I have friends who live in Wisconsin and Minnesota who are wishing they could enjoy the balmy 25-degree temperatures I’m complaining about. One sent a message earlier this week reporting minus 20 degrees. I also realize that that we could experience a warming trend in a few days with 50-degree temperatures. I can only hope. Maybe I’ll go fishing.