Weather in Cleveland

What are the seasons like in Cleveland? How do Cleveland dwellers cope?

The weather in Cleveland is intense. In the mid to late summer, we have murderously high humidity coupled with unpleasantly high temperatures. It is not correct to say that we bake- it's more like a pressure cooker. On the upside, we have relatively little extreme weather as far as storms- it's a far less tornado-ridden area than other parts of Ohio. Fall is my favorite time to be a Clevelander, because the humidity goes away and the air gets crisp and rattles the leaves overhead. Sadly, most of our elms are still gone, since the dutch elm disease destroyed them 35 years ago. However, you will find a breathtaking selection of reds and oranges in our canopy from the silverleaf and red maples. December is rough again, sometimes we have green Christmas, and far too often we have sudden snowstorms that ruin our driving. Clevelanders are a bit better about driving in the snow than anywhere else I've lived, but it's still bad. The weather can be biting cold through March, but lately we've had series of premature thaws that've tricked the crocuses into sprouting, just to be frozen aboveground when the temperature drops again. Spring is unreliable and fickle, and not to be trusted until mid-June.

We cope by dressing in layers, buying waterproof outer coats and insulating sweaters to wear beneath. We gripe some, but again compared to other places I've lived, we are not whiners. Clevelanders have the rust-belt toughmindedness that says, "I'm doing ____ anyway, it's just a storm."

Just don't ask about the Browns- since the late 80's we've had nothing to cheer for....