July 26: Beach Breezes

Wow, I feel sorry for you guys up north. Sweltering through a blistering summer. Hey, just a minute. Isn't that your line about us down here? I mean, we're the folks who are supposed to have the moist tropical heat in July. But I keep talking to friends and relatives in places like Illinois and North Carolina. Even Vermont. Many spots along the east coast this year have been a lot hotter than South Florida. My sister in Raleigh says she can't keep her plants alive because the water she sprays on them just evaporates so fast. Well, I'm here to tell you about our version of summer heat. Because we're lucky enough to enjoy something most of you don't have. Beach breezes. They're wonderful things, those cooling winds coming off the sea.

Without the beach breezes, temperatures in the high 80s and above can feel unbearable. To me, the kind of heat you experience in cities like New York and Chicago is stifling in ways that our heat isn't. You've got all that concrete and brick to absorb and radiate the sun's rays, for one thing. And you don't have our beach breezes.

But here? Here in Greater Fort Lauderdale, the air currents often blow off the ocean and up our canals and rivers. Along our streets too. Many days you can sit downtown sipping iced coffee and feel the seaborne breeze. And beside the Atlantic Ocean you usually can count on some kind of wind - often during the hot days, almost always during the tropical evenings. The breeze sweeps into shore behind the waves it makes, rustling the lazy palm fronds and sifting over the white beach sand. This is perfect weather for sitting cafeside somewhere, frozen rum runner in hand, as all those puffs of delicious beach wind blow over your flip-flops and cool your toes. By contrast, it was 110 degrees in Washington D.C. just a day or so ago. Can you imagine? Whew, no thanks. That doesn't happen here, hitting three-digit temps like that, and we have the beach breezes to thank for it. Yep, in South Florida all you need to do is find a nice patch of shade near the sea in order to chill out during the hottest months of the year. That's a nice option to have available any time, a great way to get through the summer. As I said, we're lucky. And if you're also lucky enough to be around now, you know what I'm talking about.  (photo credit: http://facebook.com/ftlauderdalesun)