r/LonesomeDove • u/moochachanyc • 22d ago
why is it always freezing cold in texas?
i've read 3 of the 4 books in the series, currently on dead man walk, need to read commanche moon next, but in all 3 i've read there's so much harsh, bitterly cold weather. this one, DMW, in particular. it's texas, it's mexico, it's on the border. was it frequently freezing? is it all just an irritating metaphor?
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u/Convergentshave 22d ago
For the same reason most deserts get really cold: lack of humidity, sand doesn’t retain heat very well.
I would assume cold air blows from up north too?
But yea. It can get cold as hell there.
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u/GoodDecisionCoach 22d ago
Northern Texas (around the Panhandle) gets chilly in the winter. Freezing temps aren’t uncommon.
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u/SamBaxter784 22d ago
Texas is a very, very big place with a wide variety of climates depending where you are in the state.
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u/bootswithsuits 21d ago
A lot of the backdrop to the LD series emanates, I think, from the mythology coming out of the Comanche Wars.
During The Battle of Blanco Canyon, for instance, a blue norther stopped the military and probably saved the Comanches. The mercurial nature of weather on the Llano, especially when it benefitted the Comanche, added to the sense that there was something magical about the place that protected them.
Also: As a seventh-generation Texan, I am comfortable saying that Texans are the whiniest people in history when it comes to cold.
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u/Sarcolemming 21d ago
I agree with this BUT we thrive while living in areas the temperature of the devil’s taint 6 months out of the year so I do feel we get a pass.
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u/odd_sundays 21d ago
North Texas panhandle is cold asf in the winter time -- especially when the wind starts up, which is basically 90% of the time.
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u/ClearedInHot 21d ago
West Texas is part of the high plains, a vast, fairly featureless expanse of flat land that extends down the east side of the Rockies. The altitude is over three thousand feet above sea level, and there's not much to stop Canadian arctic winds from flowing all the way down into the region. There's not much moisture, so not a lot of snow, but it does get very cold.
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u/yakkitysaxmoment 21d ago
Texas can get very cold due to the winters often being wet. Plus it gets sudden cold fronts called Blue Northers that can drastically drop temperatures in hours. Santa Anna lost men marching to San Antonio due to two blue northers, one of which dropped over a foot of snow. I’ve had Canadians complain that a Texas winter feels colder than one in Alberta.
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u/cleariristas 21d ago
Certainly hyperbole, considering Alberta regularly experiences winter temperatures in excess of -40.
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u/irongold-strawhat 18d ago
The coldest places in Texas average out in the 20s still. You can get weeks of 20 below 0 in Canada.
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u/yakkitysaxmoment 18d ago
Y’all, I said “feels” colder. I’m well aware that Canada is literally a colder climate. Wet cold and dry cold feel different. Just like wet heat and dry heat.
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u/dieselonmyturkey 18d ago
I’ve had more then one Texas winter.
I love McMurtry and the Lone Dove saga.
Let’s face it though, he (and Texans in general) are pussies about cold weather, and lie like hell about it
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u/No-Cicada6366 18d ago
I mean, as someone who's from a relatively colder place (Pennsylvania); the panhandle can be downright miserable in the winter it does get reasonably cold,but the wind cuts through you like a knife. Atleast least in PA, we have trees and hills/valleys to cut the wind;honestly, I wore more layers when I was working down there than when I'm up here.
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u/irongold-strawhat 18d ago
It doesn’t get that cold in PA lol pretty low elevation here, maybe if you’re in the Poconos I guess there’s snow but it’s still not THAT cold. I did move here directly from Wyoming and -30 degree weather so that may be why I think the winters are very mild here.
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u/No-Cicada6366 18d ago
That's why I said relatively cold it'll get -5 or rarely but occasionally-10 here, and that's cold enough for me to be miserable. But not as miserable as 20 with a 20mph wind while you're soaking wet and covered in slushy mud, and every piece of clothing you own is turning to ice on your body. Just like when Canadians act like they're going to melt from a tiny bit of sweat,and its barely even 90 if it's even that hot .Temperature, just like anything else you measure, is relative and based on every person's individual perspective on what's being measured.
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u/irongold-strawhat 18d ago
Why’re you wet and covered in mud?
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u/No-Cicada6366 18d ago
When you work outside and it's blowing snow but not quite cold enough to freeze the ground solid it gets muddy under the snow,and you tend to get wet and muddy and after a while; and I don't care how many layers you've got on or what they're made of eventually they'll get soaked through.
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u/irongold-strawhat 18d ago
What’re you doing outside? I’ve managed alright in those departments working outside these last few years but I’ve got some pretty heavy duty winter gear coming from Wyoming and working in the snow out there. Carhart lined pants are nice, I’m on my knees in the shit a lot so I wrap my thermals around the knees with a bit of plastic wrap to keep them dry.
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u/No-Cicada6366 18d ago
Life don't stop just cause it's cold and there's snow work still needs done. Sure, carhartt lined pants are nice, but they're not waterproof, neither are thermal underwear or bib overalls after a few hours, everything will let water in
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u/irongold-strawhat 18d ago
Most likely somewhere in the 20s it has gotten negative a few times in its history. They definitely had it easier weather wise in Texas during the winters than they would’ve in a bunch of places.
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u/desertsail912 17d ago
Another thing to remember too, in addition to what others have said, is that Texas/Everywhere was significantly colder a hundred and fifty years ago.
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u/brickmason256 11d ago
The Panhandle of Texas has its own weather system, and it not a forgiving temperament
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u/WorkMonkey510 21d ago
Have you ever watched the news? Snow/Ice Freezing weather from El Paso to Amarillo is frequent and harsh. Its about elevation and geography. Its 450 miles from Amarillo to Denver. Its 350 Miles from Amarillo to Dallas.
Amarillo Elevation = 3662ft Sea Level
Dallas Elevation = 482ft Sea Level
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u/Few-Pomegranate-7295 22d ago
Texas gets cold…