In most states, the weather during each season is standard; cool in the fall, cold in the winter, warm in the spring, and hot in the summer. However, these changes can occur in a single week in Texas, leaving some students unsure of the reason for these constant changes.
“Honestly? I have no idea why the weather is so weird here,” junior Kennedy Brookins said.
For others, there is a simple explanation.
“It’s Texas,” junior Shea Van Schuyver said.
In fact, Texas’ large size can account for several different types of weather. As the U.S.’s most southern (and therefore closest to the equator) state, hot weather is a natural occurrence. Another explanation is found in greenhouse gases; of the states, Texas emits the worst greenhouse gases in the nation because of the sheer number of coal power plants and manufacturing industries. If Texas were an independent nation, it would be the world’s seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases. In other words, many reasons for global warming come from Texas itself, which could explain the weather changes.
Regardless of the reason, the actual weather changes can be both a blessing and an annoyance for many students.
“I really like it, because it’s cold in the morning and hot later in the afternoon,” Brookins said. “That way, I can wear dresses and pretend like it’s summer, even when it’s not.”
Van Schuyver, however, disagrees.
“It depends on the weather of that day,” Van Schuyver said. “But I’d rather it was just kind of warm all the time, instead of constantly changing.”
With the weather this subject to change, many students are concerned about the future, and what early heat could mean for the summer.
“I’m more of a cold weather person,” junior Matt Sims said. “I feel like the weather is foreshadowing what it’s going to be later this year. If the weather is 80 degrees now, in the spring, how hot is it going to be in the summer?”
Based on projections made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by 2100 temperatures in Texas could increase by about 4 degrees in the summer. As such, students can expect even warmer weather just around the corner.
