With the temperatures not expected to be above 10 degrees this week in Great Falls, Montana, I fondly remember some of my weather experiences.

Several years ago I received orders to Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB), Montana. My report no later than date was mid-February. At that time I was stationed at Andersen AFB, Guam, where the daily high temperature was about 87 degrees.

When my wife and I arrived in San Francisco from Guam, we picked up our car that had been shipped a few weeks earlier from Guam. The temperature in San Francisco was 45 degrees. I was already freezing.

The trip was eventful. Due to a massive blizzard, we were trapped in Dillon, Montana, for a few days. I checked the weather channel and the wind chill in Great Falls, Montana, (near Malmstrom AFB) was 85-90 BELOW zero. My wife remembers the trip fondly; she was eight months pregnant with our first child.

As we drove over Gore Hill, which overlooks Great Falls, I promised my wife I would put in for orders and get the heck out of this God-forsaken place as soon as possible. Who could live/survive in this cold weather?

That was about 25 years ago.

When I exited the Air Force, they would have moved me about anywhere in the USA. I picked a place a few miles down the road from Malmstrom.

Did I enjoy the nice weather in Guam? You bet, but it did get a little boring with an average high of about 87 and an average low of about 76 with a chance of rain. Of course, when a typhoon was coming, it was an exciting time for the meteorologists – and for those of us who had never been through a typhoon.

I also enjoyed the beaches and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. I kind of wish I was there this week.

I have to giggle some when we get some snow and colder temperatures here in Montana. The local meteorologists go a little crazy with their forecasting – and they bring out new colorful graphics and do live reports from outside in the bitterly cold weather. I guess they love their job.

I grew up in the Midwest, where if it was six degrees with five inches of snow on the ground and still snowing, school was canceled. With the local forecast calling for more snow and even colder temps this week, I would be planning on taking the week off! School would be extended to mid-June.

Montanans are a hardy bunch.

I was getting our Christmas decorations out yesterday, and I happened to see our portable air conditioner sitting in the corner. Good times.

After this week, I think I will be ready for those days again.

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