sticky days - where's the snow? oh yeah, this is Florida

background entertainment: "Tremors: The Series," SciFi Channel

It's sticky weather time in Tallahassee. The cold air in the north is fighting with the warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, and we are the battleground.

The high temperatures have fallen significantly from our summer highs, which were actually quite low this year, with daily highs averaging about 87.5 for every month from May through August. We had a lot of rain during those months, which contributed to the cooler temperatures, but no direct effects from any hurricanes or tropical stroms.

Right now we are experiencing the Tallahassee equivalent of "Indian Summer." Up north, that is when you have a period of beautifully warm weather after a killing frost. A killing frost is exceedingly rare down here, but we did have a length of time where it went down into the low 50's at night and only got up to around 70 during the day. For several days it's been more like low 70's at night and low to mid 80's during the day, and quite humid.

The humidity in this area is really overrated. We have an overall humidity, on the average, lower than Rochester NY for example. An acquaintance of mine down here insisted one time that the Great Lakes region is very low in humidity; she had been to visit a cousin in Illinois one time in the summertime, and it was "very dry, everybody was commenting on it."

Yes, there are dry times in the north, as there are down here, but I can tell you that the humidity up in western New York gets mighty oppressive. An 85 degree day with 80 percent or more humidity happens up there all too often, and air conditioning is not as ubiquitous there as it is down here.

You better believe it gets hot in Tallahassee, but during the hot season most of the humidity is in the morning. As the temperature rises, the humidity falls. By the time the temperature reaches 90 to 98 degrees, the humidity is down below 50% - sometimes below 40%. It's bloody hot, but the humidity is low.

In Rochester and its environs, the humidity stays high for several reasons. First of all, the soil and plant life hold a lot of water in that environment. The soil in particular is very different from the Tallahassee soil; western New York soil has a lot of clay and organic matter. It holds water, and forms surface puddles that will last for days after a good rain. This is part of the reason that western New York is such a fertile agricultural region.

Another reason for the humidity on the Rochester to Oswego coast is the preponderance of swampland in the area. There is constant evaporation from the vast and numerous wetlands; when the ambient temperature rises, evaporation increases. Simple physics.

And, of course, the mosquitos up there are much larger, much like the deer. Down here, we have the size advantage in snakes, spiders, ticks and lizards.