Springtime in Appalachia can be confusing. It makes you wonder if our weather is psychotic or has split personalities.

For instance, one day it was 83 degrees with record-breaking high temperatures. Then a band of thunderstorms moved through, and by the next morning the temperatures were in the 30s, with snow on the higher elevations.

It is hard to get your closet in order too. Did you put away the sweaters and sweatshirts and dig out the polo shirts, shorts and T-shirts? I sure want to because I cannot wait until the warm temperatures are here to stay.

You may want to put up the winter coats and jackets, but if you do, you may be digging them right back out the next day.

Talk about a see-saw – it is just crazy the way our weather flip-flops.

In Appalachia, in a week’s time, you may want a cup of hot chocolate but the next day you are drinking a tall glass of iced tea.

My wife Vicki already turned on the air conditioner when the temperature got up to 80, but before we went to bed she had to switch it back to heat. That is mostly for me since we always seem to have our differences on the thermostat. But she knew it was going to drop back into the 30s by morning – a 50-degree difference!

You may be doing some early yard work or getting your garden ready one day, but on the next you are shoveling snow off the driveway or scraping a heavy frost from your windshield.

The meteorologists, or TV weathermen or women, if you prefer, have a difficult time in reporting and forecasting the weather.

The months of March and April can be particularly difficult to predict. They can bring high winds and even tornadoes. Then it can be warm and dry for a couple of days, but then you wake up to snow a couple of days later. Some of the biggest measurable snowfalls can occur in the early spring months.

Of course our area has also seen some of its worst flooding in history in the spring months. The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” has its limits when you live in flood-prone areas.

Of course spring is known for its “winters.” There is Redbud Winter, Dogwood Winter, Blackberry Winter and other cold spells that we have to get through before we can settle securely into warm weather. These cold spells seem to come when certain trees or plants are in full bloom.

Then there is a transition in the sports world for reporters, coaches and players – from the gym to the outdoor baseball and softball fields. Games may be rained out, snowed out, or if there is no precipitation, you might just play even if the thermometer points toward winter instead of spring.

If you are like me and you love sports, it is March Madness time, when high school and college basketball tournaments are in full swing. You can be in a nice, warm gymnasium or watching hoops on TV.

But going to those early baseball or softball games outside, when the weather can be very tough early in the season can certainly be uncomfortable. I have played, coached and covered early spring sports and it is unpredictable.

I can recall getting on a bus in Williamson to travel to Huntington to play a baseball game my senior year. It was warm in this area and I just had a little windbreaker jacket with me. By the time we got to the game 85 miles north the temperatures had drastically dropped and it was very cold, cloudy and windy. I have to admit, it was tough to play in those types of conditions.

But the longer days and the warmer temperatures do make you feel better. It is a proven fact that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) causes people to get the blues during the darker, colder days of winter. If you cannot get outside as much and enjoy some sunshine, it weighs heavily on some people.

It is nice to have an “early spring,” with very warm temperatures even in February, let alone March. But if you live in this region you know the cold spells are going to come. It is just a part of Mother Nature.

Before you know it, we will be complaining on how hot it is outside and be cranking the air conditioner full blast. But I prefer the warmer weather, sunnier, longer days to the cold, dark days of winter.

Until next time.

(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)