Weather we left behind for Florida!

Heard a radio personality complain Wednesday about our cool weather.

Say, what?

The woman sounded serious, too.

Is it possible she hadn't been paying attention to what's being called a "once in a lifetime" snowstorm sweeping across scores of states from the far midwest and bound for the northeast?

Or seen headlines like the one in Wednesday morning's Bradenton Herald:

WINTER STORM BLASTS U.S.

Between lethal cold in Colorado to blinding snow in Oklahoma, Illinois and Ohio, freezing rain and blizzard conditions, it sounds almost apocalyptic.

That Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow on this Groundhog Day, meaning spring will come early, is small comfort.

It gives you pause to see the rest of the country going through winter's version of what we might go through during hurricane season.

Reminds me of what a former colleague -- a refugee from the north like me -- liked to say about having to endure the heat and humidity of Florida summers:

"It's our penance for not having to shovel snow up north in winter."

But this?

We'll put up with a cold snap anytime.