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Welcome to the interactive response system from the National Weather Service,

Southern New England office located in Norton, Massachusetts.

For the latest metropolitan area forecasts, please press one.

Until recently, I was not someone who paid a lot of attention to weather forecasts,

because I spent most of the last decade living in Los Angeles, a city that is known the

world over for its relentless sunshine.

Of course, L.A. doesn't seem like a very sunny place this week.

Vicious wildfires are scorching my old city. It's heartbreaking.

It's also a really surreal contrast to my memories of living there.

It really did feel warm and sunny day after day, week after week, so constant that

you blink and felt like a whole year had passed you by. But a few months ago, my wife and I moved

to New England. Now, I obsessively checked the forecast the way a day trader

checks the markets. Today, sunny. High's around 30. Tonight, mostly clear. Low's around 14.

I know these are not Arctic temperatures, but it's a big change for me. I used to be able to walk my

dog year-round in shorts.

Now, I need a hat, scarf, mittens. The word wind chill hasn't been part of my vocabulary

since I was in my 20s living in New York. Now, I use it almost every day. And it's not just the cold

that has me down. It's the darkness, the gloom, especially now that the holidays are behind us and spring feels like a vague promise. When I think about winter, the word that comes to mind is punitive. And yet I know there are people who like winter, who look forward to it. I know this because I'm married to one of them.

What's your favorite season?

Fall.

What's your second favorite season?

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