5 Good Things About the Hudson Valley Cold Snap

-50 degree wind chill got you down? Cabin fever setting in? Here are 5 reasons to rejoice that the Hudson Valley is in the middle of this insane cold spell:

Dead Bugs
Long periods of extreme cold temperatures mean that large numbers of ticks, mosquitos and even stink bugs will die over the winter. So, while it's a pain for us to be outdoors in the cold, take some solace in the fact that the cold is even worse for those annoying pests. When the weather warms up you won't have to work so hard swatting bugs and can spend more time focusing on drinking that cold beer while lounging on your deck.

Laziness is expected
Summer gives you no excuse to sit at home and binge watch Netflix. In fact, spending a few hours playing video games on a beautiful day can make one feel downright guilty. But when the weather is this cold classes get canceled, travel is discouraged and, if you're lucky,  your work may even close down for a day or two. Some may see this as terribly inconvenient but, really, it's a license to be lazy. Hey, you'd hike to the top of Mount Beacon if you could. But you can't. So stay in your pajamas and catch up on all 10 seasons of Friends... guilt-free.

Binging on food is encouraged
No one wants to sit in front of a big bowl of chili on a hot summer day. But when it's single-digits outside there's nothing like feasting on some comfort food. A steaming-hot pot roast, creamy mac and cheese, warm soup and even pumpkin pie can all be eaten on the same day... if not during the same meal. And pigging out like a viking during the cold brings no judgement either.  I mean, you've got to eat to keep that immune system strong and store up energy for all of that shoveling!

We appreciate the warm weather more
People who live in California or Florida have the same nice weather day in and day out... how boring. Do you think they really appreciate that first warm day, when you can roll down the windows in the car?  They probably hate chores that we wait all winter for like washing the car by hand and staining the deck. And I can guarantee that people who live in warm climates totally take it for granted how awesome it is to walk out of the house without having to put on a bulky coat, gloves, hat and boots. A terrible cold spell just makes us appreciate those Hudson Valley summers even more.

It keeps us real
When you have old man winter kicking you in the nuts once a year, it keeps you in check. It's humbling to get slapped around by the weather. Those who don't live in fear of dead car batteries, burst pipes, leaky roofs, broken snowblowers and rock salt shortages have nothing else to do but turn into lunatics. There's a reason that every headline that starts with "Florida Man..." usually ends in some embarrassing situation involving a crocodile and 2 cases of beer. We're too busy surviving the cold to join some new-age California cult and worry about what type of wheat grass is in our aura-cleansing smoothies. Yup, winter makes us the perfectly-centered New Yorkers we are.

Do you have another reason to love this extreme cold? Let us know, maybe we'll add it to our list... if we're not too busy eating a bowl of pudding while lying on the couch and watching the entire series of Lost.