[at-l] springtime southern cold

[blisterfree at isp01.net (Brett)]

In my experience, the higher dew points typical of the 
Southeast, especially during spring, prevents the temps from 
plummeting much below the teens, except maybe at the highest 
elevations. Dew points in the single digits or lower 
generally represent an arctic air mass. Yes, sometimes 
there's an errant dip in the jet stream during spring, and 
the southeast receives some atypically cold air for the 
season. But such a dip is usually associated with a storm 
system, and there again the dew points would tend to prevent 
extremely low temperatures.

That said, the feel-like temperatures in the southern Apps 
can be surprisingly cold whenever the humidity is high, 
which at elevation it often is. I personally would rather 
hike and camp in zero degree dry weather than teens or 
twenties with 90-100% humidity. Still, a twenty degree bag 
works for many folks who start their thru-hikes during the 
favorable window in early spring.

- bf