For two days this week I wondered if I was in the South.

The fact that we had cold weather by now is old news, and probably not something we want to remember, but this past cold snap is another one I put in my mental library of events past.

When snow, ice and bitterly cold winds that make those subfreezing temperatures feel like subzero temperatures, the local and state authorities warn people to stay inside and off the roads. That’s not advice for us in the media. We’re out in it, reporting on road conditions, the wrecks and fires that occur from driving on slick roads or using unsafe heaters.

We take the risks to keep the public informed, whether we’re getting soaking wet or frozen to the bone. Thankfully the invention of the cell phone has made gathering some information easier when city, county and state offices close because of the weather, but we still find ourselves at times having to get out and chase a wreck where someone left the road or collided with another vehicle or go to the fire where the ancient space heater was too close to the curtains.

I’ve covered a lot of those incidents over the years, and one thing about covering something in cold weather is the reminder that I hate cold weather. I’m a southern boy, and I get chilly when the thermometer drops below 60.

I have never liked cold weather, and I have been through extremes over the years. And surprisingly, this past cold snap doesn’t even rank in the top 10. Here’s my top two:

• A December cold snap that hit the U.S. during an El Nino period in 1989. I had just begun my tenure as managing editor of The Cullman Times in north Alabama. The temperature dipped to 6 below zero and hung there for several days accompanied by a stiff wind that made things even colder. That cold snap hit around Christmas, and I flew back to Baton Rouge for Christmas. The flight was delayed while they thawed out the fuel truck at the airport, and I landed in New Orleans during a heat wave — 13 degrees. It was the only time I ever saw Lake Pontchartrain frozen over.

• A snowstorm in Morgan County, Ala., in 1993 that dumped 14 inches of snow, dropped temperatures to 9 degrees and kept everyone at home. It was after that storm that I went to a map, took a ruler, drew a line through Huntsville, Ala., and told my wife and daughter, “I’m moving no further north than here.”

Since then, I’ve been through an ice storm in Meridian and then moved to the coast where there was no snow for 10 years.

The ice and snow — and soon the cold temperatures — will depart, warm weather will return, and hopefully we’ll return to our moderate to warm winter temperatures.

And I can again enjoy the warmth of the southern sun — maybe.

John Surratt is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at john.surratt@vicksburgpost.com