It was effin’ cold over break.

If you were in Hawaii or Mexico, maybe you enjoyed something like 50-degree weather, but even if you left Iowa, you were pretty hard-pressed to find anywhere in the country that boasted temps you would write home about.

Even Florida growers were in crop-saving crisis mode, struggling to keep their orange trees above the dangerous temperature of a measly 28 degrees.

The Daily Iowan sent back pictures of fans in sweatshirts, standing ankle-deep in the Atlantic.

28 degrees.

In Florida.

That’s just sad.

Not only have we survived #iowadeathstorm09 and #iowadeathstorm10 — conversation hashtags you can search on Twitter — but we’ve weathered windchills approaching 30 and 40 degrees below zero. At those temperatures, exposed skin freezes in less than 30 minutes.

For most of us, break involved shoveling, snowblowing, and sitting around inside, huddled by a fireplace or air vent, under layers of blankets, just trying to keep warm.

If you vacationed in western Iowa, you likely enjoyed an even more memorable Christmas eve — dinner by candlelight.

It’s winter, many say, and it’s winter in Iowa. If you’re from out of state and didn’t Google “winter” or “an Iowa winter” before you enrolled, blame only yourself for losing a limb on your walk across campus.

And, unfortunately, it’s not nearly over.

This week, on the other hand, seems to be a godsend.

According to local meteorologists, this weekend holds mid-30’s in store, and some claim we may even approach 40 degrees this time next week.

Those are positive degrees.

Awesome.

So find something to do with your long weekend that includes basking in the balmy glory of the 30’s — 30-degree temperatures, that is. Because, in Iowa, it isn’t every day you get to enjoy the sweet sight of melting snow, which makes the best snowballs, in case you didn’t know.

Just enjoy it while it lasts. There’s more cold to come.