Photo by Tendai via Flickr.
A woman kayaks on Lake Tahoe on Aug. 27, 2007. Temperatures are heating up in Reno, and people complaining of the heat can escape to Tahoe.

May has commenced which means the University of Nevada is getting ready for graduation on “Mother

Quad,” tanning on the beach in Tahoe and complaining about how hot Reno is. This year, summer has

come with a vengeance and is intent on destroying anything in its path.

Reno weather has always been erratic. It’s one of the only places where you can leave your house in a

sweatshirt to combat the morning low of 47 degrees, only to strip down to nearly nothing when it reaches

75 by noon. In April the highest temperature was 84 degrees while the low was 52 degrees, leaving 32

degrees of unpredictability in between.

Not to be outdone, May has hit the low 80s and isn’t declining anytime soon. Even with the steamy

temperatures, don’t be the person to complain about how hot it is when it’s 75 degrees. Until it reaches 95

degrees, keep your mouth shut.

The people that complain about the Reno weather are the same people who go from their air conditioned

apartment to their air conditioned car into an air conditioned store. These people are outside for a

cumulative 5 minutes, but still feel the need to stress how 78 degrees feels like they are suffering a

blistering death on the face of the sun.

Most of these grievances come from people that refuse to remove their Patagonia fleece in mid June

because it takes away from their image of being a wealthy outdoorsman. If you dress for the weather, you

won’t have a reason to complain.

Take the time to switch your wardrobe from winter to summer. Wear every sundress and tank top to your

heart’s content. Wear the shorts and skirts you’ve been saving since Charlotte Russe had a summer sale in

the middle of January. When you plan to be in the sun, take ice water in your overpriced Hydro Flask and

use the bottle for what it’s intended for. Use sunglasses, hats, anything to alleviate the “pain” of the

weather being a little toasty. If the length of your bottoms goes past your knees, you aren’t dressed for

summer in Reno.

We, the people of Reno, have nothing to yell about. Global warming is happening and it’s unfortunate.

But even with rising temperatures in mind, our “scalding” 80 degree weather doesn’t compare to the

temperatures around the globe. A weather station in the city of Nawabshah, Pakistan reached 122.4

degrees Fahrenheit on Monday while our southern neighbors in Las Vegas are dealing with 100 degree

temperatures through the next week. While 80 degrees might be warm for Reno standards, it doesn’t

warrant constant complaints.

This serves as a friendly reminder to move chocolate bars out of direct sunlight, crack a window to let the

heat out, and to take your children — furry and human — out of the damn car. Be smarter than the heat,

and you’ll survive the summer.

Jacey Gonzalez studies Journalism. She can be reached at rsuppe@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.