Written by Christopher Joshua Benton
When school starts in the fall, it is extremely warm outside, and the humidity is pounding. Walking to class in the middle of the day is a guaranteed way to get sweaty, especially carrying a heavy backpack over your shoulders. Everything is really green, though, and the evenings are cool and breezy. Once October rolls around, it gets a little cooler, and it’s usually sunny, making for great football weather. The leaves are beautiful, too, as they change colors in the fall. Please note, in Athens, the temperature fluctuates a lot—one minute it will be chilly, the next you’ll be toweling the sweat off of your forehead with a bandana. It even snowed in Athens this year; yet, it was 70 degrees four days later!
The heaviest clothes you’ll need for fall are a good sweatshirt or sweater and a pair of jeans. Winter comes to Athens sometime in November and lasts through February. Winters are generally mild, but you will need a coat of some sort.
Whatever you do, don’t forget an umbrella. There are a good number of bleak, rainy, sunless days, but winter does not last for long, so it’s tolerable. Spring is amazing in Athens, as it is all over the South, but it is a tricky time for dressing appropriately. It is often cool in the mornings and evenings but very hot in the middle of the day. It rains often in the springtime—sometimes it’s a light sprinkle, other times a torrential downpour. In the spring, however, the pollen factor is in full effect as the streets are littered with strings of pollen everywhere, making it quite a miserable few months for those with allergies. When summer comes back around in May, the heat and humidity settle in again. It also tends to rain hard for extended periods in the summer. Umbrellas are key because it’s definitely too hot for a raincoat.