Kansas fall: A tough sell for some students

By Marta Jantzi

Kansas can go from sunny, 90-degree weather to rainy and cloudy in the span of 20 minutes. For Kansans, this rapid change is totally normal. But if you’re coming from a different area of the country, or even the world, Kansas weather could be a huge challenge.

“It’s on and off like a light switch that’s for sure,” said freshman Sean Maple. “One day it’s cold, one day it’s hot. I got here and I was sweating and dripping cause I don’t get humidity back home.”

Maple, from South Australia, is used to a very different climate. Typical weather in Southern Australia consists of lots and lots of dry heat. Maple loves hot weather, and hates the cold, especially when it rains.

Josh Wilson, from New Zealand is used to similar fluctuation in temperatures, but not to the extremes of Kansas. The weather in New Zealand changes every day.  In the summer it is generally hot, never rainy, but in the winter it gets to around 40 degrees Fahrenheit and rains a lot.

“The Kansas weather is very humid, like every time I try to breath I feel like I’m suffocating,” Wilson said.

Being from Texas, MacKenzie Mordecai loves everything hot and is used to lows of 65 degrees and highs of 100+. Mordecai is slowly getting used to the Kansas weather, but it’s taking some time. The heat in Texas is a lot drier than it is in Kansas, and now that fall is finally starting to arrive, the cool weather is taking its toll on this Texan. 

“I had to get out my fuzzy and fleece-lined jackets because it’s just too dang cold,” Mordecai said.

Once the 60-degree weather hits Hesston, these three bundled up.

“I love just normal, warm weather,” Josh Wilson said “Nothing too hot, nothing too cold. Yeah, I hate being cold.”