91 Degrees F

After 11 years as a police officer in Minnesota, I know how distracting heat and cold can be. The sinking feeling you get from stepping out of your squad car into the July sun and a dew point in the 60s. Spending an entire shift in a ballistic vest and uniform shirt with a sweat-soaked t-shirt underneath. Chilled sweat and frostbite from being on a traffic stop or holding a perimeter for an hour in below-zero temperatures. A year-round battle: heat rash, dehydration, irritation and crankiness. Shivering, numbness, loss of focus. Distractions in a job that can’t afford distractions.