Unclear on the Concept

I.
Last night was downtown Baton Rouge's Winter Fest Celebration of Lights --a huge success (apparently--we didn't make it), in large part because of the crowd-pleasing 70-degree weather. In contrast, last year's Winter Fest was postponed and curtailed because of "the threat of snow." Really.
II.
It's a nippy morning, temperatures hovering in the upper 50s. A student slumps into my office. He clutches his windbreaker around him and scowls. He says angrily, "They should heat the walkways between the buildings, you know."
III.
Older couple, interviewed in the local paper: they'd decided to retire here in Baton Rouge "to escape the harsh winters in North Carolina."