He escaped unharmed, despite barbecuing in that very space only a few minutes before the collapse. The only casualty, he said, was an aluminum fishing boat that “got tacoed up pretty good.” He also sent along photos to show just how ridiculous the snow has been; that’s his mailbox at right.

So it could be worse.

We’ve had a mostly bearable winter in metro D.C. Extended periods of snow on the ground have been largely absent. But temperatures seem to be a bit colder than in the past; it feels like we routinely miss our average highs on a given day. To the north in eastern Pennsylvania, in my hometown, my poor parents have gotten pounded with storm after storm — some ice, some snow — though not to the degree of Mark in Idaho.

I dare say we’re all sick of winter.

But therein lies the beauty of watching races in Daytona and California and Las Vegas. The weather there is warmer (in theory, anyway; Dario Franchitti complained of the cold after exiting his car when the Fontana race was finally postponed).

The weather in Vegas as I write this is 65 degrees and sunny with an expected high of 76. The temperature on Sunday is expected to dip to 62 — chilly for the desert dwellers but sounding plenty nice compared to our current temp of 40 (and Mark’s temp of 31).

Before long, we’ll be in the 70s and complaining when the high is only in the 60s. We just have to pay the price now for such weather.

From Vegas, the Cup tour goes to a presumably warm Atlanta before creeping northward to Bristol and Martinsville. Perhaps by then we’ll begin to see the first vestiges of spring. With any luck, we’ll be complaining about the summer humidity in no time.

It’s hard not to be jealous of folks who are enjoying the weather in Vegas. One of our colleagues, Lynn Hrivnak, is doing just that. She’s got tickets to the race and hopefully, come Monday, she’ll tell us a bit about it.

For those of us left behind in colder environs, we can only take heart in knowing that warmer weather is coming — preferably sooner, not later.

• ENJOY THE RACE on Sunday. Maybe it’ll be a better show than last week or last year.

(Photo by Mark Lovlien; used with permission)