As Stiff as a Board... or Something Like it.

For a gal with RA, Houston offers a climate that I like to think helps the whole swelling business in the joints. Houston's weather is by no means ideal. It is hot and humid for a good 8 months of the year. For the other 4 months temperatures range widely. Yesterday, for example, was 70 degrees. Today, the temperature is sitting at freezing. These huge swings in temperature usually coincide with extreme joint discomfort. The cold temperatures definitely bring on a stiffness that I do not experience any other time of the year. Is there a connection between join pain and weather? If my joints could speak, that would be a definitive yes.  I am by no means a doctor or a licensed medical professional, so please take my opinions for what they are, mere opinions.
Since being diagnosed with RA in April 2010, there is one constant that I am sure to count on. I will most undoubtedly experience un-godly amounts of swelling during the winter (or what winter there is in Houston.) I am not convinced it is the temperature or it may be the fact that I am around more people who are sick during this time, but inevitably a flare-up will strike and leave me and my bed to be companions for days. What I don't like about RA, besides the most obvious reasons, is that I am never sure how this disease works. I will spends hours scouring the internet with searches such as "pain in joints during winter" or "causes of RA pain," and "flare ups and temperature connection." I don't get many answers, and my rheumatologist tells me that RA flares are hard to predict. But, I have noticed patterns. I have noticed that winters are always worse than times when it is hot. I have noticed that when I do not get sleep or very little sleep that will almost assuredly mean the next day will be painful. If you have RA have you noticed similar patterns?