Anyone who has spent any time at Hibernian's wind-trap of a training base in the East Lothian hills will know that the weather is rarely a friend of the club, with most sessions played in the bitter cold and nary a ball kicked without impediment from a rogue gale.
However, Hibs head coach Alan Stubbs found himself aided by the elements yesterday as a touch of frost in Fife, allied by a couple of touches of class in Dumfries, saw his side move within two points of Rangers.
News of the call-off at Central Park broke around 12:10 p.m., with Hibs already well on their way down the A74 towards the borders, and they took full advantage of a second consecutive week without a match for the Glasgow club by further narrowing the gap.
A Dylan McGeough penalty and a sumptuous curling effort from Scott Robertson securing a hard-fought 2-0 win over Queen of the South. That is seven games unbeaten - and counting - for the increasingly impressive Hibees.
With the highly-anticipated Old Firm League Cup semi-final next Sunday, a victory over Raith Rovers next weekend would see Hibs leapfrog Rangers by the time the Ibrox outfit next play a Championship fixture.
Rangers, of course, will have three games in hand but, as any manager worth their salt always says: you'd rather have the points on the board.
When you factor in Hearts suffering their first league defeat of the campaign, allowing Hibs to close the gap between the city rivals to 15 points, this was a mighty satisfying afternoon for Stubbs' side.
"It is a good day for us," said the Hibs head coach. "This is a tough place to come and Queen of the South have been great this season, their results show that.
"We have come here and got a big win and our side is progressing all the time.
"Although I don't like to look forward too far ahead, we do have a great chance next week to go above Rangers. I'll enjoy this win for about an hour . . . then my focus will be on that game against Raith."
This was, however, far from a stroll on the astro-turf for the visitors. The home side struck the woodwork within five minutes when Ian McShane's corner sailed all the way to Iain Russell on the edge of the box and, with Mark Oxley stranded, his superb half-volley crashed against the post.
McShane then whipped a fine effort just wide from 20 yards following a mazy run by the waspish figure of Danny Carmichael.
Amid the ample attacking midfield talent on show - Scott Allan, McGeouch, Mark Millar, Carmichael - McShane was proving an unlikely standout in the heart of the pitch in the first half.
The Palmerston Park youth product's set-pieces, in particular, were pin-point and his superb delivery for Kevin Holt saw the Queens left-back power a header inches wide of the post.
Hibs found a modicum of fluidity towards the break as Martin Boyle, still seeking his first goal for the club following a loan switch from Dundee, lashed a superb drive inches with of the post after a slick counter-attack.
Stubbs acknowledged his side's mediocrity prior to the interval, stating: "It was sloppy, we were not winning enough 50-50s and I had a little pop at them at half-time."
Given Stubbs' no-nonsense reputation as a player, that "pop" was never likely to fall on deaf ears, and predictably Hibs were a very different side in the second half.
Within 20 minutes of the restart the deadlock was broken, largely through to a beautifully crafted through-pass from Scott Allan which sent Jason Cummings scampering through on goal.
Queens keeper James Atkinson misjudged his attempt to pinch the ball and brought down the striker. Given Hibs' mandate for the afternoon was to further eat up the ground on Rangers, it was appropriate that McGeouch, on loan from Celtic, stepped up to calmly dispatch the penalty.
"He [Atkinson] told me he was caught in two minds with the through ball, but he came for it and I think he's got a wee knick on the striker [Cummings]," conceded Queens manager James Fowler.
Boyle saw a point-blank effort diverted onto the post by a wonderful challenge by Lewis Kidd as Hibs found their groove.
However, that was a temporary reprieve for Queens as, minutes later, Robertson put the game to bed by curling home his third goal in five matches from 20 yards.
Queen of the South: Atkinson: Kidd, Dowie, Higgins, Holt; Russell, Millar (Burns 77), McShane (Pickard 82), Carmichael; Lyle (Paton 71); Reilly. Subs not used: Clark, Mitchell, Smith, Dickinson.
Hibernian: Oxley; Booth, Fontaine, Hanlon, Stevenson; Robertson, Craig, S Allan (Stanton 83), McGeouch; Cummings (Handling 90), Boyle (Forster 86). Subs not used: Perntreou, Heffernan, L Allan, Martin.
Referee: Calum Murray
Att: 3677
MAN OF THE MATCH: DYLAN McGEOUCH (HIBERNIAN) - Pulled the strings in midfield and ice-cool from the spot.
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