Is anyone in the Northeast as creeped out by the warm weather as I am?

[HamdenRice]

It is going to be in the mid 60s today, January 5th, in NYC, and tomorrow it is going to be near 70 degrees.

I realize that global warming is a long term trend that will raise temperatures just a few degrees -- enough, however, to cause havoc in the environment -- and that there are always outlying day temperatures within normal weather and withing the global warming trend.

Despite the warm weather today, we will not break a record because there has been another 60-something on a January 5th. Tomorrow, we will probably break the record. So the occasional warm day in January is possible.

But this is just plain creepy. We have had weeks of spring like weather. The grass is still green, and in fact, never turned brown as it has done every other winter I remember. My heating oil bill this year is about 1/10th of what it was a few years ago.

The NY Times reported that coat manufacturers have not been able to sell winter clothes and care calling it their first global warming winter. Fashionistas in NY are, however, purchasing a new kind of winter clothing: black (the traditional color in NY) but light weight.

Is this strange winter just a statistical outlyer or the sign of things to come?

[Atman]

1. It is very, very wierd. Almost scary.

But I've already saved a few hundred dollars in lift tickets this season!

.

[bluerum]

4. Yeah - my heating bills are half what they normally are this time of year. nt

[liberaldemocrat7]

25. No, I live on Long Island and I welcome this weather.

If cold, snowy winter weather completely disappeared on Long Island this year I would not complain.

[treestar]

103. But if it were global warming and the overall effect were a disaster

somehow, you would. Maybe only if it affect you, but the summers will have to be hotter, too.

It is more convenient not to be trooping around in the snow, true, but I'd rather do that when it's natural then be under whatever threat this may portend, even if it is temporarily easier.

AC is more expensive than heating, too, and we modern people aren't used to extreme heat; one would thing that will show up. If NY is tropical, what will Miami be like? Heat causes suffering, too.

[jberryhill]

144. Lyme Disease

There is a reason "tropical diseases" are tropical diseases.

If winter keeps going like this, we are going to have a bumper crop of ticks. The annual freeze does quite a bit for keeping a variety of critters in check.

[phylny]

154. We took three deer ticks off our puppy in December.

I normally wouldn't put a tick repellant on the dogs after November, wanting to reduce the number of chemicals they're exposed to.

This is ridiculous. Every time I go outside, I feel like I'm living in Bizarro World. I don't like the cold weather or snow, but I hate this and it has me worried.

[SAXMAR]

158. Lyme Epidemic is for real!

I'm glad you mentioned Lyme Disease. I am dealing with Chronic Lyme Disease right now. This weather will just make the Lyme epidemic worse.

[Altean Wanderer]

173. Best wishes to you

I've read a lot about Lyme since I came down with it this past July. It's frustrating that many 'mainstream' doctors don't recognize the long term disease and are unwilling to adequately treat it with a longer course of several antibiotics. It almost seems a conspiracy of sorts. Probably it's the insurance companies not wanting to pay out for months of drugs for millions of people. Best wishes in dealing with and hopefully curing your case.

[Altean Wanderer]

172. I can attest to that...

I was one of thousands of new cases in 2006 in southern NH and central MA. I'm an avid hiker, birdwatcher and mountain biker, so I'm not surprised one of those little bastards finally got me ;-) Luckily I caught it early and found a Lyme literate doctor who agreed to a longer course of treatment.

As you say, the ticks next year will likely be worse! I'll probably re-think a lot of my usual activities. Global warming is certainly helping the populations of this and many diseases' vectors.

[MountainLaurel]

114. It IS scary

And just a taste of the climate change to come.

[Swede]

2. There's no snow in Toronto.

Ski resorts in the area have zero snow. Something's up.

[Captain Hilts]

5. That's just wrong. I lived there for four years. LOVED it. LOVED the snow. nt

[Blue_Roses]

41. It is weird, especially when the temperature in Texas

is cooler than the temperature in Boston. :shrug: I know this is an El Nino year, but still...

[Canuckistanian]

157. Even worse, there's no snow in Ottawa

At this moment, it's raining and there are flies outside my window. And we're heading for a high of about 10 degrees.

And last year, I thought it was weird getting rain on Xmas day...

[Critters2]

168. None in this Ottawa, either. nt

[Canuckistanian]

170. There can't be another town with the same dumb name

Where are you? Indiana? Ohio? Pennsylvania?

[Critters2]

183. Illinois. I have a good friend in Ottawa, Kansas. There's a bunch of Ottawae nt

[RubyDuby in GA]

3. We're supposed to have a record high in Atlanta this Saturday

Did I not get the memo about winter being cancelled this year?

I had the air conditioning on in my car this morning? Who pissed off Mother Nature? Just say you're sorry already!

[RebelOne]

181. I'm in Woodstock, GA, and it certainly was warm Saturday.

And my grass just started growing again. I can't believe that I'm going to have to mow the lawn in January.

[G_j]

6. creepy in the S.E. also

the weather should not be in the sixties
it's warm enough to go camping'
strange indeed

[danalytical]

7. Yes

I live in CT and have for my entire 27 years. This is by far the strangest Winter I have ever seen. We usually see some snow before Thanksgiving, and just about always by Christmas. It's Jan 5th and not one dusting yet. I don't even get frost on my car in the morning, maybe 3 or 4 times so far this year. I swear there are buds on the trees and I saw a dandelion growing this weekend.

[HamdenRice]

14. Yeah, frost!

I garden, so I am very aware of the frost date, which kills my tomato plants.

When I was growing up, the first killing frost was in October or even as early as September. In the 1990s, I noted that the first frost was usually in December. After the first frost, frost becomes a very frequent event, unless of course it snows or rains.

I think I've seen one frost so far this year.

[danalytical]

39. My chives and green onions are still alive

I also had to kill my tomato plants in October because they were still producing tomatoes. They were little tomatoes, but they were growing.

[jpak]

93. My brother in Maine had a big salad out of his cold frame on Christmas Day

Carrots, lettuce (2 varieties), scallions, and some other greens I was not familiar with.

Tasty but sad as well...

:(

[tigereye]

64. a frost a few weeks ago killed my pansies

or so I thought, now they are back in bloom. I'm waiting for my QE rose to start blooming again... :wtf:

However, I know we have had many other years with warm weather this time of year. I can remember a number of very warm New Year's Eves.

[seashorelady]

156. I live in Ct. also, still seeing robins in my back yard.

Yesterday it was 60 degrees, went outside in a T-shirt.

[smirkymonkey]

161. I wonder what will happen to all the Birds if we have a sudden

cold snap? They have avoided migrating so far, so I wonder if they will be able to survive if we suddenly get hit with cold and snow.

[EFerrari]

174. Welcome to DU, seashorelady.

Last summer, my roses were scorched by the sun and that is really unusual out here where I live, which should have been foggy and cool.

[seashorelady]

178. Thank you for the welcome.

[hedgehog]

8. It makes me worried about the summer to come.

I expect moose sized mosquitoes, to say the least!

[Strelnikov_]

23. . . . And Carrying Little Friends Typically Found In 'Warm' Regions

A week or two of sub-zero lows cures a lot of potential ills.

[hedgehog]

60. Malaria was once endemic here in New York State; it killed Irish

workmen digging the Erie Canal. It was only eliminated from the South after World War II via a combination of DDT and judicious drainage of swamps by the Federal government.

[Jim Warren]

78. pest and pestilence

Look for mosquitoes and ticks earlier in the year, extending the season respectively for West Nile/ Triple E and Lyme disease also.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

9. Buds on the cherry trees outside the hospital

If the waves are good tomorrow, might hafta go surfing.
Gotta bone up for the trip to Nicaragua in Feb.

But yup, it just ain't right.

[Last Stand]

185. Are you in CR? The weather down there's been f-ed up.

Was in Corcovado last year and they had to close the park for a couple of weeks because so many animals died of starvation when the trees didn't flower and bear fruit in their normal cycle.

[NashVegas]

10. No Offense, But

I'm going to be up north in two weeks. It would suit me.

[radfringe]

11. Northeast Pennsylvania

yesterday afternoon, I notice my hollyhocks are peeping up through the leaf mulch

[jberryhill]

149. They should install Tees...

...at the tops of the trails at Camelback and Elk Mountain and call it downhill golf.

[cali]

12. Very creeped out.

Not that I love 30 degree below nights when I have to get up at 3 a.m. to put more wood on the fire, but they used to be a staple here in Northern Vermont. It's raining out now, and in the hight 40's. We're supposed to get close to 60 tomorrow, I believe. We only have a few inches of snow, and that from only one storm. Stowe, Smugglers, Jay and other ski areas are in a bad way.

[Systematic Chaos]

13. I think it's both.

There are always weather patterns which deviate to the tune of tens, hundreds or even thousands of years from the norm (like the expression 500-year flood). On the other hand, there is the reality that while the global average temperature may rise by, say, 3 degrees Fahrenheit, that doesn't mean that all points on the globe will share the change equally. The areas around the equator might experience 0.8 degrees additional warmth, while near the poles (or in some mid-latitude areas affected by key ocean and air currents) you might see a change of 5 degrees or more.

If you haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth" yet, please do so. You can find it using any file sharing method if you're strapped for cash, but it's really worth buying too.

Edited to add: Here in Vegas we are sticking very close to the statistical norms in pretty much all areas this winter. We had some periods of wonderfully mild weather but there have also been some cold snaps (like in where it gets below freezing at night with wind chills in the teens to low-20's). Not nearly enough rain to suit me, though.

[HamdenRice]

21. I saw Inconvenient Truth the first or second day it came out

in the theater.

Al Gore is a rock star and the only potential presidential candidate who knows what the big issue is and what to do about it.

[MyNameGoesHere]

15. really creeped out.

But on the bright side 10 more years and i will have beach front property /sarcasm

[Demit]

16. The daffodil bulbs are sprouting up in Philadelphia, 3 months too soon. n/t

[malta blue]

17. I keep expecting to see my crocus' to bloom

or something like that. The grass is still kind of green here in Upstate NY.

[flyarm]

18. yes..in nj all my bulbs are up..i don't mean a little up,i mean all the way

up and the heads of the buds are huge...especially the daffodils..they look like they could bloom any day..and a couple of the flowering trees are budding out...

[DemReadingDU]

19. creepy in Ohio too

makes we wonder if we will get a blizzad in March

[demnan]

20. I worry about the vegetation and tourism

If the famed Cherry Trees of D.C. start blooming early than our tourist season suffers. Also what about the apple orchards? I don't think this kind of winter is particularly good for agriculture.

[RubyDuby in GA]

37. You're right

Peach trees need the cold weather to grow properly. And I'm sure there are lots of other crops that are the same way.

[bdamomma]

117. this weather affects everything from us to plants to animals

it's a domino affect, very scary indeed.

[bikebloke]

42. Already happening

On the lift this morning, a woman was commenting to me about the warm weather. She said the cheery trees have started budding.

Personally, as I commute by bike, the ice and snow isn't missed.

*During the ReagaNazi Error, I remember someone in his administration saying most air pollution was caused by the manufacturing of bicycles.

[rox63]

22. It's just friggin' weird...

We've had a total of about an inch of snow here in eastern Massachusetts, and it melted the next day. It's supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow. This is just fucked up. :wtf:

[TreasonousBastard]

24. It's called the North Atlantic Oscillation, and...

has effects similar to El Nino, but more local. In El Nino years the two can combine to make things really wierd.

Not that global warming isn't adding its own touches...

[gorbal]

166. Like making it the warmest winter on record

That in itself is strange

[TreasonousBastard]

169. And the second warmest was what... 1887...

or somewhere back when global warming wasn't a problem.

And then there was that little ice age in Europe a few hundred years ago. Probably here, too, but the Indians didn't keep weather records.

Local climate and weather still isn't fully understood, and the warming of the planet makes it even more of a mystery now.

[zanne]

26. My neighbor's famous last words...

"We're gonna pay for this". (Of course, she says that about blizzards, too).

[The Stranger]

130. She's right. Our hubris has fucked us, and we don't even know the beginning of it yet.

[Missy M]

27. In the mid 50's today and yesterday in Buffalo, NY area and not...

a drop of snow on the ground. It is creepy but I'm not complaining. The utility companies are probably crying the blues and that makes me happy.

[Cassandra]

28. For about ten years...

we've had about a week of spring-like weather in January but it was usually noticable amidst very cold weather before and after. I know this because every spring when it's cold and raining, someone asks where spring is and I say that it was in January. This winter we've had fall weather with a few cold days. This is quite unusual.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

29. Creeped Out? No. Incredibly Thankful? Absofrickinlutely.

I\'m lovin it. That\'s all I gotta say.

[cali]

32. I don't know where you are OMC, but

this weather is nothing short of a disaster for my state. Virtually no skiing, either downhill or cc, and this weather, if it keeps up a few more years, will be the end of sugaring. This year is already set to be another terrible year for that endeavor.

[Javaman]

33. Love it now because come the summer...

if it's this warm now in the winter, it will be down right scalding.

[HamdenRice]

45. Penny wise and pound foolish?

I am happy that my heating bill is so low, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice the planet's ecosystem for low heating bills.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

50. Tad Dramatic Wouldn\'t Ya Say?

It\'s just a warm winter. Even you already stated that it would be melodramatic to blame it on Global Warming etc...

And I\'m amazed that even innocently enjoying a warm winter is reason for animosity, guilt or attack on here.

I\'m enjoyin the hell out of it. I\'ll continue to and hope it stays this way straight through March.

[Last Stand]

87. Dogs enjoy the taste of anti-freeze, too.

But it ultimately kills them.

No, there is no particular day of warm weather we can categorically blame on global warming, but the weather pattern is unquestionably evidence of a planet that is, by all scientific standards, heating up. The warm weather in the Northeast sure does feel good, but it's the symptom of a catastrophic change in climate, one that will be VERY dramatic. It's not politics or guesswork or drama; it's science.

Patronizing and minimizing the biggest threat to the planet is like calling a cancerous tumor "just a bump."

Enjoy the weather while you can.

[HamdenRice]

99. Didn't mean it as a personal attack ...

I meant it about all of us. In my OP I mentioned I, myself, am enjoying an oil bill that is down by about 90%. In the long run, however, we will all pay.

Sorry if it sounded like I was referring to you personally.

[treestar]

104. You're really missing the point, and in fact there have been several

unusually warm winters.

And the post was not in the least dramatic.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

107. No, You Are Missing The Point.

The point is that this warm winter is not a result of global warming. Saying such does not mean that global warming does not exist or that I am not in full support of stemming its further advancement. It is a very real problem that needs to be addressed.

But since that problem has nothing to do with this warm fucking winter we are having, I am in full rights to declare my utmost enjoyment of such weather without even having to pause for guilt or consideration that my position is faulty or inappropriate somehow. To try and turn the fact that someone is enjoyin the hell out of this warm winter into some misguided and inaccurate guilt trip about global warming and its effects, is pretty laughable in my opinion.

[HamdenRice]

113. But I think that is the point

I really think that this is not just a warm winter. I think this winter is an artifact of global warming when taken in the context of all the recent winters. As Al Gore points out in an Inconvenient Truth, several of the last years have been the warmest on record.

It's one thing to have a warm day or a warm winter. It's entirely another to have a string of exceptionally warm days in an overall exceptionally warm winter, in an overall exceptionally warm decade.

[hamerfan]

152. 2006 USA's warmest on record

So this winter is not an aberration. It solidly forms a pattern of warmer years lately and possibly warmer years yet to come. So while some may enjoy this "terrific" winter, I'm a bit worried. Now we're hearing this summer coming may be the hottest yet. Form your own opinions people, but try to make them informed opinions.
dumpbush

[lazyriver]

30. I'm in Maine...no snow, no ice and saw a robin in my yard

on December 20th. Robin's are usually gone from my area by Halloween at the latest. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count in our town was really weird compared to normal years. If you look at the data without knowing when it was collected, you would think it was done in early April. Geese are flying north in V formation almost every day and since the rivers aren't freezing the bald eagles have not moved downstream past my house looking for open water like most years. I miss seeing them every day.

I did see a snowshoe hare in the woods this past weekend and it was still in brown phase. How did it 'know' not to turn white yet? :shrug:

We should be seeing night temperatures in the single digits or below zero with daytime highs staying well below freezing. Two years ago this week it dropped to minus 27 during a three day cold event where we did not get above zero. As I recall we had three feet of snow on the ground at that time as well.

It'll be in the 40's again today and tomorrow. I feel pretty bad for the businesses who rely on snow and cold weather to make a living (and there are many of them). A few more weeks of this and many might have to apply for federal disaster area consideration in order to pay their bills.

[roamer65]

76. Same in Michigan

I've seen a ton of Canada geese staying here this "long fall". They're usually gone by now. I've been telling everyone its like we're stuck in mid to late October weather.

[jberryhill]

147. Cancelled My Winter Trip To Maine

The best they are offering at Sunday River is to go to a local 7-11 and pour a Slurpee on the floor.

I take the family to Maine every year.

Glad that my oldest got golf clubs for Christmas.

[The2ndWheel]

31. More like depressed

I love winter. I love the snow. Hell, I even kind of don't mind shoveling the snow.

[cedahlia]

55. Me too

I hate summer and look forward to winter all year long. I can actually feel the depression coming on thanks to these seemingly neverending, ridiculously warm temperatures and frequent rainy, not snowy days. It's terrible. ;(

[TommyO]

68. Ditto! I love when we have four distinct seasons

here in the Northeast. I love crisp autumn days, I love the biting cold that freezes your nostrils on a winter morning, I love the green of spring, and loath the humid summers.

[NewJeffCT]

34. I'm in CT and I could swear my grass is a bit longer

than it was a few weeks ago. Usually, we have 4-5 months of no growth at all from November through March.

[Bonhomme Richard]

35. Had a Robin at the birdbath the other day. Wierd.

[madokie]

36. You all are having the winter we had here in OK last year

every once in a while I will see a record being broken from way back in the teens and twenty's and some still stand today. I don't think any of us at one place can predict the warming of the earth individually, only can we do that as a whole. In other words we have bad winters and we have good winters and always have, I'm a '48 model too so I go back a long ways, many summers and many winters.

[MorningGlow]

38. Totally freaked out

And bummed. I love winter. That's why I live in western NY.

Saw a big ol' store sign last night: "Snow Blowers Below Cost"--ya think?

This sucks. I believe in global warming, but I'm praying this is just a weird cycle. I fear it's not, though--we haven't had a severe winter in several years.

[Nye Bevan]

40. I hate it

I want *snow*. I want to build snowmen with my kids and go sledding. I want to wake up and see that white blanket over my yard. I want to use the snow chains that I was proud of myself for buying in November.

STOP GLOBAL WARMING!

[Jcrowley]

43. One thing that seems lost

in all of this is how the seasons cycle's are connected to the well being of all creatures including humans. So while some may applaud the fact that it is warmer where they live this attitude displays that humanistic hubris that is unfortunately all too common amongst a people so thoroughly divorced from the very sources of their lives.

Bees and ladybugs around these parts, Upstate NY, in January. Flowers blossoming.

Hey folks wake up, when apple trees blossom in January this may very well mean no apples in the next season. Though noone can say as we've not been in this realm ever. But again no surprise as we are a people who know not where our food comes from.

I guess alot of people will see this as an opportunity and invest in beach front propert in The Arctic.

This is quite creepy and quite life-threatening.

[HamdenRice]

47. Some fruit trees cannot bear if they do not freeze

I think it's some kinds of apples that cannot bear fruit unless the tree froze the prior winter.

Your post is very insightful about our human centric hubris. It will bite us in the ass.

[Jcrowley]

69. Thought I'd pass this along

The colored parts are under water.

Can't say I totally agree with this projection but then who knows? We are in unchartered waters pun not intended.

[Strelnikov_]

106. If That Is A Map Of Potential Sea Level Change, It Does Not Look Correct

According to the following tool, Florida is gone.

Maximum sea level rise with all the land ice melted is ~80m (260').

Make your own sea level change armageddon scenario:

http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/education/quest / (Data Sets->Topography, maps take a while to load)

[hedgehog]

108. The entire state of California? Thatr's a new one on me.

I'm also curious about what happened to UP Michigan. Given that the Mississippi River refuses to cross the Mississippi state line in this projection, I'm wondering about its accuracy.

[Jcrowley]

111. I don't think

it is particularly accurate.

But it can be useful to just get a look at the fact we are changing the nature of our geography at an unprecedented rate I suppose.

Well anyway I guess none of us know. But I think many many folks are feeling a low-level persistent sense of unease about our weather these days. I hear it all the time in everyday talks .

:hi:

[bdamomma]

120. geez, Rhode Island doesn't have a chance and to think it's

called the "Ocean State" if this keeps up it will be.

[Retrograde]

127. "New Mountain Range"??

Where did this map come from? Where did this mountain range in Kansas and Nebraska come from - did the Cascades and the Sierras migrate from the western states? That's the only explanation I can see for why all of them are under water while Florida is mysteriously dry. I'm also suspicious of the lack of flooding in VA, NC, SC, GA.

Back to the topic: can we in the Bay Area send some of our recent chilly weather off to you guys in the east? It's been warmer in Buffalo than out here recently!

[smirkymonkey]

164. I guess this is why Republicans don't care about Global Warming

Most of the "Blue" areas are under water, while the majority of the "Red" areas remain unscathed. That huge Republican asscrack in the middle of the country stays high and dry.

Is there no justice in the world?

[Strelnikov_]

100. I Couldn't Agree More. Living Here In The 'Breadbasket', My Concern Is

the effect of drought, invasive species and plant diseases on agricultural production.

As a secondary concern, weather extremes (as Amory Lovins calls it, 'Global Weirding') are particularly hard on plants. I lost a good hunk of a Juniper 3 years ago when we had 3 days of 70's in January, followed by sub-zero lows a few days later.

A week or two of sub-zero lows cures a lot of potential ills (hopefully preceded by a month of lows in the teens and low 20's).

[shadowknows69]

44. I'm in way upstate NY and we used to be legendary

for our snowfalls. Now we're like the "northern" south. Any skeptics of global warming needs to check the temp records of the last 15 years in my town.

[shadowknows69]

46. on another note, and this is unconfirmed but, a friend 12 miles south of me

said he had dandelions growing in his yard and he found a catepillar. Could be hyperbole but not far from truth. We still have some insects outside4 which should have gone bye bye months ago.

[HamdenRice]

49. Winter is very important to killing insects

When I studied tropical farming systems, one of the most important insights I learned is that tropical farmers have much worse pest problems that we have because winter never kills off the insects.

In northern climates, insect pest populations start off small, grow to a peak in late summer and are killed. In the tropics they never have that die off.

If you saw a catipillar, now, our summer could be miserable in terms of pests.

[tigereye]

67. I actually saw a mosquito yesterday!

I was looking forward to using my snowshoes this year (didn't get to last year). I was actually thinking that I should plant some bulbs now (didn't get around to that this fall, either.)

[hedgehog]

109. I'm also wondering about the effect on freezing on soil structure.

I've often wondered if Northern soils are better than tropical soils because of the constant freeze/thaw cracking of rocks and mixing of sub soils as rocks are pushed to the surface.

[HamdenRice]

110. Yeah, another point from my tropical agriculture course

Even more than the soil structure, cold weather helps soil fertility. Refuse builds up on temperate soils during the soil and is "banked" all winter. When it composts in the warm weather in the spring, it releases its fertility in a burst.

Tropical soils tend to be very poor because the warm weather and rain leach nutriets out of the soil constantly, and the vegetation locks the nutrients in the living plants.

That's why tropical farmers use slash and burn: the nutrients are in the living plants and trees, rather than in the soils.

[TommyO]

70. Dandelions here in PA!

Yellow, and some that went to seed already.

[Captain Hilts]

73. Just a handful of years ago Upstate got that Christmas Day snowstorm. nt

[Marie26]

48. Very, very weird

Over Christmas, the temperature in northern OH/PA was consistently above the temperature in Atlanta, GA. It didn't snow once, and stayed between 50-60 degrees the entire time. Normally, temps there are below freezing every day in January, w/lots of snow on the ground. Very very freaky. I was almost glad to come back south, where the temperatures were a little cooler & more seasonable. I also noticed that a lot more people are getting colds this season - maybe it's related? It seems like if there's no winter, a lot of bugs, pests, etc. that are usually kiiled off will have a chance to flourish this summer.

[Last Stand]

51. There's no such thing as Global Warming.

At least that's what a Boston area nurse told me as she hooked me up to an IV. All I could think of is "this is the person in charge of my hospital care?!?" That was 3 weeks ago when it was 50 in December. Now it's 60 in January and I wonder if Lil Miss Limbot still believes in the RW Santa Claus.

[bdamomma]

122. that is pure denial, geez, doesn't anyone believe these scientists

and meteorologists.

[Pirate Smile]

162. I'd just say "right, and smoking doesn't cause cancer".

I wouldn't get into a long discussion (if she seems hopeless) but at least plant the seeds of how certain industries do their best to fool people and it works (with some people) for a long time.

[mainegreen]

52. Yes, yes, yes. Rain? In January? My plants on the front porch are still growing!

If they're still growing come april, this will be the first year without a winter. Just a long extended fall moving into spring.

:wtf:

[wicket]

53. My family runs a small maple sugaring operation

Last year was one of the worst years ever. If this keeps up, there may not even be a sugaring season this year.

[HamdenRice]

79. I'm so sorry to hear about your business ...

and that of other sugar maple producers. As I wrote in a post above, certain fruit trees also won't bear without a hard freeze.

[MamaBear]

54. Wait until summer.

Reservoirs depend on spring melt to keep going during the dryer summer months. When there is little snow, there is often a summer drought.

This "winter" has been creepier than usual warm winters, given that we all saw An Inconvenient Truth last summer.

Carbon offsets, anyone? What am I bid?

Cheap oil is suicide.

[deepthought42]

56. Yes! It's going to be in the 60s here in MD...

:scared: It's just not right! We've hardly had any days where it's gotten into the 40s or 30s, or even below freezing.

[Sparkly]

58. I'm in MD too.... Isn't it bizarre?? We're having no Winter... nt

[deepthought42]

97. Yeah, we've had some mild winters, but damn!

This is insane... And of course it's raining, on a Friday, which means traffic is going to SUCK. I'm all for safe driving, but going 40mph on I-97 because it rained today is not safe! Argh.

[Sparkly]

57. YES. "Creeped out" is a good phrase for it. nt

[Clinton Crusader]

59. TOTALLY creeped. I live in the Adirondacks...

where it should be BITCHING cold by now, AND at least 2 feet of snow. ALL we've had is a smattering of snow, which melts in the morning. It's ridiculously warm. Skiing up here is non existant this year, was 60 degrees on CHRISTMAS!

[hedgehog]

61. Don't forget all the people getting nailed by blizzards out West.

It's the other half of global climate change. I'm not from there, but it looks to me like the Four Corners is getting a lot of extra moisture. That's great for a near desert area, right? Here's what happened a few years ago: high moisture = extra growth of grass and small grains = boom in rodent population = rodents moving into human habitation. It turned out that the mice in New Mexico are a reservoir for a hemorrhagic fever virus. There was a minor epidemic and considerable panic when apparently healthy adults started dropping dead. For a while, other people were afraid to associate with any Navajo.

[Lilith Velkor]

62. Yeah, this is creeping me the fuck out

Granted, creepy as hell is normal for DC, but this weather isn't helping.

[BoneDaddy]

63. Totally bizzare

sure I like the fact that I am not freezing my ass off, but I realize it is a harbinger of things to come...

[malaise]

65. Don't rule out a pre-June hurricane

if this continues.

[JCMach1]

66. Coldest Winter in 20yrs in UAE

GLOBAL WARMING CAN MEAN MODERATION INSTEAD OF WARMING IN SOME AREAS... WE HAVE ALSO HAD RECORD RAINS THIS WINTER. GRASS AND FLOWERS ARE BLOOMING ALL ACROSS THE DESERT... THIS IS ALSO VERY UNUSUAL... WE SHOULD HAVE 70-85 DEGREE BEACH WEATHER IN WINTER...


Dubai: It has become a common sight these days to see children huddled around heaters in their rooms to keep warm.

While the sudden drop of temperature has affected residents, it has created a boom for shops selling heaters.

Though for different reasons, customers and retailers have taken a sudden interest in room heaters... http://gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10094688.html

[roamer65]

74. The Great Lakes have yet to freeze over.

Problem? Yes. Increased evaporation during the winter will mean further drops in water levels. Lake Superior is already at the lowest level ever recorded.

If its this warm in Michigan in January, I wonder what July and August are gonna be like this year....UGH.

[JCMach1]

77. more water vapor @ the equators might mean colder winters

in the Warmer regions... one of the paradoxes of global warming perhaps

[roamer65]

81. Very likely with extra water vapor from the temperate regions.

I was just in the southern Nevada-California desert region and temps were just about the same as ours in Michigan. It went down to 39 deg F one night out there, versus 35 deg F when I got back to Michigan. :wow:

[SanCristobal]

71. This is the greatest winter ever.

I lived in Buffalo for a few years and it gave me a healthy hatred for snow. I'll take this weather over constant snow any day. A few days ago Rochester local news reported that Western NY counties have saved an average of $500,000 to $1 million this winter because they haven't needed salting and plowing. Most plan to reinvest the money in improving local infrastructure.

If this is global warming, I'm all for it. I propose we actively campaign for global warming as part of a comprehensive energy policy. If Al Gore tries to get in our way, we will accuse him of being beholden to the polar bear lobby.

That last part is mostly sarcasm. Mostly...

[G_j]

82. scary

:scared:

[SanCristobal]

88. I should work for the oil industry....

:evilgrin:

[Last Stand]

92. You are uninformed.

The warm weather will eventually end in an ice age.

I have no problem with anyone enjoying a mild winter, but promoting Global Warming is suicidal.

[SanCristobal]

96. That just means we have less to worry about!

Earth will right itself in the end! I am more convinced that global warming is the right choice for America then ever before!

Still mostly sarcasm...

[Jennicut]

72. I live in CT and something is wrong

Its too warm here and there are too many intense storms elsewhere. Very rainy in California and snowy in Colarodo. Its the extra moisture that stays in the air from slightly warmer climate changes. It sucks all the moisture out in some areas and creates droughts in other areas (look at Australia and Africa right now) This wreaks havoc when it dumps all the extra moisture elsewhere in the from of snow and rain. Global warming combined with El Nino is not good. We will have lots of mosquitos and other bug problems come summertime. Not enough are dying off in the winter. This is the price to be paid for a warmer wintertime. I would rather take the cold weather than have a pest problem and weird wacky intense weather (don't forget tornados too)not too mention more melting in Greenland and the poles rising the ocean levels worldwide. My husband said this morning that people are naive if they don't realize something is happening.

[shanti]

150. what do you mean

"very rainy" in california? this IS the rainy season in cali, but we're not getting too much rain!

[ScreamingMeemie]

75. Michigan here...and while I wasn't creeped out by it at first...

After all, weather patterns are odd all... I am now. I looked up our weather in the Farmer's Almanac and we're supposed to be at 20. We're at 54 right now. I am officially "creeped".

[Lars39]

80. Oh, you and your little terrorist book!

:D :hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

83. Lars!!!

:spray: :hi:

It feels as if I haven't seen you in years. I'm back from my self imposed GD sabbatical. Refreshed. Ready to go. :D

[Lars39]

89. Excellent time to come back, Mrs.G!

You were greatly missed. :hug:

[Sugar Smack]

84. OMG, thank you. You nailed it.

Now, I'm in NC, but I've been using the word "creepy" to describe the warm winter weather here. And my friends are agreeing with me.

[libnnc]

85. I'm in the southeast and I'm creeped out

Usually by this time we've had at least one ice/sleet/freezing rain fest.

[Az]

86. Last night in Detroit during the rain I had to rescue a worm

A big sucker. Crawling around in front of our garage due to the rain driving him outa his dirt. A freaking worm crawling around in the middle of winter in Michigan.

Nature will survive. It adapts and changes all the time. Life will survive. It adapts and changes along with nature. From our point of view nature sucks. Because it is more than ready to adapt and change to a condition that is not hospitable for our continued survival. Its not the survival of life that we are concerned with. It is the unnatural continuation of an environment that is compatible with our continued survival. And we have boned that pretty well now.

[lukasahero]

121. "Nature will survive. It adapts and changes all the time." Yes and no

The problem is that "Nature" changes over time. The changes we are perpetrating are coming too fast for more than just humankind to adapt. "Nature" will survive but she may look considerably different and many of her current inhabitants will be lost.

[Az]

128. That would be the point

We do not like that nature changes. We like the conditions we have right now. Our environmental concerns are to essentially oppose nature and fix it in place.

[Horse with no Name]

90. Meanwhile, out in the West Texas town of El Paso

[HamdenRice]

101. Now you're really scaring me! nt

[seabeyond]

135. we are on our fourth snow tonight, here in the panhandle of texas

damn cold today and has been cold most all winter. a handful of days where i could open windows. last year was like the NE is talking. bulbs came out early, grass turnng green early. we were worried about a late frost and didnt happen

we got back from el paso for christmas break and real cold. never seen it like that. mother in law said possible snow. they got it

[npincus]

91. yep- we live in a Flood zone

I love my house, my town BUT... seriously starting to think we should consider moving to higher ground.

[EstimatedProphet]

94. This isn't indicative of global warming. But I'll tell you what may be:

Remember last winter? Remember how unusual it was for half of North America? Doesn't this year look an awful lot like last year?

One warm winter isn't an indication. Two really aren't either, but 2 back to back like this start to indicate a possible trend. This is too much like what happened last year, and last year was unusual.

[applegrove]

95. The juxtapostion of the beatiful sunny days and the meaning of global

warming...is sad.

[we can do it]

98. Its Pretty Freaky Here In Ohio, Too

Its rainy here today, no snow for weeks.

[FlaGranny]

102. This weather is scaring me really bad

down here in Florida. The ocean water is not going to cool this winter and what does that mean for the hurricane season? Our temperatures have been running about 80 and supposed to be in the mid 80's this weekend. I think that is almost 10-15 degrees above normal. I don't like this one bit.

[Midlodemocrat]

112. I feel the same way. After seeing Al Gore's movie and going

through this incredibly mild winter, I'm frightened for the future.

As a matter of fact, my gas bill was only about $50 bucks this month, but my electric was $200 (because of the need for A/C at times)

It is really creepy.

[treestar]

105. Have you ever noticed too that while there have been quite a few

stretches of unusually warm weather in winter in the last ten years or so, but that the opposite never happens to occur? I've never experienced, in any summer, an unusually cool week.

[bdamomma]

115. No snow No water, and reserviours are going to be depleted.

very scary indeed, indeed it is a combination of El Nino and Global Warming. Our earth is telling us something, is anyone listening and/or watching.

[Cha]

116. Yeah, a lot of us are

"creeped out" here in New York. Even those of us who are enjoying the perks of no sub-frigid weather.

I saw something on a weather site that said "El Nino" was responsible for the Spring like weather.

[bdamomma]

124. that's El Nino, but does anyone remember what El Nina is?

just to compare the two.

[Cha]

125. El Nino/La Nina weather

patterns..

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2620-el-nino-and-la-nina-systems

[bdamomma]

126. thanks for that information zidzi.

[Hissyspit]

134. Yes, BUT. El Nino and La Nina patterns are being made more extreme by global warming.

[Cha]

165. Well, there ya

Go!

[GreenEyedLefty]

118. I'm guilty of loving this weather

I live in Michigan and love this warm weather we're having. I'm guilty of taking long walks outside and actually enjoying winter for a change. :)

Personally, I believe it's an aberration and not necessarily global warming.

Edited to add: Michiganders might remember a very similar winter oh, about 25 years ago. My friend's dad was a farmer and I remember him commenting on the warm weather but he didn't seem concerned about it.

[BeHereNow]

119. Wind storms here in southern California...thought my roof was going to blow away last night!

My dog was freaking out, tried to burrow under the covers with me-
she was shaking so bad I thought her teeth would fall out.

I tend to think the critters know more than we do
about what all this means, and I don't think they
feel too good about it.

Yeah, I'm starting to get increasingly scared about
the weather changes.

BHN

[BlackVelvet04]

123. I'm not much of a fan of winter

so I have been enjoying the 60 degree weather but I'm aware that it doesn't bode well for the planet.

I watched An Inconvenient Truth last night and the reality is very frightening.

[Gloria]

129. We're about 8 degrees COLDER than normal down here in

Southern NM......the days aren't getting as warm as usual.....and the nights. In the twenties at the lowest, we've seen in the high teens in other years at this time, with lovely days. Nothing that cold so far.

So, things are off here, too.

[LSK]

131. yes

Its been 15 degrees warmer than average for a month.

[SmokingJacket]

132. I'm very freaked out.

Things are going to start dying in a big way. There have been more dead trees over the last few years, and this trend can only get worse as plants and animals suited to the old climate fade away and new things move in.

I'm going to miss the sugar maples. :cry:

[Bjorn Against]

133. It is very warm here in the midwest as well

We had temperatures in the mid forties in the beginning of the week. That may not sound warm to some in other places, but for January in Minnesota it is virtually unheard of. When I was a kid growing up our winters here used to have lots of snow and very cold temperatures. Over the past decade we have not been having those kinds of winters here anymore, and you can ask pretty much any Minnesotan who has been here a long time and virtually all of them will tell you the same thing. Our winters are much tamer than they used to be.

We definitely are starting to feel the early effects of global warming.

[kaygore]

136. We were still picking tomatoes in the garden in Jan. 2002

the year my mom died. She was able to lie on the screened porch and enjoy the beautiful fall and beginning of winter that year in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I can also remember many Christmases as I was growing up in Virginia Beach when we were wearing shorts and tee shirts on Christmas Day. However, I do suspect that global warming does also play into this.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

137. Well, I can tell you this

I am a fan of Barolo wine. This wine comes from the Piedmont area of Italy. It is extremely cyclic - a good year is a rarity. Wine afficianados talk of the three years in a row of good years that happened in the 80's with great affection.

Not good years from 89 - 95. Then 95 came - a good year, 96, 97 good years. Wow. Another 3 years in a row. The vintners are now wondering if there has been a permanent change in the weather - because that very rare 3 years in a row has stretched to NINE. At one time, the grape harvest for this wine was in late September, now it is in late October. The summer season has lengthened and there is less rain which improves the grapes.

Nine years of lengthened summers.

And while I do enjoy this wine, it does make one wonder and worry doesn't it? It doesn't seem right.

[distantearlywarning]

138. Very strange here in Pittsburgh

I think I heard the high temperature today was 69!!!! :wow:

Normal weather this time of year involves wind chills below zero and lots of ice. We haven't had a winter day yet this year. It's all been 50-60 degrees and no snow at all.

Edited to add: we killed a mosquito in the car a few days ago. Yes, in early January. That's a new one for me.

[Stinky The Clown]

139. It is midnight here, 20 miles N of DC ...... and its 64 degrees

Supposed to be into the 70s tomorrow.

Creeped out by this weather?

Yup.

I started wearing shorts last March. I am **still** wearing shorts.

[Jcrowley]

140. Been outside tonight?

Very bizarre

[womanofthehills]

141. Cold & snowy in New Mexico

Damn - I live way out in the country and couldn't get out for days. It's so cold - at night the snow turns to ice and during the day its been mega mud. More snow tonight & later in the week. When I moved out here from New Jersey many yrs ago I couldn't believe how mild the winters were. We are supposed to be a desert and last summer for over a month it rained almost every day.

[hyphenate]

142. I'm there

I think a lot of us have this subject on the mind right now. It's creepy.

[vickitulsa]

143. Too many people living in denial -- until they see and feel it personally

and the evidence grows beyond their ability to doubt and deny. Because of this problem, I believe not enough action will be taken worldwide soon enough to stem the rapidity of climate change and forestall its catastrophic consequences.

I decided a few years ago to educate myself about global warming and have since kept up with developing data. Because I'm not a scientist, let alone a meteorologist or climate specialist, I knew it would take time for me to sort out the wheat from the chaff in the information (and speculation) that is out there. By now I pretty much understand which sources are reliable and which ones are just blowing smoke, so to speak.

What I've learned has convinced me beyond any doubt that Planet Earth is in unavoidable big trouble already, and not likely to be preserved in any form we could recognize no matter what we do now. The ball's already rolling ... think "domino effect."


I am glad to see some discussion here of several of the "larger issues" encompassed under the topic of climate change, such as how regular winter freezes affect insect kill-offs and the cycles of many if not most plants.

Climate change occurring as quickly as it is now turns the entire natural world on its head, and there are a great many consequences that I doubt were even in Al Gore's no-doubt-excellent movie, simply because of time constraints.

Permafrost melting is occurring in Arctic regions at a dramatic rate already, and on December 22, 2006, polar bears were recommended for placement on the Endangered Species List because of the threat to their survival.

I am very glad to see that people are finally at least talking about the climate change problem a lot, because I have to wonder (since I'm an optimist at heart) if ultimate recognition of the threat to all of us who inhabit Planet Earth might not draw all earthlings TOGETHER to fight to survive?

As I see it, that's the ONLY way we might stand even a small chance of making it....

[Ripley]

160. Good post .. Oblivious Humans

They may not understand or Care that entire biological niches are being radically changed and headed for extinction (even large mammals such as Polar Bears) right before our eyes, but they will care when economies start collapsing and warfare becomes more prevalent.

Daily escalations of events are definitely Cascading. You can See the results in any segment You wish to reivew. Take gold for instance. A lot of mining rights are held in Canada and they do mining near the Artctic Circle. Well, they used to. Now that the permafrost is melting, they can't get in there except by helicopter - huge economic impact to follow.

[shanti]

145. yes, here in sacramento

we're supposed to have a hard freeze tomorrow. it's not the first either, but we rarely have hard freezes. all i know is that it is REALLY cold out tonite. this is unusual for january - it's usually raining.

[nadinbrzezinski]

146. Trust me

it is creepy even in so cal

[Bluebear]

148. 3:00 am January 6 in New Hampshire: **58** degrees here,

This just ain't right.

[Raksha]

184. What is so creepy here in So Cal is that the weather is so unpredictable.

I'm in San Bernardino (semi-desert climate), and it's a beautiful warm day today, but I checked the weather forecast and we're supposed to get rain on Thursday and Friday with very cold nights (for the location and the time of year), going down to 28 degrees.

I just got an order of tomato seeds, but I'm going to hold off for a while with planting them. Usually I can be reasonably confidant when I start tomatoes in January that by March it will be warm enough to put them in the ground, but now I'm not so sure.

[Trajan]

151. East has been warm ....

West has been cool ....

Dont forget how Denver got WHACKED a few times already this season ....

But there is no doubt there is a combination of effects at play here; between global warming, El Nino and an apparently stubborn hemispheric storm track that is spitting out arctic air from Washington state and tracing a wintery arc through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and NM before turning to rainshowers in Texas and points east ... Sometimes northerly, sometimes southerly, and sucking up the warm gulf air masses into the mix that spikes the moisture content ....

It is fucking weird, but it isnt all about warming everywhere ....

[OneBlueSky]

153. creepy AND depressing for someone who's spent most of his life in the Northeast . . .

I didn't think I'd miss the show, but I do . . . I also miss the cold, despite having lower heating bills this year . . .

I afraid we won't experience the annual "rebirth" that occurs in the Spring without first experiencing the Winter that is supposed to precede it . . . that's not only sad, it's also a bit disorienting . . .

[Nordmadr]

155. It is pretty damn weird. I'm in the Syracuse area, and it has got to be near 60

right now, at 7:30 in the morning, January 6th!

Yup, just checked...58 degrees.

Olafr

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

159. No. Westchester Co.-My rhododendrons are budding and at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens- Cherry Trees are

blossoming.
Last night, my window wide open, I started to sneeze...Spring allergies? It is very creepy yet at the same time, delightful.

PS....the gas and oil companies must be freaking!

[k_jerome]

163. midwest is freaky as well. nt.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

167. Yes, it is very creepy

Its over 60 degrees here in CT today. I've got mosquitoes, my iris are sending up new leaves, the snowdrops are too.

I'm not at all a fan of cold weather and I do appreciate a lower gas heating bill - but it is too weird. I want some winter before we have spring!!!

[HamdenRice]

171. Yesterday, 34 degrees above normal -- had the air conditioner on

Yesterday I was driving around running errands and I had to turn on the car air conditioner --in early January.

[helderheid]

175. I recorded An Inconvenient Truth on PPV - saw part of it last night

We're in deep shit.

[globalvillage]

176. On the bright side

The warm weather here in the east has brought a lot of attention to climate change. I saw Bill Nye the Science Guy on both MSNBC and CNN yesterday, explaining global warming. That wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the crazy weather we're having.
Although the science proves we're impacting the climate in a pretty scary way, I think this stretch of warm weather is an anomaly, and that we'll get back to something more normal soon. It is freaky, though, and rough on people who depend on snow and cold to make a living.
Maybe it will cause more people to pay attention. At least it's being discussed. As to the response, we'll have to see if it's enough to get people to make the necessary changes.

[HamdenRice]

177. NPR this morning: This weather IS related to global warming

NPR this morning had a segment about the warm weather. They interviewed a climate change expert from Colorado. He said there are three factors in this warm weather: el Nino, the decline of arctic ice and the north Atlantic variation.

Of the three, the decline of Arctic ice seems clearly to be related to global warming. The relative absence of that ice increases temperatures in the arctic which is the source of cold in the northeast.

So I guess it's semi official: This is a global warming winter.

[Marie26]

182. Didn't a major segment of Arctic ice

break off last year? And then we have the warmest winter ever? Seems like a cause & effect situation.

"Floating Arctic ice shelf drifts along Canada's northern shore"

2005's high summer temperatures caused slab to break off, scientists say

A 41-square-mile shelf of floating ice that jutted into the Arctic Ocean for 3,000 years from Canada's northernmost shore broke away abruptly in the summer of 2005, apparently freed by sharply warming temperatures and jostling wind and waves, scientists said Friday.

The Ayles ice shelf, as the ancient 100-foot-thick slab is called, drifted out of a fjord along the north coast of Ellesmere Island. The sheath of sea ice that tended to press against the coast there, even in summer, was replaced by open waters because of the warming, the scientists said.

The change was first noticed by Laurie Weir of the Canadian Ice Service as she examined satellite images taken of Ellesmere and surrounding ice on and after Aug. 13, 2005. In less than an hour, around midday that day, a broad crack opened and the ice shelf was on its way out to sea. ...

The Arctic sea ice has experienced sharp summertime retreats for several decades, adding to evidence of significant warming near the North Pole. (Neither melting ice shelves nor sea ice contribute to rising sea levels because they sit in the sea already, like ice cubes in a drink.)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/30/MNGP8NAGV01.DTL

[GenDem]

179. Our economy here in Western NY getting hit pretty hard.

We live in a pretty depressed area to begin with. Last Saturday our local paper had a story about the economic impact for this area -- can't give a link cause they are not online. Our ski resorts are closed, retailers who depend on selling winter related products aren't even selling a pair of gloves, the ice wine can't be processed because the grapes haven't frozen on the vines, not sure what happens to the maple syrup, seasonal workers that depend on snow removal are our of business, bars and taverns that depend on the snowmobiler's coming through are suffering.

On the upside....some of the golf courses are now open for business:shrug:

[FreeStateDemocrat]

180. Not me, I'm out there and loving it.