Twenty-five years ago, I moved to Maryland, but this winter I now find myself living in Minnesota. What happened? In my neighborhood, we got about 8 inches of snow last Monday. Then on Wednesday, two inches of ice. To round out the week, another four inches of snow on Sunday. And the entire time experiencing well below freezing temperatures. To add insult to injury, another five to eight inches starting tonight and continuing through Thursday. This morning, the temperature was ZERO. The older I get the more I HATE winter. My eventual destination post retirement will be Hilton Head and even there it's been winter. I never imagined returning to Florida to live, but I may have to re-think that idea.
I have also noticed that there hasn't been a lot of talk about Global Warming this winter. Al Gore has quietly transitioned to dialoguing about Climate Change. Could we do a better job of taking care of our planet? Sure! Is there more hype than substance to global warming and climate change, most definitely. Remember, Spring is only 37 days away.
Global warming and climate change are one in the same. The general trend for overall temperatures is rising. Does this mean winter weather will disappear? Absolutely not. In fact, it will typically become stronger and more violent, just as summer thunderstorms gain in strength and intensity. As the northern hemisphere tilts away from the sun during winter, the northern hemisphere gets glancing light, and the southern hemisphere gets more direct light. Glancing light reduces temperatures, and direct light increases temperatures. For the north, it will be cold. For the south, the increased heat drives moisture into the atmosphere along the equator, and northern jet streams pull this moisture rich air north which eventually creates winter storms. More instability within the entire atmosphere equates to more storms. Below freezing temperatures do not negate increasing global temperatures. Having said that, I, too, am looking forward to spring.
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