Deja Vu

In A.D. 2005 December, we had complete snow cover 21 of the first 22 days of the month. All but 2 of the first 22 days had high temperatures below 0 degrees C., and there had been about 20 cm of snow on the ground three days before Christmas. Then the curse struck. Three rainy days at 10 degrees C. first turned the Winter Wonderland to slush, then melted it just in time for Christmas day.

Fast forward to A.D. 2007.

We had complete snow cover 21 of the first 22 days of the month. All but 2 of the first 22 days had high temperatures below 0 degrees C. , and there had been about 15 cm of snow on the ground three days before Christmas. Then the curse struck. Two rainy days at 10 degrees C. first turned the Winter Wonderland to slush, then melted it just in time for Christmas day.

If I hadn't witnessed it I wouldn't have thought it possible. Different years, EXACT same scenario.

On one hand I'm pissed off - this is four Christmases that I have lived here, and four without snow. On the other hand, I've come to expect these turns of events after four years of crappy winters.

In the winter of A.D. 2004/2005, we had almost no snow through the end of the first week in January. After that, we settled in to a "normal" pattern through the end of March.

In the winter of A.D. 2005/2006, the first three weeks of December were wonderful, but, as mentioned above, we lost our snow cover immediately prior to Christmas and didn't regain it until February 06. (the day the we got our youngest pup - hence, I remember the date) February and March of A.D. 2006 were characterized by "normal patters," but we had already lost a week in December, the entire month of January, and a week in February to abnormally warm weather.

In the winter of A.D. 2006/2007 we had the warmest December ever recorded, the least amount of snow ever recorded through January 01, and no lasting snow cover until the third week in January. After that, we experienced "normal" weather patterns through the end of March.

So far this winter we had an excellent first three weeks of December, but, as in A.D. 2005, we have lost our snow cover immediately prior to Christmas. I had been very excited about all of the hockey I would be playing this upcoming week, but now the weathermen are forecasting at least 7 days of temperatures above freezing (highs around 5 degrees C. - 5 to 10 degrees above normal). I can only hope that this current warm spell ends around the turn of the year, because I'll get really upset if it ends up turning into another winter of A.D. 2005-2006...

I know, I know, I bitch a lot this time of year. Well, I have been doing nothing but thank mother nature the past three weeks. Unfortunately, she never seems to give us consistently cold winter weather. Personally, I believe that the underlying problem is global warming. I know that may piss some of you readers off, but that's what I believe. I worry that our living on the historical border between "snow on the ground all winter" country and "snow on the ground off and on during the winter" country is going to go by the wayside, and that my son's winters on the farm will be marked by increasing warmth and decreasing snow cover. That really sucks for me, because a consistently cold and snowy winter is my idea of the perfect season. It's as if my favorite part of the year is slowly being taken away from me...

"Poor me..." Jesus, I sure am throwing one hell of a pity-party. It's time for me to stop whining and end this post. To all of you in colder climates, I envy you. If I don't post again before Tuesday, merry Christmas everyone.

Weihnachten

New York Christmas #3 is past, and for the third year in a row it was a brown Christmas.

The weather was in the upper 30s and it rained all day. It was more of the same yesterday, though we did get a light dusting of snow last night (26 December). It will be gone by the afternoon, and, if the weather men are right, it will be the last snow we get for at least another ten days.

This has been one of the warmest late autumn/early winters on record. (surprise, surprise...)

Here are the weather statistics for December (including the forecast temperatures for the next four days):

1 day with a normal high temperature
3 days with high temperatures below normal
27 days with high temperatures above normal (22 of these were at least 5 degrees above normal)

2 days with low temperatures below normal
29 days with low temperatures above normal

17 days with high temperatures in the 40s (13 of these after 8 December)
7 days with high temperatures in the 50s
5 days with high temperatures in the 30s
1 day with high temperatures in the 20s
1 day with high temperatures in the 60s

Our average low on 1 December is 24 degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously, it is much lower on 31 December (15 degrees Fahrenheit). Incredibly, we experienced temperatures below 24 only four times during the entire month. The point is that this month has been ridiculous. What's scarier is that it was like this in 2004, six weeks were like this in mid-winter last year, and, so far, we have had eight weeks of this weather in the winter of 2006-2007.

I am angry, scared, and depressed about global warming. I have felt its effects in both Texas and New York. The freaky weather of years like 2004, 2005, and 2006 is no longer "unseasonable." The fact is that this is our new "normal" weather.

I like cold weather. I like snow. I don't like excessive heat and drought. However, I think that my home is becoming more like north-western Virginia than central New York. I think that northern New England is becoming more like central New York. The scariest thing is that the changes are not stopping. In 50 years, my area could be like Raleigh, North Carolina. ...but what about 50 years after that?

I don't know what is going to happen to the world, but I know that something is going to have to give.