Winter Weather Update

Though it has been the coldest winter in quite some time, it has been a very dry winter. (Those two things go together if you live in an area that is normally below freezing in the winter.) Through more than half the winter, we have had only 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) of snow.

Wow. That's definitive.

As I have gotten closer to purchasing a "man rifle" (as opposed to a "deer rifle"), I have been trying to find any and all information available on the couple of weapons that I am considering. AR family rifles seem to be the most popular "man rifles" out there for a variety of reasons, but they have always been nagged by questions of reliability under adverse conditions. I LOVE the idea of an M14/M1A, but I have found a number of sources indicating that M14s have their own reliability questions. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if M14's benefit from their "reputation" as much as ARs are hurt by their's...

Then I came across this post, which pretty much confirms my suspicions. It's pretty definitive.

Hole version 2.0

I don't know if you can see it, but there's a brown dot in the middle of the lightest shade of blue on the map. That represents less than two inches of snow cover. Guess where I live? That's right, the least snowiest part of Upstate New York (along with the area around Fort Niagara). It sucks. Warmest part of Upstate New York, least snowy part of Upstate New York... How the hell is it that my wife's family is from here?!?

Global Warming

"Global Warming! Global Warming! Ahhhhh!"

Admittedly, I believe that global warming is occurring. I also believe that it is, to some unknown extent, affected by human activity. With that said, I am sick and tired of reading about global warming like it's a killer asteroid hurtling at us from space. I am also sick and tired of people blaming every abnormal weather development - be it snow in Texas or warmth in New England - on "Global Warming." It's bloody irritating.

In the past, I've been guilty of blaming "Global Warming" for epically-sucky winter months (see A.D. 2006 December). In addition, I've written about how global warming could affect the climate here in the Finger Lakes region of New York. I think I've written about its potential effects elsewhere, too. However, despite my occasional descents into Chicken Little-type hysteria, most of my writings discuss the potential FUTURE effects of global warming. Why the future? Because most of the weather events that get attributed to global warming - dramatically-warmer-than-average temperatures; snowfall droughts - are simply normal variations in the weather. Global warming is not to blame for these regular ups and downs. Instead, global warming threatens to raise average temperatures over a long period of time. To put it another way, don't blame "Global Warming" for the warmest November on record. Blame global warming for the fact that in fifty years, average temperatures in November will be slightly higher...

Okay, where am I going with all of this? As a few people know, I've been scheming to build the perfect hockey pond for going on a year now. In searching for information on the internet, I came across a web page today that blamed "Global Warming" for the fact that "the few community lakes or ponds that do still exist [in southern Ontario] they [sic] don’t freeze over until the end of January due to global warming." To say that I was beside myself would be an understatement. What an asinine comment!

I live in one of the warmest areas of Upstate New York, which, last I checked, is warmer than ANYWHERE in Ontario. (Yes, even you, Windsor, Hamilton, and London.) Despite "Global Warming," our ponds always manage to freeze over during the winter, providing us with at least three weeks of good skating in all but the most abnormal years. During most winters, there is approximately a week of skating in December, all but a few days in January, and three weeks or more in February. We have skated as late as the third week in March. For anyone to suggest that "Global Warming" is threatening southern Ontario's hockey traditions is ridiculous. To date, global warming has had a minimal impact on skating in southern Ontario and across the northern tier of American states. In the future, global warming may dramatically reduce skating opportunities in these areas, but to say that it has already done so is ridiculous.

To the Chicken Little Canuck who thinks global warming has turned Ontario into Southern Ohio:

Don't be a hoser. Think before you write.

Weather Update

Six of the last eight days had high temperatures at least eight degrees Fahrenheit above normal. The other two had high temperatures that were exactly the historical average. Seven of the next nine days are forecast to have high temperatures at least eight degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Two days are forecast to have high temperatres three degrees above normal.

I know, I know, the weather forecast could change dramatically. However, if the weathermen are anywhere near accurate, we will have thirteen out of seventeen days with high temperatures signficantly (at least 8 degrees Fahrenheit) above average, fifteen out of seventeen above average, and 0 out of seventeen below average. November is usually one of my favorite times of year because it is usually the month in which we begin to have regular snowfalls. Not this year. It has snowed for twenty minutes in November, and that didn't accumulate. I know the forecast only goes to November 21, but there is a real possibility that this November could be the first November without snow accumulation since I moved here.

All I know is that one of my favorite times of year is disappointing. I sincerely hope the situation improves.