[Big Red Clay]

I was watching The Weather Channel on Saturday to get some info on the next round of snow we are expecting. He actually said that he was afraid that all of the cold weather would convince folks that warming wasnt happening and then spouted out some b.s. explanation how the cold is caused by warming. Here in Omaha, we have about 30 inches of snow on the ground and are expecting another 7 on Wednesday. It was -12 when I left for work this morning. Please don’t pee on me and tell me it’s raining. No more Weather Channel in my house.

[Red Badger]

I don’t watch the Weather Channel unless a hurricane is coming................Then I know that dufus will be on our beach..............

[gleeaikin]

Please do not confuse weather with climate. Meteoroligists report weather, climatologists study climate.

I live in the mid Atlantic area and have since 1961. The winters here for the past 20-30 years have been much milder that they were when I first arrived. In the past decade, the summers have not been as hot. Other older folks I talk with in other parts of the country have reported the same.

There does seem to be a significant shift in world wide wind patterns, affecting rain and snow delivery. In the depths of the ice age, there were many areas that were extremely cold and dry, no snow. We have experienced for several years an extreme low in sun spot activity which contributes to cooler earth temperatures. On the other hand if we are still in the 11, 22, 44, and 88 approximate sun spot cycle of highs and lows, rather than in a major shift in the cycle, then in a few years we could have conditions like those of the 1930s Dust Bowl days. Very, very hot and dry. I just hope that a good portion of the snow fall in this country is in the Rocky Mountains. California is suffering from major drought because of scant snow melt.

Heavy snow in Buffalo is probably what they call Lake Effect Snow. Caused when air moves over the warmish Great Lakes, picks up a lot of moisture and then drops it when the air is chilled over land. Inference, the lakes are quite warm now.

As to a balmy Mediterranean England, if the arctic ice melts, this could eliminate the North Atlantic Oscillation in water flow that upholds the Gulf Stream. Then England could have Siberian weather. Climate, it’s complicated!!

[the_devils_advocate_666]

Down toward the bottom of the linked article is this awesome paragraph:

Guo Hu, the head of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, linked this week’s conditions to unusual atmospheric patterns caused by global warming.