A Day When No Snow Would Come

[liz_marcs]

Boston Globe photo of buds on a magnolia tree at the Arnold Arboretum. According to the news reports, the weather has buds swelling and flowers popping on some of the trees and bushes at the arboretum.

It's January, it's night, and I have windows open.

What is wrong with this picture?

Everyone around me it seems — even the most determined future Florida snowbird — is out of sorts over this spring-like weather and has been since before Christmas. People are short-tempered, cranky, and positively suffering near-paranoia over this.

Where's the snow? we keep asking each other. Where's winter? This can't be a good sign. You realize our water supply is gonna take a hit. We need that snow.

It's an interesting psychological snapshot. Suddenly we all begin to glimpse at the reasons why our caveman forebears would willingly sacrifice neighbors and family in an orgy of blood to whatever god, goddess, or spirit they thought controlled the weather and then retire to dance around the bonfire to ensure the wheel of the seasons stayed on the familiar path. That's not to say that any modern 21st Century American is about to start breaking out the stone knives, firing up the bonfires, and looking a fresh young male or female virgin to sacrifice. Killing the underage neighbor is not going to bring winter any more than dancing around a bonfire will.

Yet the sense that something must be done and we have to do it quickly just doesn't seem to quite fade away, even though we know that whatever is causing this unseasonable weather is rooted somehow in science. So we are left wondering, Did a butterfly flap over Tokyo? Is it global warming coming on with a vengeance? Or is it just some weird natural phenomenon and all will be right with the weather next week/next month/next year?

Either way, the sense of "something's wrong" is unmistakable.

In the past few days, I've heard people refer to this terrifying spring-like weather as "disgusting" and "unnatural" and "simply wrong." People's allergies are acting up because the local flora and funa believe that April is here and are, even as we speak, sprouting for their long winter nap a full four months early. People are getting sick because we're dressing for winter and but are left struggling with the reality of a January spring.

Some years ago in a job that is far, far away, I worked with a New England transplant from the south. She never had issues with the snow. While we were all bitching and moaning in the is-it-spring-yet doldrums of February, she never joined in. In her mind, you see, there was nothing more beautiful than a New England winter sky. "There are days it's so blue," she said, "it's enough to make you weep."

This morning, I walked out of my apartment today to run some errands, dressed to match that blue New England winter sky with its scattered dark clouds hinting of an oncoming snow menace. I was smacked right in the face with 70-something degree weather and had to retreat to put on a short-sleeve t-shirt and a flannel shirt (just in case January finally roared in the few hours I was out running around).

As I wandered around outside and did my thing, the disquiet just wouldn't go away. It wasn't just the unseasonably warm weather, it was that the sky looked wrong for this kind of weather. Above me was nothing less than a postcard-perfect New England winter sky hanging over a textbook New England spring day.

It appears I'm not the only one who thought the visual didn't match up with warmth on my skin.

When I stopped for coffee at the local café, the woman behind the counter made a remark about the "disgusting" weather before adding, "What really worries me is the sky." She said. "It's the right sky for winter, but it's the wrong sky for the weather."

Comments

[ad-kay.livejournal.com]

It was colder today in Austin than up where you are. The high here was 52 (and drizzly).

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

It's a mystery...

Hey, I have a question. For some reason I can't see your LJ name, click on any of your cuts, and I can't comment on any of your posts because there's no comment link. It's like I'm completely blind to you whatever computer I use.

I get the same things on the "No Ads on LJ" community, so I was thinking it was a server thing or maybe some kind of ad-removing widget. I was about to file a support ticket, but I don't want to cause trouble for you if there's an ad-removing widget being used. :-)

It's really very weird, especially since I'm a paid user and the ad issues shouldn't affect me one way or the other.

[matgb]

We regularly get problems with the ad_ and _ad thing; whatever browser ad blocking you're using probably blocks all links with ad in for you.

I've read instructions on how to turn that off, and foxfirefey can explain more, but it's definately an ad blocking thing.

[ad-kay.livejournal.com]

Gahhh! You have the same problem I do! Except with me, it's only on my home computer--the one I was using when LJ development reworked the code about a year ago. Remember when they redid the links so that every one is http://username.livejournal.com? I think it might have something to do with your username and my username both having underscores, then LJ changing our usernames for our home pages. Or I could be talking out of my ass.

You're the only other person who has the same problem with my username. I think the problem's me, not you. I'm a paid user too, BTW. I never bothered opening a trouble ticket but I really should.

[szandara.livejournal.com]

Ok, maybe I'm weird, but I'm enjoying this. We went for a long walk today, and it was nice to be able to enjoy being outdoors. I get tired of being cooped up in the house all winter.

[midnightfae.livejournal.com]

It's so interesting to hear this from someone who is used to seasons... I mean, sure, we get our winters and our summers in the bay area, but the difference between them isn't profound.

[kimbari.livejournal.com]

Suddenly we all begin to glimpse at the reasons why our caveman forebears would willingly sacrifice neighbors and family in an orgy of blood to whatever god, goddess, or spirit they thought controlled the weather...

I vote we sacrifice George W. Bush!


certainly wouldn't hurt...

[angstpuppy.livejournal.com]

It's just very, very wierd. I've been talking to the daughter unit who lives in Illinois, about 90 miles south of Chicago, and she's been telling me that it's been in the 60'-70's. I lived through two Illinois winters, they are nasty, but this year? Wierd.
I live in the snow belt in PA and it's been very wet. Granted, WARM and wet...very much like spring is. The birds are confused, the plants are confused and I'm shuddering wondering what Summer is going to be like.
And I'm not getting to wear my snuggly soft winter sweaters, damnit!!

[sneaker328.livejournal.com]

Insane. That's what this weather is. Just insane.

I don't have good shoes for this weather. I wasn't supposed to have to worry about it for another few months. And I've got a closetful of cute sweaters just waiting to be worn.

[septembergrrl.livejournal.com]

I've been saying all month that this weather is wrong, wrong, wrong. It's beautiful, but it should not be, and that is distressing.

The D.C. forecast has it cooling down to the 40s by the end of next week. It's still not the blizzard I would like, but it's so much closer to being seasonally appropriate that I'll be thrilled to see it.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I left southern Wisconsin last week in mid-40s weather (easily 20 degrees too warm) with no snow on the ground. I returned yesterday to low-50s and still no snow on the ground. It's totally wrong.

But remember, there's no global warming. What a joke.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

Our local weatherman says that it is El Nino, exacerbated by global warming. And folks, if this is winter, how hot do you think this summer is going to be?

[sumthingneo.livejournal.com]

seems the last time we had a warm winter, we had a rotten summer, lots of rain and such, and not necessarily hot weather.... but you're dealing with sun, and I'm wondering, shouldn't you have had all the rain we had here in Chi-town, or has that already past through?

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

The weather all over is just plain wonky. Here in Vancouver we're used to the rain in winter, and the occasional snowfall, but this year has been just one of extremes: no rain, lots of heat from July to the end of September, then a month of rain, followed by a snow blizzard, then hurricane force winds that destroyed a big chunk of the forest in Stanley Park, then a huge rainfall January 2 that gave us our usual amount of rain for the month in one day. We're all a little on edge, and everyone is looking at the big trees around their houses, wondering if they will come down in the next storm!
Yesterday the winds ripped a big hole in the roof of the local stadium, BC Place...
What next, a plague of locusts?

[tnrkitect.livejournal.com]

Jeff Masters, co-founder of WeatherUnderground has this to say about the warmth:

The reason for the warmth? A moderate El Niño event is adding a tremendous amount of heat to the globe this winter, and has helped displace the jet stream farther to the north than usual. Global warming is also partly to blame, along with natural variability in the Earth's weather. I also believe that the on-going melting of the Arctic Ice Cap may have contributed to this winter's warmth, although it is difficult to know how much so without doing detailed model studies. Record low levels of sea ice in the Arctic in November and December have exposed much larger areas of open water than usual. The open ocean water provides a tremendous source of heat to the atmosphere, and the extra moisture from the open ocean areas creates cloud cover that insulates the surface. This has allowed less cold Arctic air than usual to form over the Northern Hemisphere. However, now that we are well into the coldest part of winter, the Arctic sea ice has frozen up more. This, combined with the natural cooling due to the 24-hour darkness that continues over the pole, is allowing a large area of cold air to form over the pole. The latest runs of the GFS computer model show that this Arctic air will plunge southwards over North America during the next two weeks, bringing near-normal winter conditions to the U.S. and Canada during the second and third weeks of January. However, exceptionally warm conditions will continue over most of Europe and Asia during this period.

(from here: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=608&tstamp=200701 )

wormtorturer

[(Anonymous)]

Oddly enough, we're having pretty normal Humboldt weather here in the part of California that's practically Oregon. We had a clear COLD spell last week, but that's within normal variability. The cloudy weather is usually warmer (local greenhouse effect) but it hasn't been unusually warm; I've just acclimated to thinking 55-60F is warm enough to go around in shirtsleeves or a fleece.

[wormtorturer.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, the weather's been normal here in Humboldt (so far north in California I might as well be in Oregon). We had a COLD sunny spell last week, and a windstorm that knocked out power for a day or so, but those were within normal variability.

[cindyg.livejournal.com]

We have a similar thing going on in the Philippines - this has got to be one of the warmer Christmases on record, I'm thinking. I haven't worn a jacket the entire holiday season.

Of course, in the countryside, they've had their cold spell because they're still growing trees there instead of the concrete buildings here where I live. :P But even there, it didn't last very long. Already the sun is barely starting to set at quarter to six in the evening, which is a sure sign that the season has truly turned for us.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

The robins are back. Daffodils are coming up. The crocuses, which normally bloom in February, bloomed in December.

My basil is sprouting. I got a great deal on a winter coat. It's spring- three months early. No wonder I'm sneezing my head off.

My gas bill is lower than ususal, and I haven't developed the itchy rash or the winter skin and nosebleeds that plague me during the heater months. I haven't put the big blanket on the bed yet. It's been rainy and gloomy, but not terribly cold. I can deal with rain.

But I am thinking about my garden. What if the winter is a no-show? Will the bees become active in March instead of late April? Can I sneak in some early tomatoes or squash? Should I get some cabbage going? Broccoli? Can I get a citrus tree? Will I have to battle stinkbugs again?

Sigh... I like winter. We get a taste of it here in Arkansas- enough to enjoy, not enough to annoy. Our joke in the Legislature is that we always get a blast of winter when the Legislature meets, which is on odd-numbered years. That means that we're due for a dump any time after the new Governor gets sworn in.

You're right though- it's disgusting. I'll have to do extra work this spring to control fleas, ticks, mosquitos and roaches that weren't killed by hard freezes. And I hope that it disturbs enough people to start doing something to scrub the excess CO2 out of our atmosphere.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Humans are creatures of habit. Disrupt our patterns and we get pretty darn cranky. We're having a pretty standard winter here in Texas. Cold with stretches of Spring like weather. That's usual for us so no one is thrown. I can only imagine what y'all are experiencing is the same as if we suddenly had a 50 degree Summer day. We'd think the sky was falling!

[jakeexperience.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Tokyo, in the series Neon Genesis Evangelion by the year 2015 there were no more seasons. It was just summer all the time.

Just because we could have a dark, scary future is no reason why we have to.