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February 2024 General Discussion


Spartman
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2 hours ago, beavis1729 said:

All The Climate Changer is doing is shining a light on what a catastrophe this winter has been, and speaking up when everyone else is silent.  He's taking the data angle, and I'm taking the emotional angle (I've been doing the latter for years, but 2023-24 is the last straw).  Either way, it's horrible...and deserves to be hyped and communicated as much as possible.

He's right that the media is basically silent on what is going on this winter.  Shockingly, it's even worse than that, because Joe Public is actually happy to have warm and snowless winters.  If people are thinking this, then journalists aren't doing their job because the facts aren't getting communicated accordingly.

Let's just do what the US does on every environmental issue - just remain silent and complicit.  There's a political/justice-related saying from Plato:  "silence is consent".  And just like bullies do in school, people who have the courage to document and speak out against atrocities are often punished and told to keep quiet. I'm not comparing this winter to various forms of social injustice - just trying to make an analogy for purposes of understanding.

This winter has set a new bar for how bad things can be.  My go-to place in northern WI (Minocqua) has only had 15" of snow this winter, and 124 (!!) SDDs.  They average 100" of snowfall and approximately 1,600 SDDs.  And their DJF temp will probably shatter their old record by 3-5F, with records going back to the early 1900s.  This is an abomination, and doesn't deserve to be minimized.  From both an emotional and data-related standpoint, how can people be ok with this?  Why isn't everyone furious and worried? The shocking thing about Winter 2023-24 is how bad it has been across nearly all of the Lower 48.  Usually, at least some places have winter while others miss out - but this season, it's across the board.

That's what he and I are trying to say - trying to get people to care, and to stop minimizing things.  It's not right for winters to be warm like this.  People can debate the degree of CC vs. natural variability...but, either way, it's just not right.  So, we should say it.  And don't even get me started on UHI - a whole other issue which is extremely concerning.  If you step back and realize how much humans can impact temps in a city environment, it seems so unnatural...yet everyone just accepts it and moves on.  The normal January low at ORD has increased by 4-5F over 40 years - how can that be ok??  We as a society should be doing everything possible to stop this - but no one cares at all.  Gee, I wonder why - everything is "individual freedom" - heaven forbid we pool together and take collective action to solve problems. Individual freedom should be A consideration, not THE consideration. And then when a group of people actually does work very hard and summon up the courage to try to change something, it gets stalled because society/government/policy wonks/corporations/etc. don't want anything to change.  

For people who love winter, it has been hard to suffer through every winter since 2014-15. That's 9 winters in a row.  You can have the other 275 days in the year - what's so wrong with letting people have 90 days of consistent winter?  Most people on this board love winter, yet they act like bullies and put everyone else down when they express their true thoughts.  Why aren't we all in this together?  What's the problem with admitting that you love the season, and that the current situation is horrible? 

It doesn't matter what ENSO and the 5,000 other cyclical indices say; there should be more than 10 "good" days, even in the worst winters.  Not expecting 90 days - but at least 50 or 60.  The good folks in Minocqua and nearly every other place in the Lower 48 are suffering because of this.  No one wants to have a drink at the local watering hole, or get together with friends at a nice restaurant, when there is no snow for skiing, tubing, stargazing, snowshoeing, and other activities.  And a true, deep winter-like White Christmas (not just 1-3" of slop at best) has become a pipe dream, even though it's the shortest days of the year and it should just happen because of the calendar and the mystique around it.  The winter atmosphere is slipping away, and everyone is just staying silent while it happens.  It's catastrophic - so please let people speak up about it without feeling shy about it, and spread the word.  There is no need to rationalize something that is so bad - we just need to admit how horrible it is, and stop being in denial.  It can't and shouldn't be rationalized.

And I'm not saying we'll never have good snowstorms or occasional cold outbreaks again.  But that doesn't really matter either way...because winter is a mindset based on duration and consistency simply due to the calendar, not the ups and downs of individual storms and needing to hope for certain patterns to produce anything resembling true winter cold. In summer, we don't worry about warm temps - they just happen. And that's great, for summer. I'm not opposed to summer and any other seasons - just let them fit into their appropriate place on the calendar.

One thing I do agree on - there should be a separate thread for climate-related info.  But there's no need to jump down people's throats simply because they express genuine concern and frustration.  There could be a kind request to start a new thread - very simple.  In many aspects of life, it's difficult to deal with situations where you feel alone, like you're the only one experiencing something.  One purpose of these forums is to bring people together who have a common interest - so let's get back to that and support each other. It would probably be easier if we knew each other in person, instead of typing keystrokes through a screen.  I just want all of us to have good intentions, and do things for the right reasons.

If you want to take the "not so serious" angle - that's fine too.  For people who love winter, it has just sucked lately - there's no other way around it.  So let us complain and vent; I wish others did the same.  Stop the bickering - nothing to hide.

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Im headed to a cabin in Frederic for a 4-day weekend Fri-Mon. My yearly up north late winter trip. Since I started this annual trip in 2007 (go to a different place in either upper or northern lower MI each year) I cannot recall such a year without a winter up north. There should still be a few crusty inches left in Frederic, but parts of the keewenaw are bare. Depressing as that is, the northern wilderness is a nice getaway at anytime of the year. With the "law of averages/balancing" AND a la nina coming, Id just cut my losses on this year up north and get snow rakes and stuff while they are clearance, because they will need them next year :mapsnow:

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Personally, as horrible of a winter as it has been my way, it's also great to experience one from almost 150 yrs ago. Reminds me of the winters in NJ back in my Army days. Folks would complain on the little bit of cold that would show up, and I would just laugh at them. "This is nothing, man. You guys don't know what a real winter is like." Of course, most of my buddies were southern boys, so I get it. :D

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7 minutes ago, Brian D said:

Personally, as horrible of a winter as it has been my way, it's also great to experience one from almost 150 yrs ago. Reminds me of the winters in NJ back in my Army days. Folks would complain on the little bit of cold that would show up, and I would just laugh at them. "This is nothing, man. You guys don't know what a real winter is like." Of course, most of my buddies were southern boys, so I get it. :D

Wait! You were in the Army in NJ in the year of our Lord 1874? Mdecoy must have you on speed dial.

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Just a few small, dirty piles/patches left on north-facing/shady embankments/hills or in parking lots where the plows stacked up the two January storms that comprised the bulk of our "winter." Reviewing my railfan pictures/video, that's quite a difference from five years ago today:
 

Ironically, most of that cover likely was the result of the "clipper train" discussed in this thread:
 

 

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Had SN/borderline +SN in Naperville earlier this evening with large flakes. This is more reminiscent of a late March or early April event than late February.

Edit: Measured an average of 1.2" on flat surfaces here at around 8:30pm. With a heavier band overhead now, may take one more measurement.






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