More Weather Observations

Earlier in the month I posted observations on the weather situation where I live, noting how much warmer and milder it seem so far this year. While that observation still stands, old man winter isn't going out with a whimper. In the past two weeks we've had a lot of ice, sleet, snow and freezing rain, almost as if to just remind us that it is still winter. Spring cant come quickly enough for me, and soon enough the garden beds will need attention. Perhaps this year we'll grow some vegetables along with all the flowers we normally grow. Sometime in April visiting a state park or forest will be good idea. Seeing the first blush of spring in a woodland prior to when the tree's leaves bud out is bound to cheer up everyone. Maybe my brother and his family can be convinced to come along.

Odd Weather

There's been something bothering me about the weather lately. It is the middle of winter here in the northern hemisphere. I'm in the temperate zone, meaning we have four distinct seasons. This year so far seems different. We've had less than half a dozen snows so far this year. Even frost is relatively rare. Almost all of the times when we should have had a heavy wet snow, we've had cold rain instead. Last night it was about 60 °F at night. Later it rained and we had a thunderstorm. This weather is more like the traditional spring weather, but we're ostensibly in the middle of winter. This winter seems to be non-existant, my heating bills are mercifully low because of the higher than normal temperatures. Its as if we've skipped winter all together. I'm not sure where this will lead in the future. Is this an anomaly and will the normal cold snowy winters return or will the climate change more or less permanently or will climate become unstable and unpredictable from year to year. It's time to keep my eyes open and keep my wits about me. The world is definitely changing.