WTF Weather?

One of my New Years resolutions was to type blog posts more regularly. How's that working out so far?

So, what's up with this weather? Seriously. This is the lamest winter that I can ever remember. It's got me all out of sorts to be running outdoors in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt in early January - which is what I've done a couple of times in the past week. I haven't even worn a coat in the past couple of weeks here in Central Illinois. I saw people playing golf today.

Welcome to a taste of the post-apocalyptic future.

Well maybe it's not that bad yet, but I'm beginning to wonder if this type of weather is a harbinger of things to come - the new "normal." Gone, perhaps, are the winters of yore: feet of snow covering the ground, subzero temperatures, biting wind chills, and the like. Welcome to golf in January, New Years garden parties, water skiing - not cross country skiing - on lakes that normally are covered with ice, and fishing - not ice fishing - on open water.

It wouldn't be so bad if were not a HUGE fan of winter. I am the kind of guy who likes an arctic blast and a cold-ass winter. I like cross country skiing across a peaceful snow covered landscape. Winter, to me, is a time of tranquility. There is nothing quite like the peace and quiet that settles over a city after a blanket of fresh snow. There is something magical coziness of a house that is battened down against the howling wind, a cup of coffee or tea in one's hand, wrapping oneself up in a blanket, and gazing  at the snow falling outside.

That being said, there are a number of factors that attribute to a mild or severe winter. This year we're apparently under the influence of an extreme positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) which has kept the arctic air bottled up in Northern Canada, Alaska, and the Arctic so far, and drawn milder Pacific air into the Midwest. I've become particularly nerdy about the weather this winter because I'm trying to wrap my brain around why this is happening. I've subscribed to some weather blogs and I've been checking out the forecasts for not only Champaign-Urbana, but I've also been keeping tabs on the entire Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois area. For example, did you know that over 2000 record warm temperatures have been recorded across the country since January 3rd?

Before this gets too long and you, humble reader, begin to get sucked into the depth of my obsession with this topic, I shall draw to a close. If you want to become obsessed like me, check out this article on ESPN about climate change and subscribe to this weather blog* written by my favorite meteorologist (yes that's also nerdy). On this blog there are tons of links to information that will help you understand the climate, how its changing, and what the implications of climate change are for our world.

Snow is in the forecast for the next couple of days! And cold! It's about damn time.

*By the way, a shout out to my friend Dan Kronzer for telling me about the blog. I'm hooked now. Kaia says thanks.