Is This Really January?

I just spoke with a reporter for the New Haven Register. He called to find out about our unseasonably warm weather. We didn’t just break records today – they were pulverized.

       old          2007

EWR.....61...1950....72

BDR.....53...1949....63

NYC.....63...1950....72

LGA.....59...1998....72

JFK.....57...1998....71

ISP.....55...1998....65

(as of 3:00pm EST)

Right now it’s warmer in Connecticut than Los Angeles… and much warmer here than Las Vegas!

Even I, global warming skeptic that I am, am impressed with this departure from the norm. I’ve never seen a winter like this. Still, you can’t jump to conclusions and attach one specific cause to one specific weather anomaly. Weather is not climate and the atmosphere is astoundingly complex.

One thing I did mention on the phone, and which I thought through in some detail, is how this early season weather will affect the rest of winter. At some point the past can affect the future.

With no snow over New York or much of Southern Canada, airmasses from the north will modify before reaching Connecticut. That hints at a more difficult to achieve scenario in order to bring really cold temperatures.

What I mean is, airmasses that in a normal winter might reach us at 15 degrees could instead come in at 20. Don’t dwell on those specific numbers, it’s the general concept I’m getting at.

There are hints it will be chillier… maybe even downright cold… by midweek. There’s no joy in that for me.

In a year when oil is so pricey and electric bills have skyrocketed, maybe this lack of winter isn’t such a terrible thing?

One thought on “Is This Really January?”

  1. I’m mildly envious that your record highs are actually warm. Here in MN, record warmth means 45-50 in January.

    El Nino, El Nino, El Nino…

    I think it’s clear that world-wide temperatures are on the rise, so I’m guessing that I’m like you when it comes to being a skeptic of anthropogenic global warming. The powers of “mother nature” are beyond our grasp…

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