It is February 18. And I am sun-burnt.
Currently in College Park, MD, it is a balmy 71 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. Did I mention that the date is February 18?
It's a beautiful day, and everyone is loving it. People are strolling around campus, reading outside, enjoying this unusual-- can we even call it winter? -- weather to the fullest.
Today wasn't the only warm day this month: two weeks ago temperatures also reached into the mid-70s, and we have had our fair share of days in the 60s and mid 50s in this mild month of rebellious February.
As much as I am enjoying soaking up the sun, though, I can't get that little voice out of my head saying, "There is something wrong here. This isn't normal. Global Warming is upon us. Prepare for the apocalypse!"
So, as a student environmental advocate, I'm torn. Can this freaky yet fabulous weather be directly related to global warming? And if so, what does this mean? Maybe we already too late to implement sustainability measures to try and slow this warming process. Either way, maybe we should take this as our cue to implement them now, especially since we spoiled Americans are finally feeling global warming, even if it's at it's disguised itself as a beautiful spring come early.
Other than feeling totally confused (as a Massachusetts native this kind of weather is simply unheard of for me) I wonder whether weather like this is a warning of warming.
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As a Nebraska native, who woke of this morning to a practical blizzard, and now as I look out the window, there's not even snow on the ground, you might say i could relate, but not really.
Nebraska weather has always been different at best and unpredictable at best. so where you might see global warming, I see only more of the same, a cycle that happens and perhaps we're speeding it up, but we certainly didn't cause it. and isnt the whole point that we need to let nature do it's thing? so relax, the end of the world is a little closer than we'd like it to be. oh well, I'm sure the cockroaches will survive.
ChelleBelle
i'm jealous....i'm all for global warming as long as it means sunny weather haha.
just kidding. i'm actually like you, an environmental advocate, and it tears me apart. my own family doesn't "believe in" global warming. it annoys me to death. as humans we're so stubborn that we'll ignore what we don't want to believe even when it's staring us in the face. how can you deny pollution? i live an an EXTREMELY small town, and we have 12,000 cars going in and out daily. when you add up all the other small towns, and the big towns it's pretty devastating to think about. it will be interesting to be around in 20 years and see what the weather is like then....
I would say that as a MD native this weather isn't exactly UNHEARD of, but it is certainly odd. While I can always remember the false springs that would pop up during December, warmer than November but quick to disappear, this is far beyond that. Just look at the averages.
In other words, I can remember as a kid being cold all winter. It just...was. I'm not saying it snowed more or anything, but to be frank we didn't have these periods of SUMMER WEATHER in February. Granted, it'll be gone tonight, but nonetheless, it's freaky in the extreme. Freaky yet enjoyable. I mean, warmth is always welcome but...
I'd say that "unpredictable" would be a better term for today's weather than just "warm" given that today, at least, saw equal amounts of rain and sun, and it rained last night, too. In general, Maryland is known for pretty mild winters, especially in comparison with more northern states like Mass. So, without making any comment on global warming in general, I think it's a little sensationalist to call this year's MD winter an example of its effects.
It's important to understand that global warming started over 100 years ago, and there was nearly as much warming when we were kids as there is now. The record high for today's date was 76 degrees in 1981. The record high for the entire month of February was 84 on February 25, 1930. Global warming effects the AVERAGE yearround temperatures, but is just a small piece of noise in terms of daily temperature swings, which are caused primarily by movements in the upper level jet stream and surface high and low pressure areas.
This is not to discount global warming, because I believe it is a big problem, but I cringe whenever people blame warm weather on global warming or use cold weather to discount its effects.
Alright, after refreshing myself on the relevant information, I feel more confident on making an actual comment about global warming in general. Let's start with this: the fact that there was an Ice Age implies that the temperatures during that age were drastically colder than before and after. So we already know that, within limits, Earth's weather can change pretty drastically. Combine that with the period of verified, documented warmer weather in the Middle Ages and the subsequent relatively cooler period known as the Little Ice Age (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/climate/medieval_warm_perio...), and you see that, first and foremost, the most salient thing we know about the weather, is that we don't know much about it. It's not unreasonable to draw from these data, however, the conclusion that weather is, to some extent, cyclic, in the sense that there are periods of relatively warmer weather and periods of relatively cooler weather. So I'm not saying we haven't (potentially) accelerated or intensified the warmer period. I'm just saying that our contribution is at current levels of technology and knowledge about weather indistinguishable from preexisting trends.
You're a Massachusetts native - yesterday in good old Boston there was a deluge of epic proportions... in February. I've lived in New England nearly all my life, and I'm used to my February precipitation being white and fluffy. Global warming? Maybe... in either case, I'm wet and I'm not happy about it.