I am curious how you guys and gals answer. I don't mean to start a debate on man-made global warming, just an observation of your take on what your perception is of your local weather history. In my lifetime, there isn't any doubt in my mind that temps are warmer in my local area. The summers are now so unbearable to me, I have pledged to LEAVE here for the summer and head north. Somewhere. Go camping, buy a camp somewhere, travel, whatever, anything to get out of here. Summers here now, it is common to have brutally hot stretches of 103 to 110 degrees. I used to be a fanatical hunter and we used to have real cold (to me) winters sometimes. I recall more than once hunting in single digits. Lowest I recall is 4 degrees. Overall, it seems the winters are not as cold. LOL, I have actually pondered this situation and thought, geez, if it keeps this up, I won't be burning near as much wood in the future! I only burn for pleasure, not to heat the house. Mostly outside in a firepit but also in a fireplace in my gameroom. Of course, I realize that with climate change, you can have wild anomaly swings either way. But overall, it's warmer here. Another thing that I have pondered lately is, geez, the number of tornadoes we have now. Sheesh, as I have traveled around my area, I see (and recall the storms) evidence of tornadoes from the appearance of downed timber swaths. We just had another tornado a month ago and it killed three people. For the first time in my life, I am actually pondering cutting the large trees that surround my house. I have always wanted to keep them because I cherish trees and they help lower my house temperature in the summer, but I tell ya, one of these big 'uns falling into my house could be fatal. In the storm that killed three, a classmate of mine was asleep in bed and a tree smashed through his house, cutting it in two. It landed five feet from him as he slept! He's lucky to be alive. One of the three deaths was due to an identical situation... tree fell on house. I've got three huge oaks and one huge pine. All over 30" DBH. Sure hate to cut them but I'm sure thinking about it. BTW, I did have a pine fall on my house about 15 years ago. Didn't hurt anyone but poked a hole in the roof, had significant damage. Thank goodness it was a 'smaller' pine. Probably 18" DBH. The big pine I have near my house is huge, I measured it and I think it's 36" DBH.
Weather has absolutely changed. We get much more intense storms year round, including tornadoes or at least tornado threats what seems like yearly now, where we hardly ever did before. We also get more intense winds, rains, heat, and snow. We also get much milder winters and hotter summers. The heat waves used to be 2-3 days, now they are regularly 1-2 weeks. We get much bigger temperature swings day to day, and have broken records for warm winters often in the last several years. This January we had two days in a row of around 70 degrees F. The old adage "welcome to New England" doesn't apply when you're getting 50-60 degree swings one day to another. That's next level. Its probably also why we have so many more ticks, mosquitoes and viruses going around. There isn't enough cold to kill them off. I kind of laugh when we get one big snow storm or a couple cold days, and someone states "So much for global warming". Over the entire year and multiple years, the trend has been temps being higher. The exception doesn't make the rule.
I have found that it isn't so much how climate has changed, rather just how much I have changed. ex. When I was young and burning up the tires on the cars I had, I would just wait for those hot summer days of at least 80f temps. Now, I find myself laying low until the temps pass! As a child, I remember the trend was that another ice age was coming Glad we got that turned around! Its a living planet we are on and it is in a constant state of change that humans just can't control.
I’ve noticed no real change in weather here. I have noticed as I get older I’m more affected by the highs and lows. Heat and cold we shrugged off as youngins hits home now. NASA says the average global temp has risen 1.4 degrees since 1880. Doesn’t seem very drastic to me. Possibly even within the error of recording range? I spent a month in Mississippi couple years ago. Tornado warnings just about every day. Sometimes wonder if the weather is more severe or is the forecasting just more hyped.
We always have long winter cycles, 3-7 consecutive years, of warm or cold winters and so we do not see a trend. The frequency of 5-10" single rain events has INCREASED (frog stranglers, gully washers...)! The erosion patterns in streams and washes shows a big change. The ground water table has risen and the number of all-year flowing springs has increased.
I used to work for a guy who kept weather records. Every day, he'd write down the weather for that day, then, he would plan his vacation according to his records. The weather was so repetitive that it wouldn't differ by much more than a day. I wish i had his books on the weather, he kept them every day for probably 45 yrs.
Lately I find myself researching NOAA historical weather data for exactly that reason - to plan vacations and time off so that I have decent days to work on home projects like firewood and outdoor stuff. It really doesn't vary a lot on average from year to year.
Remember, Its not going to change a lot year to year. But a 1/4-1/2 degree average difference/year over the course of 20 years, 50 years, etc means big changes overall. The warmest 10 years on record since 1880 have all been since 2005. I didn't see it in this article, but I believe 11-20 were also in the 2000's, with the exception of maybe one year in the late 1990's. Too many people, too much pollution, too much a lot of stuff. Its unfortunate, but hard to deny. Instrumental temperature record - Wikipedia
Seems like we had more snow when I was a little kid. Maybe It's because I was shorter then... But we got a 1-2' of snow last weekend over night. As far as temperatures go its hard to say that everything is warmer. We have been having record cold February's the past 5 years. We always have a January thaw. Don't get me started on spring time. In my group of friends we have been saying April is the new March and May is the new April. It seems like we skip spring and go right to summer. The past 3 years I have been late getting my garden in due to cold wet weather through May. It also seems like we have more windy days. Take my opinion for what its worth I've only been on this planet 31 years. I think the planet is constantly changing and we're just here for the ride. Hopefully we don't end up like the Dino's!
I'm in my 70's and have looked back. We always had snow for Christmas, now we may or may not. It never snowed before Halloween, but now that changes from year to year. I've also noticed that it isn't really safe to plant tender plants until after Memorial day. Plant before that, even when we have an early spring and you risk a late frost. Best to watch for the moon phase to get a good handle on that. We I was a kid, the lawns always burned up brown in the summer. I haven't had to water the lawn for several years now. Things have stayed mostly green, even in dry spells. My grandfather told me the climate has a natural swing to it every 10 yrs. I think he was wise man. He could judge by the growth of natural plants when it was safe to different garden plants.
I do believe we are warming but there’s a lot more to it than just that. As far as tornado warnings, our knowledge of weather systems is so much better now than even 20 years ago. Also, they issue watches when conditions are favorable which ends up covering large areas. Warnings (for tornadoes at least) are issued once one has been scene. That brings me to another point- a more populated country (330 million) and world (7.7 billion) simply puts more people where people once didn’t live. I have friends and a brother who are cranberry farmers. Once the water is drained off the bogs in spring, Frost is a concern. The amount of nights with frost has decreased dramatically. Attached is something I pulled off my local news outlet the other night. It shows the 10 hottest years globally. This data goes back to 1880.
Interesting thread. I'm no spring chicken for sure as I'm perhaps the oldest hoarder in this forum. I have seen lots of weather changes over time. The first that I remember was during the early 50's when the predictions were that by the year 2000 we would no longer need any winter coats; a sweater would be all we'd need because it was going to be so much warmer. Then during the 60's and 70's we kept hearing more and more about another ice age coming upon us because it was getting colder every year. Now it is more back to the 50's. But let us not forget the 30's either even if it was before our time. One only needs to look at some of the records; high temperatures mainly. It was hot back then! As for precipitation, that to me has always seemed to run in cycles. First we get a lot, then a little then some in between. Snow is a good one to watch, at least in MI. I really have to laugh when I look at one place we lived and it is in the snow belt. The least we saw there was just a tad over 200" in one winter. For the last 10 years or more they are closer to 100" than 200". Yet even this winter we have seen several places in MI where 100" of snow fell by early December and other places have received very little snow. Two things I remember hearing in my youth is that weather goes in cycles and one extreme usually follows another.
I remember as a kid having more snow than we do now here in Iowa. We always had plenty to build sledding runs and big piles to play on. Usually had snow at Christmas and now it seems somewhat rare. Our deer season is the first couple of weeks in December and we usually had some snow or would be getting some before the season ended. I'm 51 now and would certainly say that our temps have gotten a bit warmer at least in the winter, but I also find that I tolerate the warmer temps better now and find the cold more uncomfortable.....
Acid rain and ozone were dealt with through an amendment of the Clean Air Act and the Montreal Protocol.
Watching my local news channel, they sometime show how a day is above average temperature, then next to it they show the record high, more than half the time that high was set in 1900's, 1920's & 1930's. Which leads me to a pretty firm believer of the below. This..................
I would say that it's been colder the last couple of years where I live. I think it just depends where you live. For us it goes in 10 year cycles. Warmer then colder. What I think is funny is that you always hear about record breaking heat but you never hear about the record breaking cold. As far as tornadoes go, the number and strength is actually dropping like a rock (NOAA stats). I think the difference now is that the fear industry (MSM) is very quick to talk about them and you have a phone with access to them talking about it all the time. Another factor with tornadoes seeming more extreme and numerous is the fact that with population growth the likelihood of a tornado being reported and actually causing damage is much higher than say the 1960's. What I don't hear a lot about is the possibility that we're heading into a solar minimum. Farmers are really concerned about crop production over the next decade.
And we also know that less than 2 degrees change in temperature the body can not feel the difference.
We moved onto my property when I was 8 years old. That was 1978, the year of the big blizzard. Couldn’t get out for over a week with the national guard plowing the roads. I have seen the cold diminish with a lot less snow over the last 41 years.
I became a bit "fanatical" for a period of time with genealogy at one point and was mesmerized with my GG Grandfathers farm near Denver that they moved to from the "city" of Denver (Kansas Territory) in 1871 and looked up years worth of historical weather. That man prospered through every single weather cycle, amazing! Droughts, blizzards, extended freezing periods, blistering summertime highs over 100* that I did not see til I was in my late 20's, he was impressive! And he lived to age 95, he saw them more than once. The main difference in Colorado now is not the weather, but all the fields that were pasture or crops and now crowded housing.
