Crocuses are pushing out of the ground in New Jersey. Ice fishing tournaments in Minnesota are being canceled for lack of ice. And golfers are hitting the links in Chicago in January.
Much of the Midwest and the East Coast are experiencing remarkably warm winter, with temperatures running 10 and 20 degrees higher than normal in many places.
"The Earth is recalibrating itself: Last year, we had a cold winter, and it’s balancing itself out now. In January, it feels like the middle of April."
New York City saw a November and December without snow for the first time since 1877. And New Jersey had its warmest December since records started being kept 111 years ago.
Maria Freitas said that not only are crocus bulbs blooming in her Rahway, New Jersey, backyard, but the asparagus is three inches high.
"They think it’s spring. They’re so confused," she said.
Meteorologists say the warm spell is due to a combination of factors.
El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now under way in the Pacific Ocean, can lead to milder weather, particularly in the Northeast.
The jet stream, the high-altitude air current that works like a barricade to hold back warm Southern air, is running much farther north than usual over the East Coast.
The weather is prone to short-term fluctuations, and forecasters said the mild winter does not necessarily mean global warming is upon us.
In fact, the Plains have been hit by back-to-back blizzards in the past two weeks.
"No cause for alarm. Enjoy it while you have it," said Mike Halpert, head of forecast operations at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
In New Jersey, the Mountain Creek ski resort in Vernon is struggling to open more trails. There haven’t been many nights cold enough to make snow.
"We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the cold weather will get here soon," resort spokeswoman Shannon McSweeney said.
"Either that, or sending trucks out to Colorado to steal some of their snow."
Excerpts from CNN
这一季的天气确实有点奇怪. 如果照着原来的季节时间上的分配, 这一季的秋天基本上是skip掉的, 或者说被冬天替代, 然后到现在才经历着秋季. 就如上面所说的, "… enjoy it while you have it…" 我不是美国人, 但却觉得有点不寻常而感到不安, 更"重要"的是冬天竟然"偷"掉秋天, 还把秋天还到一个奇怪的时间, 然后被迫取消赏枫和滑雪的季节. 其实都算很好了, 因为至少不是严重到活不下去 (这句话我是小心翼翼的写的, 因为去年的雪灾还是挺严重的), 看到Corolado和马来西亚柔佛州那里的严重灾情, 觉得自己还是很幸运的.
去年年末台湾外海发生大地震, 幸亏没有发生严重的海啸, 只是震坏海底电缆, 没有造成严重伤亡. 当知道这个消息的时候, 我第一个想到的事情就是三年前(2004年)年末苏门塔腊岛外海发生的大地震, 所造成的海啸影响了世界上多个国家, 尤其是印尼和印度. 当年开始知道这个事的时候还是有人以"马来西亚发生地震"的一句话告诉我的, 我当场是晕倒的, 因为马来西亚不可能发生地震的. 后来才知道这地震的威力才相信的, 虽然只是很轻微的震一震. 这两场地震都在年末, 都在外海发生, 我才会这样联想起来. 当年很多地方都还取消了倒数庆典, 为了哀悼这些灾民. 还好台湾的地震不是严重伤亡的大灾害. 不过在这个网路发达的时代, 所造成的经济影响也非常大, 可以看得出来现代人对"断网的损失"已经可以和伤亡的严重性相提并论了.
sha fa, and solution to this productive author 🙂