Will We Have a Winter this Year??

Am I the only winter lover here? Actually, here in Portland, Oregon, it's been pretty normal, maybe a TAD warmer than normal, but we had some really cold weeks early in December and late in November. No snow yet though unless I missed it. I'm pretty disappointed and really worried now because for a while I was a global warming skeptic but I feel quite convinced this mild winter is a result of global warming and is likely to become normal winter for the northern hemisphere from now on.

Guess the western United States can kiss most of its forest goodbye?

If we get hotter and drier, a lot of it will vanish into the sagebrush.

I think it's pretty short-sighted to be like "oooh it's warm and sunny" when the implications for our climate this winter has are downright terrifying.

In the south of Sweden it has been warm, we are used to cold and long winters but the temperature has been over 0 degrees more or less the whole winter.

Here in northwestern PA, I was able to walk outside in short sleeves comfortably just yesterday.

We had our "first snow", about 5 inches in a couple days... but thats been pretty much it. It's all gone now.

This is the first winter I can remember like this.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
The weather has been odd to say the least this winter.
Above average temperatures....below average to non-existent snow.
Plays havoc with fragile economies as snow contractors, retailers of snow removal stuff and winter sports suffer.
Isn't good for the earth as we need the cold to kill off bugs, weeds and disease and a blanket of snow is a good protector.

Here in SE MIchigan, we've not needed to use a shovel once...I saw a flying insect [like a big mosquito] last week and this morning I saw a dandelion in bloom.

NOAA claims Winter is returning, and even perhaps wintry precipitation

And the 15-day forecast does seem to show a downward trend to more seasonal weather.

What is your winter experience, weather-wise?
Is this a midwest US phenomena?
And weather gurus has a reason for this in plain English

I can remember up and down extremes....longish periods of little to snow snow...but this year seems more...unusual...

edit on Sun Jan 8 2012 by DontTreadOnMe because: clarity

I'm in NE Missouri...we've had 1 snow this year and it melted a few days later, the weather is unseasonably warm...40s to 60s. Crazy...but Missouri weather is always unpredictable...Hell, I remember a few years ago I worked at Walmart...It was Friday, really nice weather, people coming in, buying supplies for BBQs, people wearing shorts, and what not...the very next day we got like 6 inches of snow!

Hard to say in Anchorage, Alaska. Every year here is different and that is pretty normal.

This year we had a couple of weeks at the end of November and into the first half of December that were below normal by quite a bit. Then a couple of weeks back up to 40 in the daytime. Now in January it is pretty much normal as this is the coldest month generally. Lots of lows at zero Fahrenheit or below and a good day it might get to 15 to 20.

We are having more snow than usual and the first couple of months it had a high moisture content. Again in January quite a bit of snow.

It is hard to say here because jumps up and down in temperature are normal.

You have to look at thousands of years to actually say anything resembling what is normal and perhaps tens of thousands of years if not millions. Climate change is normal. Since they only have good data for a few decades and not such good data for a hundred years prior, any who says what is normal are guessing.

I'd find it hard to accept that since they can't even accurately predict more than a few days out that anyone knows. The only ones arrogant enough to do that have a financial interest it seems to me, or a political one.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


in aus last winter it was pretty much spring temp except for about 7 random days of cold so i doubt winter will be around for more than 5 years max

Here in South Africa (Pretoria) we are now in summer. Normally very hot and lots and lots of rain. Rain and thunderstorms follow after very hot day and then used to tick over into some rainy days that followed.

THIS summer though, we are getting very very hot days (normal) but then followed by some cooler weather after a bit of rain. Nor raining nearly enough! Where is our rain gone??

And why am I sitting here with a jumper on?? It's supposed to be summer?

On the animal tip. Theres an article on fox about an unbelievable number of hybrid sharks found this year, (mixed species) around australia. Saying they worry about it making the sharks stronger as far as being able to allow more common cold water sharks to go warmer and the other way round. Or even worse all sharks everywhere. They seem to be sticking to same sub species for the most part from what i gather from the article, but could you imagine a male mako with female great white. They found mixed breed blacktips mainly. Maybe its due to the last few warmer years??? wonder how much ice really melts off the poles due to the heat? they always talk about ocean levels, but that makes me think of all the creatures born daily and the amount of ships put in the water per year.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


This goes to show that nature does whatever it wants no matter what.

What must humans do about this? adapt, like we have done ever since mankind has existed on this planet, and who knows where else.

As I remember, last winter started earlier and finished late, at least in most of the U.S.

Nature does what Nature wants.

I'm in the PNW and we are having an extremely mild winter. It's been fluctuating since 2008: a very heavy winter then the next is a mild one. So, I'm expecting this coming winter (2012-2013) to be a doozy.

It has snowed a few times so far, but only about 1/4 - 1 inch each time and it melts off by the next day. It freezes almost every night, but has been nice enough out to warrant only a thin jacket most days.

It's the same deal over here in California, and Nevada, too. No rain, no snow, nothing. Sorta killed our annual ski trip before it even started.

It did wonders for the Nevada casinos since nobody had anything else to do, though.

60* this past week in southeast SD, we've only had 2 dustings of snow but nothing ever stuck. I've never been able to wear a sweatshirt and go golfing in January before. Very mild, but needed in this area because the last 5 years there has been constant flooding all over our state and it seems like there wont be any kinda crazy snow melt in spring this year.

Originally posted by tetriswoooo

in aus last winter it was pretty much spring temp except for about 7 random days of cold so i doubt winter will be around for more than 5 years max

That's quite the statement there buddy. Do you have any factual proof to corroborate your claim?

It could go either way, no one really knows 100%

After all, mankind has no say on what the Sun, the Solar System, the Galaxy, the Earth or nature will do.

Super strange, I have also noticed it's been above average warm, it's only been chilly 2 days so far this winter here in Miami, def warmer then usual for sure, confirmed by my roommate who has lived here his whole life.

In the 70's I remember two christmas's where it was like 60+ degree's, people were riding bikes in tee shirts.

I got to fly my new RC plane in Xmas day in a windbreaker at Hoyt Park in Milwaukee.


These things happen, nature has it's own ideas.

I am only 21 but i do not remember a single winter that was like this one so far, coming from New England this is extremely unsettling, seeing as as far back as i can remember it has snowed at any point from october up to even april some years

was watching the weather earlier tonight they compared this winter season to that of 06-07 where we had season high temps and even up to the mid 70's here in New York for first few months of winter then around feb and rest of the remaining winter we got hit with the northeastern that dumped foots of snow he said it wasn't that uncommon probably isn't honestly but if we do go the whole winter with out any snowfall then there's something to be worried about got a chart from the mountain i snowboard at with the average yearly snowfall

Average Snowfall
Year Snowfall (In Inches)
2010-2011 247
2009-2010 172
2008-2009 185
2007-2008 255
2006-2007 263 - the year of the northeastern i was talking about earlier
2005-2006 202
2004-2005 143
2003-2004 193
2002-2003 162
2001-2002 217
2000-2001 213

10 year average 201"

USA, NJ... The last real snow experienced occurred last year the day before Halloween. This weather is weird.