Weird weather

[Zombie]

Just been watching a TV doc on Britain's weather in 2012. It was a weird year. It started off with a drought then from June onwards it just rained and rained [we were lucky that the weather was so good during the London Olympics]. By the end of December, 2012 had become the wettest year on record in England. One feature has been the nature of the rain - often it has been severe and intense with monsoon type conditions occurring in many areas of the country, quite different to the "temperate" conditions we normally expect. Sometimes these intense events appear to have been caused by "super cells" generated where hot and cold air masses collide. 

A serious consequence has been the frequency and extent of flooding. In December the Thames Barrier flood protection system was used for the first time in two and a half years to protect London from flooding. Flood water is nasty stuff, because it's not just water. It's got mud and branches and all sorts of hazardous stuff and if it's fast flowing can be deadly. Worse, it includes raw sewage when drains back up into the main sewage pipes. Kids often play in this stuff but it's dangerous.

So were any weather records broken in your country in 2012?

[Andy78]

Not my country, but I remember the news reports back in February about Bosnia getting nearly 7 feet of snow in a weekend, and temperatures in Eastern Europe plummeting as low as minus 30C and hundreds of people froze to death.

[joann414]

We are having crazy weather.  Temps in the seventies one week, and now rain, rain, rain and in the fifties.  But, to top it off, they have predicted snow flurries for this Saturday.  Really wierd!

[Alex Sweeney]

Tell me about it. I lost all my bloody tomatoes last year. No red ones, no green ones for pickle. Just rain, rain, rain and all the sun came too early in the year to be any use. (UK)

[MikeL]

 

Should have gone South with my friends.

[Fishwings]

 

Should have gone South with my friends.

 

 

I know the feel .___.

[C J]

Weather is a crazy thing, and I imagine it changes naturally more than by human activity.  I know our government as well as some others have done experiments to develop a means of affecting the weather, mostly for the purpose of punishing their enemies.  I suspect some of the things that they do have interfered with the normal workings of the weather, but I doubt that it ever lasts long.  Unless you believe, as some do, that the planet is only 7 to 6 thousand years old, then the "history" of weather patterns on the planet shows that the weather has gone through some pretty extreme changes over the course of thousands and even millions of years.

 

It seems that those with power want us all to believe that the use of fossil fuels is responsible for the changes we see at the moment.  I disagree with that idea, and I am still waiting for some solid evidence to defend their position.  The theories of scientists aren't enough to justify the extreme measures some want to implement, like cap and trade.   I'm more inclined to believe that the weather is doing what it has always done, change over time.  The planet hasn't always been warm and habitable, and I don't see any reason to think that it always will be in the future..  Humans haven't always been here, and they aren't going to be here forever.

 

Of course, like most people, I want to think that this will always be our home, and that the future is full of great things for as long as the planet lasts.  Unfortunately I think the reality is something different.  I'm hoping that it lasts at least a little longer, like maybe another thousand years.  Who knows?  It's safe to say that whatever happens isn't going to be because of anything I did, any more than my existence is.  So, I'm here now, this is my time, and I intend to make the most of it.  The weather isn't going to care about me, and whatever it does I will need to deal with from one day to the next.  So far it hasn't done anything too bad to me.  I'm not going to tempt it either, like those who insist on living in places known for bad weather and flooding.  A little sensible thought can go a long way.

[Zombie]

I'm fed up with this winter. It's so cold, there's still deep lying snow, and minor roads were still blocked yesterday This is supposed to be spring and it's Easter this week! The weather guys blame it on the jet stream which is way south to where it normally is which means the winds have reversed - instead of the normal westerly flow we're getting cold air from the east. This looks set to be another record breaking weather event. Last year we had the driest winter, then the wettest summer, record flooding, now the coldest March - each breaking 50 or 100 years or longer records. Of course, weather records get broken all the time but what we've been experiencing in the UK is an increasing frequency and severity of these events.

The UK's normally temperate climate is because of prevailing ocean currents [the Gulf Stream] and air currents [the jet stream]. If these change, as the jet stream has been changing, we get walloped. This week the government's Chief Scientific Officer warned this is how it's going to be from now on so we just have to get used to this sort of thing *shivers*

Edited March 26, 2013 by Zombie

[C J]

Yes, the earth is changing it's ways.  Some would claim it's global warming caused by humans.  Others say it's a normal cycle.  Still others say it's nature getting ready to evict the most destructive tenants it supports: humans.  The truth is nobody really knows why the weather is the way it is.  It's pretty clear though that the weather can't remain the same forever.  Neither can the planet.  It's one of those things people can't control, but they will keep trying.  Like most things, they will make the situation worse than it would be left alone.  Human's can't seem to accept the fact that nature has it's own path to follow and isn't going to allow people to decide what it's going to do.  Maybe everything is how it's supposed to be.  The best anyone can really do is guess at it while they do what they can to cope.   I'm not complaining just yet, the roads are still good, the heat and air still work, and I can still order a pizza when I want one.  Life is STILL good, so far!

[Zombie]

whatever happens isn't going to be because of anything I did

 

True. And asteroid strikes are not because of anything anyone did. Doesn't mean we should ignore them. Especially since the availability of pizza wasn't much help to the inhabitants of Chelyabinsk

 

[C J]

True. And asteroid strikes are not because of anything anyone did. Doesn't mean we should ignore them. Especially since the availability of pizza wasn't much help to the inhabitants of Chelyabinsk

 

 

True, pizza wasn't much help to them, and neither was science, NASA, industry or the clergy.   Looks like pizza might be as useful as anything else when it comes to meteors.   I bet there was some pizza eating going on afterwards.   It's a sure bet there isn't anything to stop them, and it's a little doubtful there ever will be.   Even if there was, so far they don't spot them until they're too close to do much but run.

[ToddYoung]

Hottest summer ever in Australia this year, and the amazing fact is that if you're 27 or under, you've never experienced a below average summer.

 

I'm so pessimistic about global warming that I've all but given up. I think it's simply too late to do anything meaningful. Nothing is changing, and the "tipping" point they talk about has tipped as far as I can see.

[Zombie]

True, pizza wasn't much help to them, and neither was science, NASA, industry or the clergy.   Looks like pizza might be as useful as anything else when it comes to meteors.   I bet there was some pizza eating going on afterwards.   It's a sure bet there isn't anything to stop them, and it's a little doubtful there ever will be.   Even if there was, so far they don't spot them until they're too close to do much but run.

 

Well that's just pessimism. Just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean we shouldn't try. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone in 1876 he might have had to wait a long time for the pizza delivery, but now you can stuff yourself all day every day

[Celethiel]

Can we keep the politics of Global warming, and religiousism out of the conversation.

The weather in montana has been acting more like what you "might" see on the West coast (don't know for sure not been but it's how i picture the West Coast...)

It snows then emmediately melts within a few days...

Leaving the place constantly muddy, i think there is a lot of settling has been happening that normall wouldn't...

I was walking down the street yesterday and noticed that the curb actually had settled lower then the metal that surrounded it

And I know it wasn't like that before...

[layla]

It's melting here in Iowa, finally, and the weather finally hit 40 yesterday. It's still going to be a few weeks before I can even think of putting my garden in, which sucks, because being inside has been sort of boring and its getting so hard to keep focus on things just with having been inside for so long. Was gonna go hike today with my daughter, even with the melting snow, but the trail is a lake right now and in the low places likly pretty impassible. Sigh. Last year at this time Id taken weeks of pictures already, but we also had the hottest summer we'd had since i moved to Iowa 7 years ago. I am hoping with the colder winter this year the summer might be a little cooler and more comfortable for doing things.

[Celethiel]

well at least it's not the 1800's where you'd still have a horde of snow