Snowy December may just be the start

A series of blizzards from late October until now may be “just the start” of an era of harsh winter seasons across the Northern Hemisphere.

Victor Manuel Velasco Herrera, a primary researcher at the Institute of Geophysics in Mexico City, recently stated: “In about 10 years, the Earth will enter a “new little ice age” that will last from 60 to 80 years or more.”

Will this be a new “Maunder Minimum” cycle?

Herrera bases his predictions on a sustained decrease in sunspot activity plus an increase in global volcanic eruptions that will cool this planet very quickly, much like what happened following the massive June 16, 1991, eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which led to a rather significant drop in temperatures of more than a degree Celsius in less than 10 months. Since February of this year, we’ve observed a cooling globally of nearly 0.7 of a degree.

With the exception of three days, Dec. 10 through 12, there has been no sunspot activity in December. In fact, the number of sunspots from Dec. 10 through 12 averaged only 13 sunspots, a very low number. Last August, the entire month was completely devoid of solar activity.

The lack of solar storms on the sun, combined with generally cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures, has led to another snowy and cold early winter season across the northern U.S. and much of southern Canada.

Seattle, Portland and Olympia have already doubled their normal snowfall totals for an entire winter season.

We’ve already topped 55 inches of snow at Spokane International Airport as of Monday. By the time one reads this column, we will have likely seen the snowiest month ever recorded. The all-time record for snow was set in January 1950 with 56.9 inches. Despite more snow this week, most of our December snow came within 11 days from Dec. 17 through 27. In Coeur d’Alene, a whopping 78 inches has fallen in December, likewise an all-time record. This topped the previous mark for record December snowfall of 63.6 inches set nearly a century ago in 1915.

It does appear we’re going to see a break from this snowy pattern toward the middle to the end of next week. A strong ridge of high pressure is expected to bring much drier weather, before more snow returns to the region toward the end of January.