Harsh season sets records worldwide

I’ve received a number of e-mails this past week concerning a particular article that states that our planet is in a sudden cooling period. The term “New Ice Age” has been floating around, and with the harsh winter of 2007-08, some are wondering if this is the case.

I have stated in previous articles that I believe we’re in a long-term cycle of wide weather “extremes,” the worst cycle in more than 1,000 years.

The Northern Hemisphere has observed one of the harshest seasons in recorded history. The extent of snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere at the end of February was at the highest level in 42 years. The record for extreme snow depths was during the winter of 1887-88.

According to climatologists in Britain, Japan and the U.S., December, January and February were likewise the coldest as a whole since at least the late 1970s, in some cases dating back to the 1930s or even the 1880s. Climatologists in one area of southeastern China claim that this winter has been the “worst since 1210, nearly 800 years ago.”

Baghdad saw its first snow in recorded history earlier this year. Record cold has been observed in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Greece and many other places. Heavy snowfalls in late February closed many roads in Greece, Turkey, Syria and Iran, and some lowland regions in normally warm southern Iran reported the “first measurable snowfalls in living memory.”

In the U.S., record snowfalls have hit more than 20 states this winter, from Washington and Oregon eastward through Idaho, Iowa, Wisconsin and New England. Rare snows were seen as far south as northern Alabama on Feb. 27.

Furthermore, it’s not only the Northern Hemisphere that’s experiencing an unusual frigid period. Freak snows last July and August were seen in the Southern Hemisphere in places like Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sydney, Australia, and even Minas Gerais in Brazil, for the first time in recorded history.

According to Cambridge University scientists, the seven-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit drop in global temperatures in just the past six months has been the most pronounced plunge since the 1.2-degree dip in the year following the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in June of 1991. They blame changes in the recent decrease in solar radiation for the current sudden cooling.

I agree with another climatologist colleague, Paul Berenson, who stated on Feb. 21, “The truth is that it’s still much too early to draw any long-term conclusions from 2008’s great freeze. But, it is indeed one of the most startling recent developments to have emerged in the world’s weather patterns for a long time. At the least, it was so unexpected. It raises important questions for millions of people worldwide whose lives have been seriously disrupted by this year’s freezes.”

The recent dramatic drop in global temperatures raises many interesting questions about the future of global warming. However, during this cycle of “extremes,” I wouldn’t be surprised to see Earth’s temperatures flip back to the warm side during this summer. It’s too early to tell at this point.

As far as our weather is concerned, between now and late March, we should have below-normal precipitation and near- to above normal-temperatures despite some brief cool spells.

In March and early April, though, we should see a much warmer than normal early spring period with increasing amounts of precipitation and more thunderstorm activity than usual. Afternoon temperatures may soar into the lower 60s, which could lead to widespread lowland flooding, particularly near rivers and streams.