Where is winter?
So far winter has been a no show.
Mild temperatures persisted right to the end of December and the only snow was what they were able to make on a few chilly mornings at area ski resorts.
Last year we had 36 inches of snow by the end of December at Chalk Hill and 20 inches in the Uniontown area. This year we have only had 2 inches in the mountains and less that an inch in the lower elevations. Temperatures for December were unusually mild with lots of 50s, a few 60s and two 70-degree days.
Last week we talked about the La Nina weather pattern that is influencing the weather across much of the planet. It is expected to continue through most of the winter but there should be a few short periods where we see just a short weakening of the pattern.
One of these should make for a chilly football game between the Steelers and Browns on Monday evening but we are talking upper 20s and not the brutal cold when the polar vortex comes to visit and brings near zero or below zero along with wind and lots of snow. After the short cool down we still see temperatures averaging around normal or just a bit above our average for early January.
Winter did leave the Arctic this past week as the temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska jumped to 37 degrees above zero this week and the morning low at 33 stayed above freezing. Last week it was 40 degrees below zero in the city of Fairbanks.
So where did the cold go? The cold packed up and took a ride on the Polar Vortex via of the Jet Stream from Alaska to British Columbia and the Western United States. The same day it was 37 in Fairbanks it was 24 below zero in Great Falls Montana and 12 below in Billings. Also 121 inches of snow fell in Lytton, British Columbia.
This is the same city that produced Canada蘑菇视频 record all-time hottest temperature of 121 degrees this year on June 29 and then experienced a fire that destroyed much of the village. The new record was eight degrees warmer than the previous heat record for Canada.
In the US heavy, wet snow fell in Seattle and Portland and the Sierra Mountains had 202 inches of snow so far in December and it was still snowing. While the snow closed interstate 80 in California it will be welcome news in the spring when it could help bring a bit of relief to water starved areas of the west as it begins to melt.
Closer to home New England, New York and Northern Pennsylvania had some snow this past week and Chicago got its first snow of the season.
I am sure we will see some snow in January but at present we don鈥檛 see any big storm or visits from the Polar Vortex at least in early January.
It is also encouraging to note that sunrise and sunset on Jan. 1 is 7:40 a.m. and 5:05 p.m., up from 7:35 and 4:58 on Dec. 21, our shortest day of the year with just nine hours and 23 minutes of daylight versus nine hours and 27 minutes on Jan. 1.
Spring is on the way.
May this year bring the hope that, like the increasing sunlight, we can move towards more understanding of what make us human and knock on our neighbor蘑菇视频 door with JOY and a healing spirit.